OPTIONAL SEMINARS (GS WEST)

"You’re heavily engaged in interesting seminars, the curriculum you came to study, and are forced to actually think & consider what you’re doing with your life instead of just being in the moment. You learn to live all over again." – Choral Music student, 2007

"The optional seminars, for me, brought about a wide array of subjects my public school would never address! Thank you so much Governor’s School to allowing me to contribute to and receive from other students many varying viewpoints!"– Natural Science student, 2006

"I would cause the world to spin slightly slower so that I could fit more seminars and more free time into the day."– Instrumental Music student, 2007

Optional seminars at GS-West are presented by faculty and TACs (teaching assistants/counselors), and are scheduled at either 4 pm or 7 pm. On many days, there are at least two offerings at each time slot. Seminars are very well-attended by students and faculty/TACs.

Below is a list of optional seminars recently presented at GS-West.

  1. Strange Little Short Stories
  2. Introduction to Films Seminar
  3. Special Relativity Seminar
  4. Advertising Sells More Than Stuff Seminar
  5. Kung Fu Seminar Seminar
  6. The Paradox of Southern Feminism Seminar
  7. Introduction to Tai Chi Seminar
  8. Poetry Workshop
  9. How to be Politically Correct Film Screening
  10. What in the World is Cuatro? Film Screening
  11. Our Town: A Famous American Play in an Infamous Town Seminar
  12. Reading Circles Discussion
  13. Invisible Children
  14. The Ethics of Assistance
  15. Salem Ghost Tour
  16. Seeing is Believing?
  17. The Up Series
  18. Throwing Like a Girl: Feminism and the Lived Body
  19. The Art of Montage: Alfred Hitchcock Films
  20. Citizen Science
  21. Happy New Ears—Exploring New Music
  22. Hip-hop History and Listening Party
  23. I Don’t Get It: One Approach to Watching Dance
  24. The Concept of Concept Albums: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
  25. One is the Loneliest Number
  26. The Shape of the Universe
  27. Free Speech for Sale
  28. I Robot: Exploring Ideas in Artificial Intelligence
  29. Merchants of Cool
  30. Hard Determinisms: The Limits of Free Will
  31. Individuality, Conformity, and Society
  32. The Absurdist Nightmare of Buster Keaton
  33. Immigration and the European Union
  34. Pipe Organ Demonstration
  35. Faculty Poetry Reading
  36. Understanding the Developing World
  37. Mythos and Modernity in Japanese Cinema
  38. The Evolution of Eminent Domain Policy Seminar Tour
  39. Chew on This! Seminar
  40. Barbie Karaoke and Friends: Experimental Electronic Music Film
  41. Documenting the Invisible Seminar Seminar
  42. The Fine Art of Solar Cooking
  43. Elastic Scenes
  44. Donald in Mathmagic Land Film/Discussion
  45. Contemporary Community Art
  46. Buying the War
  47. The Exonerated
  48. Planet Earth
  49. College 102: Things You Should Know About Universities
  50. Blood Done Sign My Name
  51. Possible Worlds
  52. What is Mime? What is Pantomime?
  53. Wake Forest Visit
  54. The New French Wave: Breathless, Forbidden Games
  55. Self-Defense Class
  56. A Day in the Life: College from a College Student’s Perspective
  57. Illogical Minds, Logical Science
  58. The Genetics of Skin Color
  59. WWBD: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Meets Kant
  60. Beyond Race: Bill and Janet’s Excellent Adventures
  61. The Real Truth about College for Women
  62. The Trouble with Brunnian Circles
  63. The Cube
  64. Our So-Called Lives
  65. Shagging in the Carolinas
  66. Peak Oil