A unique experience of your first year at Brown is the option to take First Year Seminars (or FYS). These small, seminar-style classes place emphasis on improving new student’s writing and analysis skills within the comfortable setting of only fellow first years. When I decided to come to Brown and got an email about First Year Seminars, I was overwhelmed by all the options. I couldn’t find any reviews to help me narrow down my interest list, so I asked some first years to tell me what they thought of their First Year Seminars.
LITR 0710 Writers on Writing
I’m taking Writers on Writing right now and it’s my favorite class!
Every week, members of Writers on Writing (often referred to as WoW) read a different contemporary novel, memoir, or collection of poetry. The first half of class is a discussion of the piece that was chosen for the week; during the second half members get to hear the author do a reading from the piece. This reading is followed by a Q&A session, where students are invited to ask the author anything from questions about their writing process to what their inspiration for their work was.
RELS 0090K Christmas in America
This class analyzes the cultural phenomenon that is Christmas by examining the origins and eventual commercialization of the biggest holiday in America. Nora W. says the class has the, “best professor I’ve had here … it was really interesting — content wasn’t that relevant to life but (a) good class and taught you how to analyze and think in a certain way for further courses at Brown”.
PHYS 0100 Flat Earth to Quantum Uncertainty: On the Nature and Meaning of Scientific
This seminar focuses on various aspects of physics, and has been described by members as being “just basically a lecture class.” While this more traditional seminar has sometimes been described as dull, Emma M. says, “It’s fun because I get to have a professor who’s famous and smart and hear from him as only a first year”.
Though sometimes described as dull,
BIOL 0190R Phage Hunters
In this research-based class, students learn to isolate and characterize bacteriophage viruses found in the soil. A highlight of the course is the likelihood that students have to discover their own phage during research. Emma R. says she likes the class because “it’s mostly lab and I feel like I’m doing important research.”
While all classes at Brown are thought-provoking and challenging, First Year Seminars give freshmen a unique introduction to the academic culture on campus, and are a great way to get involved. Whether you want to talk with published authors, get taught by a famous academic, or just get to know some fellow first-years who share similar interests, a First Year Seminar might be the perfect fit for you!