All students at Saint Michael's College must enroll in a First-Year Seminar during their first or second semester. ALthough there is a range of topics, the seminars are more alike than they are different. All of the seminars are writing-intensive, requiring frequent engagement of critical reading and thinking. The class size of about 15 students encourages discussion and requires active learning.
Students intending to participate in the Honors Program are not required to take an Honors First-Year Seminar, but it is advisable.
Topics for Fall 2013
- FS 111 The Examined Life
- FS 112 Drama and Culture
- FS 113 Tries: Creative Writing
- FS 114 A River Runs Through It
- FS 116 Snow: The Art and Science of Alpine Crystals
- FS 117 Joan of Arc
- FS 119 Horses and Healing
- FS 125 Yoga: History, Philosophy, and Practice
- FS 136 Globalization
- FS 153 Peace and Justice
- FS 161 Technology and Ethics in Society
For a complete list of First-Year Seminar classes and course descriptions, see the college catalog.
Every year all incoming students are required to read a common text over the summer, in preparation for some of the first intellectual discussions of the new semester.
The text this year is The Book of Job from the Bible. This ancient text raises fundamental questions about human existence: What is our place in creation? Are the good rewarded? The evil punished? How much can we ultimately know?
We have chosen to use a modern translation in verse by Stephen Mitchell. We realize you may already own a Bible with the Book fo Job, but please purchase this version. Translations vary; we find this one especially accessible and compelling. The $13 paperback should be available in many stores and online. Copies will be available in the Campus Store during Summer Registration Days in July. The book number is either ISBN 10:0060969598 or ISBN 13:978-0060969592.
And then what? We will include the text and the faculty responses in a program during Orientation, and all First-Year Seminars will devote the opening week of class to it. Students who sign up for fall-term seminars will receive further information from their instructors in a letter that will go out by early August.
So this isn't just a casual suggestion for some good summer reading; it will be the basis of the first impression you make in that required course. All instructors will be assigning at least one written response to the book. We urge you not to postpone the reading until your arrival on campus, because that would mean playing catch-up from the start.
Besides we think you'll find it compelling. You might even start talking about it with family members or other incoming students you know. We're looking forward to the conversation once you've arrived.
For more information, contact:
Will Marquess
Coordinator of First-Year Seminars
Instructor of English
Saint Edmund's Hall 329
802.654.2802
Box 171
wmarquess@smcvt.edu