First-year Seminars

Alura Neumyer • Apr 25, 2019 •3:20 pm

Coffee, Tea, and an Unexpected Boost

Every freshman is required to take a First-Year Seminar. Having come back to campus in the spring, there was only one course option available. That is how I ended up in “Coffee and Tea: Origins, Economy, Ethics.” At first, I was apprehensive. I wasn’t sure how a class about...

Jessica Derr • Oct 25, 2018 •2:43 pm

‘The Nun Is in Over Her Head’: A Conversation with Sister Helen Prejean

Growing up Catholic and enduring years of CCD, I had an established view of nuns in my head. They were habit-clad, solemn-faced, steely-eyed women, ever ready to put a finger to their lips and shush if someone even looked like they were about to speak in mass. Also lingering in the back of my mind...

Oct 11, 2018 • Caitlin Burns

Sister Prejean Discusses Social Justice and Death Penalty as Common Read Speaker

“People need to know,” said Sister Helen Prejean. “Most people have never thought about the death penalty, because it doesn’t touch their daily lives. Together, we need to change it.” Sister Helen, author of Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States,...

Shivani Mansharamani • Apr 10, 2018 •12:45 pm

1968: Revisiting an Unforgettable Year of Rebellion

1968. It was a year of chaotic revolt against authority: division and disruption at the Democratic National Convention and the nomination of a pig for President of the United States; the Prague Spring and consequent occupation of Czechoslovakia; the Tet Offensive; the assassination of Rev. Dr....

Olivia Armacost • Oct 17, 2017 •10:49 am

Nicole Maines: Her Story, Her Struggles, Her Shoes

This is one of the many lessons I learned from my interview with Nicole Maines, the high-heeled, quick-humored, stressed but well-dressed college student. Oh, and also the subject of the New York Times bestseller Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family, by...

Oct 11, 2017 • Caitlin Burns

Explore Phobias During Fright Week, Oct. 16-19

Have you ever wondered where phobias come from? Or why we fear certain things? Explore the science behind phobias and fears during Fright Week, Oct. 16 to 19, in the Rose and Mirror rooms. The week’s events are a collaboration between the Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice Department,...

Oct 6, 2017 • Jennifer Retter

Nicoles Maines Discusses LGBTQ Activism at First-Year Common Read Lecture

Nicole Maines, subject of Arcadia’s First-Year Common Read Selection Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family, visited campus on Oct. 5 to discuss her courageous efforts to embrace life, expand her family’s understanding of gender identity, and secure transgender rights for...

Sep 21, 2017 • Caitlin Burns

Trump-Inspired Courses Featured by Montgomery Media

“Hate Crimes” and “Fake News & the Post-Truth Era” were both highlighted by Montgomery Media as courses inspired by the Trump administration and current events. “Hate Crimes” is a criminal justice course that provides information about hate crimes in the U.S. by examining the cause of these...

May 10, 2017 • Jennifer Retter

First-Year Seminar Students Showcase Crime-Solving Skills at Science Fest

Arcadia University students in the First-Year Seminar course “Science, Sleuthing, and Sherlock” showcased their crime-solving skills at the 2017 Philadelphia Science Festival. During the Science in the National Park session on April 27, students demonstrated how to use forensic ecology to analyze...

Dec 8, 2016 • Caitlin Burns

First-Year Students Explore ‘Selfie’-Portraiture as Fine Art in the Digital Age

Can selfies show artistic expression? The “Fine Art in the Digital Age” exhibition in the Judith Taylor Gallery (Landman Library) explores this question through student-produced “self-portraitures” that combine classic self-portraits with modern selfies. Running through Dec. 14, the exhibition...

Feb 16, 2016 • Christopher Sarachilli

Q&A: Alan Cumming

On Oct. 8, the Tony Award-winning, Emmy-nominated, New York Times-bestselling author Alan Cumming visited campus to meet with students and discuss his memoir, Not My Father’s Son, which was Arcadia’s First-Year Common Read selection. More than 1,200 students, alumni, and...

Head soccer coach Rob Nydick joins Manny Camacho-Lemus, Ryan Hammer & RJ White for the student exhibition "The Selfie Genre."

Jan 28, 2016 • Christopher Sarachilli

First-Year Seminar Culminates in Exhibition on 'Selfie'-Portraits

In the fall 2015 semester, the First-Year Seminar "Selfie Genre: Self-Portraiture in the Digital Age" taught by Laura Baldwin, chief marketing officer at Arcadia, turned the camera around on our global society. From da Vinci to the Kardashians, the selfie course explored the power self-...