Fall 2022 Honors Program Course Information

Fall 2022 Honors Program Courses

  We provide course descriptions written by our instructors whenever possible.  Click on linked course titles, scroll down, or click here to see the course descriptions.  For official descriptions, visit the University Catalog.

To view official class descriptions, please visit the University Catalog.

Instructor Course Descriptions

CLAS 1140-880:  Bread and Circuses:  Society and Culture in the Roman World
Andy Cain
This course offers an introductory survey of ancient Roman society and culture from the earliest foundations of the city of Rome in the eighth century BCE to the collapse of Rome's empire in the fifth century CE. Its goal is to familiarize students with the basics of Roman civilization and to use that civilization as a model for studying other cultures, including our own. It will cover seven main areas: History, Literature, Politics, Society, Religion, Entertainment, and Art. For each of these it will examine the polarities between social and cultural extremes (e.g. elite v. masses, religion v. superstition) and the way Roman civilization took shape in the interplay of these opposing forces. This should help students break down their preconceptions about Rome (e.g. "imperial glory" or "effete decadence") and reformulate more complex understandings about the creation of one of the world's 2 most influential cultures. This course is intended for any student with an interest in classical antiquity: all readings are in English.

CLAS 1509-880:  Trash and Treasure, Temples and Tombs: Art and Archaeology of the Ancient World
Beth Dusinberre
Introduces the art and archaeology of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome, examining various ancient approaches to power, religion, death and the human body. Analyzes art, architecture and everyday trash to learn about ancient humanity.  Learn more about Dr. Dusinberre, Professor of Distinction.

EBIO 1210-880 & 881: General Biology 1
Robert Buchwald
EBIO 1210 and EBIO 1220 together serve as an introduction to Biology in the 21st Century. These courses are prerequisites for nearly every subsequent EBIO course. In the first semester (1210), our focus is on processes at the cellular level. We will learn what types of molecules all living things are made of, the structure and organization of cells, how DNA is read and translated into proteins, the magic of mitochondria and the fundamentals of photosynthesis. To complement class lectures, we will have group work and class discussions relating course content to your everyday life. EBIO 1210 and EBIO 1220 are recommended for science majors. Non-science majors should consider EBIO 1030, 1040 & 1050.

  English
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ENGL 2036-880:  Introduction to Media Studies in the Humanities
Thora Brylowe
Upon reading of his own death in the newspaper, the great American author Mark Twain is said to have quipped, “The report of my death has been greatly exaggerated.” People sometimes joke that out-of-touch literature professors go around proclaiming that the author is dead. What does that mean? How can anybody have said such a thing when we read content of all kinds by living, breathing authors? English 2036 introduces ideas that challenge the unidirectional communication theory assumed in many humanities classes (i.e. author -> text -> reader). This course shows how media theory resists the dominance of the author as meaning-maker. A broad survey of media theory shows how poststructuralist theories, a discipline called “book history,” post-modern novels, and digital computing all emerged in the 1960 and 70s, posing a challenge to the author’s dominance. Media theories argue that meaning is contingent, situated in context, and that messages are part of complex, multi-directional circuits. We will look back through the history of mediation to understand how the idea of the author came into dominance and develop some sense of why it’s a concept so difficult to undo.  View the ENGL 2036 class flyer here

GEOG 1972-880: Environment-Society Geography
Abby Hickcox
The goals of this class are to increase your understanding of key contemporary environmental issues and to introduce you to the ways in which the field of geography has approached the interaction between society and nature. In pursuit of these goals, the class will survey global and regional environmental issues and problems, with an emphasis on their social, political-economic, and cultural dimensions. The study of these issues evokes one of the most profound questions of our times: What is, and what ought to be, the relationship between humans and the environment? We will address this question through an examination of selected environmental issues, varied social responses to environmental change, and the different ways in which human societies have transformed the earth. We will also ask:  How do we understand “nature”?  What drives human modification of the earth, and how are specific groups of people differently affected by those modifications? What kinds of assumptions have led to the creation of certain environmental problems (and for whom are they problems)? Topics covered include: population and consumption; environmental hazards; ecology; environmental ethics; biodiversity and environmental conservation; anthropogenic climate change; and water use. Through this class, you should find that geography offers an integrated way of understanding environment and culture that is increasingly useful for addressing some of the world’s most pressing problems and their potential solutions. Formerly GEOG 2412.

