choice #1: LEAD101
LEAD101: What it is
First-year students (i.e., those who have not attended another college during high school or university as well as students who have attended another institution but are transferring with 24 or fewer credits) are required to take LEAD 101 during their first semester at SMCM. While seminars vary by topic, each one focuses on the fundamental liberal arts skills students will use throughout their years at St. Mary’s College, no matter what their major is. These skills include: critical thinking, information literacy, written expression, and oral expression. For more information about the purpose of these courses click here.
Your choices DO NOT have to match to a possible major--choose topics that you'd be interested in reading, writing, and talking with other students about!
What you need to decide
There are a large number of LEAD101 topics offered in the Fall. While we can't guarantee you will be placed in your top choice, we will do our best to match your schedule to your interests. Take a look at the list of options below. In the Course Selection Worksheet, note your top five choices (write down both the section number and the name). You will then report these to your summer advisor!
If you are a DeSousa-Brent Scholar, you can skip this step. You will be assigned to a DSB section automatically.
LEAD 101 Topics (FA 24)
Section 01: Victorian Monsters and Modern Monstrosities
Section 02: Resilience is Not Enough: Bouncing Forward not Bouncing Back
Section 03: Satire and Commemoration as Literature of Social Justice
Section 04: Poetics of Song
Section 05: The Evolution of Altruism
Section 06: Sick of Being Sick?
Section 07: Label Illumination: Decoding Food and Drug Claims
Section 08: Religious Minorities and Social Justice in the US: The Case of American Muslims
Section 09: Religious Minorities and Social Justice in the US: The Case of American Muslims
Section 10: Redemption Songs: Resistance Music in the History of Africa and African Diaspora
Section 11: Ridiculous vs. Plausible?
Section 12: Friendship in Philosophy and Fiction
Section 13: Friendship in Philosophy and Fiction
Section 14: Galileo and the Birth of Modern Science
Section 15: Road to the Whitehouse
Section 16: Road to the Whitehouse
Section 17: The History of the End
Section 18: Psychology of Leadership and Career Development
Section 19: Psychology of Leadership and Career Development
Section 20: Music and Love
Section 21: Public Speaking for the Liberal Arts Scholar, with a Focus on Acting
Section 22: Black Lives Matter: The Quest of Humanity in America
Section 23: Slow Food: Reimagining our Environmental Food System
Section 24: The Care and Feeding of Your Brain
Section 25: Empowerment Through Knowledge: Unveiling the Legacy of Racism through Student Activism
Section 26: Police, Law, and Society
Section 27: What's the Story?: Reading and Writing about Short Fiction
Section 28: Philosophical Inquiry for Teaching and Learning
Section 29: Being a Brat: Bad Kids in Literature and Film
Section 30: Police, Law, and Society