Honors Program Courses
Fall 2013 Honors Course Schedule
Foundational Sequence Courses:
- Honors Foundational Sequence I: Beginning of the Christian Intellectual Tradition
- HRS100-A: Dr. William O. Stephens, MWF 2:00-2:50
- HRS100-B: Dr. Gregory Bucher, MW 9:30-10:45
- Honors Foundational Sequence III: The Modern World
- HRS200-A: Dr. Greg Zacharias, TR 11:00-12:15
- HRS200-B: Dr. Britta McEwen, MW 2:00-3:15
Sources and Methods Courses:
- Cosmology - HRS320: Dr. Gintaras Duda, MWF 8:25-9:15 (natural science or philosophy)
- Theory, Method, and Art of Autoethnography - HRS 336: Dr. Sherianne Shuler, MW 11:00-12:15 (social science)
- American Classical Music - HRS 353: Dr. Barron Breland, TR 12:30–1:45 (fine art)
- Antiquity in Modern Media - HRS 354: Dr. Leonard J Greenspoon, TR 2:00–3:15 (history)
The following courses will also count as SAM credits:
- The New Institutionalism - RDA 510: Dr. Terry Clark, TR 11:00–12:15 -OR- M 7:00-9:00 (instructor permission required) (social science)
- Imaging Christ: The Challenge of Early Christian Art – CNE/ARH 362: Dr. Gregory Bucher, TR 9:30-10:45 (fine art or theology)
Spring 2013 Honors Course Schedule
Foundational Sequence Courses:
- Honors Foundational Sequence II: The Rise of the West - HRS101 - A - Dr. Jeffrey Hause - MWF 11:30 - 12:20
- Honors Foundational Sequence II: The Rise of the West - HRS101 - B - Dr. Nicolae Roddy - TR 9:30 – 10:45
Sources and Methods Courses:
- Sources and Methods: Imagination to Invention - HRS315 - Dr. Robert Snipp - TR 12:30 - 1:45
- Sources and Methods: The Renaissance Artist - HRS 333 - Dr. Matthew Averett - TR 11:00 - 12:15
- Sources and Methods: Colonialism and Agency - HRS 351 - Dr. Michael Hawkins – MWF 10:30 – 11:20
- Sources and Methods: Organizational Rhetoric: Texts, Identities, Domination/Resistance - HRS 352 – Dr. Erika Kirby – TR 2:00 – 3:15
- Biotechnology – Biology 495 – Dr. Karin Van Dijk – TR 11:00 – 12:15
- Directed Independent Research - HRS497
Spring 2013 Honors Course Descriptions
Imagination to Invention - HRS315 - Dr. Robert Snipp
Fragmentation of human knowledge into disciplines and sub-disciplines is universally practiced because the sheer volume of information is overwhelming. To make maximum use of our study of any discipline we examine how the discoveries are made.
There is a universality of creativity, and conceptivity. Truly creative discovery depends on the gathering of ideas from various disciplines some seemingly quite remote from each other.Individuals from the distant past and the work of other more contemporary people of genius will be the basis of our investigations. This course is designed to help us get an overview of the process of discovery so that we may better understand and create the world in which we will live.
This course will count toward the natural science or social science guideline.
The Renaissance Artist - HRS 333 - Dr. Matthew Averett
The artist is a chief protagonist in the histories of the Renaissance. Indeed, the names of Renaissance artists are among the best-remembered from the era: Filippo Brunelleschi, Sandro Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael. But who was the Renaissance artist? What were his/her duties? How was he/she educated? How much money did he/she make? How did the Renaissance artist differ from his/her ancient and medieval predecessors? This course undertakes a close study of a selection of primary documents regarding Renaissance art and artists in an effort to understand how the men and women of the Renaissance conceived of their time and their world. The course counts towards a major or minor in Art History in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts.
This course will count toward the history or fine art guideline.
Colonialism and Agency - HRS 351 - Dr. Michael Hawkins
This course takes a deep and highly analytical look at colonialism and human agency in modern history, with an emphasis on relations between “East” and “West”. It first examines the philosophical and methodological approaches of historical inquiry, probing basic underlying assumptions, debates, and problems associated with discovering and presenting the past. It then outlines the basic theoretical models for understanding colonialism, agency, and post-coloniality, blending together theoretical books and articles with primary accounts of colonialism and its aftermath.
The primary goals of this course are 1) to gain an understanding of the art of historical inquiry, 2) to recognize and understand historical patterns and concepts, 3) to gain familiarity with historiographical trends and scholarly consensus concerning colonialism and agency, and 4) to demonstrate analytical and critical thinking skills through readings and writing assignments.
This course will count toward the history guideline.
