College of Arts & Sciences (CASS)

Registration in the class requires department approval. Taught at Villa Le Balze in Fiesole, Italy. Students may enroll by application only, please visit studyabroad.georgetown.edu for further information and to apply.

This First-Year Seminar exposes students to the many components of the discipline of history through focused study of particular historical events, periods, or themes.

All Georgetown students take The Problem of God. The Cura Personalis seminar complements The Problem of God by, grappling with the problems of humanity through a series of close readings of transformative literary texts that pose and help us to answer, if only provisionally, key questions about being human: What does it mean to be or have a self? How do we become the people we want to be? What does the awareness of death do to the way we live? What is love? How do we know what we know? How does the past inform the present? Thus, we will use the experiences of reading in community as a form of cura personalis, care for the whole person, in all of our confounding humanity.

Transformative texts enchant us and shock us, and invite us to travel in time; they allow us to try on the emotional states of others, to live vicariously for a while in the shoes of people living in historical, geographical, and social contexts that were perhaps invisible to us before stepping into the world of the text. In this way they are conduits of knowledge. Transformative texts also offer us the pleasure of recognition when we see that what goes on in other minds is akin to our own emotional landscapes.

Our reading list of transformative texts was curated by Georgetown Faculty from many different humanities departments who shared their expertise and creativity in order to design The Problem of the Human.

This seminar will fulfill the HALC requirement.

Ways of Knowing Seminars engage with intellectual history, or the organization and evaluation of knowledge, or histories of professions, disciplines, and institutions. Through these seminars, faculty coach critical reading and research habits that will begin to address the problem, to form students attuned to truth seeking, self-aware and self-critical in their own ways of knowing.

The FLL Hager Scholars Colloquium is a biweekly, yearlong, one-credit course coordinated by French professors Milena Santoro and Guy Spielmann and organized around the theme “Languages in Coexistence.” The colloquium is designed to introduce students to a wide range of FLL faculty and their research interests and to learn how to engage in scholarly study in a supportive environment. Students explore the research process, from finding appropriate academic sources to composing a short research proposal. Throughout this process, Profs. Santoro and Spielmann will provide students with detailed feedback. Lastly, the colloquium will expose students to the many opportunities available to language majors outside of the classroom, in DC, and beyond.

We all have feelings. But, do we all experience them in the same way? Do we feel love in the same way in French, Arabic, Japanese, and Russian? What about rage? Or melancholy? To what extent do our languages and cultures allow us to express how we feel–about ourselves, others, and the world? And, how might our languages and cultures limit or mute what we feel and how we articulate our feelings? How does moving linguistically across cultures affect how we feel, if at all? What might tracking the nuances of emotions and feelings across cultures offer us? In this course, we will explore these questions through a humanistic approach by focusing on how different language traditions articulate love–and examine how this specific articulation manifests in culture in a variety of ways, including the politics of love and love as politics.

Throughout the course, we will explore how language, and the historical wake all languages carry, mediates our emotions. In turn, we will also explore how our emotions have an impact on our languages as overladen, superannuated tools that not only transmit information but also convey our interior selves to our outer selves and beyond. That means that this course is about language, emotion (specifically, love), and the (re)presentation of the self and how these three foci are historically constructed but phenomenologically experienced.

ignatius Seminars offer students an enormous range of questions and subjects to explore, each course designed by a faculty member invited to teach something personal, something intimately meaningful to them. The variety represents the richness and diversity of the College’s intellectual community. But in this variety these seminars share a common thread and inspiration, beyond the texts and contexts, that make these Ignatius Seminars. St. Ignatius of Loyola, who founded the Jesuit order in the 16th century, offered a number of educational insights that animate Georgetown’s curriculum still in 2022. Close faculty-student interaction, reflection, whole person education, and cura personalis characterize the open and electric atmosphere in our Ignatius Seminars, which in turn provide an important orientation to our deepest educational values and priorities. Cura personalis translates roughly to care for each person’s individuality and integral wholeness. The small course environment and emphasis on mentoring and interchange foregrounds cura personalis in the classroom at the beginning of each student’s College journey. Freedom. Our faculty are experts in their disciplines, contributing to the future of knowledge in their fields and to the pursuit of truth. Ignatius Seminars offer them an additional invitation, to blend that expertise and rigor with their joys, hobbies, or “extra-curricular” interests. The result for the student is a unique lens into the life of the mind, into the journey of an intellectual. “Depth of thought and imagination.” These fun seminars will also train students in skills and habits that not only ensure success in classes, but happiness, depth, flourishing, and wisdom beyond. Reading, writing, discussion, and argumentation are works in progress for us all; Ignatius Seminars build a safe home for students to experiment, expand, deepen, and enrich these dimensions of their academic lives. This course is by application only.

