Honors Program Courses

Course

Course Title

CRN

Description

Time

Day

Room

Instructor(s)

ENGL 2010

Intermediate College Writing: Reading the World

31320

In this class, we will read multicultural, classic and contemporary texts to give us contexts for conversations that are still going on today, conversations that affect us. In order to join these conversations in an effective way, we must know these contexts and our place in them. Only then can we change them. It has been said the pen is mightier than the sword. Will you join us to become powerful with your pen?

11:30-12:20

MWF

LI 325

Sylvia Newman

CHEM 1220

Principles of Chemistry II

30379

9:00-10:15

TR

TY 240

Chuck Wight

HNRS PS1500

To Frack, or Not to Frack: The Science of Oil, Gas, and the Environment

32621

Beginning in the late 1990s, and accelerating to today, hydraulic fracturing (aka “fracking”) of oil and gas wells has fundamentally changed the amount, and price, of oil and natural gas available to meet our energy demands. The consequences of this technological advance are typically described as either “revolutionary” or “environmentally disastrous.” In To Frack, or Not to Frack we will examine the fundamental scientific concepts that underlie these divergent perspectives. Along the way, we will explore the basics of petroleum geology, groundwater resources, earthquake seismology, and climate change. Russell Gold’s The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution and Changed the World (2014) and Lester Brown’s The Great Transition: Shifting from Fossil Fuels to Solar and Wind (2015) will provide both a historical perspective and insights into possible energy futures. Geoscience is for everyone, and this course will model ways that non-scientists can to come to grips with the science behind energy and environmental issues.

9:00-10:15

TR

TY 217

Rick Ford

HNRS SS1520

The Rich and the Rest of Us: Causes and Consequences of Inequality and Poverty

34495

The rise in income inequality and wealth inequality in the United States over the last three decades is a critically important phenomenon. It would be difficult to find a major newspaper that isn’t printing several stories about inequality every week. Many of the 2016 presidential candidates are speaking about the issue of economic inequality. Honors SS 1520, The Rich and the Rest of Us. will explore the causes and the consequences of inequality and poverty.

5:30-8:10

T

LI 325

Mike Vaughan

HNRS HU1540

Prescriptions for Empathy: Medicine and Literature

32710

We will view empathy through the lens of literature about illness, healthcare, and medical practice. Is empathy a help or a liability in healthcare? How does empathy change if you are the patient, caregiver, or family member? We will learn special skills for reading literary texts including plays, poetry, fiction, movies, and non-fiction. Students will leave the class with a better understanding of literature, the challenges facing healthcare workers, and the role of empathy in personal and global relationships.

9:30-10:20

MWF

EH 317

Sally Shigley

HNRS HU2010

The Beat Goes On: Literature, Music and Culture of Mid-twentieth Century America

32590

From On the Road to the Summer of Love to Woodstock with several stops in between, this class explores the events, trends and personalities that illuminate this explosive time in America. Central to the class is a “field trip” to San Francisco where the students explore many of its neighborhoods that are on the forefront during these decades of change—places like North Beach, Berkeley and Haight-Ashbury.  The class will also examine what of this revolution in thought and action has endured, as well as what has not, into Twenty-first Century America.

1:30-2:45

TR

LI 325

Carl Porter & John Sillito

HNRS CA2020

Theatre for Young Audiences & Puppetry

32611

4:30-7:10

W

ED 006

Tamara Goldbogen

HNRS PS2030

Visions of the Universe

32616

In Visions of the Universe, we will discover how ancient and modern astronomers revealed the wonders of our universe.  We will read original sources ranging from treatises written by the ancient Greeks to modern scientific papers.  Simon Singh’s popular book Big Bang will provide a framework for placing each source in its historical context.  The sources will be annotated to help you navigate some of the complex technical arguments.  (Don’t worry - you will not be responsible for understanding these technical details!) This is a general education course, so no previous experience with astronomy, physics, or mathematics is required.

10:30-11:45

TR

LI 325

Brad Carroll

HNRS LS2040

Symbiosis

32624

10:30-11:20

MWF

TY 351

Heather Root

HNRS SS2050

Climate Change & Climate Justice

32630

9:30-10:30

MWF

LI 325

Mark Stevenson

HNRS SS2120

Gender at the Nexus of the Work-Family Debate: Can women and men have it all?

32631

Instructor approval required for registration

5:30-7:00

M

LI 325

Brenda Kowalewski

HNRS SS2120

Bored, Lonely, and Stupid: How Americans Have Felt about Technology, from the Telegraph to Twitter

32633

This course examines how Americans have regarded technological change, from the nineteenth century to the present. It takes current questions about social media and the internet—such as “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” “Is Social Media Making Us Narcissistic?” “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”—and puts them in historical perspective. Is the American sense of self being transformed by the technological revolution?

10:30-11:20

MWF

LI 325

Susan Matt & Luke Fernandez

HNRS HU/DV2130

Celebrating the Persian Poets and Writers

32695

12:00-1:15

TR

Morteza Emami

HNRS 3900

Narrative & Number

32700

In this new Honors Program course, we will read stories and statistics about life in America today. Our class will feature 3 highly acclaimed contemporary books that centralize issues of race, economics, politics, education, and justice.  We will look at these texts not only from the angle of individual narratives but also from the larger lens of national statistics and data.  Through this combination, we will assemble a comprehensive portrait of social life in this country today.

12:00-1:15

TR

LI 325

Christy Call & Heather Chapman

HNRS 4990

Honors Senior Project

32705

Instructor approval required for registration

TBA

Dan Bedford