Freshman Seminars
Interested in Teaching a Freshman Seminar?
If you are a faculty or staff member who is interested in teaching a Freshman Seminar, please read this information or contact our office.
The Autumn 2009 Call for Proposals is available to review online. Proposals are due by May 30th, 2009.
To view information about previously-offered seminars, please visit our archives.The Freshman Seminar Program offers first-year students access to small, discussion-oriented classes that many UW students may not experience until they are juniors or seniors. Distinguished UW faculty members teach these seminars on a topic of personal or professional interest. Freshman Seminars provide an intimate setting for engaging discussion between students and the professor. These seminars are particularly appropriate for students who want a first look at an unfamiliar field of study.
Instructor: Margaret O'Mara
What forces shaped the development of cities in the United States? What effect do these historical patterns have on urban life today? How have American thinkers, artists, and political leaders imagined and re-imagined the city in different points in our history? What are the contemporary challenges facing the American city? This one-credit seminar will explore these questions and give you an opportunity to join in the debate about the American city's past, present, and future. We will meet for four two-hour sessions during the first four weeks of the quarter. At our second session we will watch and discuss the classic 1939 documentary, "The City." At our third session, students will meet with Bruce Katz, Vice President of the Brookings Institution in Washington DC and one of the nation's leading thinkers on urban and metropolitan policy. Students are required to attend Mr. Katz's public lecture that evening. Students are expected to complete short assigned readings, contribute discussion questions, attend class and the lecture, and write a short final essay.
Instructor: Beth Traxler, PhD. Associate Professor, Dept. of Microbiology
Time: Wednesdays 3:30-4:30, starting Oct. 7, 2009 until Dec. 9, 2009
This seminar class will encourage the students involved to discuss their perceptions of how different "minority" groups are defined and viewed in society. The role of different groups in science and the impact of different groups on scientific research will be discussed. Students will be required to participate in oral discussions of different topics and assigned readings and to write four brief summaries of different topics over the course of the quarter.
Dreams from My Father: Insights for Education and Schooling
Instructor: Prof. Gene Edgar
Time: Tuesday 12:20 – 1:20
In this seminar we will explore the text Dreams From My Father for insights about educational and schooling issues in the United States. We will use the text to reflect on our schooling and education and consider how schooling and education is distributed differently across citizens in the United States. We will also focus on building a learning community and transitioning to the University of Washington.
Dreams from my Father: Questions of Identity and Power
Instructor: Anu Taranath
Time: Tuesday 12:30 – 1:20
This freshman seminar will use Barack Obama's "Dreams from my Father" as an occasion to discuss the politics of university education, racial identities, American civic engagement, and other relevant themes.
Engineering as a Humanitarian Pursuit *
Instructor: Kristofer Martin
Time: Wednesday 2:30 – 3:20
Did you know that one of the most impactful ways for you to improve your community and our world is to become an engineer? Students will gain a greater awareness and appreciation of the role engineering has upon improving lives, advancing health, and enhancing society through this seminar. Format includes presentations and discussions with faculty and students and short reading and reflection assignments. For students interested in engineering as well as students looking for information on majors that will help them change the world.
* This course can be taken by itself or as part of a Freshman Interest Group (FIG).
Exploring Environmental Majors
Instructor: Michelle Townsend
Time: Friday 10:30 – 11:20
Do you want to turn the tides and save our planet? Learn about life, ecology, natural processes, and human impact on earth and what you can do that will make a difference now? Join this seminar and explore majors in Environmental, Biological, and Physical Sciences geared toward preservation, conservation, and sustainability. Faculty from our award-winning departments will give presentations and facilitate discussions with students about why their research and disciplines are so important in our present time. Students also will have short reading and writing assignments intending to help them better understand their own interests and choose the right majors.
Instructor: Christina Kerr
Time: Thursday 3:00 – 4:20
Exploring Health Care Careers is a two credit, graded credit/no credit (CR/NC) freshman seminar which will provide freshman with an opportunity to explore a broad range of health care careers and how, as an undergraduate, students can prepare to enter a career in the health care field.
