Honors Program

Honors Program: Previously Offered Courses

2000 - 2001 Offerings

FALL 2000

HONR 212 - Disciplines and Knowledge
This course considers the nature of knowledge and its organization into disciplines. Among the questions to be discussed are: What is a discipline? How are disciplines formed and reformed? What questions to given disciplines seek to answer? What kind of thinking does a given discipline promote? How are theories and facts related? Readings will be drawn from politics, science, anthropology, philosophy, psychology, and economics.
Satisfies the collegiate requirement in composition.
3 semester hours. Mr. Parker.

HONR 218 - The 2000 Presidential Campaign: A Communication Perspective
(continued -- credit only awarded to students who completed the first term in Spring 2000) A year long examination of the communication activities of the 2000 presidential campaign. Students will consider Presidential elections since 1960 and the political communication research on them as a backdrop to the 2000 campaign. Class meets weekly for 90 minutes; students will enroll in this class in Spring 2000 and Fall 2000, receiving credit in Fall.
Partially satisfies the collegiate requirement in the social sciences, and counts as a group I course for the major/minor in political science.
3 semester hours. Mr. Sheckels.

HONR 221 - The History of Scientific Thought from Pythagoras to the Principia
This course is a study of the historical development of scientific ideas in the mathematical, physical, and astronomical sciences, from antiquity to the close of the seventeenth century. Since this is an interdisciplinary subject, it requires skills from more than one area, and should be of interest to anyone studying history, philosophy, physics, or mathematics. Students will be expected to analyze and interpret both primary and secondary sources, make considered evaluations of their scientific, philosophical and/or historical significance, and construct cogent arguments in essay form.
Partially satisfies the collegiate requirement in history.
3 semester hours. Mr. Rice.

HONR 222 - Love and War in the Middle Ages
This course will sample a variety of romances from the late Middle Ages, beginning with the Arthurian romances of Chretien de Troyes in the twelfth century and concluding with Thomas Malory's retrospective Le Morte D'Arthur in the fifteenth century. A highly versatile form, romances appealed to courtly, tavern and manor house audiences and attempted to reform and entertain the present by valorizing the past. This course will attend to the narrative art of the romance, its literary representations of love and war, and its commentary on a range of social issues.
Partially satisfies the collegiate requirement in literature.
3 semester hours. Ms. Goodwin.

HONR 223 - Sociology of Genocide
This course examines the phenomenon of genocide from a feminist sociology of knowledge perspective. The course examines the precursors and determinants of genocide and examines how this results in the attempted annihilation of a specified group of people.
Partially satisfies the collegiate requirement in the social sciences.
3 semester hours. Mr. Spraggins

JANUARY 2001

HONR 224 - The Politics of Popular Culture
This honors course addresses the ways in which political messages are inseparable from the popular culture of any given era. Students will explore popular culture primarily in the American political context, but this course will also include a comparative focus on the ways in which artists, filmmakers, and musicians in other countries have used their mediums as commentary on their own political systems.
Satisfies the collegiate requirement in fine art OR partially satisfies the collegiate requirement in the social sciences.
3 semester hours. Team taught: Mr. Doering and Ms. Bell.

SPRING 2001

HONR 123 - The Ascent of Man
A seminar on the turning points in the cultural evolution of humanity, as surveyed by Jacob Bronowsky. ``Man ascends by discovering the fullness of his own gifts . what he creates on the way are monuments to the stages in his understanding of nature and self.'' - Jacob Bronowski. After viewing and analysis of the television series, students will be assigned the task of updating a segment of the series or adding a new episode.
Partially satisfies the collegiate requirement in history.
3 hours. Mr. Porter.

HONR 169 - Creation
Perhaps the best-known passage of the Hebrew Bible is Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the Heavens and the earth.'' This course will consider the role played by the concept of creation in Israel's religious traditions, the mythic background against which that concept must be viewed, and the implications of the idea of creation for contemporary life and thought. In the first half of the course, students will read the biblical creation texts from the Psalms, prophets and wisdom literature, as well as from the opening chapters of Genesis, considering these texts against the backdrop of ancient Near Eastern creation myth. The second half of the course will consider the relationship between the theological study of creation and the scientific study of origins. Readings, films, and guest lecturers will provide ideas and information to be considered in depth in weekly discussion groups.
Partially satisfies the collegiate requirement in philosophy and religion.
3 hours. Mr. Tuell.

