Instructor: Sergio Pinto-Handler

The magazine Popular Science recently declared that “the bright bananas dotting your fruit bowl are in serious trouble” from a fungal pathogen called Panama Disease. In fact, the battle between the type of banana we all know – the Gros Michel varietal – and fusarium oxysporum has long shaped work, society and the environment along the coast of Central America. Moreover, the Gros Michel banana is only one of many types of bananas that people across the world eat and enjoy. This class examines the history of bananas in Latin America, using the history of this simple tropical commodity to unpeel the layered histories of work, society, environment and empire which have shaped the trajectory of the banana from a diverse set of hardy, nutritious – and under circumstances, sustainable and easily grown – foodstuffs, into the industrial banana that is (for now) a staple of modern diets.

Instructor: Kate Chaterdon

Finding your “people” is an important part of surviving (and thriving!), both in college and beyond. Being part of a community not only gives you a sense of belonging, it also guides your actions, goals, interests, and values. Think about the communities you already belong to: are you a gamer? a runner? a knitter? a democrat/republican? a member of a religion? In this seminar, we will explore and research the different communities you belong to (or aspire to belong to), in order to better understand how those communities use language and writing to define themselves, create shared goals, and initiate new members. After thoroughly researching your community(ies), students will present their research to the class and create a public-facing document (e.g., op eds, letters to elected officials, codes of conduct, how-to guides, etc.) meant to inform others about your community or encourage them to join.

Instructor: Jeffrey Canino

Growing up is hard. Family drama, friendship woes, school troubles, identity issues, and bodily changes are just a small sampling of the myriad problems that modern tweens and teens face. Unfortunately, growing up in the 21st century doesn’t come with a manual or how-to guide. So where to turn for advice, perspective, or even a sense of comfort? Authors of children’s and young adult literature have long sought to remedy this problem by crafting compelling, relatable narratives about the struggles of growing up. When kids see their own experiences reflected in the stories of others (both real and imagined), they learn that they’re not alone in their predicaments. Just as importantly, when kids see the stories of those who seem unlike them, they stand to learn compassion and empathy for the circumstances of others.

Over the last two decades, authors of children’s and young adult graphic novels have become some of the most important voices to capture these experiences in print. The comics medium offers an immediate and engrossing canvas upon which to visualize adolescence, with its words and pictures working in tandem to represent typical anxieties, frustrations, and loneliness right alongside triumphs and joys. In this course, students will explore the trials and tribulations of growing up in America through a wide variety of graphic novels, both fiction and memoir, by authors like Raina Telgemeier, Johnnie Christmas, Mike Curato, and Jen Wang. Coursework will encourage students to reflect on their own experiences growing up while also researching the issues these graphic narratives introduce.
 

Instructor: Daria Hanssen

The expressive or creative arts include journal writing, poetry, painting, movement, drawing, clay work, play, and meditation. This course will use readings and hands on activities to demonstrate the power of different forms of art to promote personal growth, to awaken individual creativity, and promote self and other awareness. This is not an art course, the instructor is not an artist, and we are not focused on the beauty of the piece.
 

Instructor: Patrick O’Donnell

What drives us to learn about our ancestors? How does that knowledge influence who we are? The field of genealogy has evolved rapidly from traditional archival research to DNA matching, but its focus is still on connecting people. Using psychological principles, students will explore how these past and present connections create a sense of belonging and identity. Activities will include learning how to conduct genealogical research, creating a family tree, and exploring what our ancestors' stories mean to us.
 

Instructor: Kate Weiss

What does it mean to be human? What separates humans from other animals? Is there something innate in who we are that unifies us, or is it our evolutionary history and biology that defines humanity? Questions such as these, and more, will be explored in this first-year seminar. As a class, we will learn about human origins from a variety of disciplines. This will include investigating our position as Hominids in the mammal tree of life, as well as incorporating philosophical, religious, and ethical considerations in understanding human identity. By considering human origins from both a philosophical and an evolutionary perspective, students will gain a deeper understanding of what it means, for them, to be human.
 

Instructor: Kristian Sheeley

In this course, we will examine the nature of love and friendship by studying some of humanity’s finest philosophical and literary texts on these subjects. We will compare the philosophical analyses of love to works of literature that contain rich, concrete examples of both healthy and unhealthy ways of handling the love we experience. The course is organized around three different ancient Greek terms, all of which can be translated as the single English word “love”: erōs, philia, and agapē. Broadly speaking, erōs is erotic or romantic love, and philia is the type of love we feel for our family and friends. Finally, agapē (“charity” or “divine love”) can be described as the love humans can feel for the divine and/or all beings. Authors we will read include Sappho, Plato, Aristotle, William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Søren Kierkegaard, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Herman Hesse, Aldous Huxley, Simone De Beauvoir, and Arthur Miller.
 

