President Laura Skandera Trombley unveils the distinctive contours of her inaugural first-year seminar, “Autobiography in the Age of the Selfie,” in an exclusive feature for Inside Higher Education. This innovative seminar serves as a guiding beacon for new college students navigating the path to success, delving into a rich tapestry of self-expression through literature, films, off-campus exploration, poetry immersion, dance, and a distinctive focus on quilting as a medium for autobiographical narratives.

The piece specifically highlights the quilting assignment. The students, initially bewildered by the assignment, eventually embraced it, often finding the therapeutic value in the act of stitching. At the end of the semester, the students demonstrated a newfound appreciation for Southwestern’s paideia academic philosophy.

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