Spring 2021 Honors Program Course Information

ANTH 2100: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Kate Fischer
This course is an introduction to the discipline of cultural anthropology and the substantive issues, methods, and concepts of the discipline. Cultural anthropology is the study of how human beings organize their lives as members of society, and the ways in which they make their lives meaningful as cultural individuals. This field of study involves encountering, interpreting, and communicating about the human situation in all its variety. Cultural anthropology is a vast discipline with far reaching objectives. Cultural anthropologists study and apply their expertise to many problems worldwide. While we cannot possibly cover the breadth and depth of the discipline during one semester, this course will offer an appreciation and understanding of culture and different ways of thinking about the diversity we encounter in our everyday lives. Therefore, the primary goal of this course is to provide you with the ability to apply an anthropological perspective to understanding how people are influenced by and are part of the historical, social, economic, ecological, and political processes that occur across the globe. It is my hope that this course will instill in you a sense of curiosity about people and cultures around the world, provide you with a set of tools for understanding difference, and offer you a deeper insight into your own experience as a cultural being.

Classics
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CLAS 1100-880 & 001:  Greek and Roman Mythology
Lauri Reitzammer
This class provides an introduction to ancient Greek and Roman mythology. We will explore traditional tales associated with figures important to the ancient Greeks and Romans (gods and goddesses, nymphs, heroes and heroines, and fearful monsters), as well as modern attempts at theorizing and interpreting these myths (e.g., psychoanalytic, feminist, and structuralist). Because Greek and Roman religion is fundamentally bound up with Greek and Roman mythology, we will spend a good deal of time considering the significance of the divinities to each culture’s thought, imagination, and ritual. Each time a traditional tale was (and is) told, it was (and is) modified in some way. For this reason, as we study mythology this semester, we will frequently ask ourselves 1. who is telling the story and 2. for what purposes is the story being told. This class will thus introduce you to the political and cultural contexts that produced these traditional tales (e.g., the emphasis on autochthony at the height of the Athenian empire). This class will also serve as an introduction to ancient literary genres, like epic, lyric, and tragedy. Our investigation will center mostly on primary sources (e.g., Homer, Sophocles, Euripides, ancient vase painting, Virgil’s Aeneid) but will also include modern movie adaptations of these myths (e.g., Troy and O Brother Where Art Thou) as we consider how these ancient myths live today and what purposes they serve in our world.

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
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EBIO 1220: General Biology 2
Robert Buchwald
Are humans currently evolving? Should you be concerned about eating genetically modified plants? What, exactly, is a cephalopod? We will answer all these questions and more in EBIO 1220 – a concentrated introduction to evolution, the diversity of life, and ecology & conservation biology. As an honors class, we will also incorporate several outside readings, critical thinking exercises and presentations, such as “Biology in the News,” “Nutrition Myths, Truths & Quackery,” and “Natural Selection Misconceptions.” This course is intended for EBIO (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) majors, other science majors (such as Psychology, Kinesiology, Biochemistry, etc.), as well as other majors for which biology is a requirement. EBIO 1240 (laboratory) is a co-requirement for potential EBIO majors and as specified by your particular major (please see your departmental advisor if you have questions). Students who simply need to satisfy the Natural Sciences core requirement should consider taking EBIO 1030, 1040, & 1050, “Biology—a Human Approach,” which are lecture/lab courses for non-Biology majors. If you have questions about this, please see me or your departmental advisor. Although it is not a pre-requisite, this course assumes that you have taken EBIO 1210 or its equivalent, since lectures in EBIO 1220 often rely on knowledge gained from EBIO 1210. If you have not taken EBIO 1210 or the equivalent or are concerned about your background, please see me.

English
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ENGL 2767-880:  Survey of Post-Colonial Literature
Laura Winkiel
Postcolonial literature grapples with the aftereffects of colonization and the ongoing realities of neocolonialism--the continued dominance of the Global North over the Global South. This course will first explore how early twentieth-century writer Joseph Conrad saw empire and colonization and then how contemporary writers from the Caribbean and Africa both resist their colonial and neo-colonial status and keep alive the failed dreams of liberation. How are they reimagining history so as to create new possibilities and communities for an alternative future? What is our role in the first-world university as readers of these texts? What critical opportunities do they afford us? We will also explore issues of race, poverty, and immigration to the United States. Our texts may include Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness, Caryl Phillips Crossing the River, Jamaica Kincaid A Small Place and The Autobiography of My Mother, Ngugi Wa Thiong’o A Grain of Wheat, Chinua Achebe Things Fall Apart, NoViolet Bulawayo We Need New Names, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Americanah, and Chris Abani Song for Night. Course Expectations: 2 5-6 page essays, 250 word discussion posts on the readings approximately every other week, and 2 take-home exams.

