First-Year Seminars

Whether exploring the legends of jazz or the physical production of a pop singer’s accent, these seminars dive into the sounds that define us.

The Humanities in the Medieval and Early Modern Worlds
Taught by: Anthony R. DelDonna, Department of Music and Justin Haynes, Department of Classics
Course ID:  CASS-1400-01
Meeting Times:  MW 2 PM – 3:15 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled:  HALM (Humanities: Arts, Literature, Music, and Media)
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled:  One Classical Studies major or minor elective course or One Music minor elective course

This seminar will focus on Medieval and Early Modern works from the humanities, including literature (Dante, Ovid, Virgil), music (Monteverdi, Boulogne, Lully, Marianne Martines, Mozart), the visual arts (Bernini, Caravaggio), architecture, and related disciplines.

Students will read contemporary and historical scholarship to prepare for weekly discussions about key works and themes while also engaging the broader contextual topics of identity, rebellion, feminism, colonialism, enslavement, and religious practices (to name a few).

Students will develop critical-thinking skills and analytical tools through the close readings of sources, the study of the selected historical works, and course discussions. This seminar will benefit students interested in learning more about the broader humanities (Classics, Medieval Studies, Music, and History, among others) and interdisciplinary influences present within these fields. The class will make visits to area museums, attend concerts, and welcome guest speakers, among other activities.

About Anthony R. DelDonna
I am a Historical Musicologist and I study Italian music, musicians, and the broader artistic culture centered on the Kingdom of Naples in the early modern period. My specific interests include vocal genres (opera, oratorio, cantata), instrumental music, dance, and archival studies. I am especially interested in reviving lost masterworks and organizing performances utilizing historical instruments and concepts.

About Justin Haynes
I study how classical authors, especially Virgil and Ovid, were understood and celebrated in medieval and early modern Europe. I am also a luthier and musician who regularly performs on the viola da gamba, and every summer I play cello in two or three classical and baroque opera productions.





Five Minutes That Will Make You Love Jazz          
Taught by: Maurice Jackson, Department of History
Course ID:  CASS-1099-01
Meeting Times:  TTh 2 PM – 3:15 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled:  History Focus
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled:  History Focus requirement for the History major or minor

This course will use theThe New York Times series, “5 Minutes to Make You Love Jazz” to study the history of jazz, jazz masters, and American culture. In The New York Times series, musicians, music critics, and historians survey the music and the history of different musicians: their origins, birth cities, and more. In our course, we will explore Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Shirley Horn, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane. We will walk along their musical journeys and the history of their times and music. We will study themes such as the jazz piano, jazz bass, and tenor sax. Each week will be divided into two parts with one day of music-listening and one day of discussion around The New York Times articles and various assigned readings.

About Maurice Jackson
Before coming to academe I worked as a longshoreman, shipyard rigger, construction worker, and community organizer. I am the author of Rhythms of Resistance and Resilience: How Black Washingtonians Used Music and Sports in the Fight for Equality and Let This Voice Be Heard: Anthony Benezet, Father of Atlantic Abolitionism. My next book, Halfway to Freedom: The Struggles and Strivings of African Americans in Washington, DC., will be published in 2026.





Language, Accent, and Song    
Taught by: Jennifer Nycz, Department of Linguistics
COURSE ID:  CASS-1491-28
Meeting Times: MW 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One half of Social Science with Linguistics
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One Linguistics major or minor elective course

Why do some pop singers “lose” their accent when they sing, while others do not? Why are operatic sopranos sometimes difficult to understand, even when their articulation is perfect? How do artists use dialect features to perform authentic personae in genres such as country, hip-hop, and punk? Learn the answers to these questions and more, as we examine how speech and song are produced in the body, acoustically realized, and perceived by the human ear, and how singers use accent and language to express themselves artistically while also conveying important parts of their identity.

About Jennifer Nycz
As a linguist, I research how people’s accents vary over time and according to context, and what this variation can tell us about social identity and about how language is represented in the mind. As a musician, I’ve sung in chamber choirs, a cappella groups, early music ensembles,  musical theatre productions, garage bands, and a rock opera – contexts and genres requiring a range of vocal qualities and accent characteristics. I’m excited to combine these interests in this exploration of language, song, and identity, and to show you how we can systematically study features of accent and the voice using the tools of phonetics and quantitative social science.

These seminars invite students to explore how the arts can cultivate creativity, challenge social narratives, and transform public spaces.

Creative Drawing Techniques   
Taught by: Scott Hutchison, Department of Art and Art History
COURSE ID:  CASS-1491-05
Meeting Times: MW 9:30 AM – 12 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: HALM (Humanities: Arts, Literature, Music, and Media)
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: Drawing requirement or elective for the Art major or one elective Art minor course

Through in-person demonstrations, museum visits, and presentations of artists from differing backgrounds, students will learn various aesthetic approaches. This course aims to foster a unique setting in which students learn from one another by drawing together, sharing their art, and discussing their work in an open and collaborative environment. Through this shared experience, students may discover a deep appreciation for the visual arts through drawing.

About Scott Hutchison

Do you remember the first piece of artwork that moved you? Whether it was an oil painting, a movie or a piece of music – the impact can be long lasting and real. For me, it was Francis Bacon’s Study after Velasquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X (1953) at Des Moines Art Center. I was only twelve at the time, but after forty years I still strive for the same reaction I felt then in my own artwork. I am a figurative painter and describe my current work as complex layers of half-truths. Inspiration for my work comes from the notion that our conscience is guided by our experiences and the limitless decisions we make each day.





Graffiti, Murals, and Pixação  (HALM; PSJ)
Taught by: Martina Thorne, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
COURSE ID:  CASS-1491-31
Meeting Times: WF 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: HALM (Humanities: Arts, Literature, Music, and Media), Pathways to Social Justice
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One Modern/Contemporary course in the Art History major or minor or One elective in the American Studies major

How do walls speak? Who gets to be seen in public space—and who is erased? This seminar examines murals, graffiti, pixação, and urban architecture in Latin America and selected U.S. cities as forms of public intervention.

We will explore how artists and communities use visual and spatial practices to assert identity, challenge dominant histories, and make social and environmental demands visible. Students will develop tools for analyzing images in context—considering scale, location, circulation, and audience—and reflect on how urban art shapes civic life today. The course includes guided visits to public art sites in Washington, DC (Adams Morgan, NoMa, U Street), a planned day trip to Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program, and an experiential mural painting activity.

About Martina Thorne

I am a scholar of culture and knowledge in the Americas, interested in the ways artistic, literary, and intellectual traditions shape public understandings of race, history, memory, and belonging. My work explores cultural forms—from murals and film to music, architecture, and Indigenous intellectual traditions—and the role they play in producing and contesting ideas about identity and power across the hemisphere. Trained in cultural studies and literature, I design interdisciplinary courses that invite students to analyze the processes through which societies encode, circulate, and challenge meaning through cultural expression.





Performing Arts: A Language of Cultural Representation  (HALM; PSJ)
Taught by: Anita Gonzalez, Department of Black Studies
COURSE ID:  CASS-1491-32
Meeting Times: TTh 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: HALM (Humanities: Arts, Literature, Music, and Media), Pathways to Social Justice
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One elective course in the Theater and Performance Studies major or minor

This course explores the performing arts as a universal language for storytelling and a vital tool for cultural representation. By examining traditions across Europe, Africa, and the Americas, students investigate how music, theater, and dance respond to diverse socio-political systems and advance social justice.

The curriculum balances historical foundations with contemporary practice. Students will trace the evolution of performance from African griot storytelling and Greek oratory to Italian commedia dell’arte and Caribbean carnivals. The second half focuses on the DMV area, featuring visits to “Black Broadway,” neighborhood explorations, and direct engagement with local artists.

Designed for active learners, the seminar features participatory workshops on Tuesdays and critical discussions on Thursdays. The experience culminates in a collaborative research project where students develop a performance manifesto, gaining the tools to analyze how diverse communities imagine justice through the arts. 

About Anita Gonzalez

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the ability to continuously create new worlds and new experiences. Anita Gonzalez is a Professor of Performing Arts and Black Studies at Georgetown University. As a playwright, producer and director she believes storytelling connects people to their cultures. Gonzalez extends the reach of her scholarship through community projects and book publication. 

