Aug 2026 draft version of sample syllabus for a common, first year syllabus WKH 001: Ways to Knowledge Purpose: The purpose of “Ways to Knowledge,” a first-year seminar, is to help new students make a successful transition to Hofstra University, both academically and personally. Through engagement with faculty, peers, and the broader Hofstra community, students will explore the expectations and opportunities of university life. Through common readings, coupled with faculty expertise, the course is designed to strengthen students’ intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, problem-solving, effective communication, and sense of purpose. In the process of learning about the social and historical role of a university, students will be introduced to Hofstra’s campus policies and resources to support their academic success and personal well-being. Through common assignments designed to strengthen foundational skills, shared experiences, and engagement with Hofstra, greater Long Island, and New York City communities, students will reflect on how this moment, the start of a university journey, can shape their future.
Objectives I. The How’s and Why’s of a University Education As a result of this course, students will… a) Understand the history, purpose, and value of a university education. b) Explore and contemplate enduring human questions. c) Reflect on the role of a university in local, national, and global communities. d) Learn about relevant policies, such as academic integrity, and will connect with resources related to their academic and personal success. II. Strengthen Foundational Skills As a result of this course, students will… a) Improve their communication in writing, in oral presentations, and in peer to peer communication. b) Read, analyze, and discuss common texts as part of a shared intellectual experience. c) Cultivate curiosity and skepticism about claims in public discussion. d) Learn how disciplines shape knowledge. III. Participate in an Intellectual Community As a result of this course, students will… a) Reflect on how their values are shaped by their social and personal experiences. b) Explore Hofstra’s mission statement and understand our community standards.
c) Grasp how communities are constructed and reflect upon their relationship to Hofstra and the world. d) Consider how their relationships to peers, often mediated by technology, influence their educational and professional aspirations. *Campus resource units will provide instructors with learning modules that can be used in class discussions regarding student services.
Detailed Breakdown Quarter I: The How’s and Why’s of a University Education 1. Topic: Exploring education and human “nature” Reading: Plato’s, “Allegory of the Cave,” (1313 words) Instructor Resources: Here are links to illustrations of Plato’s allegory: https://faculty.washington.edu/smcohen/320/cave.htm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_cave#/media/File:An_Illustrat ion_of_The_Allegory_of_the_Cave,_from_Plato%E2%80%99s_Republic.j pg Activity: Students craft and discuss their own allegorical narratives about education 2. Topic: Views on the social role of education Reading: Selection from “Can You Sign Your Book for Me,” The Privileged Poor, by Anthony Jack (pp. 79-107) paired with bell hooks, introduction to Teaching to Transgress (pp 1-12). Activity (choose at least one): ● Before-and-after quiz asking students to provide two definitions for terms that have both a general meaning and a specialized meaning in higher education (for example, fellowship, major, minor, associate’s, bachelor’s) ● Students briefly reflect on something about college that they initially did not understand and had to figure out. They then anonymously submit a question about something they still do not know or understand, through a shared message board or on slips of paper. Students work together to answer the questions they can, allowing them to serve as resources for one another. The instructor facilitates the discussion, clarifies incomplete or inaccurate responses, and addresses questions that remain unanswered.
