Spring 2013 Seminars
HON 293 What Causes Cancer?
Instructor: Jennifer Waldo (Biology)
There is no simple answer to the question of what causes cancer. That's primarily because cancer is not a single thing-it is manifest differently in different people. Students will learn basic concepts about the development and treatment of cancer and develop the quantitative skills necessary to evaluate popularly held beliefs and media reports about the causation of cancer.
HON 316 Debates in U.S. History
Instructor: Susan Lewis (History)
An exploration of selected and pivotal topics in the history of the United States from the colonial period through today. Politics, economics, society, and culture will be examined focusing on primary source documents and images.
HON 323 West African History and Perspectives
Instructor: Laura Dull (Secondary Education)
Discussions and texts will introduce students to theories that inform interpretations of Ghanaian history and culture, identify the most convincing sources and accounts of history, and propose ways to inform citizens about African history.
HON 376 Indigenous Ways of Knowing
Instructor: Jessica Eve Tuck (Educational Studies)
Discussions and texts will introduce students to indigenous perspectives on contemporary social issues, global indigenous knowledge systems, and indigenous critiques of Western thought.
HON 393 The Material of History, Thought, and Art
Instructor: Cyrus Mulready (English)
How do the objects in our lives shape our identities and our ways of thinking about the world? How do the things that surround us preserve a record of our history? Do objects make thought, discovery, and creativity possible? We will approach these questions through studies of "material culture" from the fields of the social sciences, natural sciences, fine arts, and the humanities. In reading Hamlet, for instance, we will move our gaze away from literature's most famous thinker to the various objects (clothing, flowers, armor, skulls) that fill the landscape of the play. We will look at the history of science through the development of tools and instruments that revolutionized scientific thinking. And we will consider how technological devices shape our experience with the world today. Our work will lead us to examine our own processes of learning, writing, and thinking with the hope that a more conscious attention to how the objects of our lives affect us will make us better students and scholars. Assignments for the class will include creating and maintaining an academic blog with regular written and visual entries, an extended research project on an object significant to your personal history, and a presentation of your work for the course at the end of the semester.
HON 399 Thesis/Project Preparation
Instructor: Patricia A. Sullivan (Communication & Media, Honors)
This course provides support for Honors students who are preparing their thesis or project. Students will refine a research or project topic; develop a thesis statement; identify and evaluate sources; construct an annotated bibliography; receive feedback from peers; and employ communication strategies for working with faculty mentors. Meets January 28-February 25.
Fall 2012 Seminars
HON 201 The Individual and Society
Instructors: Hamilton Stapell (History), Patricia A. Sullivan (Communication & Media, Honors) & Vicki Tromanhauser (English)
Investigates the relationship between the individual and society through discussion of the philosophic, literary, and historical aspects of major texts.
HON 303 Education and Poverty
Instructor: Susan M. Books (Secondary Education)
This course offers an interdisciplinary exploration of poverty -- its causes, consequences, representation in public discourse, and complicated relationship to schooling.
HON 375 Alternative Epistemologies
Instructor: Anne R. Roschelle (Sociology)
Using feminist and racial-ethnic theories we will analyze how gender, race, and class oppression shape the experiences of women and how we, as agents of social change, can translate these theoretical insights into methodological strategies.
HON 393 Myth Meets Philosophy
Instructor: Karin Andriolo (Anthropology)
Myths address issues that also belong into the domain of philosophy, which is commonly defined as the study of the ultimate reality, causes and principles underlying being and thinking. The seminar explores a number of themes that are shared by myth and philosophy and that are central to both. It will introduce students to some of the leading questions in Western philosophy, some of the answers that were proposed, particularly in the 20th century; and some of the fabulous but lesser known myths from around the world.
HON 393 Metropolis to Megalopolis: New York City Culture, 1865-1929
Instructors: Susan I. Lewis (History) & Stephen S. Kitsakos (Theatre Arts)
Between 1865 and 1929 New York City grew from a thriving metropolis to a world-famous megalopolis, and emerged as a center of international culture. This course examines the literature, fashion, visual and performing arts originating America's premiere city, as well as the contributions of immigrants, African-Americans, women, and individuals of diverse sexual orientations to the phenomenal cultural blossoming of this period.
HON 399 Thesis/Project Preparation
Instructor: Patricia A. Sullivan (Communication & Media, Honors)
This course provides support for Honors students who are preparing their thesis or project. Students will refine a research or project topic; develop a thesis statement; identify and evaluate sources; construct an annotated bibliography; receive feedback from peers; and employ communication strategies for working with faculty mentors. Meets September 10-October 8