Care for the whole person through the transformative power of shared stories and timeless inquiry.

Big Questions, Great Reads: A Cura Personalis Seminar    

Taught by: Emily Francomano, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Course ID: CASS-1200-01
Meeting Times: MW 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM

Taught by: Michelle C. Wang, Department of Art and Art History
Course ID: CASS-1200-02
Meeting Times: MW 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM

Taught by: Lioudmila Fedorova, Department of Slavic Languages
Course ID: CASS-1200-03
Meeting Times: MW 11 AM – 12:15 PM

Taught by: Tania Gentic, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Course ID: CASS-1200-04
Meeting Times: WF 11 AM – 12:15 PM

Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled:  HALM (Humanities: Arts, Literature, Music, and Media)

This fall, we are offering four sections of Big Questions, Great Reads, taught by faculty from several of our humanities departments. Students interested in Big Questions, Great Reads may indicate interest in any of the four sections. Each section will engage in the same BIG questions and read the most of the same texts.

What does it mean to be human? This course explores the “problem of being human” through close readings of transformative literary texts. These works act as conduits of knowledge, allowing us to inhabit diverse social contexts and discover the “pleasure of recognition” in others’ internal lives. We will approach reading as a form of cura personalis, care for the whole person.

Together, we will examine six BIG questions:

• What is human?
• What is language?
• What is family?
• What is friendship?
• What is death?
• What is love?

Our transformative texts come from many different traditions and times; some of the texts you’ll be reading are Bulgakov’s Heart of a Dog, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Yoshimoto’s Kitchen, and Sophocles’ Antigone. Join us as we encounter stories that enchant, shock, and bridge the gap between the ancient past and our modern present.

About Emily Francomano

I am an interdisciplinary scholar and teacher of medieval studies, comparative literature, digital humanities and translation. I love to study how certain narratives, particularly those about gender identities, are told and re-told in many different literary and material forms, from illuminated manuscripts to television series. A book worm originally from Pennington NJ, I majored in Spanish and Philosophy at Oberlin College and then pursued graduate studies at Hunter College, Columbia University, and the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain. My most recent book, The Iberian Apollonius of Tyre is an edition and translation of a thirteenth-century romance about love, fortune, pirates, and music in the medieval Mediterranean.  

About Michelle Wang

The path to the art historian I am today began with the interdisciplinary curriculum of my undergraduate major in East Asian Languages and Civilizations, during which I learned to appreciate and analyze cultures through the lenses of history, literature, religion, and art. Today, I use all of these tools to research Buddhist art of the silk routes and teach courses in Asian art history. I enjoy traveling to cultural heritage sites, museums, and libraries around the world for research and in my spare time, I enjoy watching films and reading. My research assistants are two African grey parrots named Anju and Luna. 

About Tania Gentic

I come from a family of immigrants. Fascinated by my family’s cultural and linguistic mixing, I pursued a doctorate in Hispanic Studies; I teach and research on literary journalism, national identity, and sound studies in Spain and Latin America. My passion is exploring with students all that literature from around the globe can teach us about humanity and the human experience.

About Lioudmila Fedorova 

I changed countries twice—once without my participation, when I woke up in a new country after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and once—by my own choice, when I moved to the US. I am especially interested in tracing patterns—recurring themes, motifs and characters that permeate world literatures—in some eras disappearing, and in others reappearing again. I am fascinated by the complex polylogues that unfold between seemingly distant texts and authors. My main area of expertise is Russian literature. I also study ecological writing, the intersections between fiction and urban studies, and the relationship between auto-fiction, fiction, and non-fiction.

These seminars investigate social hierarchies, political resistance, and the struggle for equity.

American Lit: The Sixties           
Taught by: Dennis A. Williams, Department of English
Course ID:  CASS-1491-04
Meeting Times: MW 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: HALM (Humanities: Arts, Literature, Music, and Media), Pathways to Social Justice
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One English major genre course or One AMST major elective course

The 1960s: that mythical time when Baby Boomers inherited the Earth and, some would say, messed everything up. Political assassinations, urban uprisings, college campuses in revolt, the evolving Black freedom struggle, and second-wave feminism played out amid new sights and sounds in popular music, cinema, theater, and visual arts.

In this seminar, we will read James Baldwin and Sylvia Plath, John Updike and Joan Didion, Sonia Sanchez and Kurt Vonnegut to discover the ways their unique voices were both informed by and transformed the moment in which they wrote. We will enhance our time-travel with a visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture and a group meal at Busboys and Poets in the U Street corridor.

About Dennis A. Williams

Lecturer Dennis A. Williams is a bona fide Boomer, a witness (on TV) to everything from the Kennedy-Nixon presidential debates to Woodstock. He is also a novelist, journalist and playwright who has taught college reading and writing for 40 years, the past 25 of them at Georgetown. Most of that teaching focused on first-year students in his former capacity as an associate dean dedicated to enhancing the undergraduate experience for students.

“I’m going to stay with the youngsters. When these get too old I’m going to get some younger ones. Keeps the mind active.” – jazz drummer Art Blakey.

Identity-Affirming Education as a Tool for Educational Justice    (PSJ)
Taught by: Sabrina Wesley-Nero, Program in Education, Inquiry, and Justice
COURSE ID: CASS-1491-18
Meeting Times: TTh 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: Pathways to Social Justice
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One core course for EDIJ minor or one Justice and Education course for EDIJ minor

Book bans. CRT bans. Core curriculum standards. What constitutes essential knowledge and who should have the power to define it? How might inclusive and diverse curricula impact educational justice? By analyzing historical and contemporary movements to define the knowledge(s) taught in schools as well as research and theory related to identity-affirming curricula, students will explore the complexities of power, identities, and agency. As part of the course, students will (1) evaluate their educational experiences, (2) collect data on and learn from the educational experiences of others, and (3) engage in design thinking to create a plan for an identity-affirming, effective undergraduate learning pathway.

About Sabrina Wesley-Nero

Born and raised in northwestern Florida, I first came to Georgetown as a first-generation, low-income college student. Now I’m back on the Hilltop on the other side of the podium teaching courses at the nexus of education and social justice. My research examines race and language in education, focusing on how educators and students from marginalized identities experience educational justice.

Blackness as an Organizing Strategy     
Taught by: Corey Fields, Department of Sociology
COURSE ID: CASS-1491-33
Meeting Times: MF 2 PM – 3:15 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: Social Science (one of two with Sociology), Pathways to Social Justice
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One Black Studies major or minor elective course

In this seminar, you will gain a broad introduction to interdisciplinary perspectives on contemporary social movements. Specifically, the course uses the experiences of African Americans to provide a more general understanding of the historical development, cultural impact, and political successes of a range of post-1960s US social movements. The seminar will draw on in-class discussion, guest speakers, and class outings to explore African American participation in post-Civil Rights social movements.

About Corey Fields

Growing up in Memphis, TN, I was always fascinated by how the groups you belonged to had such a powerful force in day-to-day experiences. Whether in conflicts between jocks and nerds, students and teachers, or indie rockers and hip-hop heads, questions of identity – the boundaries we draw between “us” and “them” – were simultaneously cognitive, political, and moral. The groups with which we identify shape how we see the world and outline viable and acceptable routes of action. This has been true in my own life and animates my intellectual interests. Today, my research explores the role of identity – at both the individual and collective level – in structuring social life, and contributes to the ongoing analysis of the relationship between identity, experience, and culture.

Conflict@Georgetown: Finding Meaning is Tension        (PSJ)
Taught by: Eleanor JB Daugherty, Vice President for Student Affairs and Fr. Gregory Schenden, S.J., Director of Campus Ministry
COURSE ID: CASS-1491-29
Meeting Times: M 9:30 AM – 12 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: Pathways to Social Justice

Conflict, tension, privilege, and justice present welcome dissonance in college students. As Hoyas, we are called to embrace tension and seek transformation with ourselves and our world. Students will develop a deeper understanding of the origins of both American higher education and Jesuit education as instruments of access and social mobility. Students will use Jesuit values to acknowledge their own identity and privilege and learn how to meaningfully encounter others.

