First Year Seminar 191HFA24 - FYS- Freewriting Set Free

This seminar offers first-year students the opportunity to free themselves from content-specific writing prompts, audience expectations, the blue light of screens, and even the confines of the classroom. Instead, we will spend time engaged in the act of putting pen to paper to see what happens, where the writing goes, and how it feels. Students will try out different ways of writing that feel comfortable (except for the occasional hand cramp!), creative, calming (or, alternatively, energizing), and maybe even cathartic. Part of each seminar session will be devoted to shared reading/listening aimed at learning about the multi-dimensionality of freewriting as a practice - across time, disciplines, and cultures. There will be plenty of time for solo explorations, but seminar members will also function as a closely connected community of writers. The course includes three "field trips" to experiential sites on campus, involving experimentation with contemplative writing and attention within immersive environments.

First-year (R1ST)