Honors Course Schedule Spring 2025
Honors Great Ideas of World Civilizations
This course is considered the “capstone course” of the Honors Program, even though
students may take it at any time during the Honors Program. This course is required
to be an Honors Program Graduate. In the Great Ideas course, students will read and
discuss texts from a variety of disciplines, covering a variety of eras and cultures,
so as to examine how these ideas shape our thinking and our world today. (The course
counts toward the Humanities Gen-Ed Requirement.)
HST 105 HN1(CRN 63369 CRN 61100 MW 12:30-1:45pm
Professors J. Garcia and D. Richmond
This section of the Honors Great Ideas course is guided by the idea that we learn
best when we learn from one another. So, our course is designed to make sure that
the voices you hear the least in any given class are the voices of the instructors.
In preparation for each class, we will all read a short (usually about 15 - 20 pages)
reading. Our classes will then be discussions of these readings, working to understand them and then critique them
and consider their relevance to our world today. We will examine some historically
important and contemporary readings that deal with issues that range from the pursuit
of racial, gender, and economic equality to debates over the nature of science.
HST 105 HS2 CRN 63371 HS2 CRN 63434 M 6-8:30pm (online synchronous)
Professor P. Ratunil
This Great Ideas course is organized around the great questions asked by thinkers
and writers across the ages. There are six modules that focus on six great questions:
What is the beginning? What is Love? Am I Free? What is Death? What is Karma? What
is History? What is Art? We will read influential texts from around the world including
the Bhagavad Gita, the Declaration of Independence, Native American myth and poetry, an excerpt from a classic comic book, and the novel Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.
“Living Sustainable Lives” Learning Community (counts toward Humanities and Physical Sciences w/lab Gen Eds)
PHI 115 HL2 ( Ethics) (CRN 66608 ) and CHM 103 HL2 (The Chemistry Connection)(CRN 66530 ) (blended) W 2:00 - 3:15pm (Phil)
MW 11-12:15pm (Chem lecture)
Professors J. Garcia and J. Ellefson M 12:30-3:15pm (Chem lab)
This course focuses on the chemistry and ethics surrounding issues of sustainability
in our world and everyday lives. We will examine issues such as climate change, as
well as water and land use. We will also look at various ways to think about our obligations
to the planet and how to balance those with our other ethical concerns.
You must register for both of these classes at the same time.
Study Abroad in Japan
LIT 220 (Japanese Literature in Translation) TR 12:30-1:45pm
Professor A. Wilson Late start 12-week: 2/10-5/17
You can read all about the course and the study abroad component here , and there is also a link to apply if you are interested. There are 10 spots available.
The trip to Japan will take place over Spring Break. You must submit an application by November 1, and the coordinators will add you to this course once your application
is approved.
Courses Counting toward the Communication Gen-Ed Requirement
ENG 102 HN1 CRN 61844 ) TR 12:30-1:45pm
Professor A. Tomasian
Course description coming soon!
SPE 101 HN 1 (CRN 63170 ) MW 11am - 12:15pm
Professor M. Bilos
In Honors Speech, we will be exploring communication strategies and presenting multiple
speeches. You will get experience practicing, preparing, and presenting in front
of your peers as well as honing your digital skills. This face-to-face, 16-week course
will walk you through the basics of persuasive and informative speaking, debate, and impromptu using the framework
of social justice and implementing a volunteer project.
Courses Counting toward the Humanities General Education Requirement
HUM 105 HN1(CRN 61100 CRN 63369
Professors J. Garcia and D. Richmond 12:30-1:45pm
This section of the Honors Great Ideas course is guided by the idea that we learn
best when we learn from one another. So, our course is designed to make sure that
the voices you hear the least in any given class are the voices of the instructors.
In preparation for each class, we will all read a short (usually about 15 - 20 pages)
reading. Our classes will then be discussions of these readings, working to understand them and then critique them
and consider their relevance to our world today. We will examine some historically
important and contemporary readings that deal with issues that range from the pursuit
of racial, gender, and economic equality to debates over the nature of science.
LIT 220 (Japanese Lit in Translation)(CRN 35394) - Study Abroad TR 12:30-1:45
Students accepted into the study abroad program will be registered for this class.
Late start 12-week: 2/10-5/17
Professor A. Wilson
You can read all about the course and the study abroad component here , and there is also a link to apply if you are interested. There are 10 spots available.
The trip to Japan will take place over Spring Break. You must submit an application by November 1, and the coordinators will add you to this course once your application
is approved.
