UNXD 2276 (TH 10-12)

What does it mean to fail? Is it a setback or, after careful examination and reflection, an opportunity to succeed? When we are confronted by failure, our instinct is to often view it as all-encompassing and all-consuming: that it will define us, including our future, forever. Each week, through readings, discussions, podcasts, videos, written reflections, and activities, we will examine the failures of entrepreneurs, researchers, politicians, artists, and other leading figures in the world, and how these innovators/change-makers took stock of their setbacks to inform future decisions. We will also take inventory of our own failures (both at Georgetown and beyond) and examine not what could’ve been done differently, but how we can respond moving forward. In a world so driven by labels, titles, success, and failures, how do we really define ourselves?

Instructor: Dr. Vanessa R. Corcoran (CAS Advising Dean)

UNXD 3351 

“By the time they graduate from college, most students still have not achieved the kind of self-authorship that would allow them to think independently, make choices, and pursue their dreams.” – Marcia B. Baxter Magolda

This course will offer space and structure for seniors to develop, integrate, and express written and spoken narratives that help them move forward into the world. 

This course is only open to seniors; there are no course prerequisites.

This course is conducted as a weekly seminar with readings, written assignments, and group discussions. The classroom community requires preparation, presence, participation, respect, and confidentiality.

Learning Goals

As a result of taking this course, students will be able to:

– Identify elements of their personal narrative related to life experiences, learning, strengths, values, career, and contextual influences.

– Connect their experiences, learning and other elements to ​attributes desired by employers​ or career goals.

– Adapt elements of their personal narrative to opportunity contexts (e.g., job interview, graduate admissions essay) to facilitate the achievement of educational, professional, and personal goals.

– Construct a toolkit of resources to facilitate integration of personal narratives and effective communication after graduation.

Instructors: Dr. Julio Orozco, Cawley Career Education Center

UNXD 3363 (TH 4-6)

The experiences undertaken in the undergraduate years echo into adulthood: many of the types of challenges confronted in the college years will present themselves again. Within this course, you will deeply reflect upon the person you were when you entered Georgetown, grapple with your growth and development during the college years, and prepare to meet future challenges mindfully. Each week, through readings, discussions, podcasts, videos, written reflections, and activities, you will recognize your tremendous personal and intellectual growth over the past four years and will be encouraged to consider the personal and professional challenges you might encounter as an independent adult. What tools and strategies do you now have to confront these challenges? What lessons have you learned, and what wisdom have you earned? Finally, how can you use all you have gained during your time at Georgetown to design a life that brings you joy and fulfillment?

Instructor: Erin Force (CAS Advising Dean)

UNXD 3364 (W 10am-12pm)

Instructor: John Trybus, Center for Social Impact Communication

Environmental degradation. Gender inequality. Toxic political division. The list of challenges facing society can often seem endless, overwhelming and without solutions. What can one person do to make an impact on the world? 

UNXD 3364

This class has 2 sections that meet together: one at the DC Campus (-01) and one at the Doha Campus (-70)

This course focuses on how Georgetown students develop a sense of well-being, belonging and purpose within the various communities they live.  This course takes a social and developmental psychology perspective, encouraging students to reflect, explore, and discuss how key aspects of their identity have evolved during their time at Georgetown (and beyond).  The learning environment will be enhanced through a cross-cultural component where students from the main campus and GU-Qatar campus will interact in real time.  The course will create opportunities for exploring and expressing one’s authentic self through in-class interactions with peers and various out of class experiences (online and volunteering).  Students will attend to the relationship between their individual well-being and sense of purpose and that of the multiple communities they live and represent (Georgetown, Qatar/DC, groups that reflect various identities).  In doing so, students will address the following existential question: to what degree should I expect to nurture myself or my communities and vice versa.  Topics that influence the interaction between personal development and community affiliations – power dynamics, identity statuses, core values and belief systems, and social-navigational strategies – will be investigated.  In doing so, students will strive to understand their optimal balance between personal fulfillment and responsibility to the communities within they exist.  

Instructor: John Wright, Director of Student Life, GUQ

UNXD 3366 (W 2-4)

This course provides an introduction to mindfulness meditation especially through the lens of the mind-body connection. The course includes practicing various mindfulness techniques. 

Instructor: Anthony Pirrotti (SFS)