About Eleanor JB Daughtery

I’m from everywhere (New York, Ireland, Michigan, Chicago, Connecticut, and, now, DC). Home is a relative term to me that speaks more about the company we keep than the address we hold. As our home, Georgetown is the latest stop in finding our way in the world.  I like to teach in areas that are “comfortably uncomfortable”: the psychology of belonging, adolescence, conflict, and privilege. When we journey into these topics together, we are able to effectively explore what that means in relation to who and what we will become in a world that needs us (myself included!).

About Fr. Gregory Schenden, S.J.

I did not grow up thinking I was going to be a Catholic priest. I’ve always been a big Star Wars fan, so I wanted to be Han Solo, but then I realized there’s no such thing as a Millenium Falcon. I was also big into music, but I can’t sing or play guitar, so that wasn’t going to happen. As an undergraduate student at a Jesuit university, I encountered Jesuits who transformed my understanding of what it means to be a person of faith. I love working with Georgetown students because they desire transformation and the betterment of all people, and that brings me hope on a daily basis.

Through the lenses of government, law, and technology, these seminars examine topics such as state authority and individual agency, founding ideals, and political ideology.

States Rule, People Resist         
Taught by: LaiYee Leong, Department of Government
COURSE ID: GOVT-1410-01
Meeting Times: TTh 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: Pathways to Social Justice, Social Science (one of two in Government)
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled:  Comparative Political Systems foundational course requirement for GOVT major or minor

We live in a world where states rule and regulate people. Why do states want to organize societies in particular ways? How do they go about it? When do ordinary people try to evade or push back against that control? And what does everyday resistance look like?

This seminar explores the power and knowledge that political authorities wield—and the exercise of human agency in response. Using a multidisciplinary lens, we study cases from different continents and time periods. We also read and discuss literary texts to foreground individual stories. Visits to selected sites in Washington, DC provide opportunities to apply learned insights to our own daily experiences.

About LaiYee Leong

I majored in English in college and then earned my Ph.D. in Political Science. I love how literary fiction allows me to immerse deeply in the perspectives and stories of unique individuals. At the same time, the study of politics with its focus on theories helps me to understand what commonalities shape the experiences of people across time and space. For me, these ways of contemplating the world represent two sides of the same coin: one zooms in on the granular details of living while the other considers big ideas of the mind. Both ways of looking at the world enrich my life as a scholar, a teacher, and a human being. I hope to welcome you to your new intellectual home at Georgetown by sharing what I find so meaningful and exciting.

The Declaration at 250: American Government, History, and Identity     
Taught by: Anne Marie Cammisa, Department of Government
COURSE ID: CASS-1491-27
Meeting Times: MW 2 PM – 3:15 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: Social Science (one of two in Government)
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One GOVT major or minor elective course

This seminar delves into the intellectual foundations of the Declaration of Independence, placing it in historical context and asking how it influences American identity and government today. What does it mean to be an American, and how do history, philosophy, and government intersect in answering that question? How do founding principles continue to inform national and state government action and federalism? What are some key moments in history which have tested our founding philosophy? What challenges does the current political situation present to the founding principles of the United States? Potential excursions include the National Archives and the Library of Congress. A short excursion to Philadelphia (Independence Hall and the Constitution Center) is also planned.

About Anne Marie Cammisa

My mother and father came to Washington to work for the federal government and I grew up in Alexandria, Virginia—George Washington’s hometown. As a child, I imagined George and Martha Washington walking the streets of my hometown, and I was curious about what it meant that so many parents of my friends worked “for the government,” an entity that appeared in the media portrayed only as Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court. Where did these public servants (also known as bureaucrats) fit in? My intellectual career has been shaped by those early curiosities. I have devoted my scholarship and teaching to understanding how American government works, how it emerged from particular historical and philosophical traditions, and how those traditions continue to shape public policy, institutions, and administrative practice today.

The First Amendment
Taught by: Joseph Hartman, Department of Government
COURSE ID: GOVT-1210-01
Meeting Time: T 2 PM – 4:30 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled:  Social Science (one of two in Government)
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled:  US Political Systems foundational course requirement for GOVT major or minor

What do we mean when we refer to “free” speech? Does it include hate speech? What about offensive symbols? Commercial advertisements? Verbal threats? And even if we can begin to answer those questions, we might further ask: under what conditions can we even consider speech “free” in the first place?

These urgent problems occupy the heart of the U.S. Supreme Court’s First Amendment jurisprudence, which determines the extent to which the law requires protection of, inter alia, fighting words, obscenity, incitement, symbolic speech, commercial speech, and hate speech. This course provides students with a solid grounding in that jurisprudence. In so doing we will assess and examine the evolving tests, standards, and approaches found in the decisions of the United States Supreme Court as well as the philosophical and theoretical foundations upon which these legal doctrines rest and upon which they are challenged.

About Joseph Hartman

More than a decade ago I initiated a significant career transition, leaving a full-time litigation practice to pursue an academic career. I arrived on the Hilltop as a first-year Ph.D. student in 2009—and I never left! My teaching now focuses on constitutional law and the history of political thought, interests I see as complementary; one might think of constitutional law as political theory put into legal terminology. That said, I recognize that many students may find the study of law unfamiliar, challenging, and even intimidating. I work to change that—and this shapes the course material and the educational climate I seek to foster: one of collaboration, trust, and active, engaged exploration.

Socialism         
Taught by: Michael Kazin, Department of History
COURSE ID: CASS-1099-05
Meeting Times: TTh 2 PM – 3:15 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: History Focus
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: History Focus requirement for the History major or minor

This is a course about one of the most significant and most contentious philosophies, movements, and governing ideologies in the history of the modern world. From its visionary beginnings in the early 19th century, to the collapse of the Soviet Union near the end of the 20th century, to the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders, socialism has given rise both to grand dreams of equality and freedom and to fears—and the reality—of state tyranny. We will talk about the subject over a delicious dinner and also hear from the author of one of the assigned books, who is himself a leading American socialist.

About Michael Kazin

I have taught history at Georgetown since 1999 and have been fascinated by the history of socialism since my days as a New Left activist in college during the late 1960s. I regularly teach courses on other “isms” too, such as radicalism and conservatism in the United States. For twelve years until 2020, I also co-edited Dissent, a leading magazine of the American left, which began in 1954. I have written seven books, the most recent of which is What It Takes to Win: A History of the Democratic Party.

Policed by Code: AI, Inequality, and the Future of Safety  (SS; PSJ)
Taught by: Andrea Headley, McCourt School of Public Policy
COURSE ID: CASS-1491-90
Meeting Times: T 3:15 PM – 5:45 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: Pathways to Social Justice, Social Science (one of two in Public Policy)
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: 

• One elective course in the Public Policy major or  
• History, Culture, and Society course for the Law, Justice, and Society minor or
• One elective course in the American Studies major 

Policing shapes far more than public safety. Its reach extends into education, economic mobility, mental health, and civic participation. So, what does it mean to be safe and who gets to decide? This seminar explores the history, politics, and future of policing in America, with a focus on racial and socioeconomic inequality, the rise of AI-driven surveillance and predictive policing, and evidence-based reform. To engage these issues fully, our Capitol Campus setting will allow us to explore DC and move freely beyond the classroom: stepping inside national museums, sitting down with practitioners at the forefront of reform, learning from faculty at Georgetown Law, and contributing to live research on AI and Justice through the Evidence for Justice lab. Students will leave with both a critical lens and a sense of what change actually looks like in practice.

Note: This seminar’s home base is 111 Mass Ave. Meeting downtown, students will experience the city (federal institutions, courts, agencies, museums) and directly access Georgetown’s Capitol Campus resources like the E4J Lab, public policy faculty, and law faculty. The course meets once a week, allowing for more time downtown with minimal commuting; Georgetown’s shuttle provides a comfortable 20-30 minute connection to and from the Hilltop.

About Andrea Headley

Criminal justice found me. Growing up, I witnessed loved ones caught up in a complex system that impacted everyone around them. Over time I realized I was less drawn to providing direct services and cared more about changing systems and structures. Policing wasn’t my original focus, however, until the U.S. Department of Justice’s Ferguson report surfaced a pile of reform recommendations with little evidence to understand their efficacy. Filling that gap and using research as a lever for change became my goal.