Instructor: Nicoline Kiwiet

We live in a throwaway society, but what happens when we run out of places to throw things? This seminar explores the impact of consumerism on waste, and how recycling, composting, and other sustainable practices can help mitigate environmental damage. Students will investigate the global impact of waste production and analyze proactive solutions such as zero-waste strategies and the circular economy. Through field trips, documentaries, and real-world case studies, students will develop college-level research, discussion, and presentation skills while exploring the intersection of waste, society, and environmental responsibility.
 

Instructor: Cathleen Muller

We all have families – adoptive, biological, or chosen – and many consider having families in the future. Though we don’t always consider them, families raise many philosophical questions, which we will explore in this class. Through reading and discussion, along with your own research, this course will challenge and enrich your thoughts about parenthood and family. We will also focus on the development of skills that will be vital to your college career and beyond: writing, public presentation, and information literacy.
 

Instructor: Brian Loh

This religious studies and philosophy course is an exploration of the way in which our minds shape the realities in which we live, love, and pursue happiness. After examining why our knowledge of reality might not be reliable or complete, we will explore the ways in which personal and social imagination fill in the gaps in our knowledge. This is sometimes to our benefit and sometimes to our detriment, so we will also examine how to choose our lenses of perception so that we can steer our lives towards coherence, meaning, and flourishing. In this process, we may explore stories, games, parasocial relationships, fandom “head canon,” religious realities, the nature of empathy, the self, and our concepts of sameness and difference. Students in this class may be invited to participate in varied forms of experiential learning, including games and N4 storytelling.
 

Instructor: Jay Bainbridge

In this First-Year Seminar, you will explore one of the most pressing social issues of our time—homelessness—through data, dialogue, and community engagement. Together we will investigate the causes and consequences of homelessness from economic, social, and policy perspectives while developing your skills as a researcher, writer, and advocate. Along the way, you will analyze data sets, evaluate different types of information, and engage directly with local organizations and individuals working to address homelessness.

Throughout the semester, you will connect classroom learning with real-world experiences—possibly participating in community counts, field visits, and group projects that combine quantitative analysis with human stories. By the end of the course, you will not only understand the complexities of homelessness but also gain confidence in using evidence and empathy to shape meaningful civic responses.
 

Instructor: Goretti Benca

Why have fairy tales maintained popular literary and cultural status over the centuries? How do these seemingly simple stories transcend time, geography, and culture? There are so many tales that continue to be a part of our social tapestry that influence our social constructs. Young and old, fairy tales continue to be a favorite genre around the world. This class will explore the tales from a historical perspective as we trace the cultural evolution of this literary genre.
 

Instructor: Tracey Niemotko

This foundational FYS course provides students with essential tools to navigate core accounting and financial topics, while cultivating academic and professional competencies vital for sustained success. Through hands-on activities, real-world case studies, and guided inquiry, students build core knowledge in financial literacy, budgeting, financial statement analysis, forensic accounting, sustainability accounting and reporting, and professional ethics. The course also introduces a range of career pathways in accounting and business, while reinforcing effective study strategies, time management skills, and communication techniques to support a confident transition into college and the professional world.
 

Instructor: Cathy Martensen

Would you like to learn about your new surroundings? If you are from the area, are there things about the Hudson Valley that you've always wanted to learn about, but never took the opportunity to do so? If you answered "yes" to either of these questions, then this course is for you! We will explore the history and culture of the region, as well as visiting a few landmarks in the area. You will have an opportunity to research an aspect of the Hudson Valley that is of a personal interest to you.
 

Instructor: Patty Tarantello

In this FYS, we will examine the concept of “celebrity” in order to better understand what it is, how it is cultivated, and how it changes over time. In particular, we will focus on literary celebrity, studying the written works and publicity methods of several celebrated personalities of the nineteenth century: Gothic writer Edgar Allan Poe, prolific poet Emily Dickinson, abolitionist and activist Frederick Douglass, and investigative journalist Nellie Bly. In addition to thinking about their cultural value in their own time, we will consider their legacies and examine more modern representations of these figures. We will also think about creative and interdisciplinary ways to introduce these authors to new and modern audiences.
 

Instructor: Josh Kotzin

The word “nostalgia” was first coined in the 17th century to describe a homesickness so severe it required medical treatment. Today, we more often think of nostalgia as a mild, even pleasant, desire for a better time, whether one that we’ve actually lived through or one we've only imagined. In this course, we will read works about nostalgia from a variety of disciplines. Some of these theorists write about nostalgia as a personal way of engaging with the world, while others argue for nostalgia as a societal ill. We will also read fiction, personal essays, and poetry, watch films, and analyze current forms of media that enact nostalgic desire. Along the way, we will develop our own theories of nostalgia and deepen our understanding of nostalgia as a complex aspect of contemporary life.
 

