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Home > Curriculum > Course Descriptions > Fall 2002 Newsletter
Fall 2002 NewsletterCalendar |
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Colloquium CALENDAR (Back to Top) September 23-24 September 25-27 September 30 — Monday October 11 — Friday November 11 November 18 — 27 November 28 — 29 December 6 — Friday December 9 - 13 December 12 — Thursday WELCOME TO CLARK HONORS COLLEGE (Back to Top) The Robert D. Clark Honors College faculty and staff welcome
our new and continuing students to the 2002-2003 academic year.
We hope that you will take full advantage of the many resources
available to you at Clark Honors College. We encourage you to
meet with your CHC Faculty Advisor often with questions about
current and future coursework and graduation requirements. Graduates
of Clark Honors College have told us that regular meetings with
their advisors made a positive difference in their academic careers.
If you have non-academic questions, please feel free to visit
the CHC Office staff in Chapman 320. LITERATURE (Back to Top) HC 101H 4 Credits HONORS COLLEGE LITERATURE The texts are The Odyssey, Sophocles I, Plato's Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito, The Aeneid, Hildegard’s "The Order of the Virtues" and Dante's Divine Comedy. Through these, we will study changing models of heroes, such as Odysseus, Penelope, Oedipus, Antigone, Socrates, Aeneas, Hildegard’s Soul, Dante the Wanderer. We will give attention to reading the poetic or prose texts closely, to some of the larger controversies raised by these great works, as well as to the continuing conflict between political and private commitments — as dramatized by the epics, plays, dialogues and stories. We will also look at some current literary criticism, particularly with regard to the theme of male/female roles, and the way the traditionally suppressed voice of marginalized people becomes recognized. The major emphasis of the class will be on discussion — the more debate the better. There will be three short papers and a journal (a chance to explore your responses to the literature in a more informal context). Professor Henry Alley
HC 101H 4 Credits HONORS COLLEGE LITERATURE How should we live and what should we value? Some of the greatest (and worst!) minds in history have attempted to answer this question, none definitively. Yet it must be answered, both by each of us individually and by communities. In this course we will be examining how writers from Ancient Greece to Renaissance Italy created epics, plays, and dialogues, that confronted the most difficult issues of living together as human beings. We will consider these works from a variety of perspectives: in terms of the ancient forms and ideals they promoted, and in terms of their legacy, both positive and negative Texts will include The Odyssey (Homer), the "Apology" and "Crito" (Plato), The Oresteia (Euripides), selections from The Aeneid (Virgil), and The Inferno (Dante). Class time will focus on discussion based on careful reading. There will be three short papers (2-5 pages), ungraded exercises, both in and out of class, a mid-term, and a final exam. Professor Sharon Schuman
HC 101H 4 Credits HONORS COLLEGE LITERATURE This course will cover a selection of ancient and early medieval texts. We will explore literary genres, use of literary language, ethical and moral issues, and social, cultural, and religious questions. We will explore how these texts provide and undermine the traditional interpretations brought to bear on them. We will also explore questions of canon formation, and ask what makes a book "great" or "classic." Readings to include: Book of Job, Virgil’s Aeneid, Homer’s Odyssey, Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Euripides’ Iphigenia at Aulis, Irish Myths and Legends and Dante’s Inferno. Films to include: Michael Cacoyannis’ Iphigenia in Aulis, Pasolini’s Oedipus, and Peter Greenaway’s The Divine Comedy. Students will be required to write three short papers (3-5 pages) and take a final exam. There will also be other in-class writing assignments. Class will consist of some lecture, large and small discussion groups, with an emphasis on close textual analysis. Professor Helen Southworth
HC 101H 4 Credits HONORS COLLEGE LITERATURE This term we will be studying primarily the genre of Poetry, while simultaneously studying the development of literature (mostly but not exclusively Western) from the ancient Period to the Middle Ages. During this time we will also study the different types of heroes and heroines each culture produces–and if there are significant differences based on gender. Works studied will include narrative poetry (epics, romances), dramatic poetry (classical Greek drama) and lyric poetry (Sappho and Omar Khayyám). There will be three papers (3-5 pages each) required or two papers and a literary journal kept all term. No midterm, but an essay final. Additionally, one or two "plus, check, minus" ungraded small assignments (writing six epic lines, for example) will be required as well. Texts follow: Narrative poetry (Epics): Homer — The Iliad; Virgil — The Aeneid ; Anonymous — Beowulf; Wu Ch’eng-en — Journey to the West (Chinese mixed lyric and narrative epic); Anonymous — Roman de Silence (Romance) Dramatic poetry (Greek tragedy) Euripides — Hekabe Lyric poetry (Greek) Collected Poems of Sappho; (Persian) The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám Class will be a mixture of lecture/discussion with large class discussion alternating with small group discussion using guided open-ended discussion questions Professor Frances Cogan