Threats to the Liberal Democratic Regime         
Taught by: Marilyn McMorrow, Department of Government
COURSE ID: GOVT-1810-01
Meeting Time:  MW 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: Social Science (one of two in Government)
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: Political Theory foundational course requirement for GOVT major or minor

If you think Human Beings have the right to govern themselves through non-violent deliberation and majority rule, provided decisions do not violate the equal right of every person to be a center of moral concern entitled to fundamental freedoms, then you prefer Liberal Democratic government. To date, there has never been a “perfect” example, but political communities have tried to instantiate such governments or make of them a “more perfect union.”

This seminar studies necessary components of the “Liberal Democratic Regime Type;” fissures that undermine such a regime from within; and authoritarian assaults from without.

This is a problem-driven seminar (with lots of reading). If we believe there is moral reason to prefer the Liberal Democratic Regime, why? What challenges must we then acknowledge? The seminar can only open the topic—with a roadmap and a push.

About Marilyn McMorrow

Having majored in Literature and History in College, I chose to get an MA in American Intellectual and Religious History, before my Princeton Ph.D. degree in Political Theory and International Relations. This academic background prepared me to teach at Georgetown, courses that focus on the critical normative and moral problems in world politics, like Human Rights, Just War Theory, and Refugee and Migration Policy.  Given current threats, national and international, and both internal and external, to the structure and survival of Liberal Democracy, I have in recent years offered a First-Year Seminar on this crucial topic, both in The School of Foreign Service and in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Through these seminars, with their focus on ancient wisdom, creative practice, and lived experience, students will develop the tools and ethical frameworks necessary for a well-examined life.

Human Flourishing: East and West          
Taught by: Erin Cline, Department of Theology and Religious Studies
COURSE ID: CASS-1491-03
Meeting Times: TTh 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: First theology; equivalent to Problem of God
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One elective course in the Theology and Religious Studies major or minor

From the sages and philosophers of the Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist traditions to those of the ancient Greek, Christian, and Jewish traditions, we will travel the world through some of the greatest texts ever written in search of what human flourishing meant not only throughout human history, but what it means for us today. This seminar includes group meals together off campus, as well as collaborative meetings and activities with the “How to Make a Decision” Ignatius Seminar, since good decision-making is central to human flourishing.

About Erin Cline

I grew up on the beaches of Homer, Alaska, the daughter of a cultural anthropologist and a music teacher. A love of bluegrass and traditional Irish music originally led me to major in music in college. But after studying abroad in China, my fascination with ancient Chinese texts led me to graduate school to study Chinese and comparative philosophy. My five books all explore how Asian philosophical and religious traditions can help us respond to a variety of contemporary challenges and engage in dialogue with different traditions and cultures. My translation of the ancient Chinese text, the Confucian Analects, and my latest book, The Problem of God (based on Georgetown’s iconic course, which I’ve taught for the last sixteen years), will both be released later this academic year.

The Examined Life Lab     
Taught by: Sherry Kao, Department of Philosophy
COURSE ID: CASS-1491-25
Meeting Times: MW 5 PM – 6:15 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: Philosophy (Ethics)
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One core course for Philosophy major or minor 

The unexamined life isn’t worth living, according to Socrates. But how do you actually do the examining? The Examined Life Lab is a space designed to tackle the “Big Questions” head-on. We’ll dive into philosophical and religious blueprints for the good life—from ancient wisdom to contemporary reflections—and then we’ll put them to the test. You’ll develop your own hypotheses about meaning, test them through real-world “life-labs,” and engage in honest dialogue with your peers. Join us as we build a toolkit for seeking truth and navigating the big questions of existence long after the semester ends.

About Sherry Kao

Growing up witnessing Taiwan’s democratization away from authoritarian rule, and with my grandparents’ first-hand stories of fleeing to Taiwan with the KMT at the end of WWII and of growing up in colonized Taiwan under Japanese rule, shapes my keen interest in free speech and existential questions. My study abroad experience in Sweden, the Netherlands, and the U.S. exposed me to the Socratic approach to philosophy, which has ignited and sustained my passion for teaching. My current research projects are on well-being, aspiration, hope, and despair.

Stories That Shape Us
Taught by: Jessica Batychenko, Department of English
COURSE ID: CASS-1400-02
Meeting Times: TTh 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: Writing

Note: This seminar is a two-semester experience. Semester one is Stories that Shape Us, which will fulfill students’ Writing requirement. Semester two is Ethical Storytelling, which will fulfill students’ HALM requirement. Students will be expected to complete the yearlong sequence so the group can form a strong learning community.

How does lived experience shape the way we make meaning of our own lives and understand the world more broadly? How do we engage with others in ways that center consent, empathy, and respect? This two-semester seminar uses oral history to explore these questions. In the fall, students will examine exhibits and oral history collections, developing tools to analyze and interpret archival materials. In the spring, students will build on this foundation by collaboratively designing and conducting an oral history project focused on a campus organization of shared interest. Throughout the sequence, students will explore Georgetown and DC while gaining critical insight, ethical research skills, and practical experience in collaborative storytelling.

About Jessica Batychenko

I joined the English department at Georgetown in 2025 where I teach courses in the Writing Program. My scholarship and teaching more broadly spans university, nonprofit, and K-12 spaces. Across these spaces, I am interested in the transformative potential of storytelling and dialog, and how these tools can prepare us to participate meaningfully in public life. As I enter my third year at Georgetown, I’m excited to explore DC culture and histories alongside my students.

Writing, Art and Silence   
Taught by: Christine Evans, Department of Theater and Performance Studies
COURSE ID:  CASS-1491-08
Meeting Times: MW 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: HALM (Humanities: Arts, Literature, Music, and Media)
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One elective course in the English major or minor or One elective course in the Theater and Performance Studies major or minor

We live in a noisy, anxious world. Here, we slow down to explore a new approach to creative writing. Through a combination of structured silent writing time, meditative techniques, and visits to view visual and performing arts, students will complete one open-genre creative project, and learn how to develop their writing as a technology of thinking, rather than as a transcription of ideas.

About Christine Evans

I’m Australian, grew up in three different countries, and began my artistic life as a traveling musician. Now I write plays, opera libretti and novels: the common thread is socially engaged topics through a poetic and feminist lens. I’m inspired by what silence, contemplation, and cross-art-form practices can offer, in both my own writing practice and my teaching.

Borders            
Taught by: Nicoletta Pireddu, Director of Georgetown Humanities Initiative
COURSE ID: CASS-1491-13
Meeting Times: MW 11 AM – 12:15 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: HALM (Humanities: Arts, Literature, Music, and Media), Pathways to Social Justice

Through literary works, movies, and art from all over the world, we will address the multifaceted role of borders in the construction of individual and collective identities, and the relationship between self and other. We will explore borders as bulwarks and sites of conflict, but also as spaces that negotiate differences. Border crossing will be our pedagogical tool, as we step into the other’s shoes. Last but not least, we will cross the borders of our classroom for cultural field trips and culinary experiences—Italian… and, of course, beyond!

About Nicoletta Pireddu

I grew up between the snow-capped Alps and the turquoise Tyrrhenian Sea, with a Sardinian last name and a Venetian accent, trying to fit in to both regional cultures but fully belonging to neither. This is probably how I developed an interest in borders and in the power of literatures and languages to cross them. From Italy to the UK, France, and the US, my academic journey is an ongoing adventure that allows me to continue exploring the complexity of identity and the enrichment of cultural exchanges, with my students and in my research.

Creative Resilience          
Taught by: Milena Santoro, Department of French and Francophone Studies
COURSE ID:  CASS-1491-10
Meeting Times: TTh 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: HALM (Humanities: Arts, Literature, Music, and Media), Pathways to Social Justice

What do creative activities such as writing, music, filmmaking, and art teach us about the human spirit and how to cope with hardships? In what ways can connecting with others’ creativity help us face difficulties, and inspire us to cultivate our own forms of creative resilience? This seminar will allow students to explore the connections between creativity and resilience, through art, films, novels, poetry, and music produced by individuals—from Matisse to Margaret Atwood, from Robbie Robertson to Ocean Vuong—who have experienced many different types of adversity that have catalyzed their creative powers in surprising and compelling ways. Planned enrichment includes museum excursions, guest speakers and creators, creation of a student-curated playlist, and a baking night.

