Fall 2013
HONR 224: ARTS
Modernism and Music (Cancelled, Moved to Spring 2014)
Dr. Paul Murphy, Music
Tuesday/Thursday 2-3:20
HONR 225: HUMANITIES
Contemporary Women Poets
Professor Aimee Nezhukumatathil, English
Tuesday/Thursday 2-3:20
In this seminar, you will develop a sense of the range and diversity of women’s contemporary American poetic styles and concerns and have a basic understanding of how contemporary critics & scholars make sense of contemporary poets and “schools” or “movements” of poets. To do so, we will take a hands-on approach in this Honors seminar, focusing closely on the poetry’s vocabulary, sounds, forms, and important historical contexts. Underlying all of these academic aims, however, is the assumption that poetry is not a distant and specialized art whose mysteries can be appreciated only by a trained and privileged few. This course will be framed with the notion that poetry is one of the irreplaceable human arts whose power and pleasure are open to any curious and alert person with a proclivity to appreciate them. No prior knowledge of contemporary American poetry is necessary.
HONR 226: SOCIAL SCIENCE
Science Communication: Infectious Diseases
Dr. Jessica Akey, Communications
Wednesday, 5-7:30
This course introduces students to the role communication plays in the dissemination of scientific information, specifically relating to theme of infectious diseases. Students will learn the importance of infectious disease in a community, and the impact that infectious disease outbreaks and subsequent management can have on our global society.
HONR 227: NATURAL SCIENCE
Thinking Like a Scientist: The Logical Roots of the Scientific Method
Dr. James Bowser, Chemistry
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 9-9:50
Are scientists different from 'normal' people? In terms of how they go about their work, the answer is unquestionably yes!
This course is designed to improve your understanding of the thought processes of scientists as they as they plan their experiments and construct their theories. Thus the primary course goal is to provide non-science majors with an enhanced understanding of contemporary scientific thought and methodology. To accomplish this, we will use both present-day and historical examples; we'll discuss not only how scientific research is carried out, but also why it is performed the way it is. This should refine your knowledge of the so-called 'scientific method'—including both the merits and the limitations of that methodology.
There is no lab component to the course, and students will not be asked to carry out experiments. However, we will discuss in detail several of the most intellectually beautiful scientific experiments ever performed!
HONR 228: AMERICAN HISTORY
Multicultural American Music
Dr. Thomas Bingham, Music
Tues/Thurs 12:30-1:50
“Multicultural American Music” is an examination of several specific varieties of music which fall outside the purview of the mass media, genres which represent the cultural and artistic expressions and aspirations of large, often regionally-based groups of people who share a common ethnic and social heritage. We will examine these musical styles not only as creative expressions worthy of study in their own right, but also look at a few of the cultural/social/historical factors that have gone into the development of these non-mainstream American musics. The course will focus primarily on seven main areas - Cajun/zydeco/swamp-pop music of Southwestern Louisiana, salsa and other Caribbean-Hispanic genres developed in New York City, Mexican-American “conjunto” or “Tex-Mex” music centered in South Texas, a wide variety of polka music representing several European-American origins, the flowering of Yiddish klezmer music in New York City from Eastern European roots, African-American gospel music of several varieties and from several eras, plus Native American pow-wow and flute music. Students should expect extensive reading/listening/viewing, but only the most minimal knowledge of music theory will be assumed.
HONR 229: WESTERN CIVILIZATION
The Politics of Sport
Dr. Alex Caviedes, Political Science
Monday/Wednesday/Friday - 10:00-10:50
Far from being trivial, sports are an integral element of modern society, commanding our attention and money. Furthermore, sports are highly political, with governments involved in regulating and financially supporting sports. Thus, sports can be a useful lens for understanding politics. This course seeks to facilitate a deeper understanding of core international politics concerns, using examples from sports to illustrate concepts such as globalization, identity and political economy. Privileging sports with an international scope (and audience) the course explores globalization-related subjects such as migration and development, identity-related subjects such as nationalism, gender, race, and religion, and political economic aspects including global marketing and amateurism versus professionalism. An interest in sports is certainly helpful, but of even greater relevance will be a curiosity for world politics and cultures.
HONR 230: WORLD HISTORY
Conflicts and Crises in African History
Dr. Steve Fabian, History
Monday/Wednesday/Friday - 11:00-11:50
Much of our popular understanding of contemporary Africa is drawn from western media coverage of its conflicts and crises. Consequently, viewers tend to become worn down by the persistent negative images and stories coming out of the continent, and feel a general sense of hopelessness about whether the situation will ever improve. Through assigned readings and class discussion, this course introduces students to the various roots of selected conflicts and crises in Africa's history, and forces them to rationalize their origins instead of dismissing them as merely senseless. It will also compel students to critique western media coverage of these events through the exploration of newspapers, journalistic travel literature, as well as Hollywood films. Students will also engage in an extended role playing game centered on the creation of a new constitution for South Africa after the fall of apartheid. This will provide students with an intimate experience about conflict resolution, exposing them to the great challenges present in changing the course of history. This course will not provide students with easy answers to Africa's problems, but it will give them the tools to ask insightful questions for a more informed understanding.
HONR 300, sec 1: HONORS COLLOQUIUM
Dr. David Kinkela
Wednesday 7-7:50
HONR 300, sec 2: HONORS COLLOQUIUM
Dr. Bruce Tomlinson
Wednesday 7-7:50
Spring 2014
HONR 224: ARTS
Modernism and Music
Dr. Paul Murphy, Music
HONR 225: HUMANITIES
Video Games: Their Evolution and Impact
Dr. Bond Benton, Communication
Monday 6:30-9:00
HONR 226: SOCIAL SCIENCE
TBD
HONR 227: NATURAL SCIENCE
Bioethics and the New Embryology
Dr. Bruce Tomlinson, Biology
HONR 228: AMERICAN HISTORY
Vonnegut and Cold War America
Dr. Christina Jarvis, English
HONR 229: WESTERN CIVILIZATION
TBD
HONR 230: WORLD HISTORY
TBD
HONR 300, sec 1: HONORS COLLOQUIUM
Wednesday 7-7:50
HONR 300, sec 2: HONORS COLLOQUIUM (Juniors and Seniors Only)
David Kinkela
Wednesday 7-7:50
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