Welcome! Here you’ll find a full list of all Fall 2025 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 COURSE HAS CURRENTLY FILLED FOR FALL 2025. Science fiction (or speculative fiction) starts with world making. The social sciences (sociology, economics, anthropology, political science, and geography) focus on understanding and explaining the worl …
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This FSEM explores the idea of equality from the perspective of cultural anthropology. You will learn just enough anthropology so that you can acquire this perspective, and then collectively we will try to figure out what equality means in America.
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In this course, we will explore the life and work of James Farmer, an exemplary leader of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement who taught at Mary Washington during the 1990s. We will investigate the history of the concept of race and its impact on how we perceive ourselves and the world.
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Positive psychology is a field that developed in the 1990’s to identify and enhance the human strengths and virtues that allow individuals and communities to thrive. This course focus on using the science of positive psychology to gain skills to help you thrive in college and ultimately in life.
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This course begins with the question of how we ought to remember the Holocaust. Some see Steven Spielberg’s film Schindler’s List as kitsch, for example, while others praise it as a monument to humanity. Are the monumental concrete steles of the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin an appropriate way to remember the victims? Or do they reduce the victims to an anonymous mass?
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Where does evil come from? This FSEM will discuss what evil is and where it comes from, allowing students to study a real-life villain of their choosing.
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This course investigates the impact and implications of psychological science on the (traditionally philosophical) topics of free will and determinism.
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Are you curious about how a simple shirt can tell the complex story of global trade? Join us in this engaging first-year undergraduate course where we unravel the intricate web of economics and politics that shape the global marketplace.
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This course explores the multifaceted dimensions of leadership, including an in-depth examination of various leadership styles and their impact. Students will analyze the importance of decision-making and the role perspective plays in effective leadership.
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This course is a focused study of the intersection of news producers and news consumers in the current times of great media controversy.
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