Feeling curious and ready for an adventure, but not sure you want to spend multiple semesters on any one topic? Enroll in a one-semester First-Year Seminar!
First-Year Seminars are small, interactive, discussion-based courses that offer students a unique opportunity to delve deeply into focused subject matter. Seminar courses are hosted by a range of departments and immerse you in the methods and topics of that discipline. First-Year Seminars are limited only to first-year students, so you’ll get the opportunity to build community with other first-years and develop meaningful, lasting relationships with faculty and peers.
Offerings for 2026-2027
Fall 2026
A Star Is Born: Literature And Celebrity
It's easy to imagine literature as a hermetically-sealed art form, functioning outside, above, or beyond the petty, gossipy flows of popular culture. But the culture of celebrity has long been both a subject and spark for literary writers. This course tracks the long, intertwined history of fame and literary production from the eighteenth century to the present, Lord Byron to Kim Kardashian. We'll read novels and poems about celebrity, learn about literary celebrities both immortal and forgotten, and study the ways in which the emergence of various media (from print to photography to film and television and social media) have forced literary writers to reckon with the type of visibility that fame bestows on the famous.
African Experiences in the Second World War
Most conventional histories of the Second World War pay scant attention to Africa, thereby creating the misconception that the war had little impact on the peoples of the African continent. This introductory seminar restores the experiences of ordinary African women and men to the larger historical narratives of both Africa and World War II.
Arab Cinema
This course offers a critical and chronological exploration of Arab cinema(s), examining the diverse films and filmmaking traditions of Southwest Asia and North Africa. Moving beyond a simple geographical or linguistic label, we will critically engage with the very concept of "Arab Cinema" as a fluid category shaped by shared cultural and political histories. We will analyze the evolution of filmmaking from the silent era to the present, studying key genres, including early melodramas and musicals, influential social realism, and the rise of contemporary commercial and independent cinema. Through this journey, we will encounter the work of major filmmakers and explore how cinematic movements and genres reflect and respond to the region's most pressing intellectual and political questions.
Art in the Golden Age of Venice
The art and architecture of Venice are inextricably linked to the city's distinct socio-political structure, cultural past and geography. Exploring the influence of the Myth of Venice, we will examine the styles of painting, sculpture and architecture that were specific to Venice—and very different from contemporaneous developments in Rome or Florence. We will also study the unique physical characteristics of Venice, its economy and society, its political and religious life and cultural culture. We'll also learn about its food and music while we study the magnificent works of its most celebrated artists, Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese, to name a few.
Beethoven and van Gogh: Myths of Creativity, Genius and Madness
This course draws into dialogue the creative ambitions, artistic production, critical reception and the historical construction of personae and oeuvres of two exceptionally productive and iconic artists who worked in different media: Ludwig von Beethoven (1770-1827) in music and Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) in painting. We will introduce students to methods of musical and art historical analysis, and then build on those skills to examine the historical contexts within which these artists worked, as well as the ways in which their reputations were established. This course will also consider how Beethoven and Van Gogh became exemplars of creativity and genius for later audiences and artists, leading us to explore fundamental and provocative questions in the humanities.
Chinatown: Migration, Identity, and Space
“Chinatown” is more than a neighborhood—it is a cultural symbol that tells stories about migration, community, and identity around the world. In this seminar, we will explore Chinatowns in the United States as well as in other countries through the lens of lived experiences, examining how Chinatown communities have transformed over time. In many cases, we will see how early immigrant neighborhoods evolved into vibrant spaces of business, food, and cultural expression. Students will learn how Chinatowns reflect the history of global Chinese migration, the politics of race and belonging, and the ways in which identity is expressed and negotiated across generations. We will also examine how diasporic Chinese communities adapt, reinvent, or celebrate culture, from small family-run restaurants to suburban communities, and from local markets to transnational franchises.
College, Inequality, and Society
Universities are experiencing significant change and are the focus of intense debates. Some see college as an important equalizer that helps students reach their full potential and live more rewarding lives. Others see colleges as reinforcing inequalities and favoring students who are already privileged. Meanwhile, significant changes are underway include rising costs, greater competition, growing diversity, new technologies, and calls for greater accountability and oversight. We will read and reflect broadly on college and how higher education is changing ,and we will conduct sociological research on three major themes.
