First-Year Seminars are the centerpiece of our First-Year Experience, a sequence of programs that welcome students into the university's rich intellectual life. These seminars bring students together with faculty in small groups to explore a variety of exciting topics and play a crucial role in shaping students' educational experiences and fostering intellectual growth.
The UWS curriculum consists of two major units: a comparative analysis and an extended unit on research. The comparative analysis unit consists of a close reading predraft assignment, a comparative analysis essay and a comparative genre analysis assignment. The CGA asks students to read writing from varying disciplines and work independently and in groups to identify how writing across the disciplines varies and is similar in content, style, and organization. The research unit consists of an extensive research proposal and a research essay.
As part of the University Writing Seminar, students attend one or more Critical Conversations in which faculty from different departments meet to discuss a topic chosen for that academic year; for 2021-2022, for example, the topic was "Community." This part of the course brings first-year students into direct contact with scholarly discourse and the variety of ways in which Brandeis faculty engage with each other and the world.
Students are invited to continue the conversations in follow-up, small-group discussions. Each University Writing Seminar also assigns an experiential-learning activity to expand the boundaries of the conventional classroom.
|
Course |
Title |
Instructor |
|
|
UWS-01A-2 |
UWS for Multilingual Students Section 2: Success Across Cultures |
Moore, Scott |
11:10–12:30 T, F |
|
UWS-01A-1 |
UWS for Multilingual Students Section 1: Travel and Self-Discovery |
Cook, Collin |
4:05–5:25 M, W |
|
UWS-43A-1 |
Storytelling in Business |
Fischer, Katrin |
9:05–9:55 MWTh |
|
UWS-02B-1 |
Darwinian Dating |
Jacobs, Elissa |
10:10–11:00 MWTh |
|
UWS-76B-1 |
Narratives of Migration |
Kenan, Yael |
10:10–11:00 MWTh |
|
CSEM-01A-5 |
Composition Seminar |
King, Ethan |
10:10–11:00 MWTh |
|
CSEM-01A-3 |
Composition Seminar |
Nourse, Marsha |
9:35- 10:55 T, F |
|
UWS-62A-1 |
Video Games, Gamers, and Gaming Styles |
Heazlewood-Dale, James |
11:15–12:05 MWTh |
|
UWS-02B-2 |
Darwinian Dating |
Jacobs, Elissa |
11:15–12:05 MWTh |
|
UWS-69A-1 |
Hip-Hop as Social Commentary |
Lederman, Josh |
11:15–12:05 MWTh |
|
UWS-37A-1 |
Biology of Morality |
Jacobs, Elissa |
12:20–1:10 MWTh |
|
UWS-76B-1 |
Narratives of Migration |
Kenan, Yael |
12:20–1:10 MWTh |
|
UWS-64B-1 |
The Resistance Mixtape |
King, Ethan |
12:20–1:10 MWTh |
|
CSEM-01A-1 |
Composition Seminar |
Lederman, Joshua |
12:20–1:10 MWTh |
|
UWS-74B-1 |
The Politics of Star Wars |
Burkot, Alexandra |
1:20–2:10 MWTh |
|
UWS-62A-2 |
Video Games, Gamers, and Gaming Styles |
Heazlewood-Dale, James |
1:20–2:10 MWTh |
|
UWS-64B-2 |
The Resistance Mixtape |
King, Ethan |
1:20–2:10 MWTh |
|
CSEM-01A-2 |
Composition Seminar |
Lederman, Joshua |
1:20–2:10 MWTh |
|
UWS-75A-1 |
Youth Activism Around the World |
gantla, sneha |
9:35–10:55 T, F |
|
UWS-76A -2 |
Musical Storytelling in Film, TV, & Video Games |
Heazlewood-Dale, James |
9:35–10:55 T, F |
|
UWS-75A-1 |
Youth Activism Around the World |
gantla, sneha |
12:45–2:05 T, F |
|
UWS-66A-1 |
Travel and Self-Discovery |
Cook, Colin |
2:30–3:50 M, W |
|
UWS-34A-1 |
Reading and Writing Boston |
Nourse, Marsha |
12:45- 2:05. T, F |
|
UWS-04A-1 |
Medical Ethics |
Rourke, Lisa |
2:30–3:50 M, W |
|
UWS-24A-1 |
Depictions of Friendship |
Slaeker, Carey |
4:05–5:25 M, W |
|
UWS-24A-2 |
Depictions of Friendship |
Slaeker, Carey |
5:40–7:00 M, W |
|
UWS-72A-1 |
Autobiographical Comics |
Abrahams, Rafael |
2:20–3:40 T, Th |
|
CSEM-01A-6 |
Composition Seminar |
Cook, Colin |
2:20–3:40 T, Th |
