Tutorials
In Conversation
Two students. One professor. An in-depth conversation fueled by intellectual curiosity and the spirit of debate. Our tutorial classes offer an academic experience you won’t find at most other colleges.
Not surprisingly, students often say tutorials are among the most demanding—and most rewarding—courses they have taken at Williams.
What Sparks Your Curiosity?
Adapted from the Oxford University style of education, our tutorials are a mix of independent study, animated discussion and close faculty mentorship. Your professor sets the curriculum and acts as a guide, but your ideas and inquiries drive the conversation. Each week, one student presents a point of view on the subject while the other critiques it. The next week, you trade places.
As this thoughtful exchange of ideas unfolds over the course of the semester, you’ll strengthen your critical thinking skills, sharpen your arguments, and learn to persuade and defend your positions.
Up to 100 tutorials are offered each year, and more than half of all Williams students take at least one during their time here. Here’s a sampling of recent tutorials—or browse them all in the course catalog below.
Dancing the Score/Scoring the Dance
Students composing in dance will be paired with students composing in music. Both will be supported in co-creating work in a structured, intimate setting.
Food, Forests and Fungi
Study impacts of the climate crisis on human, environmental and planetary health through the lens of food systems and plant medicines.
James Baldwin’s Song
Analyze James Baldwin’s use of song names, creation of musician characters and replication of musical elements in his writing to better understand cultural differences and collective humanity.
Mindfulness Examined: Mind, Emotion and Affective Neuroscience
Practice and study the roots and current applications of mindfulness while observing your own mind, emotions and behavior for an entire semester.
Caste and Its Critics
Delve into questions about caste social structures through historical and anthropological studies as well as autobiographical and political writings of anti-caste thinkers.
Art, Life and Death: Locating Women in Italian Renaissance Art
From our modern vantage point, the cultural accomplishments of the 15th and 16th centuries in Italy clearly have the ability to astound. But where are the women in this narrative, and how might we bring their roles, force and power into focus?
Unsolved Problems in Galaxy Evolution
Learn about galaxies and their evolution by focusing on some of the key mysteries astronomers are trying to solve. Then, debate the theories proposed to understand them and consider how future progress might be made.
Technologies of Friendship
Debate common and important questions, such as “Can one have too many friends?” “Are long-distance friendships sustainable?” and “What health risks do we take for friendship, and what other risks do technologies of friendship carry?”
Climate and Industrial Policy
Climate policy is not only about environmental outcomes; it is inextricably linked to inequality and national security. Explore the complementarities and tradeoffs between environmental, social and national security goals and the role that politics plays in economic policy design.