2021-2022 First-Year LLCs
The Commons is the home of our Living and Learning Communities (LLCs) for First-Year students. This state of the art residential facility boasts six different communities that provide a variety of opportunities for students to pursue their academic and social goals in a safe, supportive and dynamic environment. The LLCs help create a more seamless transition to college life by providing an environment where faculty and residential staff work collaboratively to nurture communities where students can develop friendships and succeed academically.
If you are a faculty member interested in starting a new LLC please click here for more information.
Best of Stem
The Best of STEM LLC welcomes students majoring in Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, or Physics and helps them form a community that supports their success. Students in the Best of STEM LLC will take a class together each semester of their first-year. These classes not only support the progress toward STEM majors but also satisfy requirements for the Integrative Studies Program. In these classes, students make connections with STEM faculty members and receive support from Peer Course Assistants, upper-class majors who have previously excelled in the material. Members of the Best of STEM LLC will have many opportunities to participate in STEM-related social activities and co-curricular events.
Fall 2021 semester: Introduction to Statistics, MATH 141, Karen Stanish
Spring 2022 semester: Python Programming, ISCS 210, Shari Bemis
For more information contact: Karen Stanish, kstanish@keene.edu
Brainiacs Unite: Let’s Explore Psychology and Neuroscience
Neuroscientists study the brain and nervous system to better understand how they control the diverse functions of the body and the mind. Many mysteries remain and scientists continue to work toward a deeper understanding of how nerve cells organize into circuits that allow us to read, speak, remember, move and regulate vital functions like body temperature. Advances in neuroscience help to address the more than 1,000 neurological and psychological disorders that affect up to one billion people globally. Students interested in careers in neuroscience will work at the intersection of psychology, biology, and chemistry to gain background and experience in this exciting field.
Fall 2021 semester: IIPSYC 199, Topics in Neuroscience, Harlan Fichtenholtz
Spring 2022 semester: ITW 101, Thinking, Writing and the Brain, Karen Jennings
For more information contact: Karen Jennings, kjennings1@keene.edu
Safety First!
There was a time when workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths were accepted as part of every day life for American workers. Safety professionals have worked with employees and employers to implement changes such that occupational safety & health consideration are now an integral part of all business operations. This LLC explores the social forces for improved working conditions that eventually led to the advent of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA). This journey continues in the spring term as we introduce and learn the application of science and develop the skills necessary for effective assessment, prevention and control of actual or anticipated hazards and risks in the workplaces of tomorrow.
Fall 2021: ISSAFE 101 - Safety Awareness
Spring 2022: SAFE 202 - Occupational Safety
For more information contact: Brian Bethel, Brian.bethel@keene.edu
Film and Visual Thinking
This year the Film LLC is for prospective Film Studies Majors or Minors only. If you are passionate about film and interested in doing film history and analysis along with a close-knit cohort, this LLC is for you. The first semester we will focus on the history of film; the second semester on the analysis of contemporary films. The Film LLC will also be active in Film Society, meeting with the club and experiencing the films that are screened at the college’s historic Putnam Theater. LLC Students can also make independent films through Keene State Media Productions. Share your love of film as a form of art, entertainment, and social commentary, get to know faculty and other students, and learn more about the world of film.
Fall 2021 semester: Introduction to Film History, Film 271-LLC, Irina Leimbacher
Spring 2022 semester: Introduction to Film Analysis, Film 270-01
For more information contact: Irina Leimbacher ileimbacher@keene.edu
History
Do you have a lively interest in studying the past? The History Learning Community provides an engaging environment for you to live and study with others who share a genuine interest in history. Participating students take a two-course sequence that introduces you to ways of reading, writing, and thinking as historians, as well as exposes you to an array of different types of historical study and understanding. The History LLC is dedicated to offering a welcoming academic culture for history students and to developing strong intellectual bonds.
Fall 2021 semester: ITW 101, Paths and Pathogens, Graham Warder
Spring 2022 semester: IHHIST 199, The Rise of the American Republic, Matthew Crocker
For more information contact: Graham Warder, gwarder@keene.edu
Honors
Each year a select number of qualified first year students are invited to participate in the Morris August Honors Living and Learning Community. Do you have a passion for learning about a range of different subjects? Do you consider yourself to be academically motivated? If so, then this Living and Learning Community is for you. Here you will work together with fellow honors students as you explore human history, science, arts, and culture—knowledge that is unique to a liberal arts education. You will work closely with professors and peer mentors in the classroom while enjoying outside-of-class activities that include book discussions, guest speakers, field trips, service projects, movie nights, and social gatherings.
Fall 2021: ITW 101
For more information contact: Anna Schur, aschur@keene.edu
Latin American Language and Music
Here’s is an opportunity for anyone interested in the language and culture of Latin America. What better way to learn a language than to live with those speaking it? And what better way to experience the culture of Latin America than through its music?
Fall 2021: Latin American Music Survey, IAMU 112, Jose Lezcano
Spring 2022: Elementary Spanish II, IHSP 102, Stephen Hawes
For more information contact: Stephen Hawes, shawes@keene.edu
Hours of Operation