Influence and Me year 2 (Bachelor year 2)

Description

“We are the sum total of our experiences. Those experiences – be they positive or negative – make us the person we are, at any given point in our lives. And, like a flowing river, those same experiences, and those yet to come, continue to influence and reshape the person we are, and the person we become. None of us are the same as we were yesterday, nor will be tomorrow.”― B.J. Neblett

In the courses Influence & Me, we focus on your personal and professional development by closely examining yourself and the voices that surround you.

We all deal with expectations, from others and ourselves, about others and ourselves, and about the society and world we live in. There is a strong tendency to aim for perfection. But sometimes life happens, it doesn't always go according to plan and expectation. What happens when life does not seem perfect, when something unexpected happens, when you don’t feel fulfilled and content, or when things don’t work out in spite of your best efforts? Where do you find the resilience to deal with these setbacks? We will also reflect on who you are when nobody is watching, how to distinguish your own inner voice from all of the other voices surrounding you, and how to remain true to yourself and choose your own path.

The topics for year 2 include: how do you define resilience; what are the factors that have shaped you and influenced how you view the world; and what are some of the helpful and not-so-helpful thoughts and beliefs that are part of your self-image?

The topics for year 3 include: dealing with setbacks, identifying what you have control over and what not; what are your central values, and how do you stay in touch with them; and based on everything you have learned in this course, how would you like to contribute to our society and world, what will be your influence?

This course will employ different teaching methods than you are used to in (most) regular BA courses. We will not dive into theory; instead, we will use an experiential approach. We invite you to explore – with curiosity – your thoughts, feelings and experiences so that you can be more in charge of shaping your own path in life. A key element will be peer-to-peer interaction.

Together we will explore, reflect and learn about ourselves, maybe even step out of our comfort zone, and document our findings. We will create a safe environment for this process to take place.

Course objectives

At the end of the Influence & Me courses (year 2 + 3), students are able to:

• identify the various sources of influence in their lives, understand the nature of their impact and how this impact varies from person to person;

• interactively explore, learn, reflect, and provide support to each other in a peer group;

• tell the story about themselves: this has shaped me (influences), this is who I am (identity), this is what I want (interests, dreams, mission), this is what I am good at (competences, talents), and this is what is important to me (values) (adapted from Kalhorn, 2024).

• understand how these insights can help them to live a more meaningful, empowered, and resilient life

Course material

The course covers a variety of materials, which will be announced during the course.

Course load

Each year, students are expected to invest approximately 28 hours for this course by:

• Attending three sessions (participation is mandatory) – 6 hours

• Working on the preparatory assignments – 11 hours

• Working on the reflective assignments – 11 hours

Assessment methods

Student pass the Influence and Me year 2+3 courses when they have attended the three sessions and completed the preparatory and reflective assignments. We expect from all students that they attend all sessions and participate actively during the sessions.

Language

We will speak English during the meetings. The preparatory and reflective assignments can be submitted in English or Dutch.

Skills

The skills predominantly covered in this course are shown in bold:

Timetable

Semester 1

Semester 2

This course is offered twice a year: there are two workgroups in the first semsester, and two workgroups in the second semester.

Admission requirements

Students of the Honours College FSW programme, Science, Society and Self, who are in their second year of their BA programme are required to take this course.

Registration

You do not need to register for this course. The Honours College FSW will enroll you in one of the workgroups.
At the start of the academic year, you will be informed in which workgroup you have been enrolled. If you would like to change groups, you can switch with another student.
Please inform us about the switch by sending an email to iam@fsw.leidenuniv.nl with both students' names and student numbers. You can only switch groups at the beginning of the course, not during the course.

Contact information

If you have any questions, please contact the course coordinators: Simone Keijsers, Eva van der Meer and Dorothée Out (iam@fsw.leidenuniv.nl).