First-Year Seminar Faculty
Our First-Years Seminars, taught by faculty members from disciplines across the University, will inspire you to invest in the right opportunities and to explore the right questions. Our faculty aren’t just passionate about what they do—they spark the fire that keeps you exploring and asking the right questions.
Charles Allen
“Faith, Doubt, and Reason”
Fr. Charles Allen (Ph.D., The University of Chicago) is stepping in as an adjunct professor for the second half of an FYS seminar focusing on faith, doubt, and reason. A former theology professor at Christian Theological Seminary, he was chaplain for the Butler campus ministry, GraceUnlimited, from 2003 to 2022, when he retired. He continues to serve voluntarily at his local parish, the Episcopal Church of All Saints. The focus of his doctoral work, and afterwards, was on reframing debates about faith, doubt, and reason, and this has been a core component in all the courses he has taught since 1987, as well as one of his perennial interests. During his time as a campus minister at Butler, he also sang with the Butler Chorale. He considers the students he has conversed with over the past 20+ years to be his colleagues in a common exploration of life’s meaning.
JD Amick
“From Sagan to the Green Bros: An Intro to Science Communication”
Dan Barden
“The Literature of Addiction”
I am a novelist and an essayist and a dramatic writer. Also: an English professor.
In this seminar, we will spend the first semester reading and writing about the literature of addiction. Human beings have been fascinated with intoxication since they first learned how to intoxicate themselves, and the disease of addiction has influenced every part of our culture.
The second semester will explore the literature that has emerged, particularly in the last 75 years, from the experience of recovery from addiction. What have writers made from our attempts, both successful and unsuccessful, to triumph over addiction in all its forms.
Tonya Bergeson
“Music & Language Across Communication Disorders”
FYS is one of my favorite classes to teach at Butler because I get to spend time thinking about music and language with diverse groups of students. Regardless of our musical backgrounds, we all have an implicit understanding about the importance of music and language in our lives. I’m excited to further explore how music and language connect and inform cognition, perception, communication, and quality of life. Tonya Bergeson is Associate Professor in the Communication Sciences & Disorders Department.
Bryce Berkowitz
“Brain Candy”
Have you ever wondered how the screenwriting industry works? In this course, we will evaluate TV pilots and feature scripts, but we will also learn about show bibles, treatments, film reviews, agencies, production companies, as well as how social justice and climate change intersect with screenwriting. Finally, we will attempt to find our own voices within this rich tradition of cinematic writing.
Chris Bungard
“Zero to Hero”
The journey of the hero is a story as old as humans have gathered around to tell stories. In this course, we will start with stories from the Trojan War in order to think about what it means to be heroic. How is one called to be a hero? What does the hero gain? Sacrifice? From our initial foray in the Greek world, we branch out to consider hero stories from a variety of cultures and what the similarities and differences to the heroes of Homer tell us about what we as humans find inspirational about heroic stories.
Barbara J. Campbell
“Disability Studies and the Arts”
Since arriving at Butler in 2010, I have taught courses in American Literature, Medical Humanities, and Disability Studies. In a former life I was a musician; in fact, busking, was one of the ways I supported myself through school as a nontraditional student. Books, films, my dog and cat, and writing are the lifeblood of my existence. I created my First-Year Seminar, Disability Studies and the Arts, because I want to share the amazing work from the disability-arts community with my students.
Natalie Carter
“Women Writing the World”
I am a Senior Lecturer in the English Department; Affiliate Faculty in Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; and currently serve as the Faculty Director of the University Honors Program. I teach a variety of classes related to feminism and social justice, including my beloved FYS, “Women Writing the World.” I like to travel, go to concerts and festivals, and look up real estate with ocean views. If you see me walking my two little dogs (beagles! brother and sister! adorable!) around campus, please feel free to say hello!
Joseph Colavito
“Wrestling Mania”
Janis Crawford
“Great Speeches”
I began teaching communication here as an adjunct instructor in 1987 and went full time in 1999. My courses today include COM 101 (Rhetoric and the Democratic Tradition), COM 215 (Speech for Business), COM 306 (Intercollegiate Speech Team), and ORG 351 (Small Group Communication). I’m excited to teach an FYS that focuses on some of the greatest speeches in history through reading, listening, and analyzing them. Speech is one of the ways we first communicated in caves and continues to be vital in our family, work, and play. I spend a large portion of my time at Butler coaching the speech and debate team which placed 8thin nation this year at the Pi Kappa Delta National tournament. I love my 2 dogs and 2 cats and a beta fish named blue-oh and my family, of course. Janis Crawford is Lecturer in the Organization Communication Major.
