First-Year Seminars

Independent Film, offered Fall 2016, delves into the history of independent film in San Francisco. Students visit independent film venues, dialogue with filmmakers, and make their own cinema.
Food and Farming, offered Fall 2018, explores our current industrial food system and its many attendant social problems. Next we explore local alternatives including urban agriculture and other communal options. We get our hands dirty with garden work and field trips.
Mining Murals in SF, offered Fall 2017, explores San Francisco's rich mural tradition and the significance of public art and how murals inspire social and political change. Field trip destinations include Coit Tower, the Mission District, Rincon Center, and more.
Sidewalk Rhetoric, offered Fall 2018, uses the sidewalk to consider the various form of argument occurring in our urban landscape. We use sidewalks to move from place to place, but sidewalks are also the places where we manufacture and maintain (as well as disrupt) civilized social discourse.
A Season in the Congo, offered Fall 2016, explores how the Congo comes to terms with its painful past and present, attempting against enormous odds to craft a future, a season of freedom, for itself.
Speaking of Bicycles, offered Fall 2017, considers bicycle culture, science, politics, and art in San Francisco, a global epicenter of cycling history and innovation.
Dance in SF, offered Fall 2018, explores the vibrant and diverse dance community in San Francisco. By participating in movement classes, attending performances, learning from guest artists, and more, students discover the ways dance both supports and challenges dominant cultural values, narratives, and ideals.
What is Wisdom? Offered in Fall 2018, this course considers the love of wisdom and relies on Socrates, Confucius, Descartes, and other philosophers. Students visit the San Francisco Asian Art Museum to see fascinating ancient objects related to Confucianism.
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Academics / Undergraduate / The Core Curriculum / First-Year Seminars

What makes this university and city so special? As a new local, how can you form a deeper connection to San Francisco’s communities and organizations?

First-year seminars answer these and other questions by examining the culture, politics, environment, people, and history of the Bay Area. In small classes led by expert faculty, first-year and transfer students are introduced to new surroundings and new interests in an urban academic environment.

  • Virtually all first-year seminars count toward the core curriculum requirement.
  • In selected classes, first-year seminar assistants provide valuable peer mentoring.
  • Students who don’t sign up for a seminar in their first semester at USF may enroll in the second semester.

First-year seminars offered Fall Semester 2018 include:

Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Park is a First-Year Seminar that explores the history, built environment, mixed uses, and popular narratives of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. As part of an accelerated writing seminar, students will research, write, and edit their ways through the park – writing in journals, sharing photography on Instagram, and writing and contributing to park-related entries on Wikipedia. Through readings, class discussions, park walks, and field trips, students will develop a broad and keen appreciation of Golden Gate Park and the dynamic importance of public space.

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