January Term

Building on some of the skills developed in First-Year Foundations, students in this course will practice how to take risks, fail forward, navigate difficult conversations, negotiate conflict, work as part of a team, and accept feedback with a growth mindset. Students would also hone their oral communication skills, specifically in the context of negotiation and self-advocacy. All of these activities will be carefully scaffolded. Students will be encouraged to apply these strategies to their own lives.

Immerse yourself in your studio practice during this intensive seminar focused on developing your work for the Senior Studio Art exhibition. Work with studio art faculty and your peers to refine your methods, concepts and studio workflow, while participating in both small group critiques with your peers and one on one studio visits with faculty. Expect to dedicate an additional 10-15 hours per week outside of the seminar schedule to your independent studio work.

This course provides a unique and personal interactive learning experience helps students reflect on their leadership style, educational life and personal lives. By learning the the Seven Priorities of Survival and the technical skills necessary to utilize them students will identify parallels existing between wilderness survival techniques, university life, and personal life.

Taught by Roanoke City Circuit Court Judge David Carson, this course is an intensive guide to the law, legal system, and trying a case. The class will introduce students to substantive areas of law and the procedures of trial advocacy, on campus and in court. As a part of trial practice, students are required to observe courtroom proceedings, and engage in basic trial exercises; including, opening statements, closing arguments, direct examinations, and cross examinations. Professional attire and ability to attend all scheduled sessions is required of enrolled students.

Dive into the world of stage combat and bring dramatic conflicts to life! This course goes beyond traditional acting, teaching you how to safely and convincingly portray physical confrontations on stage. What you’ll learn:

• Unarmed combat techniques: Master the art of staged punches, falls, and grapple
• Develop crucial physical awareness and coordination
• Armed combat skills: Learn the basic principles of stage sword fighting!
• Strengthen communication and trust with your fellow actors

Whether you’re into Shakespeare’s duels or modern action scenes, these skills will elevate your performances and make you a versatile, in-demand actor. Join us to add some excitement to your theatrical toolkit and create unforgettable moments on stage!

This course will give students a fundamental understanding of the processes involved in the design of qualitative and quantitative research methodology in STEM. Working collaboratively, the class will identify a research question related to a STEM field that requires an interdisciplinary approach, pulling from the instructors’ areas of expertise. The class will conduct a literature review, develop questions and testable hypotheses, and define a protocol to address those questions. Additional topics will cover statistical analysis of data and technical and non-technical science writing. Working together, the class will develop a comprehensive research proposal. As a part of this course, students will take field trips to local research facilities. This course is only open to first year students.

How do equitable and inclusive communities come into being? Through us! This course is a hands-on, experiential introduction to identifying strategic community issues and developing advocacy campaigns to improve them. Students will identify a community issue affecting the Hollins community and develop advocacy materials to work for change.

Like many industries, Hollywood has been convulsed by the rapid uptake of artificial intelligence (AI). In 2023, a historic strike by industry writers and actors was motivated in part to safeguard their jobs against generative AI tools. Yet long before the rise of AI became a pressing labor question, Hollywood has been telling stories about mischievous robots, sentient computers, and other unruly technological entities. This class examines how movies have explored the theme of AI in such films as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, The Terminator, Ghost in the Shell, The Matrix, Ex Machina, After Yang, and M3GAN, among others. Films will be screened during class time followed by discussion.

Religious movies give us an opportunity to examine religions from a variety of unusual perspectives. This class will explore five religious traditions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam and Christianity—as they are represented by a variety of film genres including documentary, drama, and comedy. After reading overviews of these religions, we will examine how the medium of film simplifies, distorts, but also attempts to express the essence of each faith. Questions considered include: Can film give an accurate experience of a religion? Is there a middle ground between the
sentimental and satirical? Can watching a film become a religious experience?

Throughout papermaking’s expansive history, papermakers have shown invention and adaptability in their ability to collaborate with nature through harvesting, recycling and reclaiming materials for paper production. Through discussion, projects, and critique, this course will explore topics in sustainability, environmental art, and observation/collaboration with nature. Students will learn two-dimensional and three-dimensional techniques in papermaking including sheet formation, natural dyeing, pulp painting, recycling paper/fiber waste. The course will incorporate visiting artist lectures and field trips to nature sites, museum collections, and regional papermaking artists. Course fee is estimated at $100 for materials and supplies.