HONR 225 - Discovering Women in the Biological Sciences
This course will examine the contributions of women to the scientific discovery of major principles in various biological fields. Basic biological principles in the various fields will be introduced, and biographies/autobiographies and scientific publications of women working as scientists in those fields will be studied. The course will also explore the history and politics of women's involvement in biology and examine how science has viewed women. The status of contemporary women scientists and the difficulties they have encountered will be investigated. Laboratories will parallel biological topics covered in class.
Partially fulfills the collegiate requirement in laboratory science as a Life Science course, and counts on the major/minor in women's studies.
Three class hours and three laboratory hours each week. 4 hours. Ms. Falls.

1999 - 2000 Offerings:

212 - Disciplines and Knowledge - This course considers the nature of knowledge and its organization into disciplines. Among the questions to be discussed are: What is a discipline? How are disciplines formed and reformed? What questions do given disciplines seek to answer? What kind of thinking does a given discipline promote? How are theories and facts related? Readings will be drawn from politics, science, anthropology, philosophy, psychology, and economics. Fulfills the collegiate requirement in composition. Three hours. Fall, 1999 and 2000. Mr. Parker.

213 - Comparative Race and Ethnic Relations: The American South and South Africa - Explores the dynamics of race and ethnic relations within the context of the American South and South Africa. Special emphasis on the social construction of race and ethnicity, patterns of racial and ethnic stratification, the dynamics of inter-racial conflict, and community efforts to achieve racial justice and/or inter-racial harmony. Partially fulfills the collegiate requirement in the social sciences, and counts on the major/minor in sociology. Three hours. Fall, 1999. Ms. Hubbard.

214 - Warfare in Antiquity - Much of ancient history is military history, and much of Greek and Roman art and literature treats wars, warriors and their impact on society. This course will examine the practice of warfare in the Greek Polis, the Macedonian Kingdoms, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire. Themes include the technical aspects (logistics, intelligence, strategy, naval warfare, and armor), but also examined are the literary and artistic interpretations of war and the sociological and psychological aspects. Partially fulfills the collegiate requirement in history. Three hours. Fall, 1999. Mr. Daugherty.

215 - Zen and the Creative Act - This course investigates the connections between the Buddhist concept of Zen and the notion of creativity commonly used by visual and conceptual artists. Students study meditation techniques and other physical/mental strategies to accomplish artistic and expressive work. Includes trip to Zen Mountain Monastery in upstate New York. Fulfills the collegiate requirement in fine arts. Three hours. January, 2000. Mr. Berry.

216 - On the Threshold of Modernity: Vienna at the Turn of the Century - This course uses the backdrop of late 19th century Vienna, famous as the breeding ground for a wealth of cultural production in the arts, music, literature, philosophy, and psychology, and for artistic products and ideas that paved the way for the modernist period. Also noted for the disintegration of an old order which produced various secession movements whose innovation was also accompanied by a nostalgia for the traditions that artists were challenging and trying to overcome. Many of Vienna's most famous intellectual talent broke with their 19th century traditions. In this interdisciplinary course, students will examine examples from the various fields of cultural production and study the meanings in them and their significance within the artistic traditions. Individual fields are studied separately while keeping an awareness of their intersections and the interplay between politics and culture. Themes addressed include: ambiguities of gender, rebellion against authority, psychological readings of human nature, ornamentalism vs. functionalism, tonal vs. atonal music, and representations of the Other. Literature, philosophy, art, music, and architecture will be examined. Fulfills the collegiate requirement in fine arts. Three hours. Spring, 2000. Ms. Herrmann.

