Course Instructors: Clarrie Feinstein, Cara Schacter
Course Objective: Intellectually taxing yet stimulating, emotionally draining yet enriching, this course is designed to help first-year students navigate the cacophony of contradictions that make up the First-Year Experience. Harnessing the media of film, literature, art, and music, this course builds a creative environment in which students can refine their newfound identities as undergraduates while tackling essential questions such as “Who am I?” and “Why am I here?”
Course Materials: Materials can be found at Sonic Boom, Queen Video, BMV Books and/or torrent sites (disregard the Bob Miller Books Room).
The Graduate: When viewing this film for the first time in first year, I was riveted. The protagonist has no life plan and no immediate goal upon graduation, and he follows the inclinations of his heart instead of practical solutions. The film puts the life of a teenager into perspective: enjoy the moment and do not constantly think about the future. It will all turn out as intended. Listen to your intuition and not to external pressures.
Grey Lines with Black, Blue and Yellow (Georgia O’Keeffe painting): O’Keeffe’s paintings often explore small portions of a larger image. This particular work is notoriously ambiguous; some see part of a flower, others the female genitalia (hence the moniker ‘Georgia O’Queefe’). Either way, Georgia’s magnified lens reminds us that the beauty of life is a composite of a million beautiful details. When writing papers this year, remember the importance of unpacking the intricacies of the subject at hand—never take a flower for granted (sometimes a rose is a rose is a vagina).
2 (Mac DeMarco album): I was given this album a few weeks before starting university. The lo-fi, breezy, somewhat psychedelic tunes had me playing the album on repeat during our family beach holiday. Throughout the year, in times of stress while writing essays on Sylvia Plath’s Ariel or Aristotle’s Poetics, I would play 2 and be transported back to those summer days when life was carefree and much more enjoyable. It’s important to calm a student’s mind during anxiety-provoking times, and this album accomplished just that.
Clueless: While this 1995 cinematographic masterpiece may be a BuzzFeed cliché, there’s no denying the wealth of knowledge dispensed by protagonist Cher Horowitz. An expert flirt, Cher says “Anything you can do to draw attention to your mouth is good.” The film’s critical lesson lies in Cher’s ability to romantically reframe the dreariest of situations. E.g., Cher doesn’t “get her period,” she “rides the crimson wave.” May this turn of phrase inspire you to reframe moments of academic distress as opportunities for scholastic adventure.
Just Kids (Patti Smith memoir): While most know Patti Smith by her punk rock music that psyched the U.S. in the mid-‘70s, in 2010 she released a memoir of her life during the ‘60s and ‘70s following the beginning of her creative endeavours and relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. The book delves into the complexities of what it means to be an artist and how to define oneself in a society that was creatively booming and constantly shifting. The search for who you are is only beginning in first year, and sometimes the greatest source of guidance can be from an author who has lived life to its fullest.
Your Moleskine: If you don’t journal, start now. Your upcoming year of ~intellectual and emotional growth~ is the ideal breeding ground for journaling. Avoid story booking (“Today, I woke up, went to class, and ate a bagel. The bagel was a bit stale but then I added herb cream cheese which helped.”). My first year journal lists everything from “Favourite Yogurt Toppings” to “Good Moves to Use on Boys I’m Into.” One time, in my journal, I wrote a letter to myself from the older brother I’ve always wanted (his name is Julian. He’s a bit pretentious, but very patient). You’ll be surprised by how soothing it is to establish a forum in which you talk to yourself.
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