3. Topic: Science of Learning: Evidence-based learning strategies Viewing/Reading: Video modules featuring Hofstra cognitive psychologists introduce students to evidence-based learning strategies. Supplemental readings may be drawn from The ABCs of How We Learn, which includes 26 chapters, each focused on a different learning strategy, and from The Learning Scientists blog. Activity: Students select at least two evidence-based learning strategies, develop a plan for applying them in other courses, and monitor their effectiveness through structured check-ins. At the end of the semester, students share and evaluate their results through an in-class poster session. Campus Resources modules in this quarter include: Mental Health Services, Title IX, the Center for Academic Excellence (which includes the Tutoring Center), and the Writing Center Suggested Readings [viewings]: Modules on TimelyCare and OneLove and the Center for Academic Excellence. Suggested Activity: Campus Resources Exploration, to be completed by the end of the semester. Students select one or more featured campus resources to explore. They may complete the assignment by using a resource and writing a brief reflection on the experience, or by visiting its physical location, taking a photo of themselves there, and submitting a brief summary of the services available and how they might use them in the future. 4. Instructor Discretion. The instructor identifies topics to delve into in more detail for this quarter. The topics do not need to appear in this order, as long as they are all completed by the end of week 4. Quarter II: The How’s and Why’s of a University Education 5. Topic: The History of the University Reading: John Henry Newman, “What Is A University,” The Idea of the University (3477 words, 8 pages) and selection from Sharon Stein’s, “Imagining Education Otherwise,’ in Unsettling the University, (pp. 251270) Instructor Resources: John Henry Newman’s entire monograph: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/24526/pg24526-images.html#toc5 Activity: Students present the demographics of American college students at present, in 1970 (shortly after Brown v. Board and the 1964
Civil Rights Act and shortly before Title IX), in 1947 (shortly after the GI Bill), and 1900. 6. Topic: Non-monetary Benefits of the University Education Reading: Selection from “Learning and Earning by Degrees” (pp. 47-57) from Georgetown’s Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce. Activity: a) Survey students on how they think college education would impact health, civic engagement, pluralism or reported happiness, for example. Discuss the challenge of distinguishing between selection and causation. b) Students complete the Identity Wheel. 7. Topic: The Future of the University Reading: Assigned articles on current trends in university education Activity: Find a well-researched article on trends in higher education and explain Hofstra University’s position within that trend. Can include interviewing the faculty or students, reading past Newsday articles, etc. Campus Resources modules in this quarter include: Advising, Student Access Services, and the Wellness Center Suggested Topics: Access in Higher Education, Academic Advising and Intentional Course Planning; Supporting Student Health and Wellness. Suggested Readings [Viewing]: “Snapshots of Exclusion”. Academic Ableism (pp. 20-31; All Things on Wheels Aren’t Equal (13-minute 1966 documentary that Hofstra produced to promote accessibility on university campuses); Suggested Activity: Students attend a group advising session and meet individually with a faculty advisor to discuss their academic interests, goals, and spring course selections. Students who have not yet declared a major instead visit one of their current professors during office hours to discuss the discipline, their developing academic interests, and how to make thoughtful choices as they explore possible majors. Students will submit a brief reflection of their experiences. 8. Instructor Discretion. The instructor identifies topics to delve into in more detail for this quarter. The topics do not need to appear in this order, as long as they are all completed by the end of week 8.
Quarter III: Strengthening Foundational Skills 9. Topic: Disciplinary Knowledge, the Liberal Arts, and General Education Reading: Selections from “Liberal Arts: The Meaning, Value, and Purpose of General Education” and “Higher Thinking” Thriving in College and Beyond (pp. 29-38, 145-48); Range, Chapter 2, “How the Wicked World Was Made,” 37-54. Activity: Faculty member presents a historical or contemporary wicked problem that was never solved due to lack of multiple disciplinary perspectives and/or lack of generalist approach. 10. Topic: Wicked Problems and Public Policy Reading: Faculty member selects a reading or media relevant to “wicked” problems within the professor’s discipline for the students to read or view. Activity: Students select from a list of “wicked” problems. Students discuss how at least three different disciplines could contribute to solving that wicked problem. Here are some compilations of wicked problems: https://www.wheaton.edu/academics/departments/interdisciplinarystudies/about-the-ids-program/guiding-directives; https://www.invi.nu/en/6cases; 11. Topic: Technology, Ethics, and Education Reading: Selection from Shoshona Zuboff’s The Age of Surveillance Capitalism “Home or Exile in the Digital Future,” pp. 4-27. Suggested Readings [Viewing/Listening]: “The Case Against the AI Job Apocalypse,” Plain English Podcast (51 mins.) with guest Alex Imas, University of Chicago Economist, “The Social Dilemma” (to watch sections with Zuboff). Activity: Students research and assess the impact of a technology developed through university research (instructors may need to provide a list of such technologies for students to choose from). Campus Resources modules in this quarter include: Career Services and Financial Aid Suggested Topics: Career Exploration and Professional Identity, Internships and Experiential Learning, Building Professional Relationships and Requesting References, Financing a University Education and Understanding Financial Aid Suggested Activity (choose at least one): ● Students draft a posting for a “dream” internship and then find the closest
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available opportunity in Handshake or another database. Students create or update a Handshake profile. Students register for a Career Center event. Students complete a Forage virtual job simulation. Discussion of how to develop relationships with faculty who may serve as references; how and when to request a letter of recommendation. Review key financial-aid terms, requirements, and resources. Students will submit a brief reflection of their experiences.
