First-Year Seminars 110DY - Freedom Dreams and Historical Memory

How do the stories we tell about the past shape our connection to one another and our ability to imagine emancipatory futures? This course will consider how people in -- and in relation to -- the United States have envisioned more just and inclusive communities, launched democratic initiatives, and reached for solidarity in the context of ongoing histories of harm. We will explore ways to mobilize such vision and initiative even as we work to reveal the histories of injustice obscured by nationalist narratives. What can we learn about the possibilities for achieving and sustaining democracy by reflecting on African American, Indigenous, immigrant, and working-class histories and cultures?

Mount Holyoke first-year students only, by placement.