HIST 1518-880:  Introduction to South Asian History (3500 B.C.E. to 1757 C.E.)
Sanjay Gautam
This course is an introduction to the history of India/ South Asia, providing a general acquaintance with the narratives and interpretations of the ancient and medieval history of the Indian subcontinent from the rise of the Indus Valley Civilization in 3500 B.C.E to the end of the Mughal Empire in 1757 C. E.  It is intended for students with little or no prior knowledge of the region.

HIST 2166-880: The Vietnam Wars
Steven Dike
We will study a series of conflicts that occurred in Vietnam from about 1930 to 1975. These struggles involved Vietnamese nationalists, Vietnamese communists, French colonialists, Japanese occupiers, and Americans, along with others. You will leave this class with a deep knowledge of the issues, people, and conflicts that shaped Vietnam and the other nations that fought there. We will examine the American experience in their war, as well as the American home front.   Check out the HIST 2166 class flyer here

HONR 3220-880: Advanced Honors Writing Workshop
Rolf Norgaard
This course introduces honors students to inquiry and argumentation as they are rendered in longer prose forms. As such, the course provides excellent preparation for writing an honors thesis. With the collaboration and thoughtful feedback of your colleagues in class, you will have the opportunity to engage in independent scholarship in your area of expertise. Our informal theme for the semester will be “Composing Knowledge.” Through readings and individualized writing projects, this course encourages you to explore the role of language and rhetoric in “composing” what—and how—we “know.” Is knowledge a given, something to be consumed? Or is it constructed and composed, shaped by language and by communities of knowers that organize themselves through language? Working and writing together, we’ll explore the connection between language and inquiry. Specifically, we will examine assumptions about critical thinking, literacy, and communication that various disciplines hold, and how those assumptions relate to the expertise you acquire and share in your major. The theme is meant to provide a common backdrop to the individualized projects that lie at the heart of the course. We will begin by reviewing fundamental strategies of analysis and argument, and by reading and responding critically to a set of articles that explore the theme of “Composing Knowledge.” You will then focus on some aspect of the theme that interests you or on a specific issue that bears on your work in your major as you form a research question and tentative hypothesis. With the help of Norlin Library Instructional Services, you will then become acquainted with advanced information literacy skills that can help you prepare a formal prospectus or plan for enriching your inquiry through research. Drawing on that research and on feedback on preliminary drafts, you will have the opportunity to develop a sustained argument (roughly 20-25 pages) that showcases the fruits of your inquiry. The course will also address oral presentation skills essential to presenting your work effectively before an audience. 

HONR 4075-880:  Environmental Justice
Abby Hickcox
This course examines the experiences of people who have been historically marginalized because of their race, class, and gender, and who have faced environmental injustices because of that inequality.  Often, poor and racial minority communities bear a disproportionately large burden of toxic contamination and suffer health problems associated with pollution, while the elite and powerful tend to control the environmental resources.  Environmental justice is a social movement in opposition to these inequalities.  In this course, we will learn about the history, principles, values, and strengths of the environmental justice movement in its quest to oppose environmental racism.

HUMN 4835-880: Literature and Social Violence:  Rescuing Self and Society
Cathy Comstock
Social violence affects us all, and the most vulnerable are affected the most profoundly.  But we can change our society and also ourselves in ways that can bring help and hope for everyone.  In this seminar we will use the insights of both great literature and social science to bring light to the sources of darkness in our schools, our mass incarceration, our immigration policies, and the wars on drugs and disease that too often have effects more like a war on the poor. 

As we discover the surprising and successful solutions that the media neglects to tell us, we will also consider the best ways to cure the personal consequences of living with the kind of stresses that have led to all-times highs in depression and anxiety.  The good news from neuroscience is that we have astonishing capacities for health and happiness, from mindfulness to the immune system, just waiting to rescue and restore us in the very process of trying to help others.  Through our contact with great authors and films as well as each other this seminar will explore intriguing possibilities that promise to be as transformative as they are heartening and sometimes even humorous.

There is also the option (not a requirement) for one to three hours of extra credit by doing service work in the community, since that kind of personal experience helps us to understand the class materials—and our culture overall—more deeply.

The class texts include Angels in America, The Bluest Eye, Bliss Brain, Tattoos on the Heart, Freedom Writers’ Diary, Savage Inequalities, Gandhi the Man and Tortilla Curtain.