About Milena Santoro

I grew up on Canada’s west coast, a region rich in First Nations history and cultures. My research into Quebec’s film and literature, as a Francophone scholar, got me interested in Indigenous filmmakers and writers from the province, some of whom have visited my classes. I am currently collaborating on a special journal issue on French-language Indigenous writing in Quebec.

These seminars equip students with the rigorous frameworks of decision-making, critical thinking, and textual analysis necessary to navigate the complexities of adulthood and the modern world.

How to Make a Decision           
Taught by: Peter Folan, S.J., Department of Theology and Religious Studies
COURSE ID:  CASS-1491-09
Meeting Times: TTh 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: First theology; equivalent to Problem of God
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One elective course in the Theology and Religious Studies major or minor

For many of you, matriculating at Georgetown was a big decision, maybe the biggest decision of your life. But it won’t be the last. Indeed, other decisions, even more significant decisions, are already on the horizon. Join me if you want to think about how you will make them. Texts and films from academic disciplines as varied as theology, literature, and business will be the foundation of our semester-long conversation. And that conversation will expand beyond the classroom with a series of daylong “Decision Labs” in the neighborhoods of Washington, DC. Whether you participate in only one, some, or all of those labs…is your decision.

About Peter Folan
I am a Catholic priest and theologian who, like you, has been making some good, some bad, and mostly routine decisions for a long time. But I am also a Jesuit, which means that my “family” has been thinking about decision making for nearly 500 years. I look forward to sharing with you what the family has taught me.





Becoming an Adult        
Taught by: Yulia Chentsova-Dutton, Department of Psychology
COURSE ID: CASS-1491-19
Meeting Times: TTh 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: Social Science (one of two in Psychology)

This Ignatius Seminar explores the psychological and sociological transition from adolescence to adulthood through a cultural lens. We begin by examining how models of adulthood vary across the globe, questioning why the “launch” from home looks different in DC than it does in Tokyo or Brussels.

Students will investigate the development of the “agentic self”—learning to author their own identities while navigating the practical risks of modern life. Students will build self-efficacy by navigating the DC community, analyzing deidentified laboratory data, and practicing “thinking through talking” in a supportive seminar environment. Through guest speakers and hands-on exercises, we will bridge the gap between developmental theory and the lived reality of emerging adulthood, preparing you to navigate life beyond the Hilltop with purpose and agency.

About Yulia Chentsova Dutton

Yulia Chentsova Dutton is a cultural psychologist who has been teaching at Georgetown since 2007. Her research bridges cultural and clinical psychology. One of her interests is cultural differences in the development of enacted autonomy. She teaches courses in cultural, abnormal, and personality psychology and affective science, while also conducting research on the ways that culture shapes our various emotions. 

How to Think Well in the Age of A.I.
Taught by: Huaping Lu-Adler, Department of Philosophy
Course ID: CASS-1491-26
Meeting Times: MW 5 PM – 6:15 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: Philosophy (General)
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One core course for Philosophy major or minor 

The quality of thinking affects every aspect of our lives, such as how we absorb information, how we make decisions, and whether we can effectively engage one another in a civil society. To think well in our times, we need theoretical and practical tools by which to separate thinking from mere feelings, distinguish good and bad ways of thinking, tune out noises that distract you from seeking or seeing truths, uncover the logic (or lack thereof) and hidden assumptions in other people’s claims, monitor and manage our sources of information, and so forth. This course provides an essential set of such tools and creates a collaborative environment within which the students can learn and master them.

About Huaping Lu-Adler

I’m a Professor of Philosophy. My current scholarship sits at the intersections of Social Epistemology, Political Philosophy, and Philosophy of Race. Two beliefs guide my work as an educator. One is that we are socially embedded and historically shaped subjects; the other is that each of us ought to do whatever we can, regardless of the odds, to make the world around us better and kinder. I’m interested in understanding the social relations, historical events, political powers, and material forces that influence the ecosystem in which we think and act. And I’m passionate about building communities where people feel seen, heard, and encouraged to be their best. This passion infuses my pedagogy.

 

How to Read a Difficult Book: Nicomachean Ethics    (PHIL G or E)
Taught by: Kate Withy, Department of Philosophy
COURSE ID:  CASS-1491-06
Meeting Times: TTh 5 PM – 6:15 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: Philosophy (General or Ethics; students may choose by taking a course in the opposite discipline as their second core philosophy course in a subsequent semester)
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One core course for Philosophy major or minor 

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics is one of the great works of philosophical ethics. We will read it as offering a theory of human nature: an account of what a human life is and of what is possible within it. For Aristotle, all things aim at the good, and the work of the human being is to aim at the distinctively rational good of making sense of the world. We will explore what it takes to do this in acting, experiencing emotions, making decisions, and organizing our lives overall. We will read Aristotle’s text very closely—reading, as Nietzsche puts it, “slowly, deeply, looking cautiously before and aft, with reservations, with doors left open, with delicate eyes and fingers.” By reading and talking together, and through social activities outside of class, we will build a community of learning dedicated to reading this difficult book.

About Kate Withy 

I like reading difficult books—books that need to be read and reread, books that make you wonder how to read them, books that make you see things differently. In my research, I work on one of the most difficult books in German philosophy: Martin Heidegger’s Being and Time. I started reading this book more than 20 years ago, and I haven’t finished yet! Difficult books such as this need to be read more than once and in the company of other curious and smart readers. Reading a book in this way is one of the great pleasures of a well-rounded life, and I firmly believe that we should all do it more often.

These seminars investigate the dynamic intersection of faith and public life.

Magis: The Real Metaverse      
Taught by: Paul L. Heck, Department of Theology and Religious Studies
COURSE ID: CASS-1491-11
Meeting Times: MW 8 AM – 9:15 AM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: First theology; equivalent to Problem of God
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One elective course in the Theology and Religious Studies major or minor

This course helps students understand religion in light of the magis, a Jesuit term meaning “the greater good.” We pursue course topics in light of current crises (from climate to opioids to inequality) to garner perspective on the ways religion responds to society’s needs. Along the way, we venture beyond the Hilltop—to Washington National Cathedral, Arlington National Cemetery, a monastery—to consider religion’s place in the nation’s landscape (and enjoy a magis meal in one another’s company).

About Paul Heck

I finished my doctorate in religion just as 9/11 happened. The story of the century made heavenly devotion seem crazy, but I had to explain why it’s a good thing. What I’ve realized after twenty years of research and reflection is that all human experience, rightly discerned, is religious, drawing us into a goodness that lies beyond policy-making. I now bring my insights to the wider university, heading a new major in Theology on Religion, Politics, and the Common Good (RPCG), advancing the Theo-Humanism Project (THP), and teaching an Ignatius Seminar on the workings of goodness in both soul and society, goodness—not the metaverse—as the really real.

 

The Future of the Catholic Idea
Taught by: Paul Elie, Senior Fellow and Director of the American Pilgrimage Project
COURSE ID:  CASS-1491-22
Meeting Times: Th 3:30 PM – 6 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: Second theology; students must still take Problem of God or Intro to Biblical Literature in a future semester to fulfill the rest of the core requirement in theology.
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One elective course in the Theology and Religious Studies major or minor

Even as Leo XIV—the first American-born Pope—leads the Church with a sure hand in Rome, Catholicism faces an uncertain future. No doubt it will be global, vital, and controversial—but how? In this seminar, we’ll answer the question together. After a session about current challenges to religion, we’ll consider the shifting emphases given to Jesus through the ages; explore Catholic conceptions of truth, history, and social order; and turn to lives of the saints and works of the Catholic imagination. Reflecting on communities from Benedictine abbeys to Catholic Worker houses, we’ll explore Catholic efforts for justice and prophecy. After three fall semesters—this one is the second—the course will culminate in a group trip to Rome.

About Paul Elie

After a Catholic childhood, it was through Jesuit education that my sense of Catholicism was deepened in ways that have never let go of me. That experience has shaped my work as an author (The Life You Save May Be Your Own), journalist (The New Yorker), and educator, and I see this Ignatius Seminar as an opportunity to “pass it on” and to learn from students as I do.

