Honors Courses

Instructor(s)

Bryce Berkowitz

Course Description

In this course, our focus will be a lack of focus. Instead of one long marathon topic, let’s cover a shotgun smattering of topics: from image-based poetry to indie movies, from discovering life’s meaning to finding purpose in small moments, from voice-driven fiction to edgy memoirs, from redefining work culture to social movements, from graffiti art to street theatre, the perils of social media to inspirational Ted Talks to who knows what else… Let’s define our time together by taking a random and organic journey towards collective growth and awareness by asking big questions about some of life’s many topics.

Instructor(s)

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.

Instructor(s)

Angela Hofstetter

Course Description

This two-semester course featuring authors from Butler’s acclaimed Vivan Delbrook Visiting Writer’s Series dynamically engages with the art (film, poetry, podcasts, novels, television shows, short stories, etc.) of the 21s century in conversation with the rich history that precedes it. Our interdisciplinary, international, and intertextual approach will help you hone your writing, research, and speaking skills as well as your appreciation of the vital tradition the humanities play in making meaning out of the mystery, magic, and madness of the human condition.

Instructor(s)

Barbara Campbell

Course Description

This course will examine representations of disability in American culture in the 20th and 21st centuries through literary texts, film, art, music, and dance. Our class will use disability studies theory to analyze how artists with disabilities critique ableism and complicate conventional narratives of disability. Stereotypical depictions of the disabled figure in literature, art, and popular culture reinforce, sometimes inadvertently, discrimination towards people with physical, intellectual, and psychiatric disabilities. The disabled subject is often represented as the object of pity, scorn, or as heroic inspiration for ableist culture. Works by artists with disabilities tend to challenge these depictions in content and form in unconventional and radical ways. We will engage with a variety of texts to discuss how artists draw attention to inclusivity, access, and social justice.

Instructor(s)

Hannah Sullivan-Brown
Julie Searcy
Grant Vecera

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?

Instructor(s)

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.