Our Seminars

All students in the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences (KSAS) must complete one First-Year Seminar (FYS) in their fall semester of their first year. Students work with their academic advisor in the summer to register.

The Whiting School of Engineering and Peabody do not currently require FYS. However, WSE is offering a number of optional First-Year Seminars to engineering students listed in SIS under the department “EN First Year Seminars.”

How to Choose

  • Try thinking in questions, not departments. FYS cut across subjects, so many of them reach beyond–or even ignore–traditional academic categories. The spirit of FYS is intellectual exploration — as the seminars themselves suggest.
  • Hunt for field trips, excursions, and other unique opportunities. Want to handle rare books, contribute to a research database, present at a conference, or see Hamilton? Here’s your chance!
  • Know that our FYS faculty hail from almost every department, program, and division of the university! You’ll want to prepare a list of five to ten (5-10) First-Year Seminars that spark your intellectual curiosity and will be offered at a time you can attend.

Fall 2023 Seminar Schedule

Course # (Section) Title Day/Times Instructor Room Course Details
AS.001.100 (01)FYS: What is the Common Good?T 1:30PM - 4:00PMWatters, AlizaGilman 134
AS.001.104 (01)FYS: The Science of ColorMW 4:30PM - 5:45PMYoung, JamieGreenhouse 113
AS.001.105 (01)FYS: The Science Behind the FictionMW 12:00PM - 1:15PMMcQueen, TyrelBloomberg 259
AS.001.109 (01)FYS: Why'd Your Brain Sign You up for This?MW 10:30AM - 11:45AMTrageser, JasonGilman 134
AS.001.110 (01)FYS: How We ReadTTh 12:00PM - 1:15PMBarry, Kelly LBLC 4040
AS.001.111 (01)FYS: What's Music Do?TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PMFoster, Daniel HarmonKrieger Laverty
AS.001.115 (01)FYS: Illusions, Delusions, and Other ConfusionsT 1:30PM - 4:00PMEgeth, Howard EKrieger 308
AS.001.117 (01)FYS: Composer Biographies in FilmMW 4:30PM - 5:45PMAhn, SuhnneGilman 134
AS.001.119 (01)FYS: The Nature of NatureT 1:30PM - 4:00PMGarcia-Moreno, BertrandJenkins 107
AS.001.120 (01)FYS: U.S. History of the PresentTTh 4:30PM - 5:45PMBrann, Allon YagodaBLC 4040
AS.001.132 (01)FYS: Exploring Economic InequalityW 9:00AM - 11:30AMMorgan, Barbara AnneGreenhouse 113
AS.001.133 (01)FYS: Hot Topics in EducationTTh 10:30AM - 11:45AMBurdick-Will, Julia BurdickGilman 134
AS.001.135 (01)FYS: Free Speech and Its LimitsMW 1:30PM - 2:45PMKatz, Richard StephenGilman 134
AS.001.136 (01)FYS: Cults, Communes, and ConspiraciesT 3:00PM - 5:30PMMorgan, Stephen LKrieger Laverty
AS.001.141 (01)FYS: The Art of MathematicsMW 12:00PM - 1:15PMBrown, RichardGilman 134
AS.001.143 (01)FYS: Poets, Physicists, Philosophers, and the Ultimate Nature of RealityTTh 12:00PM - 1:15PMEgginton, WilliamMergenthaler 431
AS.001.144 (01)FYS: Literary MultilingualismMW 3:00PM - 4:15PMHaubenreich, JacobGilman 134
AS.001.145 (01)FYS: The Haitian RevolutionTTh 4:30PM - 5:45PMKwass, MichaelGreenhouse 113
AS.001.149 (01)FYS: What Is Poverty? A View from Economics and the Social SciencesTTh 9:00AM - 10:15AMMoffitt, Robert AGilman 134
AS.001.152 (01)FYS: When Chemistry Changed HistoryM 1:30PM - 4:00PMHill, EricKrieger Laverty
AS.001.154 (01)FYS: Phage Hunters - Discovering novel bacteriophagesTh 1:30PM - 4:00PMFisher, Emily JUG Teaching Lab (UTL) G72
AS.001.155 (01)FYS: Is a Corporation a Person?T 10:30AM - 1:00PMO'Connor, Marisa TGreenhouse 113
AS.001.156 (01)FYS: Cognition, Language, and the SelfTTh 9:00AM - 10:15AMSchreck, Janet SimonGreenhouse 113
AS.001.158 (01)FYS: Love, Anger, Fear, and HopeTh 1:30PM - 4:00PMKoullas, Sandy GillianGreenhouse 113
AS.001.161 (01)FYS: Books, Authenticity, and TruthT 2:00PM - 4:30PMCelenza, ChrisBLC 2030
AS.001.162 (01)FYS: From Shakespeare to BaltimoreMW 10:30AM - 11:45AMStoll, Abraham DKrieger Laverty
AS.001.165 (01)FYS: Biology in Deep TimeTTh 10:30AM - 11:45AMBalanoff, Amy MKrieger Laverty
AS.001.166 (01)FYS: The Pleasures of the Imagination - British culture in the eighteenth centuryTh 9:00AM - 11:30AMMarshall, John WGilman 308
AS.001.167 (01)FYS: The Natural History of the Homewood CampusMW 3:00PM - 4:15PMSzlavecz, KatalinGilman 413