Michael Dahlie
“Business, Commerce, and Storytelling”
This course will examine books, movies, and podcasts that tell stories important to the world of business and commerce. Examples of course material include Moneyball, Freakonomics, and Nickeled and Dimed. We¿ll also consider the importance of storytelling in professional settings, and the way that compelling narratives are often at the heart of successful businesses and non-profits.
Brian Day
“Human Factors and Intentional Design of Your Life”
In this class, students will be exposed to the field of Human Factors Psychology, which, broadly defined, examines the relationship between human beings and technology in an attempt to make human-technology interactions safe, effective, and efficient. Students will be presented with background on human factors and various real-world applications before transitioning to thinking about taking what has been learned to design their own life in accordance with human factors principles. For instance, students will be asked to reassess their study routines, sleeping habits, and daily technology usage. Students will also be tasked with making changes in their lives which will impact things like their happiness and state of mind. The goal of this class is for students to learn about the field of human factors psychology, and to take what is being learned and make intentional changes to how they live their lives.
Melissa Etzler
“Breaking Bad”
Hi! I’m Melissa Etzler and I’ve been teaching Breaking Bad and Stranger Things in FYS since 2014. I
love teaching FYS with a media studies base since it’s an effective (and very fun) way to get to the heart
of analytical and critical thinking. I always pair my contemporary texts with canonical literature that
overlaps thematically or symbolically with what we’re viewing. My favorite aspects of the course are watching students get excited to talk about the material and helping them become the best writers they can be. When I’m not teaching in FYS, I serve as the FYS Co-Director and also teach in German, Honors, and co-lead a short-term study abroad program to Berlin. My hobbies are watching spooky films, cuddling a cat, and pretending I can cook.
Chris Forhan
“Reality and the Imagination”
I have been teaching for (yikes!) forty years and have been at Butler since 2007. I enjoy teaching FYS, since students bring a variety of interests and experiences to the classroom and are usually eager to learn and to connect with each other. When I first talk in class about our topic, “Reality and the Imagination,” I emphasize that the subject is so broad as to involve, conceivably, any aspect of life. There isn’t any moment of our existence that is not somehow about our reaching imaginatively to our experience. In the course, we read essays, stories, and poems, listen to songs, and watch movies that are about the wonders and dangers of human subjectivity—of the imagination’s relentless, inescapable habit of making its own meaning of experience.I am a Professor of English and the author of a few books, of both poetry and prose, including a recent book called A Mind Full of Music: Essays on Imagination and Popular Song, which owes a lot to my investigations of the imagination in my Butler courses.
Kjell Fostervold
“The Meaning of Life”
Bryan Furuness
FYS Co-Director
I’m the co-director of FYS, which allows me to serve this program that I love. I’m a fiction writer in the English department, and I live in a dorm as a faculty-in-residence with my wife, Shelly (who works in the Provost’s office), and my dachshund Pip (who is lazy and sleeps all day). Also: Chicago Bears fan, burrito enthusiast, seminarian.
Brent Hege
“Faith, Doubt, and Reason”
I’ve been teaching the FYS “Faith, Doubt, and Reason” for over fifteen years and it’s my favorite course to teach because we spend an entire year together wrestling with some of life’s biggest questions: what do we take with absolute seriousness? How should we engage with the mystery at the heart of reality? What gives our lives meaning? What is the nature of justice? How ought we to live together so that all may flourish? We explore these questions together with the help of theological, philosophical, biblical, and literary texts, films, and invigorating discussions. When I’m not teaching FYS and Religious Studies courses, I enjoy cooking, traveling, choral singing, fishing, brewing beer, and hiking with my wife, Kate, and our standard poodle, Tucker. Dr. Hege is Senior Lecturer in Religion and the Compass Center Scholar in Residence.
Angela Hofstetter
“The Call of the Wild”
I share my rural home in Story, Indiana with giant dogs, plump horses, and assorted flora and fauna friends from the Hoosier National Forest. My courses reflect my commitment to interrogating the moral complexity of all animals—human and other. My First-Year Seminar, The Call of the Wild, is my absolute favorite course to teach because I get to spend an entire year with students exploring complex questions about nature, nurture, and justice. My fantasy is to become the world’s best homicide detective (though I faint at the sight of blood). Angela Hofstetter is a Senior Lecturer in the English Department.