217 - Death and Dying: - This course develops the social and cultural sources of our hopes, values and fears toward matters of dying and death. Beginning with historical and cross-cultural analysis of death orientations, the course proceeds to sociologically develop the role of religion, philosophy, psychology, science, politics, and medicine in shaping our orientations toward war, abortion, suicide, environmental destruction, organ transplants, euthanasia, funeral ritual, and capital punishment. It concludes with analyses of the experiences of those who die and those who survive, including Kubler-Ross's studies of the stages of death, the out-of-body sensations reported by those surviving clinical death, and the normal experiences associated with grief and bereavement. Partially satisfies the collegiate requirement in the social sciences, and counts on the major/minor in sociology. Three hours. Spring, 2000. Ms. Gill.

218 - The 2000 Presidential Campaign: A Communication Perspective- A year long examination of the communication activities of the 2000 presidential campaign. Students will consider Presidential elections since 1960 and the political communication research on them as a backdrop to the 2000 campaign. Class meets weekly for 90 minutes; students will enroll in this class in Spring 2000 and Fall 2000, receiving credit in Fall. Partially fulfills the collegiate requirement in the social sciences, and counts as a group I course for the major/minor in political science. Three hours. Spring and Fall, 2000. Mr. Sheckels.

219 - Salmon, Science, and Society - Declining salmon populations over most of the 20th century have impacted the 9 million inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest where salmon are a symbol of geography, a way of life, a delicacy, and an indicator of ecosystem health. Solutions to the salmon problem are difficult because of their migration, reliance on high quality fresh water habitats, and use of ocean habitats with their impact on industry, agriculture, municipalities, and sport and commercial fishing among other considerations. This course explores the problem and whether a solution can be found that simultaneously satisfies the demands of biology, economics, and public policy. The question will be researched in class, and on a trip to the region during Spring Break, students will explore the ecosystems involved and discuss our ideas with the people struggling to prevent extinction of a fish, a symbol, and a way of life. Partially satisfies the collegiate requirement as an interdisciplinary laboratory science. Four hours. Spring, 2000. Mr. Gowan.

220 - Recreational Mathematics: The Literature of Popular Mathematics and Problem Solving - A thorough reading of several of the books that are written for the general public on mathematics. Popular books by Martin Gardener and Ian Stewart will be read and the problems in them explored and solved. These books propose problems that can be explored and solved with very little mathematical background but are none the less nontrivial. These problems give the student insight into the type of mathematical problems that have been studied for centuries and have led to the development of modern mathematics. Problems will come from the fields of graph theory, chaos, tilings, logic, geometry, topology, probability, and fractals. Partially fulfills the collegiate requirement in mathematics. Three hours. Spring, 2000. Ms. Torrence

1998 - 1999 Offerings:

211 - Love and Other Romantic Relationships: An Exploration of the Myths and Reality of Love in our Time - C. Hughes

210 - Contemporary Chinese Film - T. Inge

209 - Such Was Life: The Interaction between Art and Society in 19th Century America - E. Terrono

208 - The Age of Empire, 1875-1914 - T. Peyser

207 - Whistlin' Dixie: The Problem of Southern Identity - M. Malvasi

206 - Zen and Tibetan Buddhism - L. Geisler and D. Headrick

205 - Live Long and Prosper: The Evolution of U.S. Health Care and Health Policy - R. Resnick

204 - Geometry of the Universe - B. Torrence

203 - Art, Letters, and Faith - L. Freeman

202 - The Rise of the City in Europe - J. Camp

1997 - 1998 Offerings:

201 - Physics of Sports - W. Franz

200 - Reflections of the Holocaust in Art and Literature - E. Hostetter

199 - Remembering the Maine : America's Imperial Century - B. Turner

198 - The Clouds of Desert Storm: The Ongoing Implications of the Gulf War - Fischbach

197 - The Voices of Sub-Saharan African Women - Sheckles

196 - Dante's Inferno in Translation - M. Parker

195 - Writing Selves - M. Scott

186 - But Some of my Best Friends are _____: The Psychology of Prejudice and Stereotyping - Klaaren

175 - Media and Politics: Through a Glass Darkly - H. Davis

141 - Her Infinite Variety: The Life and Times of Cleopatra VII of Egypt - Daughtery

1996 - 1997 Offerings:

