Wesleyan Seminars

The Wesleyan Seminars form the heart of the Virginia Wesleyan General Education program and cultivate intellectual growth, character development, collaboration, and community involvement. Through different topics and perspectives, the seminars highlight how conflicts in society develop, how the source of disagreements can be recognized, and how different ways of thinking and talking --when brought together--make for more creative and effective problem solving. Seminars challenge students to become deep thinkers by providing a guided path for students to question, to act, and to pursue their majors more fully prepared for earnest intellectual engagement.

The Seminars are grounded in critical thinking, empathy, and civil discourse. The faculty practice active pedagogies that integrate students into the community by involving them in the examination of issues, events, and ideas from diverse perspectives. The faculty are committed to teaching in ways that lead students to understand the world and to find a place in it. Students develop intellectual curiosity--a need to know who, how, and why. The Wesleyan Seminars are designed not simply to impart knowledge, but to help students listen to the ideas of others and to collaborate to create new ways of knowing. In the Wesleyan Seminars, students build foundational academic skills, engage a range of perspectives, and are challenged to develop a new approach to learning. Students will emerge eager to embrace the rigorous studies of their chosen major as they become a more thoughtful, responsible persons seeking to build a better world.

COURSE NUMBER AND TITLE

WES 100 Wesleyan Seminar I WES 200: Wesleyan Seminar II WES 300: Wesleyan Seminar III

TOTAL HOURS REQUIRED: SEMESTER HOURS

4 4 4

12

WESLEYAN SEMINARS (WES)

WES 100: Wesleyan Seminar I (4)

An introduction to critical inquiry in the liberal arts and to intellectual discourse. Students will engage with texts and ideas, learn how to identify problems, consult sources, question assumptions, consider disparate points of view, and be introduced to different strategies for articulating their own perspectives and conclusions for an audience. Section topics vary from year to year and are available on the VWU website.

WES 200: Wesleyan Seminar II (4)

Continued development of the critical inquiry practices introduced in WES 100. Particular attention is paid to engagement with texts. Students are asked to address the complexities of texts and contexts while clearly articulating their own points of view and discerning those from the perspectives of others. Section topics vary from year to year and are available on the VWU website.

WES 300: Wesleyan Seminar III (4)

An intensive seminar experience building on the work done in WES 100 and WES 200. Students will engage more complex questions and produce more informed, imaginative responses. Section topics vary from year to year and are available on the VWU website.