For Students
Come "find your fit" and enroll in ECPY 302: Personal and Academic Inquiry
This three-credit, small seminar is for students who might be asking themselves one or more of these questions:
a
- How can I make my learning experiencing more meaningful to me?
- Am I in the right major for me?
- What do I want to do with my life?
- How do I figure out what my career goals are?
View the spring 2021 section descriptions with hybrid and online options available.
This seminar is designed for undergraduate students who are undeclared, are pre-unit majors, or are in transition between majors.
By exploring an academic topic or theme of personal interest, students will develop skills that will assist them in the exploration
of a major and/or career. Students will document their journeys and produce a personal academic plan, which can be refined (or modified, adjusted)
beyond the course, by the end of the semester. An instructional team made up of a faculty member, an advisor, and librarian will lead the course.
"I think this class is great for people who are feeling 'stuck'. Like they are 'stuck' in their major, what they really want to do, and just choices about school in general."
- ECPY 302 Student
Register for ECPY 302 in ULink
Questions?
To learn more, contact the Student Success Center,
Exploratory and Transitioning Advising.
Email: succeed@louisville.edu
Phone: (502) 852-7969
Or, contact Dr. Nisha Gupta, one of the spring 2021
instructors: nisha.gupta@louisville.edu.
ECPY 302: Personal and Academic Inquiry
Spring 2021 Seminar Sections
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Section 01: Resilience in Uncertain Times
| Time: |
Tuesday & Thursday, 2:30-3:45pm |
| Modality: |
Remote Synchronous |
| Instructor: |
David Johnson
|
| Advisor: |
Jessica Newton
|
| Librarian: |
Latisha Reynolds
|
How do you react in times of stress or crisis? Are you prepared to withstand a huge life challenge? Do our communities have the resources and expertise to bounce back from disasters? Are we even able to meet the mundane demands of daily life? An appropriate answer to any of these questions is… “Maybe.”
How we deal with adversity, both as individuals and as a community, is directly related to our capacity to be resilient. Some communities demonstrate more resiliency than others due to various social and economic conditions, while our life experiences, personalities, and habits affect our resiliency at the individual level. From the future effects of climate change, to the next global pandemic – resilience is critical to preparedness, survival and recovery.
This seminar will help you explore concepts related to becoming a more resilient individual, and what it means to build and be a part of more resilient communities. We will do so through an interdisciplinary lens, which includes public health, social work, anthropology, and others.
- How do we improve resiliency for individuals and communities, and why is it important?
- What is the relationship of resiliency to mental health, and vice versa?
- How is resiliency understood in the U.S. and across cultures?
This seminar will provide you with a structured opportunity to carry out an academic inquiry project that interests you and is connected to the central concepts of the course theme.
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Section 02: Reality Check in the Age of Disruption: Exploring What You Know, How You Know It, and Why It Matters
| Time: |
Monday & Wednesday, 11:00am-12:15pm |
| Modality: |
Hybrid |
| Instructor: |
Nisha Gupta
|
| Advisor: |
Jessy Rosenberg
|
| Librarian: |
Rob Detmering
|
When we wake in the morning, we typically function within a world that is largely the same as when we went to sleep. You were still you; the room was the same one you went to sleep in.
Then, you read the headlines, hear the news, or open your newsapp.
And it seems that the outside world has changed while you slept. New events and reports disrupt what you thought was real. We are experiencing an “age of disruption”. Some of these disruptions include: rapid climate change, conversations about race and anti-racism, the COVID pandemic, and political discourse.
In other words, you woke up to reality. Is your reality the same as my reality? The more you look into this question the harder it becomes to understand it. This seminar will help you grapple with some age-old questions about life as you perceive it and the slippery nature of knowledge, with attention to the ways that “disruptions” operate.
This seminar will help you explore basic concepts and tools for exploring how we understand the world around us. Some questions we will consider in this course (please bullet questions below):
- How do you know what you know?
- How do you know what is real?
- What does “disruption” mean for you and how you navigate what you know?