194 - Violent America - Wessells

193 - Better Living with Chemistry - Henderson, Monroe, Moores, Schreiner

192 - Celluloid Heroes Down Under - T. Sheckles

191 - Feast and Famine: Food in Literature and Culture - M. Scott

190 - Ancient Athletics - Camp

189 - The Broken Brain: Explorations of Clinical Neuroscience - Dementi, K. Lambert

188 - Chaos and Fractals: Making a New Science - Geisler

187 - Writing: The I of the Text - Goodwin

163 - Rituals: Myths in Action - Mattys, McCaffrey

132 - The View From Below: Encounter Between Church and Society - Andrews

123 - The Ascent of Man - Porter

1995 - 1996 Offerings:

186 - But Some of my Best Friends are _____: The Psychology of Prejudice and Stereotyping - Klaaren

185 - Faulkner, Fiction, and Film - Inge, Payne

184 - Origins of Civilization - Fisher

183 - Longing for Harmonies - Spagna

181 - Counting on the Computer - Rabung

180 - Bookworms and Bibliofiles: Readers in Literature - Brayman-Hackel

169 - Creation - Tuell

150 - Will They Live Happily Ever After?: An Introduction to the Fairy Tale - deGraff

139 - Writing: Public and Private - Berger

114 - From Camelot to Watergate: The Disintegration of Political Consensus - H. Davis

1994 - 1995 Offerings:

179 - The Arab Israli Conflict - Fischback

178 - Devine Julius - Daugherty

177 - Serial Fiction: The Example of Dickens - Parker

176 - Love in the Middle Ages - Goodwin

175 - Media and Politics: Through a Glass Darkly - H. Davis

174 - Good Lives: A Comparative Cross Cultural Study - Beatty

163 - Rituals: Myths in Action - Mattys, McCaffrey

154 - IDEAS! - Berry, Winegar

132 - The View From Below: Encounter Between Church and Society - Andrews

1993 - 1994 Offerings:

173 - Roman History and Art through Numismatics - Houghtalin

172 - Politics and the English African Theater - Sheckles

171 - Slavery and the Meaning of American History - Malvasi

170 - Serendipity: Accidental Discoveries in Science - Monroe

169 - Creation - Tuell

168 - Post Modernism - Marshall

167 - Psychology and Science Fiction - A. Hughes

139 - Writing: Public and Private - Berger

114 - From Camelot to Watergate: The Disintegration of Political Consensus - H. Davis

1992 - 1993 Offerings:

165 - Global Social Issues and the Human Prospect - Wessells

164 - Urban Problems - Lang, Williams

163 - Rituals: Myths in Action - Mattys, McCaffrey

162 - From Roaring Twenties to Depression Thirties: American Culture between the Wars - Watson

161 - Human Heredity: Principles and Issues - King

160 - Life's Simple Pleasures: A Biological and Psychological Analysis of Hunger, Thirst, and Sexual Motivation - Lambert

159 - Southern? Or Post-Southern? - Marshall

158 - Lord Clark's Civilization: A Reappraisal - Kissane

157 - Democracy 2500 - Fisher

150 - Will They Live Happily Ever After?: An Introduction to the Fairy Tale - deGraff

1991 - 1992 Offerings:

156 - Savage Indignation - Daughtery

155 - Science and Movies: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - Borgwald, Schreiner

154 - IDEAS! - Berry, Winegar

153 - Prosperity and Depression: Business Cycles and Stabilizing Policy - Lang

152 - The Philosophy of Emotion - Serniak

145 - Radicals and Revolutionaries: From Hus to Ho - Porter

127 - Life: Its Origin and Evolution - Falls

139 - Writing: Public and Private - Berger

108 - National Security Policy: National Defense and Arms Control - Unger

1990 - 1991 Offerings:

151 - Modeling Life - Shea, Yeates

150 - Will They Live Happily Ever After?: An Introduction to the Fairy Tale - deGraff

149 - The Solar System - Borwald

148 - Murder, They Wrote: Detective Stories by International Authors - Gaudry, Hudson

147 - History of Terrorism - Coury

134 - A Land in Turmoil: Contemporary South African Literature - Sheckels

128 - Walt Disney's America - Inge

114 - From Camelot to Watergate: The Disintegration of Political Consensus - H. Davis

