Are you a first-year student at U of T? Don’t miss out on First-Year Foundations Seminars that fill up quickly and are exclusive to first years alone. These classes typically max out at 25-30 students, allowing first-year students to form more intimate communities and get one-on-one time with professors that one wouldn’t normally get in classes of 100+ students. They are also a good way to round out your breadth requirements and explore topics that help you narrow down your interests regarding your degree/program. With that said, as someone who took advantage of these courses in my first year, here are my top three recommendations:
JCI199: Italians in Canada: Histories, Journeys, Struggles and Successes
I find any cultural course (especially if it is taught by a professor from the culture they are teaching about) fascinating, but this one was extra special. Being Italian myself, I might be biased, but what stood out to me the most was how our professor detailed the nuanced struggles of Italian immigrants as ethnic minorities, while drawing attention to the role Italians played as colonizers. Our professor integrated Indigenous-Italian reconciliation throughout, in consultation with Indigenous elders, which is an important step in pursuing truth and reconciliation with the people native to this land. Overall, this course expanded my mind while challenging what I thought I knew about my own culture, and I would enthusiastically recommend it to anyone.
WDW198: There and Back Again: Exploring Tolkien
Do you like fantasy epics like The Lord of the Rings? Have you already read it or have always wanted to, but haven’t had the time? This course is the perfect excuse you need to read/re-read Tolkien’s books, while diving into the personal life, historical, and academic context of the author himself. You will leave this course with a new appreciation for these books, and you might also find a bunch of like-minded nerds to play Dungeons and Dragons with after the semester is over.
UNI104: Sex in the City
It’s in the name; this course covers the history of sexual politics in the City of Toronto, with a focus on marginalized LGBTQIA2S+ communities. What I enjoyed most about this course was that we did not just talk about the history of Toronto: we went on field trips to the locations we were studying and spoke with staff and educators about their lived experiences through epidemics like the AIDS crisis. This course also operates in congruence with the other city-focused University College seminars, and you will have the opportunity to do a joint project with another student taking a different course. Suppose you are looking for a course that integrates cross-disciplinary academia with experiential learning and gives you the opportunity, as a first-year student, to discover the City of Toronto. In that case, I cannot recommend this course enough.
Find more info on first-year seminars here.
– V