 

Interreligious Encounter
Taught by: Imam Yahya Hendi, Director for Muslim Life and Rabbi Ilana Zietman, Director for Jewish Life
COURSE ID: CASS-1400-03
Meeting Times: W 9:30 AM – 12 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: Second theology; students must still take Problem of God or Intro to Biblical Literature in a future semester to fulfill the rest of the core requirement in theology.
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One elective course in the Theology and Religious Studies major or minor

In today’s world, it is evident that religious beliefs can be strong components of social and political change. Whether it be in the rise of Islamophobia, the reemergence of Antisemitism, or the new pontificate of Pope Leo, religion and interreligious exchange must be recognized as a major influence on statecraft and politics.

This course will offer students the ability to see the role played by major religions in the West— Islam, Judaism, and Christianity—as well as how to understand what religions can say in dialogue with each other. Team-taught by an Imam, a Rabbi, and a variety of Catholic and Christian leaders at Georgetown, Interreligious Encounter aims to equip the student with an understanding of other religions from within the perspective of their practitioners and the skills necessary to dialogue across religious boundaries.

About Imam Yahya Hendi

Imam Hendi has been at Georgetown for 25 years and was the first Muslim chaplain to be hired full-time by an American university. He is a Public Policy Conflict Resolution Fellow at the Center for Dispute Resolution at the University of Maryland School of Law and the Maryland Judiciary’s Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office. He is passionate about environmental responsibility, racial justice, eliminating poverty, fighting against the growing sense of militarism, and empowering Muslims to reform the way they practice and understand Islam.

About Rabbi Ilana Zietman

As Director for Jewish Life, Rabbi Ilana serves as chaplain to Jewish students across Georgetown University. She loves to create Jewish experiences and foster communities that are caring, thought-provoking, and—most importantly—welcoming. As Director of Jewish Life, Rabbi Ilana provides pastoral care, Torah study and Jewish learning, Shabbat and holiday prayer services, meals and other programs throughout the academic year. She is committed to helping each student foster a Jewish life that is rich in meaning, relevance, mutual support and joy.

These seminars use scientific and analytical frameworks to decode the unseen forces that shape our everyday experiences, choices, and creative expressions.

Evolution In Daily Life
Taught by: Jennifer Fox, Department of Biology
COURSE ID: CASS-1491-01
Meeting Times: MW 11 AM – 12:15 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: Science for All

In this course, we will explore evolutionary mechanisms to understand how they have shaped many aspects of our daily lives, such as our health, the foods we eat, the pets in our homes, and our relationships with each other. We will also discuss how we can apply these ideas to understand current problems, like emerging diseases or antibiotic resistance, and to prevent future ones. We will explore this science through hands-on experiences like an art museum visit, apple tasting, biological experiments, and shared meals.

About Jennifer Fox

My fascination with evolution grew out of interests in science and history; evolution marries these disciplines. Studying evolution has sent me on many adventures—I’ve time-traveled into the past and been to incredible places like the bottom of the most polluted lake in the US, the New Zealand and Swiss Alps, and the Peace Corps in Kazakhstan. My desire to share the grandeur of evolution in particular and biology in general led me to teaching. At Georgetown, I teach courses about evolution, ecology, and environmental issues.

 

Psychology and the Arts           
Taught by: Deborah Stearns, Department of Psychology
COURSE ID:     CASS-1491-30
Meeting Times: TTh 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: Social Science (one of two in Psychology)

Science and art are often seen in opposition to each other, but this Ignatius Seminar looks at the ways they weave together to illustrate our full humanity. How can psychological science help us understand the experience of the arts, both as makers and audience members? How does art provide a lens through which we can see ourselves as we are and envision what we might become? We will explore a variety of topics across a range of artistic modalities, through readings, discussions, and experiential learning. Psychology helps us see the arts in new ways, which in turn enriches our lived experience of them.

About Deborah Stearns

Deborah Stearns is primarily a social psychologist, though my curiosity refuses to be contained to just one area of psychology. My interest in psychology emerged early in life, but so did my passion for the arts. I have at various points in my life been a musician, singer, dancer, actor, and writer. Throughout it all, I have been a maker of things—textiles, beads, photography, paper, paint—anything I can get my hands on. I love to think analytically and to express myself creatively.

 

Randomness, Chance, and Probability  
Taught by: Erblin Mehmetaj, Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Course ID:  MATH-1040-20
Meeting Times: MW 11 AM – 12:15 PM and TH 11 AM – 11:50 AM (recitation)
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled:  QRDL (Quantitative Reasoning and Data Literacy)

Note: This seminar is a special section of MATH 1040: Probability and Statistics. While it will fulfill the core QRDL requirement, it is not designed for students intending to major or minor in Mathematics and Statistics.

It’s been shown that when faced with uncertainty and imperfect information, intuition is ill-suited for making good judgments and decisions. In this seminar, we will study the topics covered in a standard introductory probability and statistics course and use this knowledge to read and understand Leonard Mlodinow’s The Drunkard’s Walk. This book is filled with historical accounts and examples from different areas of human affairs where something that seemed so obvious was so wrong. To understand randomness and make better decisions in the face of uncertainty, what is needed is an understanding of probability and statistics, and a lot of experience. In this course, we will attempt both. Additionally, to help form strong student relationships, we’ll have a field trip and enjoy a few meals off-campus.

About Erblin Mehmetaj

I was born and raised in Kosovo. At 15, I attended a summer camp in Maine where I learned for the first time about the liberal arts education. It really spoke to me and so I made it my goal to come to the US for college. At 18, I moved to New York for college with a political science major and a pre-med minor. Then one day, my Calculus II professor told me I should consider majoring in math because I was good at it. I didn’t want to major in math because I didn’t want to be a teacher. (My mom was a teacher. My grandfather was a teacher. My great-grandfather was a teacher.) I decided to major in finance and minor in math. During the fall semester of my senior year, as I was studying abroad at a business school in Switzerland and taking master-level finance courses, I realized that things in my finance courses always seemed to boil down to math. So, I decided to apply to Ph.D. programs in math from abroad. I moved to DC for my Ph.D. and never left. In the end, just like my mom, grandfather, and great-grandfather, I also became a teacher!

These seminars introduce students to historical and literary developments that continue to define culture today.

Witches             
Alison Games and Amy Leonard, Department of History
COURSE ID:     CASS-1099-02
Meeting Times: TTh 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: History Focus
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: History Focus requirement for the History major or minor

What is a witch? This seminar engages this question in a wide-ranging exploration of the phenomenon of witchcraft in Europe, Africa, and the Americas over the course of several centuries. It looks at witchcraft both as a set of practices and beliefs and as something that could be transformed into a crime by changing ideas and by cultural collisions. Together, we will enjoy a group dinner and a movie outing to see the new Disney movie, Hexed.

About Alison Games

I have taught History at Georgetown since 1995. My interest in the history of witches and witchcraft began with children’s books and excursions to Salem, but my knowledge and expertise have fortunately matured since then. I research and write about different aspects of the early modern world, including migration, colonization, violence, witchcraft, and empires, and I have been active in developing the field of Atlantic history at Georgetown.

About Amy Leonard

I have taught European history at Georgetown since 1999. I research and teach about women, gender, sexuality, nuns, Germany, and the Reformation. My Eurocentric focus on witches and their persecution has been forever broadened and altered by teaching with Professor Games, to the benefit (I hope) of generations of students.

 

The Global History of Skateboarding     
Bryan McCann, Department of History
COURSE ID:  CASS-1099-04
Meeting Times: WF 2 PM – 3:15 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: History Focus
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: History Focus requirement for the History major or minor

Skateboarding emerged in California in the 1960s. As it expanded around the globe, new adherents sought to retain its countercultural edge. Skateboarding became more diverse, and took on new manifestations. But skateboarding is now a billion-dollar industry. Has its countercultural veneer worn thin? We will explore the growth of skate scenes around the globe. We will visit local skate parks, meet key practitioners, and conduct research on the meanings and implications of skateboarding around the world.

