First-year Seminar Program
Fall Quarter 2023 Enrollment Information
First-year Seminars are open first to all first-year students including first-year freshman with sophomore standing during the first-year student enrollment period. Incoming first-year students with sophomore standing should use the campus Course Pre-Authorization system to be cleared to enroll in a seminar and then use WebReg to enroll in seminars during your enrollment time.
Early enrollment is encouraged due to the small class size.
Visit the Schedule of Classes to see enrollments (select all departments and 87.) Use WebReg to enroll in seminars during your enrollment period.
Sophomores may enroll directly in first-year seminars by using WebReg after the freshman enrollment period and if seats are available.
Please use the campus Course Pre-Authorization system if you have an enrollment question.
Please use the Virtual Advising Center, VAC to contact the advisor of the department or program offering the seminar for all non-enrollment questions.
Department of Anthropology
Esperanto & the Anthropology of Language
ANTH 87 B00
Section ID:
Jordan, David (
dkjordan@ucsd.edu)
Location:
TBA
Date and Time:
TBA
Meeting Dates:
TBA
As the only artificial language in widespread spoken use, Esperanto can provide a window into linguistic, social, and cultural aspects of language in general. This class provides an overview both of Esperanto and of the anthropology of language.
The Aztecs
ANTH 87 A00
Section ID:
Jordan, David (
dkjordan@ucsd.edu)
Location:
TBA
Date and Time:
TBA
Meeting Dates:
TBA
Origins and evolution of pre-Columbian Aztec society and culture. Sources are a mix of archaeological findings and early colonial writings.
Division of Biological Sciences
Earth's Fragile Biosphere
BILD 87 B00
Section ID: 285658
Saier, Milton (
msaier@ucsd.edu)
Location: APM 3880
Thursdays, 1:00 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
Meeting Dates:
TBA
This seminar will address the consequences of human activity on the Earth's biosphere. Topics include species extinction, global warming, habitat destruction, individual responsibility to future generations, and human values/morals.
The Philosophy of Science and the Science of the Supernatural
BILD 87 A00
Section ID: 285657
Saier, Milton (
msaier@ucsd.edu)
Location: APM 3880
Tuesdays, 1:00 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
Meeting Dates:
TBA
This seminar will consider the philosophy of science and the science of faith. Topics to be included are:
1. The Creation Story 2. The Ptolemaic Universe 3. How to explain the supernatural 4. Copernicus and Galileo 5. Kepler's analyses 6. Sir Isaac Newton 7. Darwin and Evolution 8. Koch's Postulates 9. Mental illness 10. The Scientific Method.
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Teaching Science: The Challenge
CHEM 87 A00
Section ID: 223218
Bussey, Thomas (
tbussey@ucsd.edu)
Why do so many students seem unable or unwilling to learn science? Is this due to ineffective instruction, or are the difficulties inevitable? How can teaching make science intrinsically stimulating for all students? How can a teaching career be fulfilling and rewarding?
Department of Chicanx and Latinx Studies
What is a Chicano? And why should we care anyway?
CLX 87 A00
Section ID: 278939
Castro, Robert (
r1castro@ucsd.edu)
Location: LASB 4
Thursdays, 2:00 p.m. to 2:50 p.m.
Meeting Dates:
TBA
These questions are the springboard for our seminar. The
answers will be discovered through discussions of important social, political, economic, cultural, and historical aspects of the Chicano experience. Join the conversation and share your voice!
Department of Classical Studies
Jesus in Word and Deed
CLAS 87 A00
Section ID: 277466
Herbst, Matthew (
mtherbst@ucsd.edu)
Location: ERC 201
Wednesdays, 4:00 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.
Meeting Dates:
TBA
The life of Jesus of Nazareth has had a profound influence on world history over the past two millennia. Explanations and conceptions of Jesus have been essential to community formation and definition. These images have inspired artists, authors, and advocates across the globe, from past to present. Yet, these explanations and conceptions have also greatly differed. This seminar explores diverse (and competing) ways that Jesus has been explained and portrayed (in history, theology, community expression, etc.) as well as how these conceptions have influenced action, from early Christian martyrs to modern civil rights leaders.