Geography
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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. Meets MAPS requirement for social science: geography.

GEOG 3742-880: Place, Power, and Contemporary Culture
Abby Hickcox
Place, power, and culture are dynamics that shape our social structure and our daily life. This course takes a geographic approach to place, power, and culture, examining different ways to understand each and how the three relate to each other to shape our society and urselves. It presents a radical reexamination of the geography of culture, asking whether culture is a thing with causal powers or a way of understanding how we experience the world and what that experience means to us. The course explores how the globalization of economics, politics, and culture shapes local cultural change and how place-based cultural politics both assist and resist processes of globalization. The first half of the course introduces key terms such as culture, place, power, globalization, mobility, identity, and difference and explores their relationship with one another. The second half of the course focuses on specific contemporary cultures, such as the culture of things (material culture), American car culture, food culture, sports culture, and music culture. Seeing culture as both a way of life and a lens through which to understand the world, we will consider not only the uniqueness of American music, for example, but also the way that music shapes American people, politics, and life. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: contemporary societies.

HIST 2166: 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
Andrea Feldman
This course introduces honors students to an analysis 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 cultural rhetoric. In responding to texts that represent cultural diversity, students will evaluate issues and relate them to their own experiences. Through these readings as well as class discussion of written assignments, students will learn to make reasoned arguments in defense of their own opinions. By examining diverse voices, this course helps students meet the challenges of academic writing. This course will extend your ability to adapt rhetorical strategies and arguments on cultural issues and diversity to address the needs of a range of different audiences and stakeholders. Writing Process and the Workshop Format: The course offers an opportunity to understand writing from the audience or reader perspective by focusing on the peer review of work in progress. Through this approach, you will discover how revision is central to the writing process. Your own writing will be the principal text; we will all work together as a team to improve each paper. We will adopt the attitude that any paper can be improved, and give constructive criticism to everyone. Your job will be to provide oral and written commentary on other students' papers when assigned to do so. Approved for Arts and Sciences Core Curriculum: Written Communication.

Mathematics
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MATH 2510:  Introduction to Statistics
Ilia Mishev
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.  Check out the MATH 2510 class flyer here

Philosophy
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PHIL 1000-880:  Introduction to Philosophy
Matthias Steup
In this course, we will discuss the central questions in the three core areas of philosophy: ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics. In ethics, we will consider the following questions: What are the foundations of right and wrong? What makes an action right, or wrong? Is the rightness of an action solely determined by its consequences? We will also consider some main challenges to ethics. In epistemology, the relevant questions are: What is knowledge? Do we really know what we think we know? What’s the difference between rational and irrational belief? In the module on metaphysics, we will think about what kinds of things exist, what a person is, what it is to be the same person at earlier and later stages of one’s life, and whether we have free will. 

PHIL 3000-880:  History of Greek and Roman Philosophy
Mitzi Lee
This course is a survey of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy. We will start with the Presocratics and look at the origins of science and philosophy in the archaic and early classical period. Then we will make a close study of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle – reading selections from the Platonic dialogues, and from Aristotle’s major works. In the final section of the course, we will turn to the Hellenistic philosophers, focusing on Epicurus and the Stoics, and their approach to philosophy “as a way of life”. The required text is Patrick Lee Miller and C. D. C. Reeve, eds., Introductory Readings in Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy, Second Edition, Enlarged/Expanded edition (Indianapolis: Hackett Pub Co, 2015). This course satisfies the history distribution requirements for the Philosophy major and minor. This section is an Honors College section, open to students with a GPA of 3.3 or above. Enrollment is limited to 17 students. The course will be seminar-style, and will be very discussion intensive. Students will write at least three papers with close feedback on drafts and opportunities to revise and improve their writing. Students will be expected to come to class having done the reading, with Zoom on, and ready to talk philosophy!

