{"id":19213,"date":"2024-02-27T15:52:20","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T20:52:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/khc\/?page_id=19213"},"modified":"2026-04-29T07:46:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T11:46:50","slug":"fall-2026-khc-first-year-seminars","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/khc\/for-current-students\/advising\/registration\/fall-2026-khc-first-year-seminars\/","title":{"rendered":"Fall 2026 KHC First-Year Seminars"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>All courses below are 4 units. The number following the course title is the Class Number as listed in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/mybu\/\">MyBU Student<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br style=\"clear: both;\" \/>KHC AH 101: (Mis)representing History in Art (<span>16054<\/span><span>)<\/span><br style=\"clear: both;\" \/><\/strong><em>An examination of the ways that historical events have been depicted by artists from antiquity to the present, with an emphasis on the intentional misrepresentation of events (&#8220;fake news&#8221;) to serve the needs of the artists&#8217; patrons, usually ruling elites.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hub: <span>Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Instructor: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/khc\/profile\/hiba-aleem\/\">Hiba Aleem<\/a>, Kilachand<\/li>\n<li>Meeting Days\/Times: Wednesdays, 2:30-5:15 pm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>KHC AM 101: Whose Schools: Power, Equality and Public Education (<span>16055<\/span>)<br style=\"clear: both;\" \/><\/strong><em>How can we fulfill Thomas Jefferson&#8217;s promise for public schools &#8220;which shall reach every description of our citizens?&#8221; The course examines significant eras, debates, and struggles for equality in U.S. education, with a particular focus on current policies in Boston.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hub: Social Inquiry II, The Individual in Community, Research and Information Literacy<\/li>\n<li>Instructor: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/americanstudies\/profile\/mary-battenfeld\/\">Mary Battenfeld<\/a>, CAS American &amp; New England Studies Program<\/li>\n<li>Meeting Days\/Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30-10:45 am<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>KHC AN 103: Animals Among Humans (<span>16056<\/span>)<br style=\"clear: both;\" \/><\/strong><em>By comparing and contrasting humans and (other) animals, this course explores the relations between them, with emphasis on the experiences of the nonhuman animals themselves.<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hub: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking<\/li>\n<li>Instructor: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/anthrop\/profile\/parker-shipton\/\">Parker Shipton<\/a>, CAS Anthropology<\/li>\n<li>Meeting Days\/Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:30-4:45 pm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>KHC HI 106: Solving the Problem of Cornerville&#8217; Street Corner Society (<span>16057<\/span>)<\/strong><strong><br style=\"clear: both;\" \/><\/strong><em>This seminar will examine &#8220;The Problem of Cornerville&#8221; (Boston&#8217;s North End) as formulated by William Foote Whyte in his 1943 ethnography Street Corner Society: The Social Structure of an Italian Slum. In the process we will explore a variety of topics including immigration policy and history, the early Progressive movement, &#8220;slumming,&#8221; urban sociology, theories of crime and deviance, racial formation, and gentrification.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hub: <span>Ethical Reasoning, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Research and Information Literacy<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Instructor: <span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/writingprogram\/people\/writing-program-faculty\/james-pasto\/\">James Pasto<\/a>, <\/span>CAS Writing Program<\/li>\n<li>Meeting Days\/Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:30-1:45 pm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>KHC HI 107: Global History of a Movement (16058)<br style=\"clear: both;\" \/><\/strong><em>It is difficult for us in our historical moment to discern the degree to which the social, political, economic, and intellectual life of the world was riven by conflicts between competing ideologies\/movements as they imagined the future of the global system. Through careful attention to our shared archives of art, fiction, and primary-source texts, this course will explore movements like communism, feminism, and decolonization across time and space in order to understand these movements as global phenomena that continue to structure the unfolding of history in our present.