Organizational Rhetoric: Texts, Identities, Domination/Resistance- HRS 352 – Dr. Erika Kirby
Organizational rhetoric is the strategic use of symbols to generate meanings—the communication processes through which formal organizations exert influence on popular attitudes and public policies. Students explore how people within organizations use language to generate collective identities, to communicate with stakeholders, to reinforce particular organizational values and goals, and in many ways, to control. Students learn different theories and approaches to rhetorical criticism in order to engage and critique particular “artifacts” created by organizations (e.g., handbooks, websites, letters, press releases, public relations efforts, policies) using appropriate critical methods.
This course will count toward the social science guideline.
Biotechnology – Biology 495 – Dr. Karin Van Dijk
This Sources and Methods course is designed to provide students an introduction to biotechnology and its application in a variety of disciplines. Biotechnology is a rapidly evolving field of study and the scientific advances and discoveries have resulted in major changes in medicine, agriculture, and our approaches in solving crimes and environmental problems. Central to many applications and products of biotechnology are recombinant DNA technology and genomics; hence students can expect to get a good understanding of these areas of science and how they have affected agriculture, medicine, ecology and forensic science. This course does not count towards the biology major or minor.
This course will count toward the natural science guideline. Instructor consent is required for enrollment.
Fall 2012 Honors Course Descriptions
HRS 314 Sources and Methods: This View of Life – Evolutionary Biology
Professor Theodore Burk (MW 3:30)
Catalog Description: This course examines the fundamental concepts of modern evolutionary biology and how they are studied. Students examine the nature of science; the distinction between science and pseudoscience; types of explanation, modes of reasoning, and levels of analysis in evolutionary biology; and ways by which evolutionary hypotheses may be tested.
Additional information: The class meets twice a week for 75 minutes each meeting. The basic format is readings/discussion; for each session, students read and discuss a passage from Richard Dawkins’ The Ancestors Tale and a paper from a scientific journal; a one-page reflection paper on the readings is required for each class meeting. The mid-term and final exams are in take-home essay format, and students write, revise, and resubmit a term paper on a chosen topic within evolutionary biology. In the last 3-4 weeks of the class, each student – as part of a small group – participates in an entire-class-period presentation on a topic of choice within evolutionary biology. One or two optional out-of-class field trips are usually arranged (to the Henry Doorly Zoo, the Nebraska State Museum, or other relevant site).
This course will count toward the natural science guideline. It may be applied to the Biology major but not the Biology minor.
HRS 335 Sources and Methods: Not Lost in Translation: What Goes Into a Translation of the Bible and What We Can Take Out of It
Professor Leonard Greenspoon (TR 11:00)
Course description: This course looks at how the Bible (Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and New Testament) has been translated from antiquity to the modern world. Students will acquaint themselves with the terminology associated with Bible translating. They will situate selected versions and translators within their historical, social, cultural, political, and religious contexts. Students will take note of distinctive features of Jewish and Christian versions (for the latter, we distinguish between Protestant and Roman Catholic translations). They will learn how to identify and evaluate differing styles of translation within the context of Biblical Studies and from the wider perspective of Translation Studies.
Students will also become sensitive to the nuances of different contemporary English versions and will come to recognize how important these differences, when taken as a whole, can be to discussions of topics such as the environment, gender, and war.
This course will count toward the Theology guideline.
HRS 338 Sources and Methods: Research in the Writing of Poetry
Professor Susan Aizenberg (TR 11:00)
Research – into history, biography, science, and many other areas of knowledge – often plays a central role in the creation of poetry. In this course you will explore that role by studying the work of published poets and the basic elements of poetic craft and researching and composing your own original poetry. Be prepared for lots of reading, research, writing, and discussion. No previous experience in writing poetry is required
This course will count toward the literature or fine arts guideline.
HRS 348 Sources and Methods: Pictures and Words: The Structure and Craft of the Visual Book
Michael Flecky, S.J. (TR 6:00)
A Sources and Materials Course in the Honors Curriculum, “Pictures and Words” will introduce the student to the history and fine art of photographic materials in books and visual design, as well as present an introductory studio arts course in the hands-on creation of visual books using photographic materials, media images and written text.
This course satisfies the fine arts guideline for the Honors Curriculum.
The goal of the course: understanding and appreciation of the art of photography and visual images as a form of personal artistic expression in the history and craft of illustrated books.
The four learning objectives:
- an introduction to the history of illuminated and illustrated books, particularly those which represent photographic art
- an introduction to the historic materials and technical craft of film-based photographic images
- representation of personal experience through contemporary image-making and personal writing
- practice of hands-on bookmaking technique
This course will count toward the fine arts guideline.
