First-Year Connections
Spring Seminars 2021
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First-Year Seminars, Spring 2021 First-year seminars are small classes – limited to 19 students – that fulfill general education (distribution) requirements. Many of the seminars involve activities in New York City. Seminars are an excellent way to connect with peers and faculty in a relaxed and friendly setting. Note: As long as you started taking classes at Hofstra in the fall 2020 semester, you are eligible to register for a spring 2021 first-year seminar, even if you will reach sophomore class standing (30 or more credits) upon completion of the fall 2020 semester. To prepare for spring 2021 registration, you must complete the Blackboard tutorial “ Pathway to PRIDE Fall 2020” and attend a group advising session to receive an alternate PIN. Check your Hofstra email for more information. First-year students with an alternate PIN may register for a spring 2021 first-year seminar or any other course on or after Sunday, October 25, 2020, at 10 p.m. If you have questions about this process, please contact your advising dean. You can find your advising dean’s name on the Hofstra portal in several locations: • Log in to my.hofstra.edu. • Go to Menu, click on Student Services, then click on Your Success Team. • Select the Student Success Connect icon on the homepage to view Your Success Team on the bottom right of the home screen. • Click on the Degree Works icon to view your degree audit. Your advising dean’s name will appear at the top of the audit. You can also contact the Center for University Advising (CUA) and ask, “ Who is my advising dean?” Please email or call the CUA office for any assistance you may need. The CUA Office is located in Center for University Advising Room 101 Memorial Hall, South Campus. 516-463-6770 mailto:advising@hofstra.edu
ART HISTORY
1. AH 14S, sec. 1: NYC Art & Architecture: from Colonial to Contemporary (AA), 3 s.h. M/W, 11:20 a.m.-12:45 p.m., Susan Schafer CRN 23852
This course provides a window onto New York City as built by its architects and depicted by its artists. Our journey will take us from Dutch and English colonial beginnings, to the American Revolution, to forming the metropolis in the 19th century, through the Gilded Age and 20th century urban realism, and finally, to early 21st century architecture developments and artistic representations of the city. It will include a field trip to the New York Historical Society. Please note: Course delivery method is Online Synchronous. This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Humanities category. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––————————————————————————––—— ASTRONOMY
2. ASTR 14S, sec. QR and QRL: Cosmic Explosions: The Cataclysmic Lives of Stars and Galaxies (NS), 3 s.h. T/TH, 2:40-4:35 p.m., Christina Lacey CRNs 21315 and 21316
In this survey of the Universe, we will journey through the Universe and investigate how stars and galaxies form and how they evolve. We will start our investigations with our Sun and its fate and continue outward to study stars, galaxies, black holes, and the Big Bang. We will explore the explosive phenomena associated with these astronomical objects and events as we journey through the farthest reaches of the known Universe. Students are required to attend several evening telescope observing sessions during the semester at the Hofstra Observatory Please note: Course delivery method is A/B: ½ Face to Face Attendance. This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Natural Sciences and Quantitative Reasoning categories. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––————————————————————————–——— DRAMA
3. DRAM 14S, sec. 1: Improv for Everyone (AA, CP), 3 s.h. M/W, 11:20 a.m.-12:45 p.m., Christopher Dippel CRN 21237
Trust, teamwork, honesty, communication, risk: These are the foundations of improvisation, and these are useful in every career. This course employs theater games and performance exercises to help students learn to think on their feet, work collaboratively, communicate effectively, and trust their own creativity and ideas. Students attend performances of various types of improvisation. Please note: Course delivery method is In Person. This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Humanities category. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––————————————————————————––—— FINE ARTS
4. FA 14S, sec. 1: Off the Wall Painting (CP), 3 s.h. M/W, 2:40-4:05 p.m., James Lee CRN 23853
This experimental painting course combines aspects of painting and sculpture to produce hybrid artworks that are mounted on the wall. Cave paintings, among the earliest surviving works of art, incorporated the natural irregularities of the walls with two-dimensional images. Throughout art history, painting has extended into the third
dimension in a great variety of applications, including the traditions of mosaic and the modern invention of collage. Students learn formal aspects of painting such as color, shape, and composition, while being encouraged to experiment with new materials, paints, and adhesives. Prior experience with painting and sculpture is not expected. Please note: Course delivery method is In Person. This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Humanities category. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––————————————————————————––—— HISTORY
5. HIST 14S, sec. 1: The Contradictions of Italian American History (HP), 4 s.h. M/W, 2:40-4:35 p.m., Sanislao Pugliese CRN 21488
According to FBI statistics, Italian Americans are among the most law-abiding ethnic minorities in America. Why is it, then, that for almost a century, they have often been depicted in mass media and popular culture as gangsters? This course seeks to examine the historical, cultural, and sociological roots and evolution of potentially harmful stereotypes: the gangster and the greaser hoodlum; the anarchist and the Latin Lover; the Guido and the Bimbo. Examination of historical and cultural interactions with African Americans, Irish Americans and Jewish Americans. Using readings from history, literature, memoirs, as well as film screenings followed by class discussion and debate, we seek to unravel the cultural contradictions of Italian Americans and American history. Class visit of the Tenement Museum in Manhattan. Please note: Course delivery method is Hybrid. This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Social Sciences category.
