FIRST-YEAR CONNECTIONS First-Year Seminars Spring 2027
First-Year Seminars, Spring 2027 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. Seminar course descriptions begin on page 2 of this document. Note: As long as you started taking classes at Hofstra in the Fall 2026 or Spring 2027 semesters, you are eligible to register for a spring 2027 first-year seminar, even if you will reach sophomore class standing (30 or more credits) upon completion of the fall 2026 semester. 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 Navigate 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
AFST 14S, 01: (CC) The Influence of American Civil Rights on Global Liberation Protest Movements M,W 2:40 pm-4:05 pm, Jonathan Lightfoot, CRN 23322 The American Civil Rights Movement (1950s–1960s) influenced global liberation and anticolonial protests by modeling nonviolent resistance and highlighting racial equality. It impacted movements in Northern Ireland, South Africa, Australia, Ghana, Algeria, the Caribbean, and many Asian nations undergoing decolonization. This course will explore the critical connection between activism, social protest movements and social change from post-World War II to now. Through various readings, films and Socratic debate and dialogue, students will establish a historical context and gain a contemporary appreciation for the pedagogy of the oppressed. An introduction to praxis methodology, which seeks to connect theory with practice in ways that uses self-reflection to empower individuals to make greater contributions to the larger group struggle for change. We connect the struggle for women’s rights, the disabled, LGBTQ, and environmental justice as part of a larger fight for global civil and human rights. Employing a constructivist design helps cultivate intellectual curiosity, develops critical thinking skills, and
builds meaningful collaborations through written, oral and artistic communication and expression. CLL 14S, 01: (LT) Demons, Devils, Self-Destruction T,R 1:00 pm-2:25 pm, John Krapp, CRN 21479 Human beings are complicated. Capable of profound kindness, compassion, and generosity, humans cooperate to transform the environment in ways that make their lives easier, more satisfying, and fulfilling, both personally and collectively. They also consistently do stunning harm to themselves, to others, and to the world around them. Why? Is there something wrong with us? Is this the natural condition of who we are as human beings? For as long as there has been literature, literature has endeavored to understand and to explain these contradictory impulses in us. In this course, we read a variety of literary texts that look at our most inexplicable behavior and account for it as the result of the work of evil spirits, of the failure of moral and academic education, and of who we are as human beings. As we discuss the implications of all of these possibilities, we look particularly at the risks and rewards of religious faith in explaining, and overcoming, the harm that humans bring to the world. Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Humanities category.
CRM 14S 01: (BH) Health & Safety in Incarceration T,R 1:00 pm -2:35 pm, Lior Gideon, CRN 23394 As a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic, increased interest in public health has led many students and scholars to examine the nexus between public health and other disciplines. This course will examine the potential public health consequences of mass incarceration and its effects on specific communities. Through exploration of public health, sociology and theories of prison and punishment, students will examine and discuss articles and research on the nexus between health and incarceration. Students will be exposed to principles of scientific research and learn how to critically evaluate write-ups of research. Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Social Sciences category.
HIST 14S 01: (HP) Displaying the Past: History, Memory, and the Public T,R 2:40 pm-4:05 pm, James Levy, CRN 23442
This course will introduce you to the world of museums, public exhibitions, multi-media community events, online galleries and many other forms of engaging with public audiences when working with the past and the stories we tell about it. These various practices are broadly termed “public history,” a field which includes a large and growing body of practitioners and professionals: historical filmmakers, museum curators and docents, architectural historians, librarians and archivists, local, state and national park guides and interpreters, and wide-ranging artists interested in history and storytelling. Over the course of the semester we will grapple with fascinating theories about this field and those professions ranging from contemplations of memory and how the public interacts with history to theories regarding the politics of public monuments and art. You will also be introduced to methods in public history practice including oral history, historical digital mapping, curating shows in museums, community archiving and more.
LACS 14S 01: (CC, IS) Salsa! The Story of Latin Music in New York M,W 9:40 am-11:05 am, Alfonso Jose Garcia-Osuna, CRN 23364 This course offers a sound-and-rhythm-forward history of salsa in New York City, tracing its roots, its heyday, and its enduring legacy. Students will engage directly with the music itself as the primary historical text. No prior knowledge of music theory is required. The course is taught by Dr. Alfonso J. García-Osuna, who has spent many years as a big-band leader in the New York City Latin music scene. Drawing from both scholarly and lived musical experience, the class emphasizes listening, interpretation, and cultural context. From the earliest Latin musicians arriving in New York to the explosive salsa boom of the 1970s, and finally to the genre’s continued vitality today, students will learn how salsa became one of the defining musical languages of the city. The course will be further enriched by a series of live, on-campus performances featuring professional musicians from New York. Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Humanities category.
PSC 14S01: (BH) Law, Politics, and Society M,W 9:10 am-11:05 am, Celeste Kaufman, CRN 22197 Every year, tens of thousands of young people enter law school and begin the study of legal rules. Most do so because they see the legal profession as a noble calling, and they enter it with a desire to promote justice. In their three years of full-time study of the law, however, these future lawyers spend little time thinking critically about legal rules and about the place of the lawyer in a just society. In this course we explore how our legal rules and constitutional norms have developed; how the American legal system interacts with the rest of our political institutions; how the American legal system reflects the cultural norms, class distinctions, and
idiosyncrasies of our society; and how legal rules and the role of the lawyer relate to larger ideals of a just society. Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Social Sciences category.
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