First-Year Student Showcase

a celebration of multimodal composition in LANG 120, HUM 124, and FYS 178

Category: Class Collaboration

Us Being/Singing Human

By

On April 28, 2023

In Class Collaboration, Spring 2023

Collaborative PlayList for HUM124 Spring 2023

What does our Spotify playlist tell us about being human?

  • I think what’s most interesting about the Spotify playlist is that it gives us all a window into what each one of us is individually passionate about. Sometimes when a song comes on you’ll hear a student get excited that something of theirs was chosen, and it provides a wonderful insight into the power of music, how emotionally effective it can be. Considering how many silly songs are also included on the playlist, I don’t know if it directly tells us anything about the human condition–it seems to be more so a collection of what we want to hear rather than what represents being human–but in a sort of unintentional or subconscious way, it somehow achieves that. In a way, our desires–whether serious or silly–most purely show us our condition.
  • I feel like what you said about there being a lot of heartbreak is an accurate representation. Majority of the songs on this playlist are really sad, even if they do not seem that way on the surface. If you dig into the lyrics they have really sad meanings behind them. I also think that it’s representative of love though. You can’t have any type of love without having experienced at least a little bit of heartbreak.
  • To me, the most interesting thing about the playlist is the nature of the individual music selections because the purpose of this playlist was something along the lines of “add music that, to you, represents the humanities”.  And from that simple premise our class has included music from a bunch of different corners of the musical spectrum from rap to pop and tones ranging from sad and melancholy to upbeat and motivating.  This to me says that “the humanities” that this playlist is based around is very personal and subjective to every person but the collective experience is still relatable as in this case it all exists in the same medium of music.
  • I feel like our Spotify playlist shows us the shared range of human emotions. There are songs of sorrow and loss (Fourth of July, Putting the Dog to Sleep), songs of hope (Lewis Takes Off His Shirt, Rivers and Roads), and much more. Multiple emotions make themselves known through songs, and there isn’t just one thing primarily focused upon. 
  • The beauty in human experience is that each individual shares one that is unlike the rest. Regardless of how similar you may feel to another, you will never be the same. Music has the ability to draw people together, to bridge any gaps which they find between them. There is so much variety to music, yet the flow is indescribable. Our playlist is representative of the many unique perspectives we have among us in class. It touches on every emotion, every feeling we as humans share…and have shared throughout this semester. Merely words sung to fill the air become words heard, words understood, and words of comfort we share & that is the human experience. 
  • I think that each song on the playlist speaks to an emotion, an aspect of society, or a personal story in a way that is unique to the artist. These expressions are uniquely human, and are a powerful communicator between humans. 
  • I like the spotify playlist because of the wide range of music genres, emotions, and art it provides. It shows human emotion in one of the earliest forms, song. Everyone got to add something, so it represents community as well. There are goofy songs, songs about hope, grief, and anger, a combination that would be difficult to find in any other playlist. 
  • The spotify playlist was really interesting at the beginning of the semester. I liked putting songs that I enjoyed listening to in the playlist. There are some really good songs, and some really bad songs…sorry guys. I’ve noticed that a lot of songs are about love or loss. 
  • The playlist is composed of songs that detail the human experience. Many themes of that experience are present in the songs. “Zombie” by The Cranberries is about how political violence hurts innocent people. “Youth” by Glass Animals encourages listeners to appreciate the present moment and to make the most of their youth while they still can. “Vienna” by Billy Joel is about slowing down and enjoying the moment.

History of American Studio Furniture

By

On May 3, 2022

In Class Collaboration, FYS178, Slideshows

FYS178 Class Project with Brent Skidmore

Ancient Terra Preta Gardening in Present Time

By

On April 29, 2021

In Class Collaboration, HUM124, Spring 2021

by the Students of Dr. David Clarke’s HUM124 class

When Dr. Clarke announced that our class would be doing a garden project, I was confused and taken aback. I was excited, as I’ve never really gardened before, but also nervous as to what this project would entail. Now, as we are closing out the semester, I reflect onto the garden project with fond memories. There was something so special about getting out of my dorm room and going into the garden, being able to connect with my peers in person, and feeling the fulfillment of hard work. . . . My peers and I got the opportunity to have in depth conversations about the course material in a casual setting. As an example, I distinctly remember one of my classmates and I weeding and talking about terra preta, which probably wouldn’t have happened if we were exclusively over zoom. It was so beneficial to have those face to face conversations- not only for my understanding of the class material, but also for my mental health and motivation. 

Jessica Nilsen

To have an outlet for physical creation as an element of this class was extremely beneficial, and oftentimes when working I would think about the ways in which we as a human population have worked the land and created productive agricultural earth throughout human history. There is an interconnectedness to physical labor, a familiarity to working with my hands just as my father did growing up on an apple orchard or my ancestors did when they first settled this area (eighth generation things). . . Another layer of connectivity I felt lies in the friendships I made while working in the garden. To have a class of people all working together on a project was a gift and I was excited every Friday to go have those interactions. 

Alana Merrell

 In the Humanities 124 curriculum, we talked about how hunters and gatherers settled down and began creating their own agriculture. It was really interesting to not only learn about gardening agriculture but experience it first-hand. . . . Some things that I really enjoyed about this project were the ability to learn about gardening, being able to get outside, and bonding more with my teacher and classmates. My family lives in a townhouse in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina. Because I live in the city, I have never experienced gardening on such a large scale before. It was a wonderful experience being able to not only learn about gardening but see the results from the work that we did as a class.

Alyssa Harrison

“Terra preta owes its characteristic black color to its weathered charcoal content, and was made by adding a mixture of charcoal, bone, broken pottery, compost and manure to the low fertility Amazonian soil. … Terra preta soils were created by farming communities between 450 BCE and 950 CE.” Wikipedia Article on “Terra Preta”