HRS 349 Sources and Methods: Two Philosophical Perspectives
Professor Jeffrey Hause (MWF 11:30)
This course compares philosophies that treat the same issues from instructively different perspectives. Students will learn how different philosophical methods influence the articulation and resolution of problems, and how different conceptual apparatus enable philosophers to engage the same problems differently. This term, we will consider Thomas Aquinas and Adam Smith on moral psychology and moral virtue.
Thomas Aquinas and Adam Smith might seem an odd pairing. Aquinas is best known as the pre-eminent theologian of the Scholastic Era, while Smith’s fame stems from his seminal work in classical liberal economic theory of the Enlightenment. Nevertheless, if we turn to their ethical writings, we find that their differences rest on a common vision of the centrality of virtue in ethics. This course will explore Aquinas’s and Smith’s virtue ethics with a particular emphasis on the moral psychology each develops as the foundation of that virtue ethics.
This course will count toward the philosophy guideline.
Spring 2012 Honors Course Schedule
Foundational Sequence Courses:
- Honors Foundational Sequence II: The Rise of the West - HRS101 - A - Dr. Jeffrey Hause - MWF 10:30 - 11:20
- Honors Foundational Sequence II: The Rise of the West - HRS101 - B - Dr. John O'Keefe - MWF 11:00 - 12:15
Sources and Methods Courses:
- Sources and Methods: Imagination to Invention - HRS315 - Dr. Robert Snipp - TR 12:30 - 13:45
- Sources and Methods: Cosmology and Our Evolving Understanding of the Universe - HRS 320 - Dr. Gintaras Duda - MWF 11:30 - 12:20
- Sources and Methods: Modeling Global Issues - HRS 342 - Dr. John Mordeson - TR 12:30 - 12:45
- Sources and Methods: Stoics in Film and Literature - HRS 347 - Dr. William Stephens - MW 11:00 - 12:15
- Sources and Methods: Pictures and Words: The Visual Book - HRS 348 - Michael Flecky, S.J. - T 18:00 - 19:15
- Directed Independent Research - HRS497
Honors Program Course Offerings
Honors Foundational Sequence
HRS100/HFSI: Beginning of the Christian Intellectual Tradition
HRS101/HFSII: The Rise of the West
HRS200/HFSIII: The Modern World
Honors Sources and Methods Courses (SAMs)
HRS302: Research in the Writing of Poetry
HRS301: The Epistemology of Political Science
HRS303: Fuzzy Math Logic
HRS304: Noncitizens in Democratic Athens
HRS305: Intelligence - Multiple Perspectives
HRS306: Organization Learning: Finding Your Place in the World
HRS307: Writing Our Lives: Identity and Culture in Personal Writing
HRS308: The Theology of Medieval Women
HRS309: Philosophy and Economics: Method and Horizon of Discourse
HRS310: Metaphysics of Film
HRS311: Graph Theory
HRS312: Gödel, Escher, Bach
HRS313: European Literary Modernism
HRS314: This View of Life - Evolutionary Biology
HRS315: Imagination to Invention
HRS316: American Identity in the World
HRS317: European Metropolis 1900
HRS318: Animals, Persons, and Ethics
HRS319: The Psychology of Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Intergroup Conflict
HRS320: Cosmology and our Evolving Understanding of the Universe
HRS321: The Age of the Samurai
HRS322: The Catholic Church and Latin America
HRS324: Classics of Social Theory: Positivism and its Discontents
HRS325: Evolution and Human Behavior
HRS326: Gender in Classical Antiquity
HRS327: Greek Tragedy: Texts, Contexts, and Subtexts
HRS328: Critical Perspectives of Disability and Society
HRS329: In Search of the Promised Land: Religion and Place in America
HRS330: Christian and Jewish Theology after the Holocaust
HRS331: Representations of Piracy from 1600 to the present
HRS332: Thugs, Preps, and Playas: Critical approaches to Masculinities
HRS333: The Renaissance Artist
HRS334: Green Chemistry and Sustainability
HRS335: Not Lost in Translation: What goes into a Translation of the Bible and what we can take out of it
HRS336: The Theory, Method, and Art of Autoethnography
HRS337: Musicology and Difference: Gender and Sexuality in Music Scholarship
HRS338: Research in Writing Poetry
HRS339: The Age of Augustus
HRS340: Green Cultural Studies: Nature, Space and Bodies in Postmodern Culture
HRS341: History and Future of the Book
HRS342: Modeling Global Issues
HRS344: The Literature of Mysticism
HRS345: The World and Writings of St. Augustine
HRS347: Stoics in Film and Literature
HRS348: Pictures and Words: The Visual Book
HRS399: The Scottish Enlightenment
HRS497: Directed Independent Research