This course will involve both reading and writing in the genre of creative nonfiction, which may include personal essays, lyrical essays, environmental literature, literary journalism, travel writing, and memoir.

Review and discussion of current literature in the fields of remote sensing.

Negotiation is a vital skill in both the workplace and society and students are in a unique position to develop their negotiation skills in a low stakes environment. This course will introduce first-year students to negotiation fundamentals, philosophies, and strategies that they can employ in their lives and future careers.

Legal rules and structures impact every aspect of our lives in the US, but we're not always aware of how and why. In this course, we'll explore the legal frameworks most often encountered by young people -- including copyright, housing, consumer protection, employment, education, criminal laws, and more. We'll also examine the legal governance structures that form the parameters of our lives, from the university's systems to local and state governments, all the way through the federal government.

Who are America?s legal and undocumented immigrants? Why do they come to America? Why do they leave their home countries? What?s it like being a legal or an undocumented immigrant in America? How do they interact with American institutions (e.g., police, schools, hospitals, churches, neighborhood organizations, social clubs, the labor market, etc.)? What are the laws constricting the lives of immigrants? What are their expectations, values, beliefs, assumptions and dreams? How do other American groups perceive immigrants?

Watch a series of films or documentaries on Chinese Americans and learn about their history and themes related to racism, sexism, and orientalism.

Tainos, inhabitants of Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas, were the first Native American people to experience, as well as resist, European colonization beginning in 1492 and continuing to this day. Yet many of us were taught that Tainos became extinct. In this introduction to Taino survival and continuance, we will look at how knowledge about Taino culture thrived but was also threatened by violence, the myth of extinction, and ?paper genocide.?

This First Year Seminar offers students a chance to exercise both body and mind as we work together to master the basics of a 5K race, and, at the same time, the UMass campus. Running will start after our first class, with students divided into training groups. (These will change halfway through the term.) Over the subsequent 13 weeks, students will run with their classmates with the overall goal of improving their fitness. Homework will consist of regular runs each week with classmates.

For many new students, college is all about freedom, about the sudden profusion of choices and the lack of restrictions on how and what to choose. This can be exciting -- but also overwhelming. Fortunately, you're not alone. There are mentors and advisors. There are expectations, requirements, and milestones. And there's duty: to yourself and others. This course enacts a method of being thoughtful, involved, and responsible in making your way through higher education.

In today's polarized climate, students often grapple with when to speak up and when to hold back. This course explores the complexities of free speech, academic freedom, and self-censorship in higher education. Through case studies, discussions, and real-world examples, students will examine how campus culture, institutional policies, and social dynamics shape what gets said - and what doesn't.