Contextualizing Contemporary Africa
Africa is often depicted as a continent in perpetual turmoil in both the U.S. and international media. This seminar challenges this simplistic and pervasive myth by examining African community-driven innovations in a diverse range of fields, including technology, entrepreneurship, environmental conservation, the creative arts, and youth leadership. African agency will be demonstrated through case studies of grassroots technologies, financially inclusive mobile banking, the Green Belt Movement, which won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, Gen-Z and youth-led movements in Africa, artists as social change agents, and other comparable examples. Students will investigate how these initiatives developed within particular historical, social, and global contexts in each of these case studies. We will look into the effects of inequality in different contexts, including between the global north and south, within Africa, and between generations and genders, and how these disparities influence each case.
Detective Fiction From Poe To Doyle
Reading courses, each limited to 15 students. Topics: selected writers, varieties of approaches to literature, e.g., Southern fiction, the modern American short story, the mystery.
Environmental Justice and Public Health
Environmental justice has become a pervasive conversation topic as the effects of climate change become more and more prominent in daily life. Yet environmental justice has a longer history, one that is closely related to the global health developments. In this course, we will explore what environmental justice means, how it functions as a form of public health and health activism more broadly, and why the future of public health so heavily depends on it. Through these questions, students will further learn about how issues of environment and health are deeply intertwined with social, racial, and gendered inequities.
Exploring East Asian Classics
This seminar introduces students to major works of the Chinese, Korean, and Japanese traditions. Although written centuries in the past, these texts still reverberate with meaning today and offer important means to understand the often chaotic and confusing events occurring daily around us. What is the self? What is the relationship between the individual and society? How do we live an ethical life? What is literature and for whom is it intended? In grappling with these questions, students will directly engage with the texts through close reading and in-class discussion. Students will, at the same time, also ask broader questions that concern how knowledge is produced, spread, and consumed: what is a canon? Who are the gatekeepers? What does it mean to approach East Asia through a set of "canonical" texts?
First-Year Literature Seminar
Reading courses, each limited to 15 students. Topics: selected writers, varieties of approaches to literature, e.g., Southern fiction, the modern American short story, the mystery.
History of U.S. Foreign Relations
This course presents a historical assessment of U.S foreign relations from the founding of the country in 1776 through the War on Terror in the twenty-first century. Starting with the bold claim that foreign policy has played a central role in shaping American history, the course traces America’s evolution from a small colony to the world’s only hyperpower through sustained foreign policy to keep European powers at bay and then out of the Western Hemisphere, followed by continental expansion and outward expansion to reach the farthest corners of the globe.
Horror Across Media
In spite of—and because of—its propensity for terrifying readers and viewers, horror has proven to be one of the most resilient and popular genres across all forms of media. Why are audiences attracted to a genre that causes fear, revulsion, and distress? This course will consider the cultural, philosophical, and generic dimensions of horror and explore how it operates across an array of media platforms: film, literature, television, comics, and video games. We will read two literary masters of the genre, H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King, and we will screen some of the most successful horror films of the last 50 years. We will also study horror through a variety of critical frameworks, including gender, stardom, special effects, transnationality, adaptation, transmedia storytelling, and interactivity.
Imagining and Creating Africa: Youth, Culture, and Change
The goal of this course is to provide a glimpse into how youth reshape African society. Whether in North Africa with the Arab Spring, in West Africa with university strikes, or in East Africa through a linguistic full bloom, youth have been shaping social responses to societies for a long period. In this course, we will study social structures, including churches, NGOs, developmental agencies as well as learn about examples of Muslim youth movements, and the global civil society. The course will also explore how youth impact cultural movements in Africa and how they influence the world. In particular, we will examine Hip-Hop movements, sports, and global youth culture developments that center on fashion, dress, dance, and new technologies.