HISTORY (Back to Top) HC 107H 4 Credits HONORS COLLEGE HISTORY This is an introductory course covering the ancient and medieval world. The course will examine the origins of the pillars of Western civilization in a world historical context. Thus, we will study the culture of ancient Israel as preserved in the Hebrew Bible and in the context of the civilizations of the Near East, the political philosophical heritage of classical Greece and Rome, as well as the emergence of Western Christendom from the fall of Rome to the early Middle Ages. References to and comparisons with the civilizations of India and China further east will be made throughout the course to give us a world historical perspective as we trace the early beginnings of the making of the West. We will focus on how each civilization sought answers to the perennial question of man's relationship with his fellows in society, inquired into the nature of the divine, and created political structures in an effort to obtain stability and power. The greater part of the course will be organized around primary sources, which we will analyze and discuss, asking ourselves what is peculiar to each civilization and what is common to humanity. In the course of the quarter, we will hone our skills in evaluating textual evidence while we try to develop sympathy and understanding for an era and a culture that are not our own. Professor Gloria Tseng HC 107H 4 Credits HONORS COLLEGE HISTORY This course will unfold the layers of political and cultural history around two literary classics in the European tradition, Augustine's The City of God and Christine de Pisan's The Book of the City of Ladies. Our goal is to understand each work as an expression of European history and human culture. Consequently, we will need to explore both the specific historical contexts of these works and their relationship to works of similar subject matter in additional historical settings. Wu Cheng-en's novel Journey to the West and The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki will be our cross-societal reference points for this study. Selections from historical and contemporary sources will illuminate these core texts. Throughout, our goal will be to develop skills for thinking both historically and comparatively. Professor Roxann Prazniak
HC 107H 4 Credits HONORS COLLEGE HISTORY This course examines, through lecture and discussion, the history of Western and Non-Western cultures from the civilizations of the Mediterranean and Middle East through the rise of Western Europe in the high Middle Ages. Subjects of special interest include the history of religion, social institutions, government, and culture, foremost the Crusades. With recourse to reading and discussion of original texts, including art and architecture, this class offers an opportunity to think through the process of historical development and the corollary development of the history of ideas. Requirements for the course include two in-class essay assignments, a 4-6 page essay, and a comprehensive final examination. Professor Elizabeth McCartney
HC 107H 4 Credits HONORS COLLEGE HISTORY In this course, we will explore the origins of Western civilization from the earliest human societies in the Near East to the culture of Europe in the early middle ages. We will examine evolution within European societies, but we will also work comparatively, looking at the diverse external influences, particularly from the Mediterranean, that helped shape what we know as Europe. Our themes will include contact, conflict, and cross-fertilization between civilizations. One set of aims will be to gain an understanding of each society we study: its political and legal institutions; its social order, including class and gender divisions; its economy and the division of labor; and its cultural forms. We will try to understand how people in these societies lived their daily lives, but we will also try to understand what each society held up as the "good life"-in religion, philosophy, politics, and art. Another set of aims will be to develop an appreciation for historical questions and methods. How and why do societies change and evolve? What constitutes historical evidence? What is important about the past? How does the past shape our present and our future? An important goal for this course is to develop the skills to articulate these questions-and answers to them-orally and in writing. Class meetings will be a combination of lecture and discussion. Discussions will be based on reading of primary materials. These readings will include: the Epic of Gilgamesh, selections from Plato's Republic, Thucydides' Peloponnesian War, Sophocles' Oedipus the King, the Bible, the Koran, and the Song of Roland. Professor André Lambelet