Jeana Jorgensen
“Fairy Tale, Self, and Society”
I’ve been teaching a variety of classes at Butler since 2013 and FYS remains one of my faves because we get to read and talk about one of my most beloved topics: fairy tales. Whether or not you’re a fairy-tale fanatic like me, I think everyone gets a lot out of my classes because we also talk about bigger human issues like why people tell stories, why certain stories are retold over time, and why certain stories are more popular than others. When not nerding out over all things reading- and writing-related, I spend my time directing a semi-professional dance troupe, baking with my sourdough starter, and going to science-fiction conventions. Jeana Jorgenson has a Ph.D. in folklore from Indiana University. She is part-time faculty for the Core Curriculum.
Karly Keiper
“The Fight for ADA – Past, Present, and Beyond”
I am the Disability Specialist in Student Disability Services by day, FYS professor by night. I am a proud graduate of Butler University (’13) and love all things Dawgs! In my spare time I love checking out new restaurants, hosting game nights with friends, binge-watching Vanderpump Rules, and hiking with my dog, Daisy. I am also a spirited advocate for the disability community, which is why I chose to teach about the Disability Rights Movement, ultimately leading to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), through the life of Judy Heumann, the “mother” of the movement. We’ve come so far in this brief history, yet there are still major inequities to be addressed. I hope to educate and inspire others to think deeply about disability rights and advocacy. Maybe you’ll even join the movement?
Andy Levy
“The Worlds of Science Fiction”
I’ve been teaching first-year courses at Butler since 1992 and teaching the Science Fiction FYS is one of my favorites: because of what students already know (whether as fans or as casual consumers of superhero movies, anime, et. al.) and because of how we can take off from there and go in new imaginative and socially aware directions. As a professor specializing in creative writing and US literature and culture, I love blending creative approaches, and critical ones, and popular culture and academic approaches: my ideal class feels like a writer’s room, with groups bouncing around ideas and sharing authorship. Off campus, I enjoy sharing a home with my family, one dog, three cats, and chickens, watching/playing a little too much sports, and writing the occasional book…
Joseph Long
“What it Means To Be a Human”
Alessandra Lynch
“Imaginative Sojourns: Writings about the Self”
In my FYS Imaginative Sojourns class, I am privileged to witness my students’ self-awareness, compassion, attentiveness deepens through writing about transformative moments in their lives. My FYS-ers are dear to me. They teach me much. I’ve written poetry forever—for survival and song. I love reading, painting, roaming, gardening, sprinting after rabbits and quail, singing to mourning doves and owls. I live in a whirlwind of three wise cats, two spunky guinea pigs, and two spectacular children. Alessandra Lynch is a Senior Lecturer in the English Department and serves as Poet-in-Residence.
Undraa Maamuujav
“The Interplay of Self and Society”
I joined Butler Community in the Fall of 2024 as a faculty member in the College of Education. Teaching First-Year Seminar (FYS) has been an incredibly rewarding experience, one I have eagerly anticipated. In my FYS course, we explore the rhetoric of autobiography in the fall and auto ethnography in the spring, examining the intricate web of identities, actions, thoughts, feelings, memories, imaginations, and encounters that shape our sense of self and place in society. I love teaching FYS because it allows me to connect with my students on a deeper level, reading their stories and sharing my own. Outside the classroom, I enjoy traveling, walking along the beach at sunset, and visiting museums and secondhand bookstores.
Ashley Mack-Jackson
“From the HeARTland”
I have been an educator for over 18 years. I love teaching reading, composition, and creative writing, and I have had the pleasure of working with students of all ages and backgrounds in private and public community organizations, K12 schools, colleges, and universities. I also help run a small community organization called Word As Bond (Word), where we provide collaborative spaces for young literary artists to explore and expand their voices. Ashley Mack-Jackson is a Lecturer in the College of Education.
LuAnne McNulty
“Food”
Robert Norris
“Communication and Power”
My degrees are in history, but I spent 35 years in the field of corporate communication. I began teaching communication here as an adjunct instructor in 2006 and went full time in 2014. My courses today include promotional writing, media relations, ethics and cases, advanced PR techniques, and crisis communication. But it is with this FYS that I finally get to combine my passion for communication and history. In this class, you’ll see how power relationships, the institutions that organize society, are constructed in people’s minds through communication processes. Aside from holding class, one of the ways I feed my soul is by spending time in Starbucks, drinking dark roast coffee and enjoying my latest history book. Robert Norris is Lecturer in the Strategic Communication Department.
