Honors Program Current Courses

COM 101: Human Communication (Three credit hours)

Section REHON:  MWF 1:00pm - 1:50pm     Dr. Dan O'Rourke

This course encompasses communication theory, interpersonal communication, small group communication and public speaking. Emphasis is placed on speaking, critical thinking, listening skills. Attention is also paid to nonverbal communication. Meets Core credit for communication.

PHIL 210: Philosophy of Human Nature (Three credit hours)

Section REHON:  MWF 12:00pm - 12:50pm     Dr. Louis Mancha

Many fields of inquiry traffic in a conception of some fixed essence of humanity, in which we all share. The idea of there being a human nature serves as a kind of Archimedean point from which we can learn to judge whether particular virtues possessed by this or that society represent the best life for us, given that essential human nature. What makes this a philosophical issue is precisely that there is disagreement among philosophers as to whether or not there is such a constant, and what the possessions of such a notion entails. Meets Core credit for humanities. 

BIO 110: Ecology and the Human Environment (Four credit hours)

Section REHON: MWF 9:00am - 9:50am AND M 2:00pm-3:50pm Professor Merrill Tawse

This course examines the characteristics of ecosystems, the ways in which they change with time, and the impact of human activities on those changes. Included in this will be the study of the science behind current issues such as biological resource management, pollution, and global climate change. Three lectures and one two-hour lab per week. This course does not count toward a biology major or minor. Offered each semester. Meets Core credit for natural sciences. 

HIST 112: Western Civilization (Three credit hours)

Section REHON: MWF 10:00am - 10:50am     Dr. Rene Paddags

This course will seek to answer the question What is civilization? by studying certain historical moments in the West-classical Greece, the Roman Republic, early Christianity, the High Middle Ages, and the Renaissance-in order to see the changes over time in politics, religion, society, economics, and culture and to realize the extent to which the present world has inherited these institutional and intellectual foundations of human life. Meets Core credit for historical reasoning.

MATH 208: Elementary Statistics (Three credit hours)

Section REHON: TTH 9:25am - 10:40am     Dr. Christopher Swanson

An introductory course designed to meet the needs of students in biology, business, economics, education, nursing, psychology, and sociology. Sample and theoretical frequency distributions, data dispersion and central tendency, estimation, hypothesis testing, correlation, and analysis of variance are topics studied. Meets Core credit for math/logic.

SOC 301: Race, Ethnic and Minority Issues (Three credit hours)

Section REHON: TTH 1:40pm - 2:55pm     Dr. Allyson Drinkard

The course will examine the interaction between the dominant and minority cultures particularly within the United States. Students will be introduced to a transnational perspective; exploring groups who have immigrated to the United States, but share a set of cultural values shaped by their homeland, especially in the areas of human interaction, social expectations, economics, religious and political movements. The concept of culture will be discussed in terms of both the majority culture, which provides the social framework that encourages assimilation and fusion, and the minority sub-culture that strives and struggles to maintain a sense of identity. The consequences of living in a multi-ethnic, multi-faith, and multi-cultural society will also be studied. Meets Core credit for social sciences. 

HON 310:  Honors Capstone Preparation Seminar (One credit hour):

W 11:00am - 11:50am OR TH 5:00 - 5:50pm     Dr. Jeffrey Weidenhamer

Prerequisite:  Enrollment in Honors Program; at least junior status or with permission from the Honors Program Director

The process of preparing a Capstone Project, including selecting a topic, choosing mentors, preparing a bibliography, constructing a written prospectus and outlining a timetable for completing the Capstone Project. This course is required for all juniors who plan to complete an Honors Capstone Project their senior year. This course may be taken by conference if there is a scheduling conflict. Graded S/U.

HON 390: Honors Interdisciplinary Seminar (Three credit hours):

M 6:30pm - 9:00pm

Dr. Jennifer Groman                       Creativity Theory

Dr. Stefan Swanson                        Aesthetic Considerations in Music for Film

Dr. William Vaughan                        Postmodernism in Theory

Professor Priscilla Roggenkamp     Textiles and Sustainability

Prerequisite: Enrollment in Honors Program; at least sophomore status.

A course devoted to various topics related to the Honors Program Mission of challenging the mind and participating in an intellectual community devoted to discussion and dialogue. Topics will be cross-disciplinary in nature, and the course may be team taught. Typically, the course will be tied to a study abroad opportunity in the spring semesters of odd-numbered years. May be repeated once with a different topic. Meets CCI credit when completing the course with the study away component and the corresponding CCI narrative.