Dialogue Seminars are a collection of First-Year Seminars designed for students who want to think deeply, speak honestly, and learn how to engage across differences. In these seminars, you’ll explore big questions and challenging ideas while practicing skills that matter far beyond the classroom: listening closely, expressing your views with clarity and respect, and navigating difficult conversations with curiosity rather than conflict. In a polarized world, Dialogue Seminars offer a supportive space to test ideas, learn from others, and develop your voice as a thoughtful member of the Georgetown community.

This course will explore the ways in which legal rules that constrain a society are shaped by that society in a Common Law system. The particular vehicle for this study will be major trends in the development of private law (i.e., law governing disputes between two private parties rather than between a private party and the state) in the United States. Most of the examples will be drawn from Contracts (the law of mutual agreements) and Torts (the law compelling compensation for harmful acts), with some reference to adjacent areas of Property law (the law governing people’s relationships with things of value). We will study the process by which judges derive fundamental values to guide the law. We will then examine the ways in which those values, and resulting legal doctrines, shift when conditions in society shift. We will consider the degree to which courts’ claims of independence and neutrality may be sustained and the processes by which courts and other important social forces act upon one another.

This seminar for CAS sophomore First Fellows invites students to examine a liberal arts education in the context of choosing a major as well as planning for the world of work. This course will ask students to engage in a process of self-discovery that will help them identify and pursue their academic interests as well as explore potential career paths. As part of this process, First Fellows will learn about research and experiential learning opportunities available to CAS students. Students will end the semester with materials (e.g., resumes, CVs, draft research proposals, plans to pursue internships, etc.) that they will be able to put to use when applying for these opportunities in the spring semester.

This seminar is the continuation of CASS 2101 for CAS sophomore First Fellows. This course will guide students through a continued process of self-discovery as students refine their academic interests and explore potential career paths in greater depth. As part of this process, First Fellows will learn about research and experiential learning opportunities available for students at Georgetown. By the end of the semester, students will develop a personal success portfolio with materials (e.g. resumes, CVs, research proposals, internship proposals, etc) that they will utilize for upcoming opportunities during their academic journey.

The University as a Design Problem is a combination seminar and studio centered on imagining and designing new models for a Georgetown education. This year’s focus will be at the intersection of the environment, justice (especially systemic racism) and high-impact learning experiences. The seminar portion will have two layers: 1) it will ground students in the history and present conditions of environmental racism around the world, with particular emphasis on recognizing the leadership of afflicted communities in defending and healing their land, air, water and lives. Our inquiry into environmental justice will be significantly shaped by Georgetown’s location in Washington D.C., whose present too reflects centuries of violence, as well as the desire to transform the relationships among humans and their homes; 2) the second layer will introduce students to theory and philosophy of education and learning, especially focus on justice and decolonization. The studio portion will focus on using design methodologies to develop and mount educational initiatives that both build upon the efforts of environmental justice activists everywhere and imagine new ways of addressing this urgent and existential moment through innovative new curricula. The primary purpose of the course is to create a community of practice among students, faculty and academic staff around a common problem, inquiry and multi-faceted project.The course is designed for a semester, though it may continue for the whole year if the class community desires it.

This is a survey course, designed to explore basic concepts in both corporate and personal finance. Topics include accounting basics, financial statement reporting and analysis, time value of money, capital markets, valuation of stocks and bonds, personal investing, personal income tax, use of credit, and financial challenges that await post-graduation. The course may interest non-MSB students preparing for careers in the business world as well as students simply looking to increase their personal financial literacy. Current events will be covered in nearly every class and students will learn how to use a financial calculator. Students will not be expected to have prior knowledge of course concepts.

This seminar for CAS junior First Fellows continues students' exploration of a liberal arts education in the context of their chosen program(s) of study as well as planning for the world of work. This course will ask students to develop a nuanced understanding of their chosen field(s) of study, especially the methods by which their major(s) or minor(s) claim to generate new knowledge about the world. In addition to philosophical and methodological considerations, the course will ask students to identify and develop the habits of mind and skills most important to their chosen field(s) of study and to explore how these skills may be applied to other knowledge areas and professional settings. As part of this process, First Fellows will engage in research and experiential learning opportunities available to CAS students. Students will end the semester with materials with a portfolio of documents and reflections that will comprise a portfolio of their development as scholars and young professionals.

This seminar is the continuation of CASS-3101 for CAS junior First Fellows. The course continues students' exploration of a liberal arts education in the context of their chosen program(s) of study as well as planning for the world of work. This course will ask students to develop a nuanced understanding of their chosen field(s) of study, especially the methods by which their major(s) or minor(s) claim to generate new knowledge about the world. In addition to philosophical and methodological considerations, the course will ask students to identify and develop the habits of mind and skills most important to their chosen field(s) of study and to explore how these skills may be applied to other knowledge areas and professional settings. As part of this process, First Fellows will engage in research and experiential learning opportunities available to CAS students. Students will end the semester with materials with a portfolio of documents and reflections that will comprise a portfolio of their development as scholars and young professionals.

