Explore an issue
Through the First Year Seminar (FYS) and First Year Writing Seminar (FYW) programs, freshmen can explore subjects outside of general education and major requirements. Seminars are kept small to encourage discussion and collaborative learning over lectures and exams, and learning extends beyond the classroom through class dinners and field trips to places both near and far.
Here are some of this year’s seminar offerings:
Poetry from the Inside
Read, write, and discuss poems to answer the question, “What makes poetry a distinctive literary genre worthy of our attention?”
To Walk the Land
Hike with your class and learn to appreciate the environment of Upstate South Carolina.
Eating as a Sustainable Act
Learn about the food you eat, how that food is produced, and the economic, social, and environmental impacts of eating.
Chocolate: Science, Culture and History
Prepare and consume chocolate while studying the symbolism and history of chocolate production.
House and Philosophy
Examine the early seasons of the television series House, MD using the writings of Socrates, Aristotle, Nietzsche, and Sartre.
Secret Codes: Wars, Computing, and E-Commerce
Study the history and practice of cryptography to understand how, during World War II, it was a major incentive for the development of the first computers.