Introduction to Environmental Humanities
In this environmental humanities course we will explore the human and ecosystem impacts resulting from Euro- American colonization and agricultural settlement of the U.S. Our reflection will include the social, political and economic factors which shape individual relationships with and experiences of nature in Indigenous, enslaved and newly-arrived immigrant communities. Topics will include: the fragmentation of the Sioux American Indian ecosystem and subsequently the dispersion of Sioux people into settled, disparate reservation lands; agrarian democracy, including plantation agriculture, improvement farming and Homestead farming on the Great Plains; and the Dust Bowl.
Introduction to Problem-Based Learning in Biology
In this course, students engage in inquiry-based learning while exploring cutting edge science through guided discussions and collaborations. Working in small groups of 8 to 10 students, students will investigate topics of biological and biomedical importance using research articles from scientific literature. Topics covered may include neurological disorders, infectious diseases, gene editing, cancer biology, and stem cell therapies. Learning to interpret and present research articles is emphasized.
Literature of Addiction
Reading courses, each limited to 15 students. Topics: selected writers, varieties of approaches to literature, e.g., Southern fiction, the modern American short story, the mystery.
Mapping the World: Introduction to Human Geography
What is human geography and why is it important? This course addresses this question by introducing students to the fundamentals of the discipline of geography. A geographic perspective emphasizes the spatial aspects of a variety of human and natural phenomena. This course first provides a broad understanding of the major concepts of human geography, including place, space, scale and landscape. It then utilizes these concepts to explore the distribution, diffusion and interaction of social and cultural processes across local, regional, national and global scales. Topics include language, religion, migration, population, natural resources, economic development, agriculture, and urbanization.
Medieval and Renaissance Venice
This course will introduce students to the unique culture and artistic achievements of the Venetian republic from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance. After establishing the governmental, social, and religious foundations of the republic and the economic basis of its fabulous wealth, we will look at the expression of its religious and historical identity in architecture, painting and sculpture, its response to the humanistic movement, its literature, the role of music in society and in the church, and the unique role of Carnival in Venetian life.
Metacognating Mario—Learning and Video Games
Although we often associate education with school-based activity, human beings learn in multiple environments beyond the formal classroom. Video games, while often dismissed as frivolous entertainment, provide one such example of a significant experiential learning context: individual players develop skills in the pursuit of goals, collaborate with each other to advance their theorizing about the game's mechanics, and display deep engagement and persistence in the face of frustration despite a lack of extrinsic rewards. Throughout the course, readings and activities will promote the rigorous critical analysis of both games and theories of learning.
Modern Political Thought: Text & Traditions
What is power? Why are societies divided along lines of race, class, and gender? When did politics become split between the right and the left? Can religion be reconciled with the demands of modern life? Can democracy? These are some of the questions that will be addressed in this survey of modern political thought. Thinkers covered will include Thomas Hobbes, Immanuel Kant, Karl Marx, WEB Du Bois, Hannah Arendt, and Michel Foucault.
Monumental Anti-Racism
As sources of national memory and identity, public monuments, place names, historical markers, and other elements of commemorative landscapes are potential sites of cultural violence (e.g., alienation, disrespect, and erasure) contributing to broader conflict and inequality; they are therefore important considerations in movements for equal opportunity and justice. Some contend that memory sites are the new lunch counters, where our racial politics are worked out. This course examines the racial politics of commemorative objects and practices as well as commemorative intervention as a strategy of anti-racist activism. Through our study and engagement with contested commemorative landscapes (including local, national, and global cases), students will become familiar with the burgeoning interdisciplinary field of memory studies, diverse forms and sites of commemoration, local and global efforts to advance what has been termed commemorative justice, and the challenges being faced.
Remixed, Remade, Reimagined: The Art of Film Adaptation
Adaptation is one of the most dynamic processes in storytelling, transforming literature into new visual, cultural, and narrative forms. This course examines adaptation as both a creative and critical practice, with a focus on the relationship between literature and film. Through an exploration of key theoretical frameworks—including fidelity discourse, intertextuality, and transmedia storytelling—students will analyze how texts evolve across different media, genres, and historical contexts.