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hub: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Research and Information Literacy<\/li>\n<li>Instructor: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/history\/profile\/andrew-david\/\">Andrew David<\/a>, CAS History<\/li>\n<li>Meeting Days\/Times: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 12:20-1:10 pm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>KHC HI 109: Conspiracy Theories in the Modern World (<span>16059<\/span>)<br style=\"clear: both;\" \/><\/strong><em>Students will explore a conceptual history of the modern world through the lens of infamous conspiracies and conspiracy theories. Destructive and manipulative, conspiracy theories also reveal a kernel of truth about ordinary people\u2019s sense of political powerlessness. But how and why do these theories emerge? Who benefits most from them? How do we distinguish fabrications from hidden truths? And what can they tell us about conflicts over class, race, and gender? Through readings, discussions, writing, and creative projects, we will explore how power, institutions, and information operate.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hub: Historical Consciousness, The Individual in Community, Research and Information Literacy<\/li>\n<li>Instructor: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/khc\/profile\/matthew-schratz\/\">Matthew Schratz<\/a>, Kilachand and CAS Writing Program<\/li>\n<li>Meeting Days\/Times: Mondays, 2:30-5:15 pm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>KHC HU 101: Writing Revolt: Unseen Specters: Supernatural Tales of the British Empire (17763)<br style=\"clear: both;\" \/><\/strong><em>This seminar will instead highlight writers, coauthors, and creators of color from across the British Empire, including Rabindranath Tagore in Bengal, Zora Neale Hurston in the Bahamas, E. Pauline Johnson on the Pacific Northwest Coast, Maryse Cond\u00e9 in Barbados and Salem, Edgar Mittelholzer in Guyana, David Unaipon in Australia, and others. We will focus on their supernatural tales and corresponding Indigenous folkloric traditions between roughly 1880 and 1960. Together, we will read ghost stories, folktales, novels, and critical essays that ask who is haunted, who has power, and how empire shapes, and is shaped by, the supernatural, from haunted houses and cursed plantations to witches, skeletons, and uneasy archives.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Critical Thinking, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy<\/li>\n<li>Instructor: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/profile\/indu-ohri\/\"><span>Indu Ohri<\/span><\/a><span>,<\/span> CGS Humanities<\/li>\n<li>Meeting Days\/Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:00-3:15 pm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>KHC IR 102: Spies and Terrorists of Boston (16060)<br style=\"clear: both;\" \/><\/strong><em>Using an interdisciplinary approach, this course will examine various important, impactful, and, in some ways, underappreciated espionage activities and terrorist events that germinated, received support, or otherwise occurred in the Boston metropolitan area. Please note: This course requires students to (1) take a mandatory four-hour field trip of Boston spy sites with the professor on a weekend and (2) participate in three one-hour oral briefing practice sessions with the professor to be scheduled in the evenings outside of class.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hub: Oral and\/or Signed Communication, Ethical Reasoning, Teamwork\/Collaboration<\/li>\n<li>Instructor: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/pardeeschool\/profile\/john-woodward\/\">John Woodward<\/a>, Pardee School of Global Studies<\/li>\n<li>Meeting Days\/Times: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 1:25-2:15 pm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>KHC PY 105: Quantum Worlds: Science or Science Fiction? (<span>17570)<\/span><br style=\"clear: both;\" \/><\/strong><em>This course aims to introduce non-stem students to the ideas, the elegance, and the practical implications of the quantum world, and to stimulate students&#8217; curiosity and creativity in imagining the remarkable possibilities that this world opens for out-of-the-box thinking. The science discussions will also provide a historical perspective through which students will enhance their appreciation for the research process and the collective effort that pave the way to transformational discoveries. The course only requires high school algebra, and any additional mathematical content will be introduced in class at a very elementary level (for example, we will learn about statistics by simple counting of outcomes in coin tossing experiments.) The main vision of the course is to inspire and facilitate understanding of quantum physics not through mathematics but through story telling. The goal is to imagine a society that functions according to quantum rules and to use short sci-fi stories to exemplify specific quantum principles and behaviors.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hub: <span>Research and Information Literacy, Quantitative Reasoning I, Teamwork\/Collaboration<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Instructor: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/physics\/profile\/andrei-ruckenstein\/\"><span>Andrei Ruckenstein<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/physics\/profile\/william-klein\/\"><\/a>, CAS Physics<\/li>\n<li>Meeting Days\/Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:00 am-12:15 pm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>KHC RH 102: A Nation Riven: Turbulence and Transformation in 1960s America and Today (16968)<br style=\"clear: both;\" \/><\/strong><em>&#8220;Energy powers the world.