This is a writing-intensive course that fulfills the University's Junior Writing requirement. Each section focuses on a particular aspect of current issues in psychology. The topic is selected based on the expertise of the teaching staff. All sections share similar writing assignments, ranging from in-class short writing assignments to lengthy papers that include literature review. Classes emphasize discussion and extensive peer review of written work. Topics for individual sections will not be available until shortly before the start of the semester.

This is a writing-intensive course that fulfills the University's Junior Writing requirement. Each section focuses on a particular aspect of current issues in psychology. The topic is selected based on the expertise of the teaching staff. All sections share similar writing assignments, ranging from in-class short writing assignments to lengthy papers that include literature review. Classes emphasize discussion and extensive peer review of written work. Topics for individual sections will not be available until shortly before the start of the semester.

This is a writing-intensive course that fulfills the University's Junior Writing requirement. Each section focuses on a particular aspect of current issues in psychology. The topic is selected based on the expertise of the teaching staff. All sections share similar writing assignments, ranging from in-class short writing assignments to lengthy papers that include literature review. Classes emphasize discussion and extensive peer review of written work. Topics for individual sections will not be available until shortly before the start of the semester.

This is a writing-intensive course that fulfills the University's Junior Writing requirement. Each section focuses on a particular aspect of current issues in psychology. The topic is selected based on the expertise of the teaching staff. All sections share similar writing assignments, ranging from in-class short writing assignments to lengthy papers that include literature review. Classes emphasize discussion and extensive peer review of written work. Topics for individual sections will not be available until shortly before the start of the semester.

This is a writing-intensive course that fulfills the University's Junior Writing requirement. Each section focuses on a particular aspect of current issues in psychology. The topic is selected based on the expertise of the teaching staff. All sections share similar writing assignments, ranging from in-class short writing assignments to lengthy papers that include literature review. Classes emphasize discussion and extensive peer review of written work. Topics for individual sections will not be available until shortly before the start of the semester.

If news debates, Facebook posts, and WhatsApp forwards now form arenas for contesting historical claims -- once mainly a preserve of academic histories -- what might supposedly low-brow media such as comics or graphic novels tell us about how history is produced and consumed? This first-year-seminar shall introduce students to key topics in South Asian history through a selection of comics, graphic novels, and primary sources. We shall read comics and graphic novels as narrative histories and speculative accounts of the lives of ordinary people and their experience of world historical events.

Pop science is the term for science communication that distills scientific discoveries for a general audience. Some of these scientific ideas can have striking cultural influence. For example, the "butterfly effect" as an explanation of the mathematical definition of chaos led to a cultural change from belief in a predictable universe to one where small changes can have big effects. Through a range of books, news articles, and social media from the 1980s until today, we will examine the cultural influences of scientific advances in popular understanding.

This course will encourage you to reflect on what you have learned thus far?in your courses, extracurricular experiences, jobs, internships, life?and consider how it will shape your journey forward into your career. It will teach you needed skills to advance your career including networking, resume and cover letter writing, interviewing, negotiating, and embodying professionalism. Ultimately, by looking at your core values and what you have accomplished thus far, you will craft a plan for how to move forward both during your time at UMass and beyond.