special topics Courses
HONORS PSYCHOLOGY
HONS 163
3 credit hours
Applies to the general education requirement in the Social Sciences.
Lisa Ross, Associate Professor of Psychology
John Widholm, Assistant Professor of Psychology
This course serves as an introduction to the scientific study of behavior. The primary goals are to impart general principles and significant experimental findings within the various subdicsiplines of psychology. This course will go beyond that of general psychology by providing additional readings and hands-on experience in applying techniques used by psychologists. The course content and exercises are tailored for students who truly wish to embrace the variables of behavior rather than simply read an introductory text.
*VALUE AND TRADITIONS IN ASIAN RELIGIONS
HONS 240
3 credit hours
Applies to the general education requirement in the Humanities.
Zeff Bjerken, Associate Professor of Religious Studies
This course will explore the motivating values found in the religious traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism that have formed the civilizations of South and East Asia. The course is desiged around major conceptual themes, including death, the afterlife and ancestor worship, ritual and image veneration, meditaion and monastic life, the transformation of foreign traditions to fit native worldviews, and the effects of modernization on religions today. The course will follow an easterly route, beginning in India and moving to Tibet, China and Japan, at the same time as we move from ancient times down to the present day. We begin with the ancient Indus Valley civilization that appeared some 4,000 years ago, and end with religious debates over the topics of abortion and organ transplant in Japan today. We will se that Asian religiosity tends to have different emphases than Western religious traditions. The course will call into question our common distinctions between self and society, church and state, and religion and spirituality.
HONORS APPRECIATION OF MATHEMATICS:
A CONCEPTUAL TOUR OF CONTEMPORARY MATHEMATICS
HONS 390
3 credit hours
Satisfies the second half of the Honors College Mathematics requirement and applies toward the College’s general education requirement in Mathematics.
Prerequisite: Introductory Calculus (Math 120)
James Young, Assistant Professor of Mathematics
This course will highlight mathematics as a network of intriguing ideas, not a dry formula list of techniques. Each lecture will begin by placing mathematical concepts in historical context and providing the motivations driving the quest for understanding. Topics to be covered include key ideas in algebra, number theory, mathematical foundations, complexity, topology and geometry, dynamical systems, chaos, and stochastic processes. The goal of this course is to help each student discover the beauty and fascination of mathematics, admire its strength and profound ideas, and appreciate its value in our everyday lives.
*MATHEMATICS IN MUSIC
HONS 390
3 credit hours
Thomas Ivey, Associate Professor of Mathematics
This course is about the applications of mathematics to the understanding of musical sound, musical instruments, tuning systems, and musical composition. The main theme of the course is that music and mathematics intersect in many places. While no one writes a symphony using a mathematical formula, mathematics is of fundemental importance to music, for example in the construction of tuning systems which most musicians use today, and in the recording and reproduction of digital music. A subsidiary theme of the course is that the interaction between music theory and mathematics dates from antiquity and has been continuous throughout history. No formal musical background is assumed, although some interest and experience in music will help students get the most out of the course. However, there will be more mathematics than music in this course.
*GRRRLS GONE WILD: THIRD WAVE FEMINISM
HONS 391
3 credit hours
Applies to the general education requirement in the Humanities.
Alison Piepmeier, Assistant Professor of English and Director, Women's and Gender Studies Program
This course will address the cultural, historical, and political aspects of the third wave of feminism. Third wave feminists are those who have come to consciousness in a world in which many feminists ideals are accepted as common sense, however, the third wave is a conflicted movement, in which many of the common sense ideals of feminism have still not been realized and in which feminsim itself is often seen to be a negative term. Students in this course will become familiar with the variety of personal and scholarly perspectives on the third wave. They will begin with the historical, contextualizing the third wave by constructing a solid understanding of second wave feminism. A number of different theoretical approaches will be considered. The various personal narratives that have emerged - those published in book form as well as those published in self-created pamphlets called zines will be examined along with the particular political issues that are foregrounded in third wave feminism.
*THE BRITISH EMPIRE: COLONIAL AND POSTCOLONIAL VOICES
HONS 391
3 credit hours
Applies to the general education requirement in the Humanities.
Tim Carens, Associate Professor of English
Jeffrey Diamond, Assistant Professor of History
This course explores the historical, literary, and cultural representations of the British Empire during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Its interdisciplinary format will help to elucidate the articulation, manifestation, and influence of the British Empire from the perspectives of imperial and colonial subjects. In this regard, students will explore important themes and concepts, including colonial discourses such as the "civilizing mission," historical topics such as the opium trade, and indigenous/nationalist responses to colonial authority in Asia and Africa. The course will allow students to analyze a broad spectrum of colonial and indigienous voices through historical and literary lenses.
*LATIN AMERICAN FILM AND LITERATURE
HONS 391
3 credit hours
Applies to the general education requirement in the Humanities.
Sarah Owens, Associate Professor of Spanish
This course will introduce students to major works of literature written during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It will also present the films that were produced as a result of these narratives and autobiographical texts. This course will analyze the cultural, historical, and political movements in history that inspired these works. The goal of the course is to provide students with a panormaic lens with which to view Latin American society and culture. The course will be taught in English with English translations of all the works.
COURSES OFFERED IN THE HONORS PROGRAM IN BUSINESS
HONORS ECONOMICS
HONS 212
3 credit hours
Applies to the general education requirement in Social Sciences.
Jane Clary, Professor of Economics
This course is designed to satisfy the Principles of Economics requriement ECON 202 for the student majoring in Economics or Business.
HONORS BUSINESS LAW
HONS 210
3 credit hours
Applies to the general education requirement in Social Sciences.
Roxanne DeLaurell, Assistant Professor of Accounting and Legal Studies
The goal of this course is to give the student a foundation in economic theory, philosophy of markets and governments which serves as the basis for business. The course is designed to give the student the humanities foundation of business: Locke, Smith, Rawls and others will be read. There will also be in-depth case analysis of key cases to discuss the issues of the business day: punitive damages, liability for wrongs on the part of corporate officials, product liability, etc.
HONORS BUSINESS STATISTICS
HONS 214
3 credit hours
This course is the equivalent of DSCI 232 for Honors students majoring in Economics or Business. In addition, these courses satisfy the general education requirement in the Social Sciences.
Prerequisite: Math 250
Gioconda Quesada, Assistant Professor of Marketing and Supply Chain Management
This course will cover advanced statistical analysis with applications in business and economics utilizing relevant computer software (Excel and SPSs). Topics include business applications in descriptive and inferential statistics emphasizing such topics as simple and multiple regression, analysis of variance, forecasting, quality control, and nonparametric techniques.
*Denotes an Honors College interdisciplinary course.