SCIENCE (Back to Top) HC 207H 4 Credits HONORS COLLEGE SCIENCE "Sex, Selfishness, And Genes" Humans are intensely social animals–and, in a sense, so are our genes. We aggregate in great crowds to celebrate and to mourn. Our genes combine and create an individual. We court, we fight, we jostle for power. Our genes cooperate or compete for dominance. Many of our social behaviors seem exceedingly odd, and approaches to understanding have ranged from mysticism to experimental psychology. A newly developed field of biology, sociobiology, applies a Darwinian model to animal behavior and reveals that much human behavior has deep evolutionary roots. Sex, selfishness, altruism, dominance and submission, nepotism, deceit, and parent-off-spring conflict can be observed in animals other than humans; insights gained in studying their behavior may illuminate our own habits and proclivities. While sociobiologists may posit that it is the individual or a kin group of related individuals that survives and reproduces or perishes without offspring, and thus is the unit subject to natural selection, other biologists argue that it is the gene or a group of related genes that is the fundamental unit of selection. They propose that an organism is just the manifestation of and vehicle for the expression of the genes, and that genes may compete with one another, even to the detriment of their host, in the struggle for existence. Recent research has demonstrated, for example, that the genes of the sperm and egg battle to suppress one other when they first unite to form a new individual. We will examine historical and current theories on social behavior, investigate the results of experiments in animal and human behavior and genetics, and perform experiments and observations on social behavior. This course is designed for non-science majors. No background in physics, chemistry, biology, or mathematics is required. Students will write two papers and give one oral presentation. Open book exams. There will be two 1_-hour lectures and one lab period per week. Professor Dennis Todd
HC 211H 4 Credits HONORS COLLEGE INTRODUCTION TO EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY This course covers the "first half" of introductory psychology. This means you'll get an introduction to research methods in psy-chology and an introduction to what is known about perception, memory, learning, thinking, and cognition. How do we perceive the world? How do we learn? What do we know about human memory? Does language impact thinking? There is a lot of content to cover, so I'll lecture fairly often. We'll have a text book in addition to a course pack-et. In addition to covering content, this course em-phasizes thinking critically about research and the-ory. We'll have in-class and on-line discussion a-bout the ways psychologists gain knowledge, and we'll debate the significance and applicability of that knowledge. There will be tests and short essays on a weekly basis. You'll also have a chance to explore a topic in-depth through your term project, and then you will have the opportunity to share your new knowledge with the class. This course is a lot of work, but if you are interested in human behavior and the way the mind works, I think you'll find the material fascinating. Professor Jennifer Freyd
HONORS COLLEGE COLLOQUIUM (Back to Top) HC 408H 4 Credits Professor James Schombert HONORS COLLEGE COLLOQUIUM Cosmology, the study of the formation and evolution of the Universe, has progressed from its origins in early man's ideas of Nature, to Chinese and Greek worldviews, to Dante's vision of Heaven and Hell, to Newton's Clockwork Universe. Today, cosmology has entered a Golden Age with the launch of numerous space telescopes and development of technology that allows us to study the echo of the Big Bang. In addition to exploring the processes behind the origin of spacetime and matter, the science of cosmology has also expanded to resolve a number of philosophical and theological issues, such as Creation (i.e. Genesis 1:1) and the anthropic principle. This course is a historical and philosophical review of our cosmological worldview from mythical times to modern science. We will explore topics in the geometry of the Universe, expanding spacetime and the Big Bang, dark matter, black holes and wormholes, quarks and mesons, galaxies and quantum physics. Our goal is to provide the student with a summary of our current understanding of astrophysics as it relates to the structure of the Universe and what topics remain to be explored in the 21st century. The material is presented without complex mathematics, but an understanding of algebra is required.