Tom Paradis
“Unpacking the Hunger Games”
Having grown up in northern Connecticut (District 13 territory), Prof. Tom Paradis teaches a wide range of human,cultural, and urban geography courses at Butler, along with courses in urban planning and design, andarchitectural history. A one-time meteorology major, he also teaches a popular NW (Natural Worlds) course,Weather, Climate & Society, along with his favorite class on the Hunger Games. He serves as advisor for theGeography & Global Societies minor and has taught numerous study-abroad programs in Italy. Before coming toButler in 2015, he was professor and department chair at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. As a seriousHunger Games enthusiast, he led a conference about the series in 2013 and has since published two books, partsof which students sample in FYS—namely, A Place Called District 12: Appalachian Geography and Music in theHunger Games (2022), and more recently, Behind the Ballads: A Tribute to the People, Places and Music ofSongbirds and Snakes (2024). Like many fans, he is still on a quest to find out just what happened to Lucy Gray.
Darryl Pebbles
“Modern American Memoir”
John Perkins
“Social Justice and Music”
What are the means and ends of music- making? Whose voices are heard the loudest? This course explores the potentials, intentions and outcomes of making-music. We will reflect upon critical theories which help us develop a music philosophy–one that intersects with many identities in society. Through discussion, readings and reflection, written papers and constructive projects, we will reimagine and redesign musical structures for justice-seeking outcomes.
Betsy Redelman Diaz
“Radical Bodies: Queer Crip”
This discussion-based seminar will consider the intersections of queerness and disability with race, class, gender, capitalism, and colonialism. Utilizing the core ideas of queer of color critique and disability justice, together we will traverse topics such as the body, identity, drag, performance, futurity, failure, rest, and resistance. Course content will center sick/disabled QTBIPOC artists and scholars including Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Audre Lorde, Gloria Anzaldua, Eli Claire, Radical Visibility Collective, Indira Allegra, Kinetic Light, Jina B. Kim, and Sami Schalk, among others. This course’s focus is on inquiry and is open to students of all identities.
Corey Reed
“Discussing Difference”
I became a professor of philosophy because of my activism. I looked up to people like Angela Davis,
Kwame Ture, and Huey P. Newton, who were all trained in philosophy and used it to address social
justice issues. Outside of teaching, I serve as one of the three co-directors for the Hub for Black Affairs
and Community Engagement and as a steering committee member for the Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (RGSS) program. My FYS, “Discussing Difference,” strengthens students’ skills in analyzing and talking about the complexities in humanity.
Jessica Reed
“Physics and the Arts”
I grew up across the US, from the Mojave Desert to the Chesapeake Bay. Now I live in rural Indiana where I grow heirloom tomatoes of all colors and very spicy peppers, raise chickens, use solar panels, and compost with worms! I studied physics in college. I take piano lessons and write poetry. This is my ninth year teaching FYS (First-Year Seminar) at Butler, and I love really getting to know students by spending an entire year with them. Seeing young people wrestle with big questions in natural philosophy never gets old, and I feel honored to help facilitate those discussions.
Nicholas Reading
“Reflection in Action”
I have taught a variety of FYS courses. Whether focusing on the Visiting Writers Series, Sports & Culture, or Poetry, courses are centered on providing students a variety of texts that present a variety of perspectives. Currently, the FYS, “Living Lives that Matter: Reflection in Action” asks students to consider the significance of their experiences and thoughts and recognize the value in sharing their writing with a larger audience.
Throughout this process, students explore what it means to be happy, content, and centered. Our intention considers the inquiry, What does a peaceful life look like? A seemingly simple topic, we will investigate the social, economic, and personal complexities enmeshed in lifelong pursuits. I hope students read something they needed to hear and write something they didn’t know they needed to say.
Carol Reeves
“The Art of Friendship”
Carol Reeves is Rebecca Clifton Read Professor of English. Over her career she has studied and taught about communication and rhetoric. She loves teaching topics that have direct relevance to students’ lives, that encourage them to question their assumptions, follow their curiosity, develop their creativity, and engage with and learn from each other as well as from class lessons.
Alexander Roehrkasse
“Navigating Attention Capitalism”
I’ve been a professor in the Department of Sociology & Criminology at Butler since 2022, mostly teaching classes on social inequality. As a long-time meditator who still struggles to put down his dang phone, I wanted to teach a class that explored the economic and technological forces that shape our attention as well as the practical and creative ways we can guide our attention toward meaning and purpose.
Sunny Romack
“Not Your Mother’s Feminism”
In this course, students will learn and practice civil discourse in a constructive community through study of women’s ongoing struggle for basic human rights in the US and around the world. By reading, viewing, or listening to feminist thinkers from across the globe, both historical and contemporary, students will reflect on the systemic nature of patriarchal oppression that, despite feminist progress on many fronts, continues to marginalize and dehumanize women even today. This course will ask: What are the limitations of white, Western liberal feminism for supporting women’s rights across lines of national origin, race, ethnicity, religious identity, disability status, socioeconomic standing or caste, sexual orientation, and gender identity? What can transnational, intersectional feminism teach us about the deep connections between patriarchal structures, capitalism, and imperialism, as well as how feminism can address the injustices inherent within all three? What role has collective feminist action played in furthering women’s basic human rights in the past? What role can it play today?