PHI 115- HL2(CRN 66608 ) Ethics) - Learning Community (blended) W 9:30-10:45am
Professors J. Garcia and J. Ellefson
This course focuses on the chemistry and ethics surrounding issues of sustainability
in our world and everyday lives. We will examine issues such as climate change, as
well as water and land use. We will also look at various ways to think about our obligations
to the planet and how to balance those with our other ethical concerns.
This course is part of a Learning Community. You must also register for Honors CHEM
103 at the same time. The Ethics section of this Learning Community is blended, with
meeting times on Wednesdays, and the Chemistry section is fully in person.
Courses Counting toward the Social Sciences General Education Requirement
ECO 212 HB1 (Macroeconomics) CRN 62212 ) T 2-3:15pm (blended)
Professor M. Raza
This Blended Honors Course of Macroeconomics has two components. (1) Subject matter chapters are provided fully
online, and (2) Research based term-paper focusing on current economic issues, mainly
on the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the global economy. While the course subject
matter is fully supported by rich electronic study materials, the students work evaluation will be based on the completion of online homework assignments.
The in-person meetings will focus on helping students work through the research paper
component of the course.
PSY 228 HN1(CRN 63203 ) (Psychology of Human Development) TR 9:30 - 10:45 am
Professor K. Matthews
Do babies know physics? Can we trust children’s memories? Why are teen brains designed
for risk-taking? What factors promote vitality in adulthood? How do diversity and
equity impact development across the lifespan--in contexts from education to healthcare
to the legal system? In Psychology of Human Development, explore these questions and
many more by integrating theories, scientific research, and real-world applications
within a global context.
SOC 101(CRN 63001 ) TR 11am -12:15 pm
Professor Monica Edwards
In our time together, we will engage in an analysis of the structure and dynamics
of human society. We will explore theoretical and empirical work to observe and analyze
social norms, groups, intergroup relations, social change, social stratification,
and institutions. This course will dive into questions of social organization, social
change, and social justice through an exploration of the intersection of food systems
and systemic racism; we will do so with a focus on outcomes–and the link between hope, the sociological imagination, and activism–related to the climate crisis and Covid pandemic. Emerging from sociological analyses of our
complex interdependence is a push for compassion and solidarity; as such, the policies
of the class will reflect this larger sociological--and feminist--ethos of care.
Courses Counting toward the Math General Education Requirement
MTH 201 HB1 CRN 61936 ) (Calculus II) TR 5:30-6:45 pm (blended)
Professor K. Knee
Watch Professor Knee
VIDEO
Courses Counting toward the Life Sciences (w/ lab) General Education Requirement
BIO 116 HB 1(CRN 66518 ) T 2-4:30pm (lab) (blended)
Professor B. Statler
BIO116 covers higher levels of biological organization from the organism to the ecosystem.
Topics include organismal diversity (bacteria, archaea, protists, fungi, plants, and
animals), history of life on earth, micro- and macroevolution, how species interact
and rely on one another, and how organisms and the global climate influence one another.
Honors students will additionally learn how to find reputable, scientifically supported
sources on the internet and use those sources to support one lab report and one video-based
presentation on an approved topic of choice that is related to climate change.
Honors students enrolled in this course are welcome to attend Professor Statler’s
in-person lectures (attached to her non-Honors section of BIO 116) which will be held MW 2-3:15pm in Z117. This is entirely optional, but might be beneficial for any who are worried about learning the content in a blended
format.
Courses Counting toward the Physical Sciences (w/ lab) General Education Requirement
CHEM 103-HLB(CRN 66530 ) MW 11am-12:15pm (lecture)
Professor Julie Ellefson
M 12: 30-3:15pm (lab )
This course focuses on the chemistry and ethics surrounding issues of sustainability
in our world and everyday lives. We will examine issues such as climate change, as
well as water and land use. We will also look at various ways to think about our obligations
to the planet and how to balance those with our other ethical concerns.
This course is part of a Learning Community. You must also register for Honors PHI
115 (Ethics). The Ethics section of this Learning Community is blended, with meeting
times on Wednesdays, and the Chemistry section is in person.
CHM 122 HN1(CRN 64403 ) MW 2-3:15pm (lecture)
Professor Dan Ranieri
M 3:30-4:20pm (discussion)
R 2-4:45pm (lab)
Professor Ranieri describes some of the topics you’ll be covering in the course here:
VIDEO