&#8221; This seminar explores that pithy statement, beginning with basic concepts and definitions. Students examine the history of human uses of energy, how energy arises in different realms (physical, chemical, biological), the primary sources of energy, how to transmit and store energy, and the politics of energy, seeking to answer the ultimate question: &#8220;What should be the path forward to a sustainable, environmentally sound, equitable energy future?&#8221; Students will demonstrate their understanding through problem sets, short essays, a mid-term exam, and a final project.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hub: Historical Consciousness, Individual in Community, Critical Thinking<\/li>\n<li>Instructor: <span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/profile\/charles-henebry\/\">Charles Henebry<\/a>,<\/span> CGS Rhetoric<\/li>\n<li>Meeting Days\/Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:00-3:15 pm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>KHC RH 105: The Lived City (16061)<br style=\"clear: both;\" \/><\/strong><em>What makes cities thrive? How do cities foster community or how do they fail to do so? How does the way a city is built and designed inform these questions? Readings by some of the great urban thinkers and planners of the 20th century (Baudelaire, Benjamin, Wirth, Gehl, Whyte, Chakrabarti), case studies of urban activists and innovators (Riis, Olmsted, Jacobs), guided group walks of the city, and lessons in close observation, culminating in a creative map making project.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hub areas: Digital\/Multimedia Expression, The Individual in Community, Creativity\/Innovation<\/li>\n<li>Instructor: <span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/profile\/stephanie-byttebier\/\">Stephanie Byttebier<\/a>,<\/span>\u00a0CGS Rhetoric<\/li>\n<li>Meeting Days\/Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:00 am-12:15 pm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>KHC RN 102: Sacred Spaces (16062)<br style=\"clear: both;\" \/><\/strong><span><em>Comparative approach to sacred space in world religions, examining pilgrimage, shrine architecture, literary and artistic representations, living saints, and violent incidents.<\/em> <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Critical Thinking, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy<\/li>\n<li>Instructor: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/religion\/faculty\/david-frankfurter\/\"><span>D<\/span><span>avid <\/span><span>Frankfurter<\/span><\/a><span>,<\/span> CAS Religion<\/li>\n<li>Meeting Days\/Times: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 12:20-1:10 pm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>KHC RS 106: Writing Revolt: Literature and Revolution (16111)<br style=\"clear: both;\" \/><\/strong><em>This course explores how writers have imagined, incited, and responded to revolution from the late eighteenth century to the present. Moving from the political upheavals of 1776 and 1789 through the industrial, artistic, and social revolutions that have reshaped the modern world, we will define the concept &#8220;revolution&#8221; and examine how the written word both reflects and generates radical change. Readings in this course span manifestoes, philosophical treatises, and especially, literary works that question existing orders and propose new worldviews. Authors include Voltaire, Kant, Wollstonecraft, Amar y Borb\u00f3n, Marx, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, Gald\u00f3s, Marinetti, G\u00f3mez de la Serna, Azuela, and Rulfo. Together we will consider: What is the relationship between language and insurrection? Can a poem, novel, or treatise be revolutionary? And how do the revolutions of the past continue to shape the struggles of the present?<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Critical Thinking, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy<\/li>\n<li>Instructor: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/rs\/profile\/nicolas-fernandez-medina\/\"><span>Nicolas Fernandez Medina<\/span><\/a><span>,<\/span> CAS Romance Studies<\/li>\n<li>Meeting Days\/Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30-10:45 am<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>All courses below are 4 units. The number following the course title is the Class Number as listed in MyBU Student. KHC AH 101: (Mis)representing History in Art (16054)An examination of the ways that historical events have been depicted by artists from antiquity to the present, with an emphasis on the intentional misrepresentation of events [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8032,"featured_media":0,"parent":12207,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/khc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19213"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/khc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/khc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/khc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8032"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/khc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19213"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/khc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22459,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/khc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19213\/revisions\/22459"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/khc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/khc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}