Gateway Colloquia are small, discussion-oriented classes designed to develop students’ proficiency in writing academic and public discourse. Although each colloquium investigates its own issue or question, all focus on writing as a major component of intellectual inquiry. Students are expected to participate in discussion and to analyze, integrate and evaluate competing ideas so as to formulate their own arguments about an issue. In keeping with the overall goals of the IWU General Education program, in particular the goals of developing students’ proficiency in writing and its use as a means of discovery and understanding, and of developing students’ capacities in critical thinking, independence, and imagination through active learning, Gateway Colloquium seminars seek to:
  • introduce students to the process of intellectual inquiry and develop students’ critical thinking skills;
  • develop students’ ability to evaluate competing ideas and experiences;
  • develop students’ skills in the conventions and structures of presenting knowledge in written academic and public discourse, and in strategies for effective revision;
  • engage students in learning activities that prepare them for academic life in the university. This group has not submitted outstanding papers since 2018.

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Submissions from 2023

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Overzealous: The Harm Caused by Parental and Administrative Censorship of Books in an Intellectually Free Education, Tyler Engel

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The Manga Attack on Titan as a Literary Medium, Joseph Song

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A Dangerous Neutrality: Howard Campbell in Mother Night, Kathryn Alderman

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“Fight Him with His Own Weapon”: The Fluctuating Role of the Holmesian Detective, Abraham Bishop

Submissions from 2018

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Critical Thinking and Buddhism, Ruihan Zhang

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James Baldwin on the Question of the Identities of Americans and the Black Muslim Movement, Minzhao Liu

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Rachel Carson: Giving a Voice to the Earth, Katherine Cavender

Submissions from 2017

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Goldman’s Paradox: Imperfect Perfection, Aaron Manuel

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The New Face of Civil Revolution, Kalen Gray

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Mary Tyler Moore & Her Role in the Feminist Movement, Haley Steward

Submissions from 2016

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I, the unreliable, Rigoberta Menchu, Rebecca Anderson '19

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Captain Ahab and Her Crew, Abigail Kauerauf '19

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Contrasting Biblical Themes in the Novel and Film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Madeline Gibson '19

Submissions from 2015

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The False Idea of Human Nature’s Duality in Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Megan Sperger '18

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The Rise of Boko Haram: An Analysis of Failed Governance, Andrew Pichette '18

Submissions from 2014

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Leave Creation to the Creator: The Corrupt Creator in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Faith Borland '17

Submissions from 2012

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Lost in Translation, Christine Peterson '16

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Reputation and Social Perfection: The Social Creation of Mr. Hyde, Valerie Mack '16

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Down a Dusty Haitian Road, Lydia Rudd '16

Submissions from 2011

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Group membership and its adverse psychological effects in The Ox-Bow Incident, Casey Plach, '15

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The Grimm Brothers as Editors, Blair Wright '15

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Studium and Punctum: The Duality of Photography, Karen Thul '15