University Seminars

For more than three decades, the University Seminar (USEM) program has provided an opportunity for undergraduate students to take unique seminar style courses in a variety of topics taught by faculty from any of the University’s twelve schools. University Seminar faculty engage students in discussion, hands-on experiential learning, research, and critical self-reflection that helps students shape the direction of their studies at UVA.

It is expected that these courses will help students develop critical thinking skills and explore new ideas in an environment that encourages interactive learning and intensive discussion. Enrollment in a University Seminar should provide undergraduate students the opportunity to work closely with instructors and to develop an intellectual community with other students around a shared area of interest.

USEM courses are offered during both the fall and spring semesters, are capped at 18 students, and are offered on an open enrollment basis to students interested in the topic of the course. There are two models for the USEM program: one offers two-credit courses (USEMs 1570 and 1580) and the other offers one-credit courses (USEM 2570 and 2580).

In the past, USEMs were limited to first- and second-year students. New for the 2026-2027 academic year, these courses will be open to all undergraduate students.

Learning The Art of Storytelling – 2 credits (USEM1570-001)

Stephen Plaskon | Tuesday 2-3:50pm | Pavilion 8, Rm. 102

This USEM will provide each participant with the opportunity to explore the art of storytelling and to develop their own storytelling skill set. While most consider storytelling to be an art, it is also a science. For those to whom it does not come naturally, it can be learned. Using materials developed by the Moth Radio Hour and others this USEM will explore storytelling and all will learn what it takes to be a powerful and engaging storyteller. You should take this University Seminar if you wish to inspire and engage others in your work and personal life.

Child Protection: Policy, Practice and Impact - 2 credits (USEM1570-002)

Rebecca Schmidt | Wednesday 2-3:50pm | Pavilion 8, Rm. 102

Child protection in the US is complex and controversial. From prevention to foster care to termination of parental rights and adoption, each phase poses significant ethical questions around the definition of family, the power of government, and the concept of safety. This course will explore these questions, facilitated by local experts in law, policy, healthcare, and other areas and will challenge you to make a positive difference. You should take this University Seminar if you are interested in law, policy, medicine or public health.

People and Pinball Inside Out - 2 credits (USEM1570-003)

Lynn Mandeltort | Monday 3:30-5:20pm | Rotunda, Rm. 102

Pinball is a world under glass where gravity rules and failure is certain—yet we play anyway. This course explores how players, machines, and culture intersect through psychology, physics, and industry history. Through hands‑on work with parts, simple game analysis, and regular play on local machines, students investigate how people and objects shape one another. You should take this University Seminar if you want to escape into a little world under glass.

All Bots Created Equal - 2 credits (USEM1570-004)

Jason Nabi | Monday 2-3:50pm | Pavilion 8, Rm. 102

In this seminar, you’ll engage with the multidisciplinary team behind an ambitious ed-tech project: building an AI-powered virtual-reality avatar of Thomas Jefferson. As you collaborate with developers, designers, and content experts, you will explore the mechanics of generative AI and immersive media, while tackling deeper questions about ethical design, Jefferson’s complex legacy, and the challenges of representing the past in the digital age. You should take this University Seminar if you're curious about how emerging technologies like AI and VR are reshaping how we represent history, and you want to be part of the team building an ambitious ed-tech experiment at UVA.

Great Historical Speeches - 2 credits (USEM1570-005)

Robert Patterson | Thursday 4-5:50pm | Pavilion 8, Rm. 102

The focus of the course will be on the appreciation and analysis of great speeches from ancient, U.S., and world history. Students will: read original speech texts, explore the historical epoch when they were delivered, consider their short-and long-term implications, and eventually use a critical method to critique speeches in order to interpret the speech text and its cultural context more broadly. You should take this University Seminar if they are interested in great speeches, the historical contexts, and the rhetorical decisions and elements used by famous and infamous speakers.

Gender, Health, & Structural Violence - 2 credits (USEM1570-006)

Kathryn Laughon | Thursday 2-3:50pm | Pavilion 8, Rm. 102

Students examine how gender and health are shaped by structural violence, including the social, political, and institutional forces that produce harm and inequality. The course centers white supremacy and male supremacy as systems organizing violence and access to health and safety, and explores gendered violence in healthcare, policing, immigration, disability services, and family policy, with attention to personal and collective resistance. You should take this University Seminar if you want to better understand how gender-based violence is connected to health, policy, and everyday institutions, and are interested in a discussion-based class that takes these issues seriously without oversimplifying them.

Death, Dying and Bereavement - 2 credits (USEM1570-007)

Richard Steeves | Thursday 3-4:50pm | Rotunda, Rm. 152

This course is an exploration of thinking about dying, death and bereavement. Although western culture and American culture in particular has a reputation for being death denying, we do in fact confront images of and talk about death on almost a daily basis. This course will not be a study about death and dying in the news and popular media, rather it will about those who have thought about our mortality seriously and extensively.

Journeys Through Hell - 2 credits (USEM1580-001)

Dariusz Tolczyk | Tuesday 4-5:50pm | Pavilion 8, Rm. 102

How does evil originate in history? Our readings and discussions will allow us to confront our own assumptions with discoveries of those who lived through extreme experiences – genocide, persecution, enslavement, concentration camps. What did they discover about being human? We will discuss Biblical texts, Plato, Elie Wiesel, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Varlam Shalamov, Tadeusz Borowski and others. Readings will be complemented by films. You should take this University Seminar if you would like to step outside your comfort zone and place yourself in the shoes of people who experienced some of history's profound assaults against humanity and wrote about it.

Espionage: A Global History - 2 credits (USEM1580-002)

Jeffrey Rossman | Wednesday 3-4:50pm | Rotunda, Rm. 152

This course offers a history of espionage and intelligence from the First World War to the present, with a heavy focus on World War II and the Cold War. Topics include: the major causes of intelligence success and failure, including surprise attack; the role of espionage, intelligence, and covert operations in the major confrontations of the Second World War and the Cold War; and the reasons that individuals choose to spy for the enemy. You should take this University Seminar if you are interested in the history of espionage, intelligence, and covert operations from c. 1914 to the present and with a particular focus on World War II and the Cold War.

Thinking in the Age of AI - 1 credit (USEM2580-001)

Leo Lo | Thursday 11am-12:50pm | Classroom TBD

AI can do your reading, start your writing, and finish your problem sets. Sometimes that saves you time. Sometimes it may cost you the learning you came here to get, and you can’t tell the difference in the moment. This course makes your own AI use the object of study. In the first week, you audit your actual AI history. By the end, you use AI to analyze what it found. You leave knowing when AI is helping you and when it might be replacing the thinking that builds your expertise.

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