- How do concepts such as implicit bias, fake news, and “social constructions” work in your understanding of yourself and how you see reality?
As you become more aware of how to understand reality, you can better use this knowledge to understand yourself. This seminar will provide you with a structured opportunity to carry out an academic inquiry project that interests you and is connected to the central concepts of the course theme.
-
Section 03: Failing Forward: Turning Setbacks into Opportunities for Personal Growth
| Time: |
N/A |
| Modality: |
Asynchronous Online |
| Instructor: |
Jennifer Bobo
|
| Advisor: |
Marissa Williams
|
| Librarian: |
Amber Willenborg
|
Failure and setbacks are inevitable. Everyone fails. When we experience failure, do we freeze and try to avoid future choices and failures altogether? Or do we learn from our mistakes and use this new information to handle challenges more wisely in the future? Failure isn’t fun, but there are ways to see failure as a growth opportunity, rather than a setback.
We can talk to ourselves about these experiences, make meaning, and learn lessons that lead to more personal growth. This, essentially, is “failing forward.”
In this seminar, we will explore the concept of failure and learn to identify the self talk that takes place when life doesn’t go as planned. We will cultivate new attitudes, knowledge and skills about coping with failure and using these difficult experiences to grow and move forward. This course will help you explore questions including:
- Where do I feel stuck or confused when things haven’t gone well academically or personally?
- What have I learned from previous failures in my life?
- What are some new ways I can gain insight from my setbacks and failures and navigate future experiences?
- What gets “in the way” for me?
Some of the tools and concepts we will learn about and use in this seminar are: cognitive distortions (thinking errors), reframing experiences and thoughts, and drawing on perseverance and self-compassion during challenging times. We will explore how culture and society impact our beliefs and understanding of failure, and learn to deconstruct these beliefs. We will look at theories about failure and persistence, and learn how to adopt healthier and more resilient attitudes. We will examine examples from others who have pushed forward in the face of failure and achieved successful outcomes. This seminar will provide you with a structured opportunity to carry out an academic inquiry project that interests you and is connected to the central concepts of the course theme.
The section themes for spring 2021 listed above connect to UofL’s new Grand Challenges, a new initiative which will promote research and scholarship around empowering communities through promoting equity, eliminating disparities and strengthening the ability of all individuals and communities to achieve well-being and prosperity. The themes below align with the Grand Challenge focused on advancing human health and helping people live lives that are not just longer, but healthier and more resilient.
Register for ECPY 302 in ULink
Read what students are saying about this course:
“I was in (this) small class with students who shared the same struggles as me. After a while, I felt comfortable with them and learned
that my confusion as a college student was a shared emotion. It made me feel less lonely knowing that lots of other students shared the same feelings of uncertainty and confusion.”
“I think this class is great for people who are feeling 'stuck'. Like they are 'stuck' in their major, what they really want to do, and just choices about school in general.”
“If I was going to share my experiences with this class with a peer, it would be that the course helps you know more about yourself, values, beliefs and also helps you use inquiry effectively.”
“This semester I have learned a lot about my career path as well as path of studying and my major. I have done research which I have gained many skills from and I have done activities which
showed me the skills I already had. I learned a lot about who I am as a person and a student and how I can thrive in the upcoming years of my life. This class has taught me both educationally and personally.”
“Researching a topic you’re interested in changes the way you see research. The information seems more compelling, more relevant, and I found myself personally more driven to find more good sources.”
Questions?
To learn more, contact the Student Success Center,
Exploratory and Transitioning Advising.
Email: succeed@louisville.edu
Phone: (502) 852-7969
Or, contact Dr. Nisha Gupta, one of the spring 2021
instructors: nisha.gupta@louisville.edu.
Get Involved
Interested in getting involved? Find Your Fit is actively seeking FYF Alumni Advocates who have already taken the course. These students will help enhance the future direction of the initiative for future students who enroll in FYF.
We are always looking for students to spread the word about this initiative. If you would like to become a social media ambassador for the program, please contact us.
Additionally, recent graduates from the university and alumni are also encouraged to reach out for potential participation in career panels for current students.