International Collaboration in Engineering Research and Design
Instructor: Prof. Raj Bordia
Time: Tuesday 3:30 – 5:20
International and interdisciplinary teams are increasingly making developments and breakthroughs in engineering. Many of the leading engineering companies are global corporations with extensive and high level international research and development teams. This course is in collaboration with the College of Engineering at the Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. The course will introduce students to the essential elements of international collaborations in engineering research and design. Students will be introduced to research and design in engineering and the need, advantages and various models for international collaboration. The main focus of the course is a team based collaborative research or design project. Students will be divided into five groups; each of them will work with one faculty member at the University of Washington and a complementary team of students and faculty members from Tohoku University. The teams at University of Washington and Tohoku will work on complementary aspects of the same project. They will use a broad range of electronic communication tools to share results, findings and plan the project activities.
Instructor: Prof. David Strauss
Time: Thursday 3:30 – 5:20
This seminar involves historical and technical research, discussion and field work in Seattle Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Change. The goal is to outline the interrelationships of buildings, infrastructure and cultural value toward a city/region that consumes fewer and fewer resources. Urbanization and movements toward sustainability have focused on state of the art technology. This course intends to consider the physical and political impacts of neighborhood and regional change and solutions that result from both current and technological and pre-modern solutions.
Programming with Purpose: Creativity and Careers in Computer Science
Instructor: Raven Avery, Academic Adviser, Computer Science & Engineering
Description: This interactive seminar explores how you can contribute to the fabulous field of computer science and engineering. We'll visit a local company, view demos if current CSE research, and meet a variety of people working in the field. This is a great opportunity to explore majors and careers, and meet other students interested in technology. You must also be enrolled in CSE 142 or 143 to register.
Instructor: Jennifer Self, Q Center
Time: Monday 3:30 – 5:20
This seminar will provide an introduction to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) issue from a broad, affirming, and inclusive GLBT perspective. We will examine the personal, political, legal questions, as well as take a look at GLBT experiences on college and university campuses.
University of Washington Facts, History and Traditions
Instructors: Courtney Acitelli & Kyle Funakoshi, UW Alumni Association
So you're a University of Washington student now. But what does it truly mean to be a Husky? This course will explore the following topics from historical, sociological and student development perspectives:
- What does the University mean to the state, the region and the world?
- What makes the University of Washington unique among other large public institutions?
- Who are UW alumni and what are they doing now to make a difference in their communities and in the world?
- What can students do during their first year of college that prepares them for being a member of the University of Washington community for life?
This class will explore UW facts, history and traditions, introduce campus resources to students and promote a shared sense of University of Washington identity.
Instructor: Deborah Wiegand
Time: Thursday 3:30 – 4:20
Do you want to help the UW figure out how to best help you? Help you find your major, your career? Help you connect with faculty and students with similar interests? Help you get the most out of your 4 years here? The UW is currently developing requirements for a new student information system. One aspect of this system is called a Learning Plan. The Learning Plan is envisioned as a highly personalized, customizable, web-based application that allows learners to plan, track, and evaluate individual learning goals. These goals include anything you want to learn while an undergraduate at UW, not just what happens in the classroom. In the seminar class you'll help define the requirements for the Learning Plan and start building your own learning plan for the next 4 years. No programming skills needed, just interest in figuring out life at UW. Don't leave this to the ancient administrators at UW! Join this freshman seminar and make sure the new Learning Plan will work for you and your fellow students.
Instructor: Prof. Bill Talbott
Time: Wednesday 2:30 – 3:20
This seminar will provide an informal introduction to philosophy. The seminar sessions will consist of class discussions on a variety of topics, based on short weekly readings in a variety of different areas of philosophy. This seminar is especially suitable for students considering philosophy as a major or a minor. No prior knowledge of philosophy is assumed. The only requirement for taking this seminar is a willingness to do the short reading assignments each week, to attend class, and to participate in the class discussions. No prerequisites.
