Across the Continents

What can a story tell us about the world, about ourselves, about others like us, about others different from us, about our roles in the world, about the role of stories in the world? There is no better way to explore these questions than reading stories and discussing their values within our own cultural and multicultural moment. Engaging meaningfully and analytically with these texts, as diverse in time/epoch and medium as they are in style and geographical origin, will provide students with the perfect opportunity to reflect upon our fluid global community as they pertain to the most important story of all: the story of us.

Expand All
  • Coursework Overview

    The coursework for this Endeavor community involves taking a one-unit course in the fall semester and a half-unit course in the spring semester, both taught by Dr. Abreu.

    Fall 2020 Semester Spring 2021 Semester
    FYS 100: Across the Continents (1 unit) IDST 190: Across the Continents Seminar (.5 unit)

    FYS 100 satisfies a general education requirement; students are required to take one first-year seminar (FYS) during each of their first two semesters at Richmond.

    IDST 190 is a half-unit project based course part of the Endeavor program.

  • Specific Course Information

    FYS 100: Across the Continents

    This course approaches the study of fiction as the story of us (our shared stories of the human experience) in search of similarities in individuals’ cultures and experiences, rather than differences. It is in understanding others that we better ourselves and better understand ourselves, and actively discussing others’ experiences through that process creates opportunities for individuals to learn to be in our international multicultural world.

    To understand a campus community as a microcosm of the world in which we live will be a paramount aspect of class discussion and writing assignments, as well as the extracurricular activities linked to the course. In experiencing the commonality of the human story, students will develop a deeper understanding of the ideas, and levels, of belonging.

    IDST 190: Across the Continents Seminar

    Depending on the interest of the students, the spring project can take many forms; from a directed research project that furthers and deepens the academic skills that the FYS program aims to develop, to an individualized literary translation project that aims to make a contribution to the field.

  • Faculty Information

    Dr. Dixon Abreu is the Director of Portugese for the Department of Latin American, Latino, and Iberian Studies.

  • Roadmap Short Course Information

    As part of the Endeavor program, you will particiapte in the popular Roadmap to Success pre-orientation program, where you will take a short course led by Dr. Abreu.

    Short Course Description: Journeys to Self-Discovery

    Is fiction just fiction? Is it a representation of our realities that is meant to make us think about those realities? What can a fictional story teach us about ourselves and the relationship we have with the world? In this course, we will discuss the didactic role that stories have, as we follow one character’s journey to self discovery and draw parallels to our own new journeys; the journey this far, as well as the new journey ahead of us.