The faculty approved 8 new FYSes to be offered for the first time this coming fall. Many thanks to Nandini Sikand, Yingying Huang, Courtney Ryan, Jen Rao, Mathieu Smith-Perrot, Christian Lopez, and Gabbi Kelenyi for their efforts to develop these courses.
FYS 103 | Images of Resistance | Prof. Sikand
What is an image of resistance? How have images aided liberatory struggle and how are they implicated in the web of capital flows and imperialism? Drawing widely from history, anthropology, literature, and film and media studies, and case studies from Palestine, Southeast Asia, the United States and Latin America this course is a class of discovery, an opportunity to learn how images have been used for social movements and freedom struggles in a variety of geo-political contexts.
FYS 115 | The Monkey King | Prof. Huang
This course invites students to embark on a journey across the Globe with the Monkey King, a figure with Hindu and Chinese folkloric origins, who appears across a variety of movies, TV series, manga, anime, and video games worldwide. By comparing literatures and arts across cultures, this course explores topics such as religions and folklore, evolutionism, racial othering, cultural exchange, and transnational productions.
FYS 119 | Plants in Performance | Prof. Ryan
Plants run the planet, but they rarely get the spotlight in TV, film, theater, and social media. In this course, we’ll shine some light on plants in performance, considering an array of perspectives on how plants biologically perform and how they are (mis)represented in the arts. Together, we’ll get the chance to think like a plant, analyze plant performances, and create our own plant art.
FYS 135 | Factory Farms: The True Cost of Meat | Prof. Rao
As of 2020, it is estimated that in the U.S. 1.6 billion animals live on 25,000 factory farms, also known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). And yet most people know little about them. This course will explore the history of farming in the U.S. that led to CAFOs and their impact on health and the environment. We will question the ethics of farm animal treatment and the concept of what a farm is.
FYS 149 | The Boring Class | Prof. Smith-Perrot
Through readings from thinkers such as Nietzsche, Heidegger, Beckett, Blanchot, and Pessoa, along with studies on boredom’s role in education, psychology, and digital culture, this course examines boredom as both a barrier and a bridge to knowledge. Is boredom universal or a symptom of modernity? How is it portrayed in literature, film, and art? Is it an affliction to escape or a state to embrace? Students will rethink boredom’s implications for society, creativity, and personal growth
FYS 159 | What’s Inside ChatGPT? | Prof. Lopez
This seminar demystifies Artificial Intelligence (AI) with a focus on Large Language Models, like ChatGPT, Claude, and others. Through interdisciplinary exploration of historical texts, news articles, science fiction films, and modern documentaries, we will examine how AI systems work, their limitations, and ethical challenges. Hands-on experiments and reflective writing will equip you with the skills to evaluate and integrate emerging AI tools responsibly, preparing you to navigate an increasingly digital and AI-driven society.
FYS 170 | Running | Prof. Kelenyi
Running is many things to many people: sport, exercise regimen, mental health practice, hobby, profession, punishment, conditioning—the list goes on. This interdisciplinary seminar focuses on how and why running is so widely celebrated and hated. Running is how some people do their best thinking and sometimes very little thinking at all. Others consider running the most accessible sport on offer or the worst cardio option in the book. This course asks, What running is to you?
For a full list of FYSes offered in the fall, please visit the Welcome page for our incoming students.
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