Fall 2008

Bascom Honors Program Course Descriptions

HONR 260H-H1 Honors Colloquium       4 Sunday evening events;
schedule to be announced

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 1:40-2:55
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 writer.

ENGL/HUM 200H-H1 Superheroes in Literature and Culture.  
TTh 10:50-12:05
Dr. Jesse Kavadlo                                    Fulfills: Humanities, Elective Requirement

 This course will look at the rise and development of one of twentieth-century America’s most prevalent figures, the superhero.  Revered in the 1930s, reviled in the 1950s, and respected at the box office today, the superhero raises questions about myth and archetype, media and rhetoric, gender construction, and political ideology.  We will examine the philosophical, cultural, and narrative problems that costumed heroes provoke by looking at the recent wave of superhero novels, films, and academic analyses, as well as by looking at comics and graphic novels themselves.  Texts may include Bradford Wright’s