Instructor: Rich Feldman

In the course text "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants", Robin Wall Kimmerer eloquently describes multiple strands of relationships that we can have with nature, creating tight bonds like in a braid. She also describes where and how the strands have frayed and how the reciprocal relationships between us and nature have weakened.

What does your braid look like? How do you connect with other species, to non-human life? How do your interests & activities influence how you perceive, use and safe-guard nature? We will explore various ways that people – including you - relate to the living and non-living natural world. We will delve into some essential knowledge about the natural world (the Scientific Knowledge part of her subtitle), becoming better informed on how to be responsible partners with our fellow species, to be stewards of life on earth. This will include observing species in Marist’s Fern Tor Nature Preserve and elsewhere, allowing you to also experience the Teachings of Plants.

Through her story-telling and descriptions of what North American native peoples know, we gain appreciation for Indigenous Wisdom. This opens a door for considering how different religions and belief systems relate to the natural world and address humanity’s responsibilities to it. Semester-long student research broadens our learning and appreciation of many belief systems.
 

Instructor: Kim Levering

How does a bat "see"? What does the world feel like through a dog's nose or a sea otter's forepaws? In this seminar, we explore perception in ourselves and other animals as a window into cognition, consciousness, and the limits of human understanding. Drawing from psychology, neuroscience, ethology, and philosophy of mind, we’ll investigate the mysterious ways that other creatures experience their world—and ask what that means for how we see our own.
 

Instructor: Julin Sharp

From personalized recommendations to deepfakes and misinformation, artificial intelligence is shaping how we learn, communicate, consume information, and make decisions. In this course, we will examine the rapidly changing landscape of AI by exploring how this technology is shaping the world.   We'll evaluate the promises and pitfalls of AI, investigate ethical dilemmas, explore the role of algorithms in media, and develop the skills to become informed digital citizens who can navigate an AI-powered future with awareness and agency.  
 

Instructor: Nick Lu

This course uses anime as a medium to introduce students to some of the distinguishing values, phenomenon, and social dynamics in East Asian societies, particularly Japan and Taiwan. The anime shows and films we will use as entry points for discussion include Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Dan Da Dan, Chainsaw Man, Bakuman, and Evangelion. With these works, we will explore issues like economic miracles (and busts), human-nature relation, gender relation, social mores, (over)work culture, and the meaning of monsters and ghosts in East Asian cultures. Students can choose to work on a final project that is creative (making your own short anime), translation (making your own dubbing), or analytic (writing a theme-based analysis).
 

Instructor: Laura Quijano

What does it mean to be both Black and Latino? This course will explore the ways in which Afrolatino authors, artists, scholars, and activists are revealing the anti-Blackness inherent in many contemporary representations of Latino identity. In this course, students will analyze the intersections of Blackness and Latino identity in a variety of cultural products from the US and Latin America, including literature, film, music, and social media posts.

Instructor: Lisa Neilson

This seminar will focus on the recurring motif of madness and mental illness in literature, film, television and society in general, and address the question of how madness challenges traditional assumptions regarding individual identity. Through an interdisciplinary approach, we will explore the nature of the human mind and cultural representations of madness in a variety of contexts. Students in this course will consider how madness is a very ordinary human possibility which can be creative and/or destructive, which can be a breakdown and/or a breakthrough. We will examine the significant presence of madness in the stories we read and question how central madness is to human life.

Instructor: Josh Kotzin

The word “nostalgia” was first coined in the 17th century to describe a homesickness so severe it required medical treatment. Today, we more often think of nostalgia as a mild, even pleasant, desire for a better time, whether one that we’ve actually lived through or one we've only imagined. In this course, we will read works about nostalgia from a variety of disciplines. Some of these theorists write about nostalgia as a personal way of engaging with the world, while others argue for nostalgia as a societal ill. We will also read fiction, personal essays, and poetry, watch films, and analyze current forms of media that enact nostalgic desire. Along the way, we will develop our own theories of nostalgia and deepen our understanding of nostalgia as a complex aspect of contemporary life.
 

Instructor: Brian Loh

This religious studies and philosophy course is an exploration of the way in which our minds shape the realities in which we live, love, and pursue happiness. After examining why our knowledge of reality might not be reliable or complete, we will explore the ways in which personal and social imagination fill in the gaps in our knowledge. This is sometimes to our benefit and sometimes to our detriment, so we will also examine how to choose our lenses of perception so that we can steer our lives towards coherence, meaning, and flourishing. In this process, we may explore stories, games, parasocial relationships, fandom “head canon,” religious realities, the nature of empathy, the self, and our concepts of sameness and difference. Students in this class may be invited to participate in varied forms of experiential learning, including games and N4 storytelling.