Department of Cognitive Science
How Minds & Cultures Make Religion & Superstition
COGS 87 A00
Section ID: 268631
Deak, Gedeon (
gdeak@ucsd.edu)
Location: CSB 272
Tuesdays, 9:00 a.m. to 9:50 a.m.
Meeting Dates:
TBA
Why do humans, individually and in groups, attribute natural events to supernatural agents? How does the human brain accept religious beliefs, even in the face of contradictory evidence? We will examine how cognitive, developmental, and cultural factors work together to cause humans to believe in the supernatural.
How to be wrong: Case studies in human failure, borked tools, and bad data
COGS 87 B00
Section ID: 268632
Fleischer, Jason (
jfleischer@ucsd.edu)
Location: CSB 180
Fridays, 1:00 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
Meeting Dates:
TBA
Science, technology, engineering, business, and even getting a university degree are human activities that need data. We will examine some common ways that our minds and our tools cause failure through examples of disasters and mishaps. Space shuttles explode, lost COVID-19 data costs lives, and AI programs are racist. Hopefully you will come out the other end with some new ideas and habits to help you avoid similar traps in your life and career.
Department of Computer Science & Engineering
Neural Networks as Models of the Mind
CSE 87 A00
Section ID: 249209
Cottrell, Garrison (
gcottrell@ucsd.edu)
Location: EBU3B B220
Wednesdays, 9:00 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.
Meeting Dates:
TBA
We investigate how neural networks can be used to model how we see, read, remember, and learn. We use simple demonstration programs that implement these models. We teach a neural network to recognize faces, facial expressions, and gender. We also get some insight into the latest trends in neural networks, Deep Learning.
Tracking Viral Epidemics
CSE 87 B00
Section ID: 249216
Moshiri, Alexander (
a1moshiri@ucsd.edu)
Location: EBU3B 4258
Wednesdays, 2:00 p.m. to 2:50 p.m.
Meeting Dates:
TBA
How can epidemiologists track the spread of a virus? As sequencing technologies become increasingly affordable and accurate, the analysis of viral genome sequence data is becoming increasingly commonplace in epidemiology. We will learn how to use bioinformatics tools to study the evolution of viruses and to conduct real-world molecular epidemiological analyses.
Department of Economics
Economics: What is it Good For?
ECON 87 A00
Section ID: 279218
Bharadwaj, Prashant (
prbharadwaj@ucsd.edu)
Location: SSB 506
Mondays, 11:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.
Meeting Dates:
TBA
In this seminar, students will learn how modern Economics provides powerful empirical and theoretical tools to help answer the most central questions to our society: What is a recession and who decides we are in one? Why do women and Black people make less money than White men? Do we need more people in the world? Would giving cash to the poor make them better off? Why do we procrastinate on tasks? Should we increase the minimum wage? If everyone else wears a mask, should I still wear one? Will some countries benefit from climate change? Does immigration lower wages? Through guest lectures and readings, the seminar will teach students how to think critically and expose you to the myriad ways in which economic thinking has an impact on the world.
Topics in Economic Theory
ECON 87 B00
Section ID:
Ross, Starr (
rstarr@ucsd.edu)
Location:
TBA
Date and Time:
TBA
Meeting Dates:
TBA
The course will treat --- at an elementary level, but with attention to logical structure ---- two theoretical topics that revolutionized 20th century economic theory: (1) the Arrow Possibility Theorem; (2) Arrow-Debreu general equilibrium theory. Intended literature sources are available to UCSD students on the web: “Arrow, Kenneth Joseph (1921–2017)” in the New Palgrave; “Social Choice Theory” sections 1.3 and 2, in Handbook of Mathematical Economics; “Lectures on The Theory of Competitive Equilibrium” - Kenneth J. Arrow .
