At the First Year Course Conference on Dec. 2, students from 10 different first-year courses from across disciplines came together to present their work from the semester. For four hours, one corner of the library was populated by colorful posters, literature and artwork, as well as groups of students showing off their skits and presentations.
From 3-D printed objects, short films, creative writing to altered books, the conference represented work from a range of departments and allowed students to showcase work they had done throughout the semester.
Emily Rivito ’21 is enrolled in Professor Tina Hall’s Monsters, a course that focuses on the role of the monstrous in literature and the role monsters play in society. “Our professor gave us a stack of card catalogue cards from the library, and we were told we could do whatever we wanted to make our own poems and artistic pieces,” Rivito explained. “Some students cut words out from other cards, blacked them out with pens or drew pictures.”
“This project was great for our class because I think it really reflects what monsters are. Monsters are kind of a meshing together of things that shouldn’t work, but somehow do. Even if we don’t want to admit it, there’s something that draws our attention to them,” she said.
Even though Yuri Choi ’21 wasn’t a part of any of the class presentations, she said that she was drawn to the conference after noticing the posters and artwork in the library. “It really caught my eye as soon as I walked in. It’s obvious that people put a lot of work into it. It’s very creative and out of the box,” she said. “I think the professors’ goal for this conference was to show the creativity of their students and how much they’ve learned over the semester. It brings everyone together and shows the artistic ability and diversity of strengths in each of the classes.”
The First Year Course Conference featured work from the following classes: Literature as/of Medicine, Free Speech: Privacy & Advocacy, Monsters, Unpacking My Library, Infinity, Native American Spiritualities, American Freedom & Religious Thought, Afrofuturism & Other Dark Matters, and American Political Process.