AS.001.168 (01)FYS: The Psychology of Mass Politics in the U.S.M 4:00PM - 6:30PMMason, Lily HallWyman Park N325F
AS.001.173 (01)FYS: Taking TV Seriously - Analysis and InterpretationTTh 1:30PM - 2:45PMJewiss, Virginia CMergenthaler 431
AS.001.174 (01)FYS: Women and Family in Chinese FilmT 3:00PM - 5:30PMStaffGilman 413
AS.001.176 (01)FYS: Microbe Hunters - Student-sourcing Antibiotic DiscoveryT 1:30PM - 4:00PMBroderick, NicholeUG Teaching Lab (UTL) G72
AS.001.179 (01)FYS: Race Before Race - Difference and Diversity in the Ancient MediterraneanMW 10:30AM - 11:45AMPandey, NandiniGilman 108
AS.001.181 (01)FYS: Introduction to Lives in Medicine - Exploring the Experience of Patients and PractitionersT 9:00AM - 11:30AMMostwin, Jacek LechJenkins 102
AS.001.182 (01)FYS: Seeing ThingsTh 1:30PM - 4:00PMPhillips, Ian BGilman 134
AS.001.184 (01)FYS: The Mathematics of Politics, Democracy, and Social ChoiceTTh 12:00PM - 1:15PMCutrone, Joseph WKrieger Laverty
AS.001.186 (01)FYS: TuberculosisMW 4:30PM - 5:45PMHorner, Robert DUG Teaching Lab (UTL) 189
AS.001.192 (01)How Not to be Afraid of PoetryT 3:00PM - 5:30PMAchinstein, Sharon 
AS.001.194 (01)FYS: The Arrow of TimeMW 9:00AM - 10:15AMCarroll, Sean MichaelBloomberg 259
AS.001.195 (01)FYS: Chemistry and Everyday LivingTh 10:30AM - 1:00PMD'Souza, Larissa NUG Teaching Lab (UTL) 186
AS.001.196 (01)FYS: Love and its Maladies: A Short HistoryT 4:15PM - 6:45PMEnder, EvelyneGilman 134
AS.001.197 (01)FYS: Doctors and Patients: A Few Case StudiesMW 10:30AM - 11:45AMEnder, EvelyneGilman 208
AS.001.198 (01)FYS: Secret ScienceMW 9:00AM - 10:15AMMcManus, Alison LGilman 134
AS.001.199 (01)FYS: Technology and GlobalizationT 1:30PM - 4:00PMMercelis, Joris Hans AngeleGilman 300
AS.001.200 (01)FYS: Great Adaptations in the Animal KingdomT 4:00PM - 6:30PMMoss, Cynthia; Russell, Arthur JAmes 217
AS.001.201 (01)FYS: The Four Great Cosmic Questions: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, Black Holes and the Origin of LifeTTh 9:00AM - 10:15AMNorman, ColinBloomberg 259
AS.001.202 (01)FYS: The Human Face of AddictionT 1:15PM - 3:45PMPickard, HannaGilman 288
AS.001.203 (01)FYS: Eataly: Constructing Identity through FoodMW 3:00PM - 4:15PMProietti, LeonardoGreenhouse 113
AS.001.204 (01)FYS: French Identities: Race, Gender, Religion, and Sexual Orientation in Contemporary FranceMW 1:30PM - 2:45PMRoos, SuzanneGilman 413
AS.001.205 (01)FYS: Games: History, Theory, and PracticeMW 10:30AM - 11:45AMRosenthal, Jesse KarlGilman 130D
AS.001.206 (01)FYS: Saints and Sinners in Premodern ChristianityM 10:30AM - 1:00PMRowe, ErinGreenhouse 113
AS.001.208 (01)FYS: Imagining WarTTh 9:00AM - 10:15AMStahl, NetaKrieger Laverty
AS.001.209 (01)FYS: Feminism and MediaTTh 12:00PM - 1:15PMWegenstein, BernadetteGilman 134
AS.001.210 (01)FYS: Democratic ErosionM 4:15PM - 6:45PMWarren, Scott LKrieger Laverty
AS.001.211 (01)FYS: Getting a LifeMW 10:00AM - 11:15AMVelleman, David DavidGilman 413
AS.001.212 (01)FYS: Democracy, Diversity and IdentityTh 1:30PM - 4:00PMMounk, Yascha BGilman 413
AS.001.213 (01)FYS: Explorations in Contemporary PoetryTh 10:30AM - 1:00PMArthur, James PGilman 138D
AS.001.214 (01)FYS: Doing Things With MapsW 3:00PM - 5:30PMPatton, ElizabethKrieger Laverty
AS.001.215 (01)FYS: Mosques, Museums, and the Mind’s Eye: Discovering Islamic Art in PersonW 1:30PM - 4:00PMRustem, UnverGilman 177
AS.001.216 (01)FYS: The Literature of FoodT 10:30AM - 1:00PMSnider, Bruce HGilman 138D
AS.001.217 (01)FYS: From Cell Phones to Hydrogen Cars: Are the Needed Metals Sustainable?MW 9:00AM - 10:15AMSverjensky, DimitriOlin 204
AS.001.218 (01)FYS: Means of Persuasion: Language, Culture, and SocietyTh 10:30AM - 1:00PMHaeri, NiloofarGreenhouse 113
AS.001.219 (01)FYS: Bridging Science and The Humanities at HopkinsCook-Gailloud, KristinGilman 479
EN.501.113 (01)FYS: Turing’s Shadow: Uncovering What’s Hidden in STEMTTh 3:45PM - 5:00PMFalk, Michael L; Woolway, D GenevieveMalone 128
EN.501.117 (01)FYS: Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation in ScienceMW 4:30PM - 5:45PMHilliard, Amanda DawnBloomberg 168
EN.501.121 (01)FYS: AnthroDesign for HealthcareTTh 9:00AM - 10:15AMMiranda Mendoza, ConstanzaShriver Hall 104
EN.501.122 (01)FYS: Juries to Journals: Elle Woods, Einstein, and the Meaning of EvidenceMW 4:30PM - 5:45PMShade, DaveAmes 218