FSEM 100 H2 | The Idea of Cool

What is Cool? Who decides? This first-year seminar studies the elusive but ever-so-attractive idea of Cool by looking at both historical and contemporary ideas of that quality. From its post-WWII emergence from the world of jazz into subgroups like the Beat Generation, hippies, rappers, punks, TikTok accounts, and *checks notes* sea shanties, we’ll figure out both how and why trends come and go. We’ll read books, listen to music, watch movies, and engage with popular culture as a way to develop our abilities to speak, write, and research in an academic setting.

This FSEM counts as an Honors-designated class.

Photo of Colin Rafferty, Professor of English and Linguistics

Colin Rafferty, Professor of English and Linguistics

Colin Rafferty teaches in the Department of English and Linguistics, specializing in the writing of creative nonfiction, but also teaching other writing courses. A native Midwesterner, he has lived in seven states, written two books (Hallow This Ground, a collection of essays about monuments and memorials, and Execute the Office, a collection of essays about the presidents), and broken one bone (his little finger, pulling down an interception in an excellent game of flag football in grad school). He has taught at Mary Washington since 2008, and lives in Richmond with his wife and their dog.

Image Credit: Cool City Limit by jimmywayne, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 .