1989 - 1990 Offerings:

146 - Leadership and Social Transformation - Wessells

144 - In Search of Space: The Alienation of the Black American and Colonized African - Hilliard

143 - Going Up: Space Exploration from Sputnik to Challenger - Franz

142 - Human Nature: Culture, Evolution, and Development - Winegar

141 - Her Infinite Variety: The Life and Times of Cleopatra VII of Egypt - Daughtery

140 - Wisdom: A Comparative, Cross-Cultural, Interdisciplinary Study - Beatty, Chappell

139 - Writing: Public and Private - Berger

126 - Live Ones: A Survey of Fiction by Living Authors - Parker

1988 - 1989 Offerings:

138 - The Mind in Dialogue With Itself: The Individual and Society in 19th Century British Autobiography - Pendleton

137 - Stellar Astronomy - Spagna

136 - Octavio Paz: A Poet Creates - Worth

135 - Writing and Passing the American Constitution - Scanlon

134 - A Land in Turmoil: Contemporary South African Literature - Sheckels

133 - The Calculus: Who, How, and When? - Offenbacker

129 - Science Is? - Conway, Serniak, Catudal

114 - From Camelot to Watergate: The Disintegration of Political Consensus - H. Davis

108 - National Security Policy: National Defense and Arms Control - Unger

1987 - 1988 Offerings:

132 - The View From Below: Encounter Between Church and Society - Andrews

131 - The 20th Century in Film - Mcilwaine

130 - Cross Cultural Perspective on Human Development - Winegar

128 - Walt Disney's America - Inge

127 - Life: Its Origin and Evolution - Falls

126 - Live Ones: A Survey of Fiction by Living Authors - Parker

124 - A Radical Guide to Economic Reality - Harsh

1986 - 1987 Offerings:

125 - The 19th Century: Origins of Modern Art - Berry

123 - The Ascent of Man - Porter

122 - Wisdom: A Comparative, Cross Cultural Study - Beatty

121 - Thinking and Writing in Liberal Art Disciplines - Sheckels

114 - From Camelot to Watergate: The Disintegration of Political Consensus - H. Davis

113 - Madness in Literature, or Beauty and the Beast - Hillard

111 - New Man-New Land: The Frontier and the Theme of Innocence in American Literature - Watson, Oliver

1985 - 1986 Offerings:

120 - Of Revolution - Scanlon

119 - William Faulkner's South - Inge

118 - The Organization of Musical Time - Brock

117 - Oedipus' REal Complex: The Impact of Rational Humanism on 5th Century Athens - Daughtery

116 - Food for Thought: The Biology and Chemistry of Nutrition - Dementi, Debardeleban

108 - National Security Policy: National Defense and Arms Control - Unger

1984 - 1985 Offerings:

115 - Drawing the Exterior from the Interior - Witt

114 - From Camelot to Watergate: The Disintegration of Political Consensus - H. Davis

113 - Madness in Literature, or Beauty and the Beast - Hillard

112 - Persuasive Speaking - Sheckels

111 - New Man-New Land: The Frontier and the Theme of Innocence in American Literature - Watson, Oliver

110 - Computer, Self, and Society - Wessells, Palesis

1983 - 1984 Offerings:

105 - The History of Science - Miller

104 - The American Dream: Texts and Contexts - Seymour, Edwards

107 - Your Land IS My Land: A Study of Exploration, Migration, Aggravation, and Assimilation - Challis

106 - Is Life Worth Living : The Problem of Meaning in Contemporary Philosophical Anthropology - Bollinger

109 - Concepts of Freedom - Beatty

108 - National Security Policy: National Defense and Arms Control - Unger

1982 - 1983 Offerings:

100 - Honors Seminar in the Humanities - Daugherty

101 - From Prometheus Bound to the Andromeda Strain: Society's Image of Scientists in Literature - Baerent, Conway

102 - Heroes and Anti-Heroes: Heroines and Anti-Heroines - Haynes, McCaffrey, Worth

103 - Music Revolutionaries - Ward