Summer Seminars
Summer seminars are inspired by Harvard's renowned Freshman Seminars, which have provided Harvard freshmen with an intense academic experience since 1963. They are open only to Secondary School Program juniors and seniors, and to college undergraduates. Because enrollment is limited, early application and early registration are advised.
Enrolling a maximum of 15 students, summer seminars are offered over a wide range of subject areas. Lectures and talks by visiting experts are planned, and in varying ways each seminar emphasizes small-group instruction, namely, close attention to writing, an expanded opportunity for classroom discussion, and the opportunity to do independent research under the direction of a senior member of the Harvard faculty.
Peer study groups outside of class are encouraged, as are in-class presentations by students; thus, the summer seminar provides ample opportunity for students not only to shape their own course of study, but also to begin to learn by teaching others.
The approach is a dynamic and proactive one, and gives students a major role in determining the focus and methodology of their own research.
- CLAS S-36t Summer Seminar—Gods, Myths, and Rituals: Polytheism in Ancient Greece
- ENGL S-37u Summer Seminar—Bob Dylan: The Lyrics in Their Literary, Cultural, and Musical Contexts
- GOVT S-46j Summer Seminar—Freedom of Expression as Primary Right: The Divide between Europe and the US
- GOVT S-90qb Summer Seminar—International Law and Human Rights
- HIST S-46t Summer Seminar—Rebels with a Cause: Tiananmen in History and Memory
- HARC S-34g Summer Seminar—Rome and Saint Peter's
- HSCI S-25i Summer Seminar—On the Witness Stand: Scientific Evidence in the American Judicial System
- HSCI S-26n Summer Seminar—Child Health in America and Around the Globe
- PSYC S-980v Summer Seminar—The Insanity Defense
- VISU S-34z Summer Seminar—The Book as Art: Working with Letters, Ink, and Paper