FYS COURSE PROPOSAL FORM 2015-16
Please submit electronically to James Berg and Diane Burnham by February 6, 2015
Instructor’s Name(s)
Department Code
Course Number
Course Title
Semester Offered
Has this course been offered before? If
so, list the course number and semester
previously taught.
FYSE

Exact catalog copy of no more than 100 words describing goals of course, subjects covered, approach
to subject matter, sources to be used, etc. Include prerequisites, class meeting format, and the
instructor’s name

The Curriculum Committee suggests using serial commas, and to replace phrases such as “This
course will” with phrases, “In this course we will…”
To help students eventually become engaged, independent learners, First-Year Seminars address students’
growing proficiency in:
a) Following and contributing to in-class discussion; effectively leading a discussion; presenting work
orally.
b) Writing a coherent analytical essay using more than one source of information.
c) Finding, evaluating, synthesizing, and citing information from primary and secondary resources.
d) Selecting, and using effectively, technology appropriate to the communications task at hand.
1.
Please add some specific goals of your seminar to those of the seminar program listed above. What are the
learning goals for this seminar (you might include these on your syllabus)?
2.
3.
How will your seminar help students make the transition from high school to college thinkers
What 30-character (including spaces and punctuation) computer abbreviation do you want used for this
seminar (this title will appear on student transcripts)?
4. Does this seminar require a distribution tag? If so, select one from the following category:
LIT, ART, PHL, HIS, SCI, DED, SOC, LNG
5. Does this seminar require a Cultures/Civilizations tag? If so select one from the following category:
NOR, AAL, EUR, CMP

Please pick only one distribution tag and one culture/civilization tag that will most accurately reflect
the course content. The Curriculum Committee is more rigorous in their approval of distributions for
first year seminars as so much is covered in a seminar that there is not sufficient time to fully cover
several distributions.

Final approval of Distribution and Culture/Civilization credits rests with the Curriculum Committee.
6. Budget
Each FYSE has a course enrichment budget of $250. In addition, the program provides $100 for social
interactions with seminar students.
7. The program also supports a resource team for each seminar: a peer academic mentor to work with
students on writing, speaking, and project management skills, and an LIS liaison person for library
research and technology skills. Would you like a resource team assigned to your seminar?
8. How do you propose to assess the students in this seminar? (eg., papers, midterm exam, quizzes
etc.)
9. How will the teaching of writing be integrated into the content material of the seminar?
I. ACADEMIC CATEGORIES
1. Literature (LIT): Literature has been a central form of expression for many societies. Analysis and
appreciation of literary texts give students insight into the minds and lives of other human beings, both their own
cultural predecessors and people of different traditions, and into the process whereby human experience is
imaginatively transformed into art. By studying literature in English and in other languages, students also sharpen
their ability to express their own ideas with grace and precision.
2. The Arts (ART): The understanding of the history, theory, and practice of the arts is an integral part of a liberal
arts education. Courses in this category emphasize either the creative process through the making and performing
of works of art (ranging from paintings and sculpture to plays, dances, creative writing, film/video, and musical
compositions) or the place of such works of art within a particular historical, cultural, or aesthetic context
3. Philosophical and Religious Studies (PHL): Courses in this category examine philosophical systems and
religious traditions from a variety of viewpoints, including analytical, systematic, historical, sociological,
anthropological, and phenomenological perspectives. Some courses deal with specific philosophical problems or
theological issues; others trace the history of philosophy or of religious traditions; still others examine
philosophical schools of thought or religious traditions during specific periods of history.
4. Historical Studies (HIS): History is that branch of knowledge that seeks to account for the diverse ways in
which human beings in different cultures and societies have all responded to temporal change. Courses in this
category study the development of societies and cultures over time.
5. Physical and Life Sciences (SCI): Courses in this category study inductive and deductive processes of science.
Emphasis is on the methods used to gather, interpret, and evaluate data critically, and the placement of this
information into a larger context. Fundamental principles of each discipline are discussed in a manner that
illustrates the evolving relationship of science, technology, and society.
6. Deductive Reasoning and Analytical Processes (DED): Courses in this category deal with one or more of the
following: (a) basic principles of reasoning and the axiomatic method; (b) statistical methods for analyzing and
interpreting data; (c) key mathematical concepts; and (d) abstract symbolic manipulation or reasoning.
7. Social Analysis (SOC): This category deals with the analysis of the individual in society. Courses involve the
systematic study of human behavior and the processes and results of human interaction through organizations and
institutions, both formal and informal. Social analysis can be undertaken from a variety of perspectives: inductive
(using data to make generalizations about human behavior), deductive (using principles to search for and develop
new theories), and normative (using values to recognize important questions and evaluate alternative answers).
8. Foreign Language (LNG): Speaking, listening, reading, and writing in a language other than one's own
exercise and expand the mind. Because of the close interdependence of language and culture, study of a foreign
language helps one gain insights into other societies and ultimately one's own. Courses in this category include
those taught in a foreign language or focused on texts in a foreign language.
II. CULTURES AND CIVILIZATIONS
1. AAL-courses that focus on some aspect of the cultures and civilizations of Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and
the Caribbean.
2.CMP-courses that focus on the process of comparison between and among cultures and civilizations, or courses that focus on
the identity and experience of separable groups within cultures and civilizations.
3. EUR-courses that focus on some aspect of European cultures and civilizations.
4. NOR-courses that focus on some aspect of the cultures and civilizations of northern America (United States and Canada)