Tuesdays & Fridays 11:50 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

CRN 40237

Jeremy Teigen
Professor of Political Science

This First Year Seminar, “Trump, Biden, and You: Presidential Election 2024” examines our electoral system during a real time election season. We’ll analyze electoral forces, candidate and party behavior, campaign dynamics, presidential and congressional elections, local politics, campaign finance, and the media. We’ll learn through current events during this rematch election year along with seeing how past elections help us understand today.

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Peer Facilitators

Mondays & Thursdays 11:20 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

CRN 40072

Lisa Williams
Professor of Literature

In this section of FYS, we will explore the music and rhythms of slam poetry and other poetic genres as a way of discovering how poetry can help us understand our own lives and those around us.  Why is poetry important in this present moment in history? How have poets grappled with the central issues of human relationships, acceptance of self, life, death, and everything in between. We will see the relationship between music and poetry as we write, critique, and even create our own poetry and presentations about the music we find meaningful.

Classroom discussions will focus on how poets are communicating their experiences and ideas, and why and how poetry can help us live better lives.

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Peer Facilitators

Tuesdays & Fridays, 9:55 – 11:35 a.m.

CRN 40069

Mark A. Caselli, M.D.
Adjunct Faculty

This first-year seminar course is designed for students interested in pursuing a career as a medical professional. It will explore the many facets of the road to becoming a health care provider and an advocate for global health. We will examine the political, ethical, moral, cultural, educational, and financial issues that affect the delivery of health care both in the United States and in many other countries in the world. Aspects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, physician assisted suicide, the opioid epidemic, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the social and cultural determinants of healthcare will be explored with emphasis on how they effect our nation’s healthcare and the practice of medicine. We will also explore the many issues that affect the critical decisions that must be made in providing medical care for our patients, as well as the consequences of our decisions. This course will utilize specially selected readings to assist in class discussions on medical and healthcare issues. This will give the pre-healthcare profession student an opportunity to experience the type of problems they may encounter in the world of medicine. This experience will also demonstrate the need for the medical professional to be capable of preparing (research and writing skills) and presenting (public speaking skills) a paper before a group of peers. This experience also embraces the concept of the need for life-long learning. This course will help to impart an understanding of what lies ahead in becoming a health care provider as well as an appreciation of the challenges in providing health care in our changing world.

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Peer Facilitators

Tuesdays & Fridays, 1:45pm – 3:25 p.m.

CRN 40073

Monika Giacoppe
Associate Professor of Comparative World Literature

We live in a world saturated by story – and yet there is always room for more, because people are programmed for story.  In this section, we will read, watch, and listen to some great stories:  some true, some fiction.  We will also learn about how stories work.  How do our brains respond to stories, and how can we use this knowledge to craft stories that engage people in what we want to communicate?  Students in this class will produce written and video versions of a short non-fiction story of their own. We will also consider the use of stories and storytelling in fields such as education, marketing, medicine, and sports.

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Peer Facilitators

Tuesdays & Fridays, 6:05 – 7:45 p.m.

CRN 41146

Liz Santos
Adjunct Faculty

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Netflix’s original series You.  Comic Con.  What do these all have in common?  Adaptation! This course is open to any students who love to read, write, ride roller coasters, or binge-watch shows. Students will be exposed to a variety of literary works and their adaptive forms, and they will be asked to take a critical look into the theories of adaptation and how they come to life from literary inception to mass consumerism. This course will culminate with a research project designed to have students identify the key indicators of adaptation success in order to create a proposal of their own. Join us to find out if your favorite comic, book, or poem has what it takes to become a cultural phenomenon that transcends time and place.

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Peer Facilitators

Mondays & Thursdays, 6:05 – 7:45 p.m.

CRN 40194

Mary Cicitta
Adjunct Faculty

This course is designed to introduce students to the college experience, and more specifically to Ramapo College life.  It will follow two paths.  The first, more traditional track will expose students to the values and goals, the resources and demands of a college education, and provide them with a variety of tools to make the most of their college experience here at Ramapo.

The second component of the course will lead students from an examination of current trends, and perspectives in public relations for the 21^st century and its new innovations, both positive and negative, to an understanding of how these trends exist and intersect with students’ roles, cultures, gender and class. Students will analyze their philosophical premise of these identities and explore their similarities and differences through the contemporary issues of public relations as a form of communication in their future world, and through a review of films, TV, blogs, articles, etc.

This introductory course will cover new innovations in public relations and communications tactics, including the use of live/streaming video platforms like Twitch; the necessity for sensitivity to diversity, equity and inclusion in communications; employee engagement; propaganda; customer and stakeholder communications; personalized media; influencer marketing; values-based marketing and communications; harmful impact of professionalization of deception; demonization; media witch-hunts; co-paganda; cancel culture; new technologies: altered reality, holograms; the impact of deep-fake videos, and AI; and, content as a commodity.

2020 brought innovation in communications tactics, with a strong influence on public relations and best practices.

Innovation still rules. It never went away, of course. But big ideas that drive media attention, bridge the virtual and physical, engage customers, vendors and employees, and extend marketing budgets will be more important than ever in a fractured and fragmented attention economy.

This course will serve to uncover and apply these new innovations, including these topics, as all are mission-critical in today’s public relations:

• Breaking New Ground in Public Relations
• Cancel Culture
• Content as a Commodity
• Personalized Media
• Social Influencer Expansion
• Livestream Goes Mainstream
• DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion)
• Convergence Culture

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Peer Facilitators

Mondays & Thursdays, 4:10 – 5:50 p.m.

CRN 40157

Staci Dinerstein
Adjunct Faculty

This course will focus on improving your verbal, non verbal, and written communication skills.  You will take part in different types of communication experiences which are designed to develop your understanding and use of interpersonal communication.  You will learn how to effectively express yourself using oral communication and writing through reading and thinking.  Part of our class work will include discussions, and I’m very interested in what you’ll have to say.  Please plan on being an avid participant.    Remember that quite often, there is more than one way to look at a situation.

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Peer Facilitators