2011 Resources

October 10-13, October 17
Research and Methodology: Inscription as Liberating Practice
(Dr. Dana A. Williams)

One of the goals of this course is "to encourage every entering freshman to pursue a lifetime of independent discovery, including the appreciation of the importance of research." Indeed, once the commitment to academic excellence is successfully cultivated, it becomes clear that there is nothing as intellectually liberating as conducting research with integrity. This lecture introduces students to the nuts and bolts of research.

October 3-6
Practices of Freedom and Justice: A Charge to Keep
(Dr. Leslie Fenwick and Ms. Kim Worthy)

At the core of the ideas of wisdom, community responsibility, learning, and service is the expectation that those who have mastered and served must pass their wisdom and experience on to the next generation. This lecture highlights the examples of women and men who, through their contribution to all forms of human knowledge, have kept the charge of modeling good character while laboring to build the beloved community.

September 26-29
"The Eloquence of the Scribes": Initiation, Expectations, and Mastery—Continuing the Legacy of Howard University
(Dr. Alvin Thornton)

Generations of students and faculty have walked the paths, halls, classrooms, and laboratories of Howard University in pursuit of the mastery necessary to fulfill the institution’s mission to develop learning and wisdom to build the good society. They were initiated into the tradition of lifelong pursuit of learning for service to the local and global community. Current students in the Freshman Seminar course are heirs to this glorious tradition. This lecture aims at initiating them into a full awareness of this tradition, reminding them of the high expectations of this institution, their ancestors, and future generations that they continue the legacy.

September 19-22
Practices of Freedom and Justice: The Black Diaspora
(Dr. Mark Mack and Dr. Richard Wright)

The tradition of learning for service to the community and the world is rooted in the experience of the people of African descent, both on the home continent and in its vast Diaspora. The pursuit of freedom and justice has been a rallying cry of the educated in this oldest of traditions. This lecture identifies and analyzes the works of representative thinkers in this regard.

September 12-15
Abandonment and Dismemberment: "Something Torn and New"
(Dr. Mario Beatty)

Forced separation from their ancestral homelands due to enslavement threatened to dismember Africans, physically, emotionally and spiritually. These Africans—faced with deep trauma and accompanying feelings of abandonment in the unfamiliar, alien, and hostile colonial worlds of the Western Hemisphere—maintained and created memories, traditions, and communities from the rich and complex cultures of the African worlds they brought across the ocean. This lecture examines the trauma of enslavement and how Africans created, preserved, and extended their humanity as the foundation for the contemporary African world experience and the perpetual human quest for a better society.

September 5-8
Omoluabi: Self Actualization and Communal Responsibility
(Dr. Segun Gbadegesin)

Success in acquiring true learning requires a certain kind of personality. From an African cultural perspective, Omoluabi is the essence of the human person, a wellspring of good character, exemplified by an understanding of the self and its responsibilities to the community. This lecture analyzes the concept of Omoluabi and its relevance in the project of useful learning.

August 29 - September 1
Learning, Wisdom, and The African World Experience
(Dr. Greg Carr)

Fruitful learning experiences involve more than the acquisition of academic knowledge. They facilitate the gaining of wisdom, helping to build an enduring capacity to apply learning to meet communal challenges. This lecture examines the contribution to global traditions and innovations in teaching and learning from the classical, medieval and contemporary African experience.

Dr. Carr's bio sketch [YouTube] [MS Word]

Course Introduction [PowerPoint]

Freshman Seminar Textbook

Freshman Seminar Syllabus

Office Hours and Contact Information for TAs

Locke Hall, Room 100
[The Writing Center]

Monday TA

Jasmine Watkins - az6227@wayne.edu
Office Hours:
Monday 1-3pm
Instructor of Record:
Dr. Dana A. Williams - d_williams@howard.edu

Tuesday TA

Wallis Baxter - housescholar@gmail.com
Office Hours:
Tuesday 10-12; Thursday 1-3
Instructor of Record:
Dr. Segun Gbadegesin - sgbadegesin@howard.edu

Wednesday TA

Jo Von McCalaster - jmmccalaster@gmail.com
Office Hours:
Friday 9-11
Instructor of Record:
Dr. Linda G. Jones - lgjones@howard.edu

Thursday TA

Wallis Baxter - housescholar@gmail.com
Office Hours:
Tuesday 10-12; Thursday 1-3
Instructor of Record:
Dr. Greg E. Carr - gcarr@howard.edu

Please note that students can visit a TA either day for general questions and assistance; for any grading inquiries, however, you should see the TA for your day.