Faculty and students learning together: Skidmore’s Scribner Seminars
Scribner Seminars are a staple of the Skidmore College experience. Each fall semester, professors from a variety of disciplines teach a seminar to a class of first-year students. Although 课程的主题通常与他们的研究领域相关，但事实并非如此 have to be. Often you will find seminars dive into a niche that is not typically explored within a professor's discipline. Some notable seminars include Can Machines Think?, The Dancing Brain, and Weird Books. But these are only a few of almost 50 unique classes.
The seminars — the centerpiece of Skidmore’s First-Year Experience -旨在向一年级学生介绍大学课程的严谨性 ease them into the more subtle aspects of the college environment. The classes also highlight the uniquely collaborative nature of teaching at Skidmore.
我的第一年研讨会，格蕾丝·伯顿教授的现代思想的空间，是 对我来说非常有意义:我可以学习世界上所有的学科，相互联系 with my classmates, and met my best friend at Skidmore. The connections I made — especially 我和伯顿教授的关系影响了我后来在火博体育的生活， both academically and personally.
But what do professors think of the experience?
我和三位教授坐在一起，讨论他们在斯克里布纳研讨会上的经历. 从这些对话中，有一件事变得清晰起来:学生并不是唯一一个 learn in a Scribner Seminar; the professors are learning, too. One seminar even inspired a book!
Dynamics of Chaos with Professor of Mathematics and FYE Director Rachel Roe-Dale
Professor Rachel Roe-Dale, who is part of the Mathematics and Statistics Department and directs Skidmore’s First-Year Experience, teaches Dynamics of Chaos. The seminar explores the mathematical concept of chaos theory.
斯克里布纳研讨会吸引教授的部分原因是他们的 一年级的学生投入其中，罗-戴尔教授说她学到了一些东西 new every year.
她特别期待讨论雷·布拉德伯里的《火博体育官网》 深入研究蝴蝶效应——一个与混沌理论齐头并进的概念. 虽然她最初在开设这门课时并没有教这个短篇故事， a student used it as a part of a final project. Professor Roe-Dale loved it so much that she decided to incorporate it into the class in future years.
她在阅读了詹姆斯·格莱克的书《混沌: 《火博体育官网》，这本书将混沌理论描述为科学视角的转变. 根据罗伊-戴尔教授的说法，这种转变对我们的家庭来说已经变得极其重要 understanding — not just of mathematics but the world. The theory has made its way 流行文化，甚至出现在迈克尔·克莱顿的《火博体育》和电视节目中 episode of “The Simpsons.”
Interdisciplinary learning is at the heart of Scribner Seminars. “One area that Skidmore does such a wonderful job at is blending the arts and sciences,” she said. The seminar 让学生有信心将他们不同的兴趣和不同的学科联系起来， she added.
学生们还阅读了汤姆·斯托帕德(Tom Stoppard)的《火博体育官网》(Arcadia)，这是一部与此类似的戏剧 tenets of chaos theory. It serves as an opportunity to collaborate with other departments, including the Theater Department.
“这是我在火博体育教过的最难的课，但也是最有成就感的课."蕾切尔·罗-戴尔，项目主任，第一年的经验和数学教授
Can Literature Save the Environment? with Associate Professor of English Michael Marx
Associate Professor of English Michael Marx 负责开设几个以环境为重点的课程 English Department. His Scribner Seminar, Can Literature Save the Environment?, is a combination of literary studies and environmental studies. It’s an exploration of the role literature 写作可以改变社会观点，最终促进社会发展 action.
马克思教授说，这门课程还有助于消除学习文学的神话 is somehow irrelevant in today’s world and shows its enduring power. In the seminar, books like “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson highlight that potential.
“这不仅是一本文笔优美的书，带来了一些很好的跨学科知识 思考，但它确实是环境运动的起点 environmental thinking," he said. "We saw the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency because of a book.”
有一年，他带来了火博体育的一名学生，这名学生暂时请假抗议 tree removals out West. “That was really a very powerful moment that moved the topics 我们所看到的从简单的假设突然变得非常真实，” Professor Marx said. “It got them thinking: ‘Oh wait a second, could I walk in her shoes?’”
Professor Marx said nothing quite compares to the impact of the Scribner Seminar.
我想说，这门课非常重要，而且越来越重要 relevant every time I teach it.Michael Marx, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR of English and DIRECTOR of EXPOSITORY WRITING
Ideal Worlds with Professor of Chinese Language and Literature Mao Chen
Professor Mao Chen is a member of Skidmore’s Department of World Languages and Literature and teaches Chinese language and literature. According to Professor Chen, first-year 学生(和一般的年轻人)经常在寻找自己的理想:什么 makes an ideal student? What makes an ideal friend? What makes an ideal person? That's what Professor Chen’s seminar is all about.
“My doctorate is in comparative literature, so I am a comparatist and literature 学者，真正让我着迷的是，无论你来自什么背景 from, we humans always think about this concept of the ideal,” she said.
陈教授和她的学生探讨了政治理想、文化理想、社会理想 economic ideal, and the scientific ideal across time and geography.
不同的文化群体和不同的历史时期有不同的主导地位 ideas about what is ideal. And as we get into these very deep conversations, we tend to have a very profound shift in our ways of thinking about the concept.陈茂，中国语言文学教授 ROSS CHAIR IN INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES
研讨会上的阅读材料包括柏拉图的《火博体育官网》、孔子的著作、托马斯的著作 Moore’s “Utopia,” and Henry James’ “The Europeans.” Students also watch the science fiction film “Gattaca.”
对于陈教授来说，培养学生的批判性思维能力非常重要 that will serve them throughout their time at Skidmore and beyond. As she helps them 为了批判性地思考阅读材料中所表达的观点，学生需要进行过渡 from simply answering questions to asking them.
她还提到，课堂上的对话总是很生动，很吸引人 because each student offers something different to the conversation. With every year that she teaches the seminar, the students change, but so does the class itself.
课程以华裔美国人哈金的论文集结束。 根据陈教授的说法，他“争论并思考了一个问题:什么是理想 对于一个21世纪的人来说，他的身份可能不容易被他的 language. What is the ideal of self?”
My takeaway
The Scribner Seminar is Skidmore’s not-so-hidden gem. It offers a legacy of intellectualism 对于一年级的学生，我们鼓励他们带来自己的观点和经验 into the classroom environment. The professors I talked to all mentioned the same thing: They learn as much from these seminars as their students do.
这就是为什么当有人问起火博体育的课堂体验时，我指着 在斯克里布纳研讨会上，教育不仅仅是一个机会 给学生一个倾听的空间，而是给他们一个积极贡献学习的空间 all.
我现在是新生的同伴导师，他们参加了我曾经参加过的斯克里布纳研讨会 我是一名大一学生，我已经看到了信息和思想的交流 taking place; the learning is absolutely going both ways.