Education Studies
Teaching AI Literacy with hands-on tools
EDS 87 A00
Section ID:
Eguchi, Emi (
a2eguchi@ucsd.edu)
Location:
TBA
Date and Time:
TBA
Meeting Dates:
TBA
Do you know what AI literacy is? Are you interested in learning what it is? Do you want to also figure out how to teach it to K-12 students? This seminar introduces AI literacy through hands-on experience and lets you experience how K-12 students can obtain AI literacy through fun activities while they explore how AI influences their lives and future. You will be, then, asked to figure out a fun way to teaching AI literacy by developing engaging and fun activities that allow K-12 students to be excited to learn about AI which deepens their understanding.
Film Studies
Banned Films
FILM 87 B00
Section ID: 277586
Rahimi, Babak (
brahimi@ucsd.edu)
Location: MCC 221
Wednesdays, 10:00 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.
Meeting Dates:
TBA
This seminar examines the relationship between law, politics and cinema and why governments have banned certain films throughout history. We will examine films such as This is Not a Film, Sweetness of Spirit, Battleship Potemkin, LAge dOr, The Bohemian Girl, Clockwork Orange, Goldfinger and others.
What Film Can Teach Us About Life
FILM 87 A00
Section ID: 277509
Rahimi, Babak (
brahimi@ucsd.edu)
Location: MCC 221
Wednesdays, 11:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.
Meeting Dates:
TBA
This seminar is about how film can reflect and change our lives. We will discuss movies such as: I Love you, Beth Cooper,American Beauty, Sliding doors, Seventh Seal, Happiness, La Dolce Vita, Taste of Cherry, Do the Right Thing, Christmas Story and others.
Department of History
Ecstasy: A Brief History of the Search for Transcendence
HITO 87 F00
Section ID:
Gerth, Karl (
kgerth@ucsd.edu)
Location:
TBA
Date and Time:
TBA
Meeting Dates:
TBA
How and why have people tried to change their experience of the world through temporary ecstatic states of consciousness? For reasons ranging from mental health to exploring the outer bounds of the human experience, people have long sought out ecstatic states to enrich their lives. This seminar explores the recent history of ecstatic states-- from the Greek term ekstasis, meaning “standing outside” the self-- including everything from psychedelics and sensory deprivation to chanting and meditation to raves and much more.
How to Create Your Own Utopia
HITO 87 B00
Section ID: 214241
Gerth, Karl (
kgerth@ucsd.edu)
Location:
TBA
Date and Time:
TBA
Meeting Dates:
TBA
Have you ever wanted to live in a society that was more just, more spiritually attuned, more in harmony with nature, or more… something else? And have you thought about creating your own ideal community? If so, you are not alone. For all recorded history, people have formed small-scale, alternative communal societies or "intentional communities." This seminar introduces the recent past, present, and possible futures of global efforts to create intentional communities, including communities formed around everything from religious or environmental values to countercultural revolutionaries to income sharing to shared sexual orientation, and much more. We will end the term by discussing our preferences for our very own intentional communities.
Ming China in Short Stories
HITO 87 A00
Section ID: 214238
Schneewind, Sarah (
sschneewind@ucsd.edu)
Location: RWAC 0846
Mondays, 11:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.
Meeting Dates:
TBA
We will read dramatic and amusing short stories from the Ming period (1368-1644) along with short scholarly articles related to them, and discuss what they reveal about Chinese society, government, religion, economy, and ideology. We will meet emperors, officials, and beggars; wives, prostitutes, and go-betweens; monks, nuns, and Daoist mystics; and gods and ghosts.
Pandemics, Panics, and Plagues: Human Responses to Inhuman Catastrophes
HITO 87 D00
Section ID: 214251
Patterson, Patrick (
p1patterson@ucsd.edu)
Location:
TBA
Date and Time:
TBA
Meeting Dates:
TBA
An exploration of the role that pandemic and epidemic illness has played in human history, focusing on the different ways in which people have responded to their fears, their mortality, their uncertainty about the causes of contagion, and their disastrous losses. We will study contemporaneous accounts from the distant and recent past, coupled with historical analyses and fictional depictions, to understand the struggle to survive, control, and recover from the onslaught of deadly infections.
