Welcome! Here you’ll find a full list of all Fall 2026 First-Year Seminar (FSEM) offerings. Browse through the pages of classes, select a course from the first drop down menu, or browse by subject area. Please note that this site shows the FSEMs regardless of whether or not they are full, so there is no guarantee that a course will still be open at the time of your registration
This class delves into a different kind of war—not one of guns and bombs but a centuries-old battle over what history should be taught and commemorated. While I’ve always been passionate about studying history, it wasn’t until my years teaching high school history in Southeast Dallas that I began questioning the content mandated for our students. Why, for instance, did my students need to know about WWI Medal of Honor recipient Alvin York but not about Tulsa’s “Black Wall Street”?
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What can a pop song, an instagram post, or a re-recorded album teach us about power, identity, and culture…and how can we gain the skills needed to succeed in college along the way? UMW students know all too well how important it is to start their college experience off on the right foot. This first-year seminar uses the music, career, and cultural influence of Taylor Swift as a framework in which students practice the foundational and academic skills needed for success at the University of Mary Washington.
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