Fall 2007
Bascom Honors Program Course Descriptions
HONR 260H Honors Colloquium 4 Sundays
7:00-8:30, dates TBA
Students attend three of four presentations
ADAH 206H Interpreting World Art: Symbols, Magic and
Myth MW 12:15-1:30
Dr. Todd Brenningmeyer Fulfills Fine
Arts or Elective Requirement
This course surveys the visual representations of myths and the use of
symbols in art from the Paleolithic period to the present. The course examines
the topic from a global perspective and investigates the use of symbols across
a variety of cultures and time periods. Students gain an understanding of how
images manipulate and define or re-define mythologies and how meanings are
embedded within visual culture. The course is designed to provide students
with no previous background in art or art history with the knowledge and
ability to read and comprehend meaning within works of art from western and
non-western cultures.
ENGL 204H-H1 Writing and American
Rhetoric TTh 12:15:1:30
Prof. Bebe Nickolai Fulfills
Communication Skills or Elective Requirement
This honors seminar is designed to help students develop their skills in
writing argumentative essays. Students will examine the American rhetorical
tradition in texts ranging from sermons of the Great Awakening to recent
Presidential addresses. These texts will serve as models as students write
arguments demonstrating their knowledge of rhetorical strategies. Through a
variety of written assignments, students will discover their own most
effective voices as writers
ENGL/HUM 206H-H1 Monsters in Literature and Film. MW
10:40-12:05.
Dr. Jesse Kavadlo
Fulfills Humanities or Elective Requirement
Monsters are everywhere. Almost all of the highest grossing movies revolve
around them (Lord of the Rings trilogy, Harry Potter films) or
their science fiction counterparts (dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, aliens
in Star Wars, Independence Day, ET, and Men in Black,
mutants in X-Men). They’re in romances (Ghost), thrillers (The
Sixth Sense, Pirates of the Caribbean), and children’s movies (Shrek,
Monsters, Inc., Casper). Sometimes, the monsters are even
people (Silence of the Lambs, Monster, Gods and Monsters)!
They scare us, entertain us, festoon our cereal boxes, and teach our kids to
count. But what explains our fascination, or our ambivalence? This course
will look at some of these influential works—Bram Stoker’s Dracula,
Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Oscar Wilde’s Picture of Dorian Gray—some
of their film adaptations, and recent revisionism by authors such as Anne Rice
and Octavia Butler. In doing so, we will pay careful attention to these
stories’ origins, contexts, and implications—about nature, humanity, the body,
gender, and the way people see themselves and others.
ENGL/REL 209H Religious Issues in Literature
MW 9:25 – 10:40
Dr. Germaine Murray Fulfills
Humanities or Elective Requirement
Students will examine and respond to literature produced by various
cultural perspectives in order to understand and appreciate the role of
religious issues in that literature, particularly the relationship between
religion and cultural identity, cultural conflict, tradition, and questions
about faith.
GEOG 297H-H1 Myths and Folklore of North America TTh
10:50-12:05
Professor Carol Radford Fulfills
Social Science or Elective Requirement
Americans don’t have to worry about Zeus, Apollo and Wotan thundering
through the skies. We have our own mythology, folklore, legends and tall
tales, which are every bit as interesting and colorful as those from the Old
World. This class explores the different facets of American mythology and
folklore, including Native American tales, mythical heroes, historical
figures, African influences, cowboys, ghost stories, tall tales and urban
legends and discusses what our mythology and folklore tells us about
ourselves, our history and the meaning of life.
HIST 203H-H1 Civil War Era
TTh 1:40-2:55
Dr. Linda Pitelka
Fulfills History or Elective Requirement
Students in the seminar will examine the era of the American Civil War and
Reconstruction (1850-1868) with emphasis on the years from 1861-1865. The
course combines readings, slides, handouts, music, website, and films to study
the causes of the war, the war itself, and the aftermath, known as
Reconstruction. Students are exposed through primary source materials and
media to the sheer drama and tragedy of the conflict. By this method, they
appreciate emotionally, and intellectually, exactly how the war affected both
ordinary and prominent Americans living in the period. The objective is to
help students learn about the vast scope and the long-lived consequences of
this bloody conflict in all of its dimensions social, cultural, military,
political, and economic.
PSYCH 202H-H1 Thinking Like a Social Scientist MW
3:05-4:20
Dr. Judy McGee
Fulfills Social Science, Elective
Requirement
Psychology is a fascinating area! Because it deals with human behavior, a
number of people believe that they already know psychology, so why take a
course. After all, one is human and knows a quite a few other humans!
But psychology, as a social science, approaches human behavior is a specific
way, through theory and then testing of those theories. In this class, we
learn about those methods and see what biases may enter the research process.
Once research is completed, however, the information is reported in the
popular media, such as the print media, TV, and websites. But how accurate and
credible are these repots and interpretations? In this seminar, we learn how
to become more educated consumers of all the psychological information that
comes our way everyday. Through written assignments and class discussions,
student practice evaluating information and thinking like a social scientist.
Hopefully, students learn that there are no simple solutions for complex
social problems.
SOC 203H-H1 Global Society: the East-West
Connection—
Cultural Exchanges between East Asia and the U.S.
MW 1:40-2:55
Dr. Vicki Holtzapple Fulfills
Social Science or Elective Requirement
Do you drive a Korean Hyundai, do T’ai Chi exercises or
watch Japanese anime? Have you ever thought about floating down the Li
River in China, climbing Mt. Fuji in Japan, or skiing in Mt. Seoraksan
National Park in Korea? Are you interested in learning about East Asian
traditional medicine, Buddhism, or the martial arts? Do you like to eat Korean
Bar-B-Q, Chinese pot stickers, or Japanese sushi?
Chances are you already have come in contact with some
aspect of East Asian culture in several areas of your life, as cultural
exchanges take place on a daily basis, directly or indirectly. The same thing
is true in East Asia, where American movies, cars, sports and food are
becoming increasingly popular. Exchanges in trade, tourism, the arts, food,
medicine and religion are all part of our global lifestyle. Americans are
traveling, engaging in business, working and studying in China, Korea and
Japan, while people from these countries are also coming here. Today you can
get on the Internet and communicate with people in East Asian countries almost
instantly without leaving your home.
In this class we will explore the roots and extent of
cultural contact and exchanges in more depth and discuss their impact on both
American and East Asian lifestyles, technology, economies, politics,
perceptions, and values. We also will look at both potential positive and
negative repercussions of such accelerated culture contact. Each student will
be asked to explore various exchanges in one of the three East Asian countries
and to plan a simulated trip to that country for some specific purpose.
Hopefully, each student can connect either directly or through the Internet
with a student in the country that they are studying, find out what aspects of
our society are influencing them and what interests or concerns them about us.