About Bryan McCann

I’m a social and cultural historian, primarily of Brazil. I was a skate punk in the mid-1980s, then abandoned the sport for thirty years, picking it up again in the process of teaching my children to longboard. This prompted me to explore how skateboarding had changed in the meantime, and to combine my scholarly interest in the deep cultural patterns guiding our pursuits and my rediscovered love of skating.

 

Becoming Modern: Reason, Sentiment, and Identity in the 18th Century   

Tommaso Astarita, Department of History
Course ID:  CASS-1099-03
Meeting Times: TTh 2 PM – 3:15 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: History Focus
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: History Focus requirement for the History major or minor

This seminar focuses on the cultural and historical developments of Europe and its colonies in the eighteenth century, the era of the Enlightenment. By discussing together novels, plays, essays, images, and other sources, we will explore the remarkable changes that spanned Europe and its colonies in that era, and the new ideas about race, gender, science, politics, religion, culture, and art that emerged then and shaped our own time. Careful reading of texts, active class discussion, and close attention to writing will be central to our work. Together, we will also visit George Washington’s mansion and plantation at Mount Vernon and the National Gallery of Art, and attend an opera performance.

About Tommaso Astarita

I grew up in Naples, Italy. My mother was a teacher and art historian and my father taught engineering at the University: from them I learned that teaching was both fun and challenging, and to love art and the history of culture. I came to the United States for graduate school and have been teaching ever since. I continue to enjoy interacting with smart young people, helping them develop their skills and interests, and learning from and with them. My own main interest is the culture and history of Western Europe between the Renaissance and the eighteenth century. 

 

The Thousand and One Nights     
Elliot Colla, Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies
COURSE ID:  CASS-1491-36
Time: TTh 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: HALM (Humanities: Arts, Literature, Music, and Media)

The Thousand and One Nights is undoubtedly one of the most influential works of world literature, spawning translations and imitations from Argentina and Egypt to France and Japan. Given the humble origins of the Arabic text, the strange story of how these stories traveled is a marvel in its own right. We’ll begin by reading the core stories of the Nights with an eye to their origins and original contexts, and resonances with classical Islamic political philosophy, Indian Ocean travel writing, and medieval sex manuals. In the second half of the course, we’ll explore landmark literary and cinematic adaptations from the modern period.

About Elliott Colla

Circumstances took me to the Arab world at a relatively young age and my experiences of living there reshaped my life. That and a love of reading are what propelled me to eventually become a scholar and translator of modern Arabic literature. My relationship to the Thousand and One Nights is very personal—and began when I married into an Iraqi family whose life stories are directly linked to the history of the manuscript of this wondrous text… My guarantee: this seminar will contain stories you can reflect on and think with for the rest of your life.

 
 

Hager Scholars Program in Literatures, Cultures, and Language Studies

For students with an interest in a major, double major, or minor in a Language or Global Comparative Literature.

Named in honor of Dr. Serafina Hager, a long-serving Italian professor and dean, the Hager Scholars Program celebrates the strength and diversity of language study at Georgetown. In addition to a course in the language of their choice, Hager Scholars take a series of courses that fulfill core requirements, taught by faculty who are particularly interested in the ways that language study informs their fields

Fall Courses and Core Requirements Fulfilled

Course 1:         Intro to Biblical Literature (THEO1)

Course 2:         Intro to Global Literature (HALM)

Course 3:         Early Africa: Histories & Methods (HIST) or The World of Data (QRDL)

Course 4:         Language course at your level (LANG)*

Course 5:         Free elective or core course

*Students in a 5- or 6-credit intensive language course may elect to take one fewer course.

Spring Courses and Core Requirements Fulfilled

While we are still finalizing the Hager Scholars’ spring course, we can share that past spring courses have included Intro to Logic (Core General Philosophy requirement), Intro to Cultural Anthropology (Core Social Science requirement), and History of Africa I (Core History Survey requirement). 

Additionally, Hager Scholars will engage in a year-long Colloquium organized around the theme of “World Languages at Home.” The biweekly, 1-credit Colloquium is designed to familiarize students with the tools and methods of academic and intellectual inquiry, as well as to introduce students to language faculty and their research interests.

Guided by the Colloquium Director, Dean Javier Jimenez-Westerman, students will formulate their own research topics, ask questions, and articulate the challenges and triumphs they encounter as they embark on doing college-level research around themes that inspire them. The Colloquium will also expose students to cultural opportunities and outings in Washington and encourage them to explore opportunities available to language majors and minors in DC and beyond.

These seminars examine how languages—whether spoken, analyzed through cultural and artificial intelligence lenses, or decoded through wordgames—shape global communication and intercultural understanding.

Discovering Culture Through Language     
Sylvia Önder, Department of Anthropology
COURSE ID:  CASS-1491-12
Meeting Times: MW 2 PM – 3:15 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: HALM (Humanities: Arts, Literature, Music, and Media), Pathways to Social Justice
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One elective course in the Anthropology major or minor.

This seminar will examine the myriad ways that language use can shed light on the most human of activities—the making, shaping, and breaking of culture. We will read works translated from several languages, examine controversies about diverse forms of American English, experience the visual language of American Sign Language (ASL) through a visit to Gallaudet University, and, by examining archival documents, consider what is lost when a language goes extinct.

About Sylvia Önder

I came to Georgetown in 1998 to teach Turkish language and culture, after writing a dissertation about the healing practices of rural women on the Black Sea Coast of Turkey. Over the course of my time here on the Hilltop, I have come to appreciate the connection between local social justice movements and transnational political concerns. I look forward to sharing insights I have formed while studying and teaching the Turkish language, as well as anthropological insights about the constructed nature of culture and how humans act through and are acted upon by language.

 

Machines that Speak    
Joe Cunningham, Department of German
Course ID:  CASS-1400-04
Meeting Times: WF 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: HALM (Humanities: Arts, Literature, Music, and Media)

Drawing on linguistics, media studies, and cultural analysis, this seminar will introduce students to how artificial intelligence is transforming the ways humans communicate and learn languages across cultures and contexts. We will examine machine translation, conversational AI, and the ethics of automated language. Experiential elements will include hands-on interaction with AI tools, a class visit to Planet Word in Washington, DC, and collaborative film screenings and discussions. The course will culminate in student-driven inquiry projects that explore how emerging language technologies may reshape communication in areas students care about, such as education, politics, health, media, and global collaboration.

About Joe Cunningham

I first came to learn German through an undergraduate language requirement at Loyola Marymount University. Studying abroad in Germany turned an academic interest into a real passion. That experience led me to pursue an MA in German language teaching and eventually a Ph.D. in German applied linguistics. I’ve been teaching German and researching technology-mediated language learning at Georgetown since 2014.

 

Wordplay        
Sue Lorenson, Vice Dean of Undergraduate Education
COURSE ID:  CASS-1491-24
Meeting Time:  T 3:30 PM – 6 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: Social Science (one of two in Linguistics)
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One elective course in the Linguistics major or minor.

Calling all word nerds! Ever wonder what’s going on in your brain when you’re three turns into a Wordle and utterly confounded? Have you had an aha! moment when you realized the crossword clue you thought was a noun is actually a verb? In Wordplay, we’ll explore what word games reveal about the structure of language and how linguistic theory informs your approach to solving—whether you know it or not. We’ll also consider the applications of wordplay (educational and therapeutic) as well as the sociolinguistic aspects of puzzles (e.g., who decides that a word or a phrase is legit?). Let the games begin!

About Sue Lorenson

I’m a linguist (Ph.D. in Theoretical Phonology) and Vice Dean for Undergraduate Education in the College of Arts & Sciences. What I love about both roles is problem-solving—or puzzling! I love encountering a challenge and noodling my way through it, whether it involves analyzing linguistic data or tackling the challenges of university administration. Word puzzles are my favorite puzzles to solve because they light up every part of my brain; I can’t wait to start solving with all of you!

 

Français Sans Frontières            
Aaron Emmitte, Department of French and Francophone Studies
COURSE ID:  FREN-1001-02
Meeting Times: MWF 9 AM – 9:50 AM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: Language (see note)

Note: This course is for students who are new to the study of French. This course is the equivalent of Introductory French I, the first course toward completion of the core language requirement in French. To complete the requirement, students will need to continue their study of French through the intermediate level.

