A wide shot of a ceramics studio, featuring students working with pottery wheels and other tools.
Selfie of James Sieck, an adult person with a fair skin tone, short brown hair, and beard.

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James Sieck

Lecturer

Contact

Bio

Jamie Sieck (he/him) is a graduate of the University of Chicago (BA English, 1996) and Northwestern University (MSED, 2012). He has taught English and Humanities at both the secondary and collegiate level. He is grateful to be working with this generation, as he believes their willingness to think creatively and empathetically gives hope to our uncertain future. Jamie utilizes a constructivist approach in the classroom. He believes that students learn best when they are co-creators in the meaning-making process and when they are given the freedom and support to both think critically about the world around them and to speak into that world in their most empowered and authentic voice.  Art is often the best and only way to grapple with the complexities of being a human being, and it is a gift to be part of a vibrant academic community that uses inquiry and empathy to explore both written and visual texts. Jamie’s particular focus is on giving students the space to write authentic, exploratory pieces about their own experiences, their own tensions, and their own stories. Whether it be analytical writing, narrative writing, or creative nonfiction, his courses push students to engage in the full arsenal of writerly moves that give voice and truth to each piece they create.

Courses

Title Department Catalog Term

Description

In this first-year seminar course, we will explore a variety of contemporary short films, stories, and poetry to help us hone our ability to make meaning with complex works of art and to engage in critical, interpretive analysis of how and why each work was constructed. Using short films, short stories, and poems as our core texts gives us the unique opportunity to engage with a wide range of both storytellers and stories told. Meaning, expect to interact with a diverse landscape of authorial voice, thematic content, and narrative technique. All three of these forms are able to convey complex truths about the world we live in, and our discussions and classroom practices will give us the tools to create focused, nuanced interpretations of each piece and to make critical connections between themes and techniques. By the end of this course, students will have a more sophisticated grasp of the mechanics of film, narrative, and poetry. This is an inquiry and discussion based course, and we will learn to situate questions as the basis of our practice as readers, writers, and thinkers. In addition, FYSI guides students through college-level writing, establishing foundations for FYS II and upper level Liberal Arts classes. Students will write 15 to 20 pages of formal, revisable writing. Our writing workshops will focus on generating questions and language, collecting meaningful evidence, constructing sophisticated thesis statements, creating helpful outlines, and drafting our essays. Peer feedback; 1-1 teacher feedback; and in-class writing workshops will be key components of this course.

Class Number

2210

Credits

3