Whether you’re a senior looking for a fun class, a freshman looking for a low-stress environment or anywhere in between, here are some of the best seminars offered at UC Davis
By FAITH DEMEULENAERE — features@theaggie.org
Embarking on the exhilarating journey of university life, first-year students often find themselves at the crossroads of curiosity and the unexplored. Within the realm of academics, the gateway to this unfamiliar territory is the freshman seminar — a playground of provoking ideas, interactive experiences and the wisdom of seasoned professors.
Freshman seminars are a place of bonding over personal experiences and interests. One example is music. Professor Julian Elias, the host of the “Wonderful and Weird Music” seminar, said music has played a great role in his life.
“I’ve been in love with music since I was a kid in New York,” Elias said. “Music fascinates me, inspires me and helps me relax. I can’t imagine what life would be like without music.”
Elias also said his seminar is a place to bond over music.
“The students and I usually have a great time listening to and discussing the musicians we like, the songs we love, the concerts we’ve gone to, the upcoming concerts we’re excited about and so on,” Elias said. “Undergrad students interested in music are welcome to register for my seminar.”
The freshman seminars include a variety of studies. Some professors cater to those with an interest in more philosophical topics, such as Professor Richard Huskey’s psyche-exploring “Could a Robot Ever Be Conscious?”
“The human brain is an exquisite computer that gives rise to our conscious experience,” Huskey said. “By comparison, computers lack a human-like brain but they still do computation. Are computers conscious? Could they be? How would we know? Can computers tell us something about our own consciousness? These questions animate research in the cognitive sciences, and have taken on new urgency in the age of artificial intelligence. In this class, we use different theories of consciousness to explore these questions. It’s a ton of fun, and students regularly change their mind about what it means to have a mind.”
Freshman seminars even adhere to those with more niche interests, such as Professor Karma Waltonen’s, “The Simpsons: Satire and Postmodernism,” a writing-based class all about the television series “The Simpsons.”
“[Students] will pay special attention to how the show functions as a satire — how it serves as corrective comedy to issues such as consumerism, inequality and political dysfunction,” Waltonen said. We will also discuss the show as an example of postmodern literature. Students will collaborate to produce a ‘mini script’ of ‘The Simpsons’ to demonstrate a mastery of the subject and to discover the intricacies of humor composition.”
For some, freshman seminars can be essential for learning how to adapt to the pace and environment of college in a mindful way. Professor Sarah Faye’s seminar, “Habits To Improve Our Mental Wellbeing,” provides a safe space for students to develop healthier habits.
“The seminar is structured around weekly habits that we practice together: better sleeping, healthy eating, exercise [and] meditation,” Faye said. “When we get together, we share our successes and struggles with the habits, discuss some strategies for making it easier to insert the habits in our lives and act like a support group for each other.”
Overall, the advantage of freshman seminars is that they are more relaxed academic environments to make new friends with shared interests. While there is a wide variety of them to choose from, perhaps some of the seminars stated above have piqued some interest in you.
Written by: Faith DeMeulenaere — features@theaggie.org