Political Science
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PSCI 2004:  Survey of Western Political Thought
Jeffrey Chadwick
Studies main political philosophies and political issues of Western culture, from antiquity to 20th century.
 

PSCI 3211-880:  Politics of Economic Inequality in US.
Janet Donavan
In this class, we will examine the politics of economic inequality from a variety of angles and perspectives. First, we will read and discuss ideas about whether and when economic inequality is something of concern in a representative democracy. Second, we will seek to understand the level of economic inequality in the United States. We explore disparities in economic well-being by race, ethnicity and gender; issues of intergenerational poverty and economic mobility; and how public policies contribute to and/or alleviate economic inequality.  Third, we examine the relationship between economic inequality and political inequality, looking at how economic disparities affect campaigns and elections, national governance, and the public policies that are adopted by the national government.  Finally, we spend some time looking at economic and political inequality in the current context, with events that are happening or have happened recently.
 
We explore these issues through course readings, lectures, class discussions, online activities, and take-home essay exams. The readings in this class are broad in their scope and often complex. It is very important for students to both complete the readings on time and to come to class and participate. This is an in-person class. Students who are ill nor need to isolate/quarantine will be accommodated with alternate work, but there is no remote option for this course.   

PSYC 1001:  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 3303-880:  Abnormal Psychology
Jennifer Schwartz
This course provides an introduction to the field of abnormal psychology:  the scientific study of abnormal behavior.  The class will provide a survey of mental disorders, including clinical presentation, major etiological theories (biological, psychological, and psychosocial approaches), and the most widely used and empirically supported approaches to treatment.  We will also discuss relevant research. You will be encouraged to think about not only what we know about abnormal behavior, but also what we don’t know.  We will tackle some of the major controversial issues and unresolved questions that psychologists face as they seek to better understand, prevent, and treat mental disorders.  While the course emphasizes a critical thinking and scientific approach to the understanding of abnormal behavior, it also aims to provide students with a rich understanding of the human experience of psychopathology, enabling all of us to be more empathic toward, and inclusive of, those who struggle with mental illness and their friends and loved ones. Thus, an additional theme of the course is to explore the stigma surrounding mental illness, and how it can be exacerbated and/or eliminated. To these ends, the class will culminate with presentations in which students analyze a portrayal of mental illness found in popular culture (recent selections include Kanye West, the main character, Rebecca, in the television show, “Crazy Ex Girl Friend,” and “The Bachelor” franchise).  Requisites: Requires a prerequisite course of PSYC 1001 (minimum grade of C-)

Sociology
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SOCY 1006: Social Construction of Sexuality
Ali Hatch
This is an introductory course on the sociology of sexuality. As opposed to thinking of human sexuality as the inevitable expression of biological instincts or drives, we will use a social constructionist framework to explore the ways in which we as a society create our sexual reality. Throughout the course we will explore the construction of sexual orientation and gender as they impact our cultural and individual understandings of sexuality. Additionally, we will examine the roles institutions and individuals play in creating and maintaining sexual hierarchies and policing sexual choices.  

SOCY 3016-880: Marriage and the Family in the United States 
Ali Hatch
This course is designed to examine marriage and the family in the U.S. from a sociological perspective. We will look at how marriage and family are fluid constructs, transforming and evolving over time. As the majority of families currently do not fit the “nuclear” model, special emphasis will be placed on the various realities of people’s lives and how they differ from cultural ideals. In addition to general class readings, students will get to pick a book from a list of subject-related options on a topic of their choosing.

Women & Gender Studies
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WGST 2600-880: Gender, Race, and Class in a Global Context
Kate Fischer
This introductory course examines how constructions of gender, race, and class are structurally determined and lived through in today’s global society. It applies an interdisciplinary perspective to identify how history, politics, culture, economics, and social life converge with and shape the way gender, race, and class are understood. While the course primarily focuses on women, it is impossible to ignore how race and class articulate with ideas about gender and how these socially determined characteristics form a triad for identity construction and subjectivities. The goal of this class is to create awareness of the contemporary inequities that plague our global society and develop a critical understanding of how forms of privilege and exclusion based on gender, race, and class are written about, comprehended, and contended with. To that end, we will read a novel, a graphic novel, and two academic books as well as a number of scholarly articles during the course.