Republic or Empire? Recreating Roman Politics of the Second Triumvirate
The complex legacy of ancient Rome endures to this day, continuing to provide often controversial models for contemporary political systems ranging from democracies to autocracies. This seminar explores the political, military, and social changes experienced during Rome’s transition from republic to principate(empire) during the second half of the first century BCE. The first third of the course will introduce students to the necessary historical background for this tumultuous period and to relevant topics in Roman political and social life. After this introduction, students will engage directly with the Second Triumviral period through a roleplay game (Memento Romane Regere) designed to simulate the decisions faced by individual Romans and important Roman allies during this period.
Saving Environments
Saving Environments examines how the historical, political, and cultural forces that have shaped people and environments across the Francophone world. From colonial extractivism to contemporary climate activism, the course analyzes how power, development, and resistance determine who is harmed, who benefits, and who is allowed to speak about environmental crises. Through case studies from West Africa, the Caribbean, Québec, and the Indian Ocean, students explore the entanglements between ecology, identity, aid, and sovereignty.
Superhero Media
This course will examine the superhero as American myth and media industry commodity. We will consider historical, cultural, and industrial aspects of the superhero genre across comic books, films, television series, and video games. Focusing on multiple media allows us to examine an array of medium-specific and cross-media issues (e.g., how criticism of superhero films as not cinema reflects a legacy of comics being perceived as juvenile). Our study will encompass a number of critical frameworks, including myth, adaptation, gender, race, and transmedia storytelling. Each course unit will focus on how different media have presented one or more superhero franchises (e.g., Superman, Batman, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Watchmen).
The Interactive: Games We Play, Stories We Tell
Humanity plays. Humanity tells stories. What happens when the two collide? In mainstream culture, you might encounter this in the codified forms of video games, or the grand narratives around competitive sports. But writers, artists, and creators of all kinds have imagined modes of being and doing that ask their audiences to act upon the world—and each other—in new ways. In this course, we will explore the ways meaning and drama surround the act of play, and what happens when the “story” is not set in stone when it starts. Students will survey a range of interactive storytelling forms, including but not limited to: theme park attractions and escape rooms, experimental literature and theatre, media art and relational aesthetics, role-playing, hypertext fiction, “alternate reality games,” and gamification, along with new ways of looking at more traditional games and sports. Classes will feature reading and media discussions alongside play sessions and creative workshops.
The Linguistics of Constructed Languages
What's "wrong" with English, or French, or Chinese, or any one of the 6,000+ languages spoken natively by humans today? Why invent a language like Esperanto to be a common tongue among all people, or invent a "calculus of thought" to "perfectly" express pure meaning? Why is it hard to sound romantic while speaking Klingon? What are the benefits of Lojban's attempt to rid the world of confusion and ambiguity? This course explores the design of and motivation for constructed languages from a modern linguistic point of view. Constructed languages are those that are the result of some conscious and deliberate design rather than ones occurring naturally. We will explore the different motivations for language construction. In characterizing the different types of invented languages, students will develop familiarity with the basic tools of linguistic theory, focusing on phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics.
The Literary Life
This class approaches literature from many angles: the creative to the scholarly, the personal to the ethical, the edifying to the entertaining. At the heart of our study will be a survey of literary values such as invention, emotion, style, subversion, beauty, humor-those fundamental reasons readers come to literature in the first place. Through readings and discussion, we will consider the great variety of ways literature expresses these values, and will explore them ourselves via creative assignments. Along the way, we will learn about literary life today through discussions with nationally renowned writers who will visit the class, and through units on literary scholarship, book reviewing, and magazine and book publishing. In the midst of it all, you will write and workshop your own stories, poems, and non-fiction works.
Who Deserves to be at WashU? Meritocracy and Inequality in Schools and Society
In this seminar, we will use academic texts, mainstream media pieces, and the Netflix show 3% to dig deep on components of merit, like intelligence, possession of cultural capital, and performance on particular types of assessments, all in service of answering one question: who deserves to be at WashU (and similarly elite institutions and spaces)? Situating our constructions of merit in historical, cultural, and social context, we will assess our understandings of what merit is and reflect on how our understanding of merit affects how we understand the world and our place in it. This class will require students to be brave, imaginative, introspective, and willing to work through discomfort as we, individually and collectively, arrive at a deeper understanding of what merit is, what it could mean, and if we can build a truly just society around it.