The Health Professions Seminar is a 2 credit pass/fail course that is open to rising sophomores and juniors interested in exploring a career in healthcare. Weekly sessions will introduce students to the methods and meaning behind a career in the health professions with a focus on building a strong postgraduate application. Meetings will include classroom and experiential components aiming to help students develop strong applications, exercise genuine reflective career discernment, and interact with current medical/dental students, alumni, and health professionals from diverse fields across the medical field.

The Senior Ignatius Seminar is reserved for students who completed an Ignatius Seminar in their first year. In this 2-credit course, students will revisit their Ignatius Seminar topic and reconnect with their faculty mentor and each other.

This one-credit, pass/fail elective is for College sophomores, juniors, and seniors in good standing who will be participating in an internship during the semester of enrollment or in the previous summer. The academic work of the course includes required readings and postings through Canvas that encourage the student to reflect on their internship experience and how it will shape their vocational aspirations and personal formation. In lieu of class meetings, students will participate by submitting assignments through Canvas, engaging in introspective activities, and completing a group project around career discernment and the world of work. The course concludes with the submission of an employer questionnaire that must be completed by the employer and returned to the instructor before the last day of classes. Enrollment is by instructor permission only. In order to gain permission to register for the course, please email the instructor with proof of internship. If a student is interviewing with an organization that requires academic credit (as a condition of participation), the College Dean’s Office can provide a letter of explanation. CASS-3925 may be taken more than once, but only one credit will count toward the 120 credits required for graduation.

This capstone seminar for CAS senior First Fellows invites students to synthesize their liberal arts education and reflect on their intellectual growth as they prepare to transition from Georgetown to their post-graduate pursuits. Building on the skills, habits of mind, and self-knowledge developed throughout the First Fellows program, this course will ask students to articulate the value of their liberal arts education and demonstrate how their academic experiences have prepared them for meaningful work and engaged citizenship. Students will examine how the methodologies and ways of thinking cultivated in their major(s) and minor(s) apply to complex real-world challenges and diverse professional contexts. Through critical reflection and peer dialogue, First Fellows will develop a cohesive narrative about their academic journey and professional aspirations. Students will end the semester with a polished portfolio of materials (e.g., personal statements, graduate school applications, job application materials, reflective essays, etc.) and a clear articulation of their goals and values as they embark on the next phase of their personal and professional lives.

Wicked Problems: Learning to Plan and Decide in Human-AI Teams This course examines how teams learn to work on wicked problems in an AI-augmented world. Wicked problems are complex challenges defined by uncertainty, competing values, and incomplete information, where progress depends as much on problem framing as on solution choice. Students work in peer and intergenerational teams on live, unresolved challenge problems that require careful problem articulation, structured planning, and defensible decision-making. The course follows a three-phase structure: foundational preparation, challenge lab work, and synthesis and reflection. Students begin with structured training in using AI systems and managing AI agents as part of human-AI teams. In the challenge lab phase, student teams work collaboratively—both with peers and in structured, time-bounded engagement with experienced practitioners—to frame problems, develop and iterate solution plans, and stress-test decisions under real-world constraints. AI is used throughout the course to support problem framing, option exploration, and stress-testing of plans in simulated environments. A distinctive feature of the course is short, intensive collaboration blocks with experienced executive practitioners, exposing students to real decision contexts and constraints and reinforcing learning through practice. Executive participants will engage in time-bounded collaboration with students to introduce real-world constraints and support intergenerational learning and workforce-relevant collaboration in challenge-based problem solving.

Launchpad Studio is a cohort-based seminar that anchors the Launchpad experience. The Launchpad program supports students as they imagine and prepare for their eventual transition from Georgetown by emphasizing challenge-based learning and applied liberal arts, college-to-career translation and reflection, skill-building, and direct contact with industry and employers. The Launchpad Studio will meet weekly to facilitate an ongoing meta-conversation about those emphases, providing structured opportunities for reflection, employer engagement, and project based work. The course will be co-led by staff from the Red House and the Cawley Career Education Center. Throughout the semester the studio will feature guests from inside and outside Georgetown to lead discussion on key issues affecting the entry-level job market (market volatility, shifting expectations, AI, early-career trajectories, what “skills” really means). Guests will help shape the required reading, reflection prompts, and in some cases conduct mini-projects or host case studies that emphasize a particular skill under the microscope. The Studio serves as the connective tissue of the Launchpad program, helping students integrate their academic experiences with real-world application and purposeful career exploration.

CAS First Fellows, who cannot participate in the standard CAS First Fellow courses for approved academic reasons, will complete the content of the relevant course (e.g., CASS-2101, 2102, 3101, 3102, 4101, 4102) on a one-on-one basis with the program Assistant Director.