How do women’s rights relate to human rights more broadly? What are the benefits of a transnational, intersectional approach to feminism in countering patriarchal oppression of women and other marginalized groups?
Susanna Foxworthy Scott
“Medical Humanities”
As someone who studies and teaches health communication, I love the intersection between the voice of medicine and the voice of the lifeworld. My passions include photography, writing poetry, traveling, and my family. I chose this topic because I love helping students uncover the difference between being diagnosed with a disease and living with an illness. We explore the human side of medicine through essays, books, art, and film. Susanna Foxworthy Scott is Assistant Professor in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
Julie Johnson Searcy
“Global Perspectives on Health”
What does account for differences in health? Why are there such differences in social conditions? How does power and culture play a role in health and illness? What helps us explain and understand these health differences? As we discover the kinds of gaps and varied access to health resources people experience we will be seeking to understand the nature of this inequality through the lens of medical anthropology which focuses on the human experience.
Robert Stapleton
“If Songs Were Gods”
I am in my 22nd season of teaching in the First-Year program at Butler. I also teach English Department courses on creative writing and graphic novels. Getting paid to talk with students about books and creative ideas is my version of living the dream. I love cold cereal, jumping rope, most kinds of music, and the game of baseball. I created this FYS course because I want to think with students about how art and music and culture serve as outposts of our human inclinations. (Robert Stapleton is a Senior Lecturer in the English Department.)
Michelle Stigter-Hayden
“So, where are you from?”
Outside of learning and teaching, I love to walk my golden retriever, Koda, volunteer, and make memories with my family. My FYS theme revolves around the newcomer experience. I am passionate about partnering together with organizations and students to help all members of our community feel welcome, included, and appreciated. I welcome students on campus, too—my desk drawer is always filled with Gummibären. Michelle Stigter-Hayden Senior Lecturer in the Modern Languages, Literature, and Cultures Department, with a specialty in German language.
Hannah Sullivan-Brown
“Living Lives That Matter”
In my three years teaching at Butler, I have loved my FYS courses: Climate, Culture, and Creativity and Living Lives That Matter. Though my background is in English and creative writing, I am passionate about environmental issues and am always excited to dive into life’s big questions. It is a privilege to accompany students over the course of a whole academic year through an exploration of what a meaningful life means to them, especially in the context of contemporary struggles. I love getting to know my students and fostering their sense of curiosity about themselves and the world. As a wanderlust-suffering Midwesterner, I adore my old house near campus, but jump at any chance to travel. When not teaching, reading, or writing, I’m probably planning a trip, spending time with my family (including three kids and one mischievous kitten), exercising, gardening, cooking, or daydreaming. Possibly all at once. Hannah Sullivan Brown is an Adjunct Professor in the Core Curriculum.
Jesse Van Gerven
“Storied Food”
Jesse P. Van Gerven is an assistant professor in the Science, Technology, and Environmental Studies program at Butler University. He regularly teaches courses in the areas of the social studies of science and technology and environmental studies. His research focuses on energy policy, food systems, local-sustainable agriculture, and social movements for energy and food justice. He has published in the areas of race and energy policy and critical methodologies. He lives, works, and plays in the Indianapolis area with his wife, two sons, and his dog.
William Watts
“How to Live, What To Do”
By training, I am a medievalist, and live partly in the fourteenth century. But I also live in the 21st century. In particular, I am keenly interested in the political and environmental challenges we face today. I am also a cyclist, riding 8 to 10,000 miles per year, both locally and internationally. In fact, as the new academic year begins, I will be returning from a long bike ride in France. William Watts is Associate Professor in the English Department.
Felicia Williams
“Voice: Mine and Others”
I am new to Butler but not to teaching! I taught middle and high school before moving to higher education. I am a wife and a mom who is trying to navigate this thing called life. I have a love/hate relationship with running but so appreciate my internal talks and thoughts when I am out there. I always find metaphors and meaning, and I love that! I chose this topic because it is important to be cognizant of our individual process and habits. It is imperative that one knows how to articulate their voice and be comfortable doing so. I also think it is important that we seek to hear the voices of others. Listening to and thinking about others can be both educational and transformative on multiple levels. Felicia Williams is an Instructor in the College of Education.
Note: This course will also meet the Indianapolis Community Requirement needed for graduation.