Going Global First-Year Seminar (FYS) has been very successful because of the diverse faculty involved. We need representation from ALL undergraduate programs — please consider teaching (or even co-teaching) one yourself!
Full and part time faculty from across the university are invited to submit proposals for the Going Global First-Year Seminar (FYS). FYS is taught during each Fall semester on:
- Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 2 p.m. to 2:50 p.m.
- Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.
Please indicate your class schedule preference when submitting a proposal.
The overall goal of these seminar classes is to have students demonstrate an increased capacity to realize their development as global citizens who are able to make responsible contributions within a community, nation and world. FYS sections are 100-level, three-credit courses that are limited to approximately 18 students.
Each FYS section receives a $500.00 budget for field trips, guest speakers or outside material to enhance the class experience. Each professor is assisted by a trained student mentor intended to be a liaison between the faculty member and the students. Course content is completely open, as long as the five learning objectives are achieved and the FYS mission statement is understood as integral to the course.
Faculty are encouraged to develop innovative courses related to their area of academic expertise that can be developed for incoming first-year students.
Contact Bryan Pearce-Gonzalez with any questions at email@example.com.
Proposals submitted by the end of January each year will be considered for the next fall semester’s First Year Seminar season. Proposals submitted after January will be considered if there is space.
View this sample proposal and use this template for your submission.
Diane D. Painter, Ph.D.
Name of course:
Please Accept Me for Who I Am
Summary of course (approximately 100 words):
This seminar, Please Accept Me for Who I Am, focuses on disability awareness. According to Disabled World, disability awareness means educating people regarding disabilities since the biggest barriers people with disabilities face are other people. The question that we will explore throughout the term will be, “When does a disability become a handicapping condition?” Students will engage in a variety of personal experiences with persons with disabilities, explore global topics such as the Disability Rights Movement and the three dimensions behind disability oppression. They will explore their own feelings and actions about their role in addressing the issues that persons who are disenfranchised face.
Learning Objectives: Please take one aspect of your proposed class and give an example of how the learning outcomes will be addressed by that one topic
- Examine a global problem or issue. In this course we will discuss the ways society has contributed to the disenfranchisement and impoverishment of those with disabilities. For example, despite so many societal rejections and lack of support in places of employment, in housing, schools and health care systems, disabled US veterans have become a major force in securing the rights to become independent and recognized for their worth to society. I would like to arrange for veterans to visit our class to discuss the issues these veterans face here in our country and abroad when they travel.
- Select and apply information to investigate a global point of view. Throughout the world, there are wide differences in how various cultures and societal communities are regarded and treated. In some societies persons with disabilities are seen as outcasts, in other societies they are given a respected status and allowed to participate to the fullest extent of their abilities. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is supposed to address these issues at the global level. However, the United States has yet to ratify the treaty. Students will investigate and report on why there are those who favor signing the treaty, and why others are actively lobbying against signing the CRPD. I am thinking I will have students debate these issues in class. I would love to try to get someone from Washington, DC. Speak on this!
- Understand how context can influence assumptions about a global problem/issue. In order to best understand the challenges and issues that persons with disabilities face (e.g. housing, education, employment, health care), we will read about and discuss the social, religious, economic beliefs, biases and cultural practices that influence persons’ assumptions that those with disabilities can not take care of themselves. Because of this, the Disability Rights Movement (DRM) is now a viable and influential global movement trying to change cultural thinking, laws and public policies to give those with disabilities the right to manage their own lives.
- Synthesize their own perspective on a global problem/issue within the context of multiple perspectives or opposing viewpoints. One of the major performance assessments in this class is the making of a global perspective media presentation based on the students’ research and any input gleaned from class speakers that brings to light a particular issue and possible solutions to problems that persons with disabilities face. One example is how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other legislation have brought legal and policy changes that has resulted in solutions such as allowing students with disabilities an education within inclusive settings. Students in this FYS class typically share their research findings by creating an iMovie, but they have also presented their findings in other media such as a Prezi, Keynote slideshow, Google site or Glogster poster.
- Recognize the consequences and implications of multiple perspectives or opposing viewpoints. I am delighted that we will be addressing critical thinking in the FYS classes because I believe that is so important. When my students learn about CRPD and the DRM and other issues related to those with disabilities at the global level they typically express their understandings of the multiple perspectives and global viewpoints related to the issues that persons with disabilities. In class discussions and in their final exam essay, I will be looking for how they apply their critical thinking to offer their own solutions to the complex issues that we address in this class. I will be looking for them to express what they think are the consequences and implications of ignoring the issues- and in what ways this harms all within society when that happens.
If a classroom budget comes available, list a few examples of how you would spend it (e.g. field trip, guest speaker, class materials for student projects).
I would love to take the class on a field trip to DC and perhaps go to the building museum and talk with architects about designing buildings for those with disabilities. I will have folks from the Arc of Shenandoah Valley and YDC come in as speakers, and perhaps speakers from Boulder Crest Retreat (i.e. disabled veterans) and Grafton Integrated Healthcare Network will also speak. I have already heard from the Arc/YDC folks about involving my students in the annual fall social events for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.