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 "When I think about my experience as a First
Seminar Instructor, E.M. Forster's words
come to mind: "Only connect! That was the whole
of her sermon. Only connect the prose and
the passion. . . . Live in fragments no longer." The seminar
experience was valuable precisely because
it allowed us to establish connections on
intellectual, emotional, and social levels.
"I think students learn best in environments where
real questioning can occur. The seminar is
clearly one of those environments. Students
and faculty build trust and develop a professional
rapport that is critical as they engage with each other and with
the material. It’s
also clear that the work of “seminaring” really does
hone academic skills.
"I was very impressed with the growth I witnessed
in my students during our First Seminar.
They became better writers and better communicators
in general, and learned to engage in passionate,
yet respectul ways. Our seminar definitely
bonded as a community, and those connections
continue as we all travel different paths in the larger University
community. My students know they can contact me with any and all
questions and concerns, and we plan to have small reunions on a regular
basis. I'm so looking forward to meeting
my new group in the Fall!"
— Susan W. Hinze
Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology
"Life of the Mind" (First Seminar)
 “I
have taught the First Seminar course in SAGES twice, and it has been
a joy and privilege to do so. Among the goals of First Seminar are
respectful and engaged group discussion, intensive writing (assisted
by a co-instructor), oral presentations, and museum visits integrated
into the course planning. The overall idea is to present an interdisciplinary "content" course—“The
Life of the Mind"—while also providing intensive training in
basic academic habits and skills. This interdisciplinary approach
appeals to me as a historian of science, and I think to my students
as well.
“But what I like maybe best of all about the structure of the course
is the fact that all of the students in my First Seminar class are
also my first-year advisees. Consequently, I get to know them well,
and they get to know me well. College can be intimidating and mysterious
at first, and I think that the SAGES program takes much of the anxiety
away—helping students to perform at their best.”
— Alan Rocke
Professor and Chair, Department of History
“Life of the Mind” (First Seminar)
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