Posts by Rebekah Stiles:
Explorations & Perspectives 2013!
Congratulations to the Class of 2013!! A hush has spread into the ExCollege office (and all over the Hill) with so many seniors taking off to pursue exciting post-Tufts adventures. We’re already missing our seniors, but we can’t wait to start getting email updates and surprise visits!
With the summer slowly rolling in, the Commencement excitement is transforming into an excitement for the fall semester and a new batch of Jumbos. In June, the incoming Class of 2017 will be getting a lot of Tufts-tastic information in the mail, including the coveted advising programs list. Every fall, the ExCollege provides the option for entering freshmen to enroll in either the Explorations or Perspectives advising programs.
Initiated in 1972, Explorations served as an innovative advising program meant to act as both an academic and social introduction to the Hill. Each Explorations seminar is led by 2 upperclassmen who design the syllabus and course topic themselves. From “Robots, Space, and Civilizations of the Future” to “Road Trips and the American Identity” and much more, the 9 Explorations seminars open to the Class of 2017 will continue the tradition of offering an experience that uniquely combines advising, learning, and a sense of community. Check out the current Explorations courses here.
After the awesome success of the Explorations program, Perspectives joined the ExCollege advising line-up in 1988. Unlike Explorations, with course topics wide-ranging, Perspectives classes all work under the large umbrella topic of “media studies.” Pre-2014, Perspectives seminars focused around the idea of movies, but given the surge in new media, the program has been re-structured to encompass all types of media. “The Business of Hollywood,” “Medical Fallacies in TV and Film,” and 7 other seminars will be offered to incoming freshmen this fall. Like Explorations, each Perspectives seminar has been custom-built by two upperclassmen ready to guide freshmen through their first semester as Jumbos. For a full listing of Perspectives courses, head over to our main website.
^2012′s Explorations and Perspectives Peer Leaders in summer training!
Here are some memorable quotes from our 2012 Explorations and Perspectives students:
What did you like best about your Perspectives seminar?
“I loved my group and my leaders. I feel very close with each of them, and I think it has made the transition to Tufts easier and more fun.”
“I really enjoyed the conversation we had in class. I feel like I learned a lot from my classmates.”
What did you like best about your Explorations seminar?
“I really liked the environment. My instructors fostered an atmosphere that blended learning and relaxing. I looked forward to class each week.”
“I loved learning and going in-depth about a subject that I probably would have gone a lifetime without knowing anything about if not for this course.”
What was the most important thing you learned in this course?
“I developed a personal philosophy, and I’m optimistic about humanity.”
“To think openly and abstractly about current issues.”
“The importance of experiencing everything and becoming involved in things at Tufts.”
With such powerful and positive reactions from our most recent Explorations and Perspectives seminars, we’re looking to have a strong and memorable start to our 41st year of offering these programs in 2013. Between both Explorations and Perspectives this fall, incoming first-years will be able to choose between 18 extremely interesting and challenging topics. With 14 spots up for grabs in each course, the ExCollege looks to welcome 252 freshmen into our advising programs this fall! We can’t wait!
Sex on Campus: As Learning Leads to Action
Tweet Next week, the ExCollege will be making its decisions regarding which classes will be offered to Tufts students in the fall! Mimi Arbeit went through this process last semester, and before jumping into the classroom, she wrote about what she hoped to bring to her students. Now teaching ‘Sexual Wellness on College Campuses,’ Mimi [...]
Round 3 at the ExCollege
Tweet Written by Sarah Moser, currently teaching ‘Asian Cities in the 21st Century’ This January marks my third semester teaching a course at the Experimental College. I quickly became a fan and promoter of the ExCollege and its unique set of offerings. For me, teaching at the ExCollege is an amazing opportunity to explore topics [...]
The Interview Subcommittee: A Must-do Before You Graduate
Tweet Written by Erica Rigby, A’15 and student interviewer There’s something to be said when students are offered the chance to sit on the other end of the interview table, influencing whether the prospective instructor before them is going to drive home all of the ExCollege values we’ve come to know and love. Being on [...]
Processing Applications!
Tweet Now is the time of year when we are actively gearing up for Fall 2013 courses. The journey is a long one for the courses proposed, and right now we are at the point where we will be interviewing candidates for the 22 positions open in the fall. Check out this infographic to see [...]
The Early Years
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Musings of a 2nd Year Student Worker
Tweet Written by Marcy Regalado, A’15. The Experimental College: an idea that bubbled into my mind when attempting to figure out what exactly this could mean to a small freshman looking for an ordinary student job on campus, though this was no ordinary department executing ordinary tasks. No, the Experimental College reconfigures the rigid frame [...]
Here it goes, here it goes, here it goes again
Tweet As I write this, my computer screen displays this word document as well as one ginormous spreadsheet. This spreadsheet is not just any ordinary numbers-y (clearly I have been thoroughly trained in the secret arts of Excel) spreadsheet. This spreadsheet spans columns and columns and exists for one reason: to coordinate interviews for over [...]
Knowing and Believing in John Steinbeck
Tweet Written by Madeline Hall (A13), who co-taught the fall 2012 Explorations seminar “Steinbeck’s Humanity.” Teaching my Explorations seminar was perhaps the single most beneficial academic choice I made at Tufts; the curiosity and depth of the student’s inquiries shed greater light on the worth of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden than I could have [...]
Teaching Perspectives
Tweet Written by Samantha Tye (A13), co-teacher of the Perspectives seminar ‘Films of Genocide.’ I can only imagine the thoughts going through my students’ heads the first time that we met as a group. Sofi Shield and I started out full speed ahead asking for names and dorms and hometowns. We wanted to hear about [...]