HC 408H 4 Credits "Philosophical Thinking" This course will address some of the central topics in the Western philosophical tradition, focusing on issues about the nature of justice, the good life, and place of rationality in envisioning both. We will begin by focusing on some of the key ideas of the Greeks, with specific reference to Plato and Aristotle, and then move on to more modern concerns. We will read both primary and secondary works; special emphasis will be placed on developing philosophical skills of reasoning and reflection. Professor Cheyney Ryan
HC 408H 4 Credits HONORS COLLEGE COLLOQUIUM Some of the most beautiful poetry in the German language has become celebrated throughout the world in its most popular form, that of the Lied, or German Art Song. Are you interested in poetry and what it tells us about a society's culture, history, and politics? Are you drawn to music and want to learn more about the short compositions of some of the best known German and Austrian composers? This course offers an in-depth examination of selected Lieder (German Art Songs) and their respective poets and composers, such as Goethe, Heine and Eichendorff, and Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, and Wolf. The course is designed for students from all disciplines. An elementary knowledge of the German language and the basics of music suggested, but not required. In addition to readings, lectures and discussion, the class will listen to selected recordings and attend performances. Professor Ann Tedards
WORLD PERSPECTIVES (Back to Top) HC 415H 4 Credits WORLD PERSPECTIVES Protection of the environment was originally considered to be a matter of policy — to be adopted and implemented BY governments. On the other hand, the field of human rights has long been considered to be a matter of protecting civil and political rights FROM governments. Today a new movement at the international level and in some national systems seeks to link environment and human rights. This movement is asking for recognition of a "right to a safe and healthy environment" at international and national levels, and for protection of environmental advocates. It uses the language of traditional human rights but the goals of environmental policy. Dr. Svitlana Kravchenko will spend two years at the University as Carlton Savage Visiting Professor in International Relations and Peace. She taught environmental law for fifteen years in the Soviet Union and ten years in a newly independent Ukraine. Eight years ago she founded the first public-interest law firm in Ukraine with her graduate students and for 5 years she has served as a "citizen diplomat" in international United Nations negotiations. The course will require original research in libraries and the Internet, regular class attendance, active participation, and a substantial research paper. Students choosing to write their Senior Thesis on a topic related to the course can use the course paper as their Chapter One. It is contemplated that Juniors who enroll in the course and complete it satisfactorily may become "Program Associates" for the remaining period of the 2002-2004 Savage Professorship program, "Human Rights for All." Professor Svitlana Kravchenko
CURRICULUM CHANGES (Back to Top) Beginning with the Winter 2003 term, the following curriculum changes will go into effect. Literature Sequence New Literature Sequence History Sequence New History Sequence HC Colloquium New Colloquia If you have any questions about your course-work, or how these changes will affect your graduation requirements, please contact your CHC Faculty Advisor.
SEMINARS (Back to Top) HC 407H 2 Credits HC 407H 2 Credits HC 407H 2 Credits PASS/NO PASS ATTENDANCE MANDATORY SENIOR THESIS SEMINAR Students will spend a majority of their time in the seminar polishing their prospectuses and then participating in a mock oral examination. Before enrolling in the seminar, students should have done the following: 1. Chosen a primary thesis advisor from your major department or school, 2. Have a rough draft of your prospectus, following the guidelines in the Clark Honors College Thesis Manual, 3. Consulted with your primary thesis advisor on possible second readers from your major department, and 4. Completed the Application for Enrollment in Senior Seminar form and turn it in to the CHC Office well in advance of the start of the registration period in order to be pre-authorized for the class. The seminar will begin with two weeks of instructions and aid in polishing prospectuses. The majority of the term will involve oral presentations by all students with the primary thesis advisor present.
OPEN-ENDED COURSES (Back to Top) If you wish to take an open-ended course, as listed below, please follow these steps.
Please note that the open-ended courses are subject to the same deadlines as all other courses. HC 403H CRN 12217 Variable Credits HC 405H CRN 12218 Variable Credits HC 406H CRN 12219 Variable Credits HC 409H CRN 12226 Variable Credits |
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