The end of the semester is officially on the horizon, and with that comes course registration for the Spring semester. The open curriculum means that there are so many options to choose from, which can be overwhelming at times. Luckily, for this fall semester, I had one less class to worry about due to the First Year Seminar. The First Year Seminar is the only required course you take in your time at Amherst (outside of the required courses for your major), and it’s the perfect introduction to the liberal arts curriculum and developing the skills needed to succeed in your time at Amherst. They’re mainly discussion-based with a small group of students, making you easily accessible to your professor and developing a community among the other students.
Don’t fret! Amherst encourages your own exploration of the liberal arts, so although it’s a required course, in the summer before you arrive, you are given options of seminars to choose from, where you can rank a few based on your interest in them. My First Year Seminar is ‘Francophone African Literature: Magic or Realism?’ with Professor Brodnicka, where we read and analyse different texts written by Francophone African authors! We began by looking at the different cultural beliefs and customs of African tribes. We then saw how these beliefs were manifested in colonial settings by reading books such as Fortunes of Wangrin by Amadou Hampâté Bâ and The Abandoned Baobab by Ken Bugul, which have both depicted the effects of colonialism on the African people. We were also lucky enough to have one of the authors of our texts, Ken Bugul, visit our class, where we gained greater insight into the text and her intentions and backstory. In my experience, the seminar has been largely influential in my way of thinking and reasoning. We don’t solely focus on the texts but understand the main themes and lessons of them and apply them to our modern society and personal experiences. It’s become a great way to reflect and think critically about what we read.
Other than the knowledge, the best thing I’ve gained from my First Year Seminar has been the community and friendships. Your First Year Seminar classes are also your orientation groups, so you’re given time to get to know them before the class actually starts! Through our discussions, we’ve been able to learn a lot about each other’s experiences in life; the deep themes we identify in the texts have led to deeper philosophical, emotional and sometimes controversial dialogue and debates. It’s been great to establish friendships and community through this. We’ve been able to support each other outside of the class through attending fellow classmates’ sports events, or even inviting each other over for Thanksgiving! I was also lucky to have a Happy Birthday sung to me during class last month (in multiple languages!).
Overall, the First Year Seminar is a perfect environment to connect with other freshman, especially those who share your similar interests. It’s been great to engage and be involved in such interesting conversations with such a vibrant group of people.
P.S. The picture above is a lovely shot of Chapin Hall, where my seminar class is !!
Thank you for reading !!