12. Instructor Discretion. The instructor identifies topics to delve into in more detail for this quarter. The topics do not need to appear in this order, as long as they are all completed by the end of week 12. Quarter IV: Participate in an intellectual community 13. Topic: The Construction of Communities Reading: “The Anti-Social Century” (21 pages) and possible viewing of Join or Die (93 mins.; 2023 documentary film) based on Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone. Activity: Group bowling field trip 14. Topic: Hofstra Communities Reading: Read Hofstra’s mission statement with an eye to understanding community standards, Title IX or other legislation, explore history of Nassau County/Long Island. Activity: Go to a Hofstra Athletics event (any game, intramural, etc) Suggested Activity: Students (or the instructor) profile a prominent Hofstra alum (such as Norm Coleman, Paul Hearne, Francis Ford Coppola, Gregory Hlibok, Joe Morton, Thomas Suozzi, Ken Singleton, Connie Panzarino, June Kailes, Lainie Kazan, Madeline Kahn, Joe Morton, Siela A. Bynoe, Nathalia Fernandez, Michaelle C. Solages, Marques Colston), considering how the individual’s Hofstra experiences contributed to their later work or accomplishments. 15. Topic: The arts as community building Reading: Something suggested by creative writing, dance, art history/art, music Activity: Attend a musical, dance, drama, or artistic performance at Hofstra - go to Museum exhibition
● Additional Possible Activity: Activity: Drawing upon the following lists, students (individually or in groups) select a feature film or documentary about higher education. https://www.imdb.com/list/ls053241726/ https://www.imdb.com/list/ls031657674/ 400 Films about Higher Education (or at Least Set on Campuses): 101150 | ACADEME BLOG https://universitybusiness.com/new-higher-ed-movies/ https://www.imdb.com/list/ls089896262/ In a presentation or essay, students analyze how their selected film addresses or obscures concepts regarding higher education developed in the seminar. Faculty might choose to further curate the list of films; they might also choose to develop an inventory of higher ed concepts for students to draw upon in their analyses. Campus Resources modules in this quarter include: Student Government Association and Commuter Services Suggested Readings: An article on how participation in student clubs and organizations promotes connection, belonging, and exposure to new people and perspectives, such as “The benefits of joining university clubs and societies”. Suggested Activity: Students identify three things they hope to gain from participating in the Hofstra community. In small groups, they compare their responses and consider what opportunities may be missing from the current campus experience. Building on that discussion, the groups prepare an application for SGA recognition and funding for a new student club at Hofstra. In in-class presentations, groups “pitch” their new student club to other students in their section. 16. Instructor Discretion. The instructor identifies topics to delve into in more detail for this quarter. The topics do not need to appear in this order, as long as they are all completed by the end of week 16.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING Participation In-class writing prompts Exploration (field-trip) paper Oral presentation Response to Events/Co-curricular Midterm on course readings/events/guests Final Exam GRADING SCALE 90-100 = A 80-86 = B 70-76 = C 60-66 = D
15% 10% 10% 15% 10% 20% 20%
87-89 = B+ 77-79 = C+ 67-69 = D+ Below 60 = F
This is a draft document; the nature of assignments, final, grading specifics, etc is something that the GETF is still working.