6. HIST 14S, sec. 2: Paris, City of Light (HP), 4. s.h. T/TH, 2:40-4:35 p.m., Sally Charnow CRN 21489
This seminar has been canceled. A good alternative is HIST 20 (not a first-year seminar), which meets at the same time with the same instructor. Visit course look-up for course description and CRN.
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7. PHIL 14S, sec. 1: The Meaning of Life (HP), 4 s.h. M/W, 9:10-11:05 a.m., Mark McEvoy CRN 21499
For us to have a chance of finding the meaning of life, human life must have meaning or the lives of individual human beings must have meaning. But perhaps these claims aren’t true, or don’t even make sense. Further, if claims about life having meaning aren’t true, or don’t even make sense, would that horrify or at least disappoint you? If so, does that reaction itself show that life has some kind of meaning after all? We pursue these questions through class discussions and readings.
Please note: Course delivery method is a combination of in-person and online synchronous instruction; students will occasionally meet with the instructor in small groups outside of the regular class meetings, as their schedules allow. This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Social Sciences category.
8. PHIL 14S, sec. 2: Ignorance, Lies, Truth (HP), 4 s.h. T/TH, 2:40-4:35 p.m., Terry Godlove CRN 23824
We want to be told the truth, don’t we? Why, then, are we surrounded by so many lies, falsehoods, and nonsense? The question at the heart of this course is, “What is truth?” Truth is sometimes said to be the aim of inquiry, a criterion of knowledge, and the paramount relation between thought or language and the world, but we will see that each of these suggestions runs into problems. The truth about truth turns out to be a deep philosophical enigma. Readings are from contemporary and classical sources. Please note: Course delivery method is a combination of in-person and online synchronous instruction; students will occasionally meet with the instructor in small groups outside of the regular class meetings, as their schedules allow. This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Social Sciences category. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––————————————————————————––—— PSYCHOLOGY
9. PSY 14S, sec. 1: CSI: Psychology (BH), 3 s.h. M/W/F, 10:10-11:05 a.m., Robin Flaton CRN 21883
In several recent high-profile cases, jury decisions have left people stunned and angry. What were those jurors thinking? How could a reasonable person have come to that decision? In this course, we seek to make sense of these issues. Our focus is not on what jurors might be thinking, but on how jurors might be thinking – about the evidence they are presented, about the witnesses, the accused, the lawyers involved, and about each other. Can psychological research increase the likelihood of a “just” outcome in the courtroom? To answer this question, we examine several areas, including the validity of eyewitness identifications; the effect of institutional racism within the criminal justice system; the efficacy of psychological jury selection; and some cognitive and social dynamics of jury deliberation. Please note: Course delivery method is In Person. This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Social Sciences category. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––————————————————————————––—— RELIGION
10. RELI 14S, sec. 1: Avatar - The Last Airbender, Modern Day Myth? (CC, HP), 3 s.h. T/TH, 1-2:25 p.m., Sophie Hawkins CRN 23807
In this course we will return to Avatar: The Last Airbender, a show that many students will be familiar with from their childhood. In watching episodes together in class, we will actively identify and chart the concepts borrowed from indigenous and East and South Asian religious traditions. This will inevitably include a study of animism, interdependence, reincarnation and the intersection of religion and martial arts. Please note: Course delivery method is In Person. This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in either the Cross-Cultural or Social Sciences category.
Last updated 9/21/2020