MATH 2510-888R:  Introduction to Statistics
Braden Balentine
This is an introductory course in statistics. We will cover some of the fundamental ideas and tools used in statistics. Topics that we will cover include elementary statistical measures, statistical distributions, statistical inference, hypothesis testing and linear regression. We will also go over some of the basics of probability as they are necessary for our understanding of statistics.  The Honors version of this course covers the same material as the standard Introduction to Statistics class, but in a smaller, discussion-based environment.  Check out the MATH 2510 class flyer here

  Philosophy
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PHIL 1200-880:  Contemporary Social Problems
David Boonin
Does mass public surveillance violate people’s right to privacy? Would it be wrong to clone a human being? Is it possible for an act to harm someone even if it happens after they’re dead? Is abortion on a par with murder? What do we owe to people suffering in distant countries? This course offers an introduction to philosophical thinking about contemporary social problems by taking a critical look at what philosophers have written about these questions. It does not presuppose any background in philosophy or familiarity with the issues to be discussed. Additional topics will include, but not be limited to, moral questions about blackmail, racial profiling, sexual consent, animal rights, and the development of autonomous weapon systems.

PHIL 1400-880:  Philosophy and the Sciences
Heather Demarest
This course explores the following questions: What makes science trustworthy? What is a scientific theory and how do theories change over time? What do our scientific theories tell us about the world? How are science and ethics related? We will discuss a variety of contemporary issues for philosophy of science including quantum entanglement, special relativity, evolution, time travel, exobiology, psychedelics, science reporting, and the ethics of enhancement.

  Political Science
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PSCI 2004-888R:  Survey of Western Political Thought
Jeffrey Chadwick
Join Dr. Chadwick as he takes you on a journey of western politics starting with the founding of the United States and moving forward.  Find out how the discipline overlaps with topics such as philosophy, economics, social justice, capitalism, and the law, from Plato to Marx, from James Madison to Martin Luther King Jr., and more.  View the PSCI 2004 class flyer here.

PSCI 4703-880:  Technology, Society, and the Future
Sven Steinmo
Emerging technologies, from Robotics to Genetic Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, social media, and the Internet, to name just a few, are shaping our world in ways unimaginable only a few years ago.  In this course, we will look at some of these technological forces and how they impact a variety of issues such politics, social relations, health care, education, the environment, defense, etc., etc.  This will not be a science fiction class, but many of the things we will examine can feel almost like science fiction.  But rather than future gazing into a world that we cannot imagine, the central goal of this course is to explore how the significant technological changes we are witnessing today are affecting our world today.

The central part of this course will be dominated by student/group presentations. In the current educational parlance, we will have a “flipped” classroom: Instead of the professor providing you with information that you will try to remember for a test, we will collectively delve into a whole series of issues and questions.  In a very real sense, we will be teaching each other. Small groups of students will focus on particular fields or subjects that interest them (how technology is reshaping medicine, education, agriculture, elections, etc. etc.).  We will have several discussions early in the course where we assign groups and pick topics. The idea here will be to allow you to focus on an area of your interest.  Each group (2-3 students each) will meet in and outside of class to prepare presentations. I expect to be flexible about the character and nature of these presentations (and hope to be surprised by them).  But the starting point, I expect, should be a brief overview of the particular area of interest, how has technological change shaped this field up to this point and how are the technologies that are currently online or being developed reshaping this part of our world. Finally, what are the implications of these changes for us as citizens, consumers, workers and so forth?

I also expect to take advantage of the significant insights that can be brought to these questions through alternative media and films.  We will, as an example, view episodes of “Black Mirror” together and discuss their insights and implications.  To be honest, I think that creative artists are probably better at thinking about where we are going and how our world is changing than political scientists.  Students from outside the social sciences are also especially welcome.  View the PSCI 4703 class flyer here AND watch a video from Professor Steinmo about PSCI 4703 here

PSYC 1001-880:  General Psychology
Jennifer Schwartz
How are we able to perceive the world around us? Why do we dream? How does alcohol impact the brain? What makes each individual’s personality unique? Do young children think differently than adults? How do we learn? Are people with psychological disorders dangerous? How do psychologists help people lead richer more fulfilling lives?   This course is designed to address these and other questions by giving you an introduction to the content and methodology of the field of psychology.  It will give you an overview of some of the major sub-disciplines within psychology. It will also expose you to both seminal and cutting-edge research studies within these domains, as well as encourage critical interpretation of research findings. To guide and integrate our exploration, we will focus on several theoretical frameworks and ongoing debates that cut across specific sub-fields and define the study of psychology as a whole. You will be connecting these ideas to your own life by applying class content to the reading, listening, watching, interacting, and experiencing you do every day.  The goals of this course are to stimulate you to further explore the field of psychology and to provide a foundation of knowledge and critical thinking skills that will benefit your academic, career, and personal paths, whatever they may be.

