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.

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.

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.