In Français Sans Frontières, students will learn the foundations of the French language while exploring the culture, history, politics, and present-day challenges of the French-speaking world. Through weekly lectures, active class discussions, site visits, and immersive activities with native Francophones from around the world, students will gain a profound appreciation for the global impact of the French language and for those who speak it.

The primary language objectives include: to introduce students to the basics of the French language, to teach students how to express themselves in French (both written and orally), and to help students develop their comprehension skills of written and spoken French.

This seminar’s cultural objectives include: to introduce students to the diverse history of the French-speaking world, to examine the role of France and the French language today, and to explore Francophone literature, art, cinema, and food.

About Aaron Emmitte

I first fell in love with French during a family trip to Paris following my high school graduation. The food, the culture, the architecture, and of course the beauty of the language itself—I knew at that moment that I wanted to learn French. So, my first year in college I decided to take Introductory French as one of my electives, and by the end of that year I was declaring my major. I then went on to earn my Ph.D. in French and Sociolinguistics. For over ten years now I have served as the Introductory French Program Coordinator at Georgetown, where year after year I delight in sharing my passion for this language with new students.

 

Giro D’Italia     (LANG)
Louise Hipwell, Department of Italian
COURSE ID:  ITAL-1011-01
Meeting Times: MTWTh 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM 
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: Language (see note)
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: The first of 10 required courses in the Italian major or the first of six required courses in the Italian minor

Note: This course is for students who are new to the study of Italian. This six-credit, intensive basic Italian course is the first course toward completion of the core language requirement in Italian. To complete the requirement, students will need to take another six-credit course, Intensive Intermediate Italian, in a subsequent semester. Students should plan to take no more than three additional courses along with Giro D’Italia in the fall semester.

This seminar will provide a solid foundation in speaking, understanding, reading, and writing, as well as the opportunity to explore Italy’s vast cultural heritage. As students take this first step towards gaining proficiency in the language and culture, they will also engage in experiential learning activities such as a private tour of the Italian Embassy, visits to Italian cultural institutions in DC, and a cooking class by a local Italian chef.

During the course, students will learn how to use the Italian language for basic interactions of everyday life such as informal conversations, transactions in shops or tourist facilities, and in writing, through the composition of simple texts such as letters, messages, and brief essays on cultural topics. Beyond acquiring this practical knowledge of the language, students will engage with the country’s culture on a deeper level through a series of intercultural activities, readings and films, as well as conversations with guest speakers.

About Louise Hipwell

I was born in Wales and raised in a small town in southern Ireland, so my path to the Department of Italian at Georgetown has been a long and rewarding one. From an early age, I loved languages, studying Gaelic and French in school. In college, I had the chance to explore new areas of study and discovered a passion for Italian. Studying at the University of Bologna was a transformative experience that sparked a lifelong dedication to Italian language, literature, and culture. I believe learning a new language has the power to change lives, and it’s always exciting to help my students embark on their own journeys of discovery.

These seminars examine how labor, craft, and care function as fundamental parts of society and the pursuit of a meaningful life.

Creating and Making: The Moral Craft Of Life   
Michael Kessler, The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs
COURSE ID:  CASS-1491-16
Meeting Times: Th 12:30 PM – 3 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: HALM (Humanities: Arts, Literature, Music, and Media)

In an age of AI, what is the value of human work and creativity? This Ignatius Seminar explores philosophical and theological visions of craft, labor, and creativity. It examines their connections to moral and political life as a way to think about how our laboring, crafting, and creating is a fundamental part of what constitutes the good life. The class will include a variety of interactions with creators, including visiting a build site, dining with a chef, and a museum craft exhibition.

About Michael Kessler

I grew up in the cornfields of Indiana, in a small community of craftspersons and tradespeople. Our self-reliance was a way of life—we built and made things and we made ourselves and our community through that making. Even while I pursued study in theology, ethics, political theory, and the law, I kept building and making, and trying to resolve the tension between what Aquinas called the active and contemplative lives. As an ethicist working with the theological and philosophical traditions of the West, I think about what it means for humans to build their world and pursue the good life in and through these gardening, woodworking, culinary, and construction projects. 

 

Work  
Sherry Linkon, Department of English
COURSE ID:  CASS-1400-06
Meeting Times: TTh 2 PM – 3:15 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: HALM (Humanities: Arts, Literature, Music, and Media)
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One elective course in the American Studies major

Work is not just how we earn a living. It shapes our lives. Through our work, we enact our values, navigate our identities, and build relationships. Work can be creative and fulfilling but also repetitive, unpleasant, and exploitative. And it has broad social implications. Work is embedded in and influenced by economic systems, social hierarchies, changing technologies, and cultural values. We all want to do “good” work, yet the work we do can also bring challenges and even have negative consequences for ourselves and others.

Because work plays such a central role in our lives, it has been an enduring theme for artists and scholars. We’ll focus on imaginative representations of work in literature and the arts, but we’ll also consider how these sources reflect and complicate analytical and theoretical approaches to work. We’ll also imagine our own possible futures: what do we want from work? What would “good work” look like? What role could work play in constructing a meaningful and satisfying life?

About Sherry Linkon

As an American Studies scholar, I integrate literature, visual arts, media, history, and theories about culture and society into my research and my teaching. I’ve been studying work for the last 25 years, focusing on how writers and artists have responded to changing economic structures. My books examine the cultural significance of the decline of the manufacturing economy in the U.S., especially how the loss of work affects individuals and communities. My latest project focuses on how Black women are using fiction, drama, and photography to critique economic inequality and advocate for justice.

 



 

“Who Cares?”: The Political Economy of Care Labor     
You-Me Park, Department of Women and Gender Studies
COURSE ID:  CASS-1491-34
Meeting Time:   M 11 AM – 1:30 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: HALM (Humanities: Arts, Literature, Music, and Media), Pathways to Social Justice
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One elective course in the Women’s and Gender Studies major or minor

This seminar will explore the historical and geographical significance of care, especially its gendered, raced, and classed implications in the increasingly globalized world. Along with cultural theories and hard-hitting social analyses, students will interpret novels, memoirs, and movies/dramas that engage the COVID-19 era, care labor, and mortality, such as Han Kang’s The Vegetarian, Lisa Ridzén’s When the Cranes Fly South, and Simone de Beauvoir’s A Very Easy Death. The comparative approach to the topic will offer students the opportunity to delve into different models of care in various parts of the world, with the specific aim of denaturalizing the Western and neoliberal conceptualization of care work as unproductive and unnecessary.

About You-Me Park

I lived under an infamous military dictator in South Korea for the first twenty years of my life. I feel that the dictatorial regime’s normalized brutality and contempt for kindness made it all the clearer for me that being human means taking care of each other. Not surprisingly, my work focuses on human rights, gender equality, and radically inclusive love!

 

Disability, Culture, and Question Of Care             
Libbie Rifkin, Department of English; Program in Disability Studies
COURSE ID:  CASS-1491-17
Meeting Times: MW 2 PM – 3:15 PM
Additional Core Requirement(s) Fulfilled: HALM (Humanities: Arts, Literature, Music, and Media), Pathways to Social Justice
Major/Minor Requirement(s) Fulfilled: One core course in the Disability Studies major or minor, or One elective course in the English major or minor

This course will introduce you to Disability Studies, an interdisciplinary field premised on two powerful ideas: that disability is a fundamental aspect of all human experience and that disability has produced a range of identities and communities that merit exploration and celebration. Together, we will examine the role that disability plays in our lives and our culture through the particular lens of care. Individually and as a group, students will critically explore relationships of “care” in the family and in a variety of institutions, from Georgetown to other schools, prisons, congregate care facilities, mutual aid and healing justice collectives, and arts communities.

About Libbie Rifkin

I teach in the Department of English and the Program in Disability Studies, and for most of my career worked as a scholar of modern and contemporary poetry. I came to the field of Disability Studies when my son was born with cerebral palsy because I wanted to understand both his experience and the way our family, and my own sense of identity, changed because of it. I currently support the University’s efforts to make Georgetown fully inclusive of people with disabilities by serving as the first Special Advisor to the Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Disability.