PSYC 3684-880:  Developmental Psychology
Jennifer Schwartz
In this class, we will uncover the story of human development from the point when life begins (conception) to the point when it ends (death).  You will have a chance to think about yourself as an infant, child, and adolescent and take stock of how these years influenced the person you are today. You can also envision who you will be as a young adult, a middle-aged adult, and an adult in old age and consider how your experiences today will influence your development through the remainder of your adult years. This course is an introduction to the science of human development and how it simultaneously captures both the ways that your journey is similar to, and different from, that of others.  We will use theory and research in developmental psychology to help organize our exploration and provide methods to help us in our discoveries.  In particular, we will investigate human development in several domains such as biological, cognitive, and social/emotional, and from several different perspectives, including ecological, psychodynamic, and constructivist.  The goal is to provide you with a basic framework and mode of inquiry that will serve you in your future roles as parent, friend, colleague, health care provider, educator, and/or public policy maker.  Check out the class flyer here.

  Religious Studies
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RLST 2500-880:  Religions in the U.S.
Debbie Whitehead
This course will introduce you to the historical and contemporary study of religions in the United States through a framework of religious literacy and the investigation of primary source texts, which, set in context, will give us snapshots of religion as lived, practiced, and experienced by Americans of all backgrounds during the past 400 years.  Along the way we will encounter many of the key religious traditions, movements, and figures that have shaped American religious belief and practice.  In addition the course will consider such questions as:  What is “religion”?  What is “America”?  How has the American religious landscape changed over the last 400 years?  What major cultural forces shape and have shaped religions in America?  How have Americans of different faiths and nationalities encountered, interacted, argued, clashed, and cooperated with one another?  Have they seen America as a promised land or place of refuge—or as a place of conflict and suffering?  What are some ways that religious Americans think about faith, spirituality, ethics, politics, religious diversity and the relationship between church and state?  Ultimately, how does the academic study of religion shed light on what it means to be an “American” or a religious American?

  Sociology
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SOCY 2031-880:  Social Problems
Ali Hatch
This course explores social problems in contemporary American society. We will examine how these problems arise and consider possible solutions. Since this is a survey course, we will consider a wide variety of different social problems from a sociological perspective, including timely topics such as racial and economic inequality, opioid addiction, and the impacts of living during a pandemic.  From the Course Catalog: Examines various social problems in the U.S. through a traditional sociological framework focused on race, class, and gender. Considers such problems as economic, racial, and gender inequality as manifestations of broader structural dynamics rooted in unequal relations of power. Addresses topics such as mass incarceration, poverty, segregation, drug use, immigration, and war and terrorism.

SOCY 3314-880: Violence Against Women and Girls
Ali Hatch
This course is an overview of gender-based violence. We will analyze the political and cultural structures that perpetuate gendered violence, and explore how gendered violence intersects with race, class, and sexuality. This course focuses on violence against women and girls, and the relationship between gender inequality and violence. Specifically, utilizing a feminist sociological lens, this course will cover various manifestations of gender violence, including (but not limited to): hate crimes motivated by trans and homophobia, rape and sexual assault, domestic violence, trafficking, pornography, and femicide.

WGST 3670-880: Gender, Race, Sexuality and Global Migration
Kate Fischer
This course engages in an interdisciplinary study of the intersections of gender, race, and sexuality that have created a multicultural, multiethnic, and multiracial world, looking particularly at migrants and migrant communities. We will examine how constructions of gender, race, and sexuality are structurally determined and lived in the context of global migration, both contemporary and historical. While the course primarily focuses on women, it is impossible to ignore how race, sexuality, and class articulate with ideas about gender and how these socially determined characteristics intersect in identity construction and subjectivities. The goal of this class is to develop a critical understanding of how forms of privilege, inequality, and exclusion based on gender, race, sexuality, and national/ethnic origin are written about, comprehended, and contended with. In addition to reading a number of scholarly books and articles from across the social sciences and humanities, we will also use news articles, blogs, current events, and social media. Recommended prerequisites: WMST 2000 or WMST 2600. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: global perspective.