Piracy in Popular Culture
HITO 87 E00
Section ID:
Hanna, Mark (
m1hanna@ucsd.edu)
Location:
TBA
Date and Time:
TBA
Meeting Dates:
TBA
The course explores the depiction of pirates and piracy in the United States in both literature and film following the Age of Sail in the late nineteenth century. We will trace the transformation of piracy from a real terror to American society to the subject of children's stories and dramatic comedies. We finish with a study of modern piracy.
What Is Socialism? (And What Isn't)
HITO 87 C00
Section ID: 214248
Patterson, Patrick (
p1patterson@ucsd.edu)
Location:
TBA
Date and Time:
TBA
Meeting Dates:
TBA
Socialism has recently become a very hot topic in American politics -- something that people are fighting for and fighting against. Conservatives, libertarians, and others on the political "right" continue their long tradition of rejecting as "socialism" a wide range of policies they do not like. But many progressives and others on the "left," inspired by Bernie Sanders and like-minded activists, have recently started to embrace this label (after running away from it in the past).
Department of Literature
Love at First Sight
LTCS 87 A00
Section ID: 279030
Nguyen, Hoang (
htn057@ucsd.edu)
Location: RWAC 0373
Tuesdays, 12:00 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
Meeting Dates:
TBA
The course looks at the relationship between love and time in contemporary romantic comedies. It examines rom-com relationships that follow traditional life courses and those that reject romantic chronology altogether. Films may include How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, 50 First Dates, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, I Give It A Year, and Weekend. Students will learn foundational skills in film analysis.
Department of Scripps Institution of Oceanography
An Introduction to Volcanoes
SIO 87 B00
Section ID: 240518
Cook, Geoffrey (
gwcook@ucsd.edu)
Location: York 3030
Tuesdays, 9:00 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.
Meeting Dates:
TBA
Students will be introduced to the fascinating world of volcanoes using a combination of hands-on activities, analogue demonstrations, and a wide variety of multimedia including videos, photos, and computer simulations.
Treasures of the Earth: Minerals, Crystals, and Gems
SIO 87 C00
Section ID: 240523
Cook, Geoffrey (
gwcook@ucsd.edu)
Location: VAUGN 147
Fridays, 9:00 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.
Meeting Dates:
TBA
Spectacular specimens and multimedia presentations will introduce students to nature's geologic treasures. Using the mineral kingdom as a platform, students will learn about the fascinating processes and products of the Earth and will gain awareness of their societal importance.
Weather in San Diego
SIO 87 A00
Section ID: 240499
Norris, Joel (
jnorris@ucsd.edu)
This seminar will discuss types of weather in the San Diego region, their causes, and how to read weather maps and satellite images. Topics include Santa Ana winds, marine layer clouds, winter rain, summer thunderstorms, high wave events, and others.
Department of Sociology
Seeing the Invisible: How Gender and Sexuality Shape Opportunity
SOCI 87 A00
Section ID:
Blair-Loy, Mary (
mblairloy@ucsd.edu)
Location:
TBA
Date and Time:
TBA
Meeting Dates:
TBA
Today does everyone in the U.S. have a similar chance to create the life they want? This seminar explores social scientific research on how schools and workplaces continue to provide different opportunities to people based on their gender and sexual identity and how we can make changes to those patterns.
Department of Theatre & Dance
Cultivating the Creative Mind
TDGE 87 A00
Section ID:
Rubinstein, Kim (
krubinstein@ucsd.edu)
Location:
TBA
Date and Time:
TBA
Meeting Dates:
TBA
Strengthen neural pathways that lead to creative thinking and output in any field of endeavor. Combining neuroscience with theatre principles and practices, this course will both study cutting-edge research on the creative brain and practice ways to optimize its output, inspiring innovations that may help us survive as a species and a planet.