Honors Courses

Instructor

Natalie Carter

Course Description

This seminar introduces students to critical thinking and a discussion of values, and develops oral and written communication skills through an investigation of contemporary women’s literature written in a variety of global cultures. Through contemporary literary texts, the course will explore women’s perspectives on current issues influencing women’s sense of self, relationships, worldviews, opportunities, and challenges; we’ll consider the ways that sexual politics intersect with the politics of race, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, nationality, and other markers of difference. By examining literary texts and other cultural materials, we’ll consider possibilities for understanding and changing the cultural, political, and social systems that define women in the world.

This course is offered as an Honors First-Year Seminar course.

Instructor

Melissa Etzler

Course Description

Inspired by the ambiguity of “breaking bad,” this course explores intersections of crime and madness. We will examine texts featuring issues of guilt, justice, abnormality, and deviance to uncover particular and universal social commentaries on moral values and community constructs. Focusing primarily on written and visual texts from the 18th century to the present, multidisciplinary fields will inform our interpretations.

This course is offered as an Honors First-Year Seminar course.

Instructor

Bryce Berkowitz

Course Description

Have you ever wondered how the screenwriting industry works? In this course, we will evaluate TV pilots and feature scripts, but we will also learn about show bibles, treatments, film reviews, agencies, production companies, as well as how social justice and climate change intersect with screenwriting. Finally, we will attempt to find our own voices within this rich tradition of cinematic writing.

This course is offered as an Honors First-Year Seminar course.

Instructor(s)

Robert Stapleton

Karina Hamamouche

Bryan Furuness

Shelly Furuness

Course Description

In this course, students will explore the values, choices and goals that inform their decisions and guide their own lives. By reading carefully selected texts — from writers across the vast array of disciplines, students will seek answers to the following questions: how can I do both well and do good in the world? How do I know what I am meant to do, for work and for leisure? How can I find the path in life that is uniquely mine? What are the philosophical and practical goalposts that I should aim for? How do I live a meaningful life?

This course is offered as an Honors First-Year Seminar course.

Instructor

Angela Hofstetter

Course Description

From drawings of horses, stags, and bulls on the caves of Lascaux to enduring classics like The Call of the Wild and Black Beauty, animals have captured our imagination as symbols, companions, workers, food, and fellow warriors: our path to modernity tells the tale of a relationship paradoxically fraught with violence and affection. This interdisciplinary First Year Seminar examines how the burgeoning fields of anthropology, psychology, and criminology converged with biology, zoology, and economics in taxonomies of class, race, sex, and gender whose legacy still governs our conversations about which lives matter. Most importantly, we will discover how Writing for Wellness (W4W) helps us grapple with making meaning of nature, nurture, and justice in the new millennium.

This course is offered as an Honors First-Year Seminar course.