Honors

An introductory seminar required for all new Honors students. This course seeks for foster student knowledge of the characteristics of disciplinary approaches in the liberal arts and sciences and the development of skills of interdisciplinary thinking. The goal of the course is to help students to develop skills of critical reading, writing, and thinking, and to develop their intellectual interests in ways that “connect the dots” between academic disciplines. This course is designed for all new Honors students.

How do stories teach us how to be human and how do they shape the world around us? Rooted in art, folklore, drama, and/or music, this course uses narrative as the primary vehicle to interrogate enduring questions of human concern - such as gender, race, leadership, divinity, monstrosity, violence, and love. Specific topics chosen are subject to instructor discretion. Grade of C or higher required in order to substitute for ENGL 160.

In this interdisciplinary seminar, students will examine the use of communication theories and practices as tools of advocacy. Students will have the opportunity to develop an advocacy campaign of their choice and will present it publicly.

Grounded in relevant scientific concepts and methodologies, this course engages in interdisciplinary examination of issues that arise at the intersection of humanity's engagement with, and relation to, the natural world, such as sustainability, the use of medical technologies, energy use and conservation, and so on. Specific topics are chosen at the discretion of the instructor.

What is good? What is beautiful? What is creativity? This interdisciplinary course investigates connections between the fine arts disciplines of dance, music, theatre, and/or the visual arts with the social, political, economic, physical, and religious environment.

This field course offers hands-on research and/or service learning opportunities. Topics vary per instructor and term. Students engage in data collection, problem-solving, and research writing.  Repeatable.

This course prepares students to apply for undergraduate research experiences (REUs), highly competitive (i.e., acceptance rates ≅ 10-20% or less) fellowships or scholarships (e.g., Goldwater, Truman, NSF/NIH, Fulbright, etc.), and highly selective graduate programs (especially, but not only, MD, JD, & PhD programs, particularly at universities in the top 10-20). The course will cover program identification and selection, the application process, core competencies, and principal application elements (in particular, personal/research statements and academic writing/research samples), among other topics. Non-Honors College students may enroll with permission of the Honors College Dean. It is highly recommended that enrolled students have a cumulative g.p.a. of at least 3.2.

This interdisciplinary seminar examines how human beings find and create meaning in their lives and the world at large. The specific focus of the course will be determined by instructor preferences. Possible themes include, but are not limited to, the role of religion(s) in rendering and creating meaning; the performing and fine arts as expressions of meaning; perspectives on life, death, and the meaning of life; perspectives on the nature and meaning of evil and suffering, etc.

This interdisciplinary course engages disciplines in the social sciences to investigate fundamental questions and issues concerning the nature and place of human beings in social contexts. Topics discussed may include, but are not limited to, the nature of power and freedom, the relationship between individuals and society, the formative nature of material culture, the nature and social functions of punishment, and so on.

An interdisciplinary, thematically-focused examination of how expressions of human social and cultural difference shape, challenge, and (possibly) reconfigure notions of reality, truth, moral obligation, and the like. Possible thematic examples include, but are not limited to, notions of death and the afterlife, family systems, social hierarchy and equality, individuality and community, etc. 

Students work individually with a faculty member in their major to develop and write a thesis proposal for HN 485.

Taken in conjunction with the Senior Seminar/Thesis in their major. Honors students produce a publishable quality piece of writing that they also formally present to the campus community.

Informed by religious and/or philosophical approaches to ethics, this interdisciplinary course examines the nature of human moral responsibility with regard to one or more contemporary issues. Possible topics to be addressed may include, but are not limited to, the ethics of healthcare systems, climate change, criminal justice/the death penalty, and economic justice.

Assessment: This course provides the student with the opportunity to implement the actionable response identified and outlined in HONR 4XX. The nature and scope of such implementation should be guided closely by the student’s Honors Project Advisory Committee. In addition, guided by their Committee and standards of assessment appropriate for their project, the student will produce an initial analysis of their project, in particular its actionable components. The student will produce a written document of no less than five pages outlining their assessment. 

 In this course, the student will produce a journal article-length document and/or visual/performative artifact  (length, format, style, etc. determined by expectations and standards common to the primary discipline in which the project is rooted) that: 1) Clearly and precisely identifies the nature, purpose, and scope of the student’s project, 2) Provides an appropriately comprehensive discussion and understanding of the chosen topic, 3) Is explicitly and significantly informed by AT LEAST one additional disciplinary perspective outside of the student’s broad major field of study, and 4) Is compatible with an actionable response to the student’s chosen topic appropriate for public implementation, presentation, or demonstration, 5) Is qualitatively appropriate for submission to an undergraduate journal or in support of admission to a highly competitive graduate program.  The student shall present their project publicly, either at an appropriate academic conference or at the Student Research Symposium.