|
UWS-77A-1 |
Jerusalem Then and Now |
Kenan, Yael |
2:20–3:40 T, Th |
|
UWS-75B-1 |
On Being Someone Else |
Schwartz, Daniel |
2:20–3:40 T, Th |
|
UWS-01A-1 |
UWS for Multilingual Students section 1: Korean Pop Culture and Society |
Cook, Collin |
4:05–5:25 M, W |
|
Course |
Title |
Instructor |
Block |
|
UWS-17B-2 |
Bodies of Evidence |
Fischer, Katrin |
9:05–9:55 MWTh |
|
UWS-69A-1 |
Hip-Hop as Social Commentary |
Lederman, Josh |
10:10–11:00 MWTh |
|
UWS-02B-1 |
Darwinian Dating |
Jacobs, Elissa |
10:10–11:00 MWTh |
|
UWS-64B-1 |
The Resistance Mixtape |
King, Ethan |
10:10–11:00 MWTh |
|
UWS-37A-1 |
Biology of Morality |
Jacobs, Elissa |
11:15–12:05 MWTh |
|
UWS-76B-1 |
Narratives of Migration |
Kenan, Yael |
11:15–12:05 MWTh |
|
UWS-69B-1 |
The Ethics of True Crime |
Lederman, Joshua |
11:15–12:05 MWTh |
|
UWS-37A-2 |
Biology of Morality |
Jacobs, Elissa |
12:20–1:10 MWTh |
|
UWS-77B-1 |
Laughing Matters: Sitcoms and Society |
King, Ethan |
12:20–1:10 MWTh |
|
UWS-69B-2 |
The Ethics of True Crime |
Lederman, Joshua |
12:20–1:10 MWTh |
|
UWS-77B-2 |
Laughing Matters: Sitcoms and Society |
King, Ethan |
1:20–2:10 MWTh |
|
CSEM-01A-1 |
Composition Seminar |
Moore, Scott |
1:20–2:10 MWTh |
|
UWS-75A-1 |
Youth Activism Around the World |
gantla, sneha |
9:35–10:55 T, F |
|
UWS-62A-1 |
Video Games, Gamers, and Gaming Styles |
Heazlewood-Dale, James |
9:35–10:55 T, F |
|
UWS-67B-1 |
Music Protests and Social Change in the 1960s |
Nourse, Marsha |
9:35–10:55 T, F |
|
UWS-67B-2 |
Music Protests and Social Change in the 1960s |
Nourse, Marsha |
11:10–12:30 T, F |
|
UWS-66B-1 |
Sports, Money, and Power |
Cook, Colin |
11:10–12:30 T, F |
|
UWS-66B-2 |
Sports, Money, and Power |
Cook, Colin |
12:45–2:05 T, F |
|
UWS-77A-1 |
Jerusalem Then and Now |
Kenan, Yael |
2:30–3:50 M, W |
|
UWS-04A-1 |
Medical Ethics |
Rourke, Lisa |
2:30–3:50 M, W |
|
UWS-76A-1 |
Musical Storytelling in Film, Television, and Video Games |
Heazlewood-Dale, James |
2:30–3:50 M, W |
|
UWS-76A-2 |
Musical Storytelling in Film, Television, and Video Games |
Heazlewood-Dale, James |
5:40–7:00 M, W |
|
UWS-77A-2 |
Jerusalem Then and Now |
Kenan, Yael |
2:20–3:40 T, Th |
|
UWS-24A-1 |
Depictions of Friendship |
Slaeker, Carey |
5:30--6:50 T, Th |
Yes and no. On the one hand, each first-year seminar has the same types of assignments and course policies. On the other hand, each seminar uses a different topic.
Both options are viable, but students who take the First-Year Seminar in the fall can then apply what they’ve learned to their spring courses. Consult Academic Advising if you have further questions.
First-Year Seminar is a full-credit course. It counts as one of the 32 courses required for graduation.
First-Year Seminars instructors work closely with their students, providing one-on-one tutorials, sustained attention to individual development, and extensive comments on drafts. With larger classes, instructors could not give this kind of individualized attention.
Depending on availability, students may change their First-Year Seminar to another in the same semester.
First_year Seminars are a first-year requirement. If you do not fulfill it during your first year, you may be placed on academic probation.
An online writing assessment, taken in the spring before entering Brandeis, helps the Writing Program reach out to students who might most benefit from what the Composition Seminar has to offer. (Students wishing to enroll directly into CSEM without taking the online assessment may do so.)
The Writing Center offers support for all students, including those enrolled in First-year Seminars, with 30- and 60-minute one-on-one tutorials available by appointment. The Writing Center also offers workshops on each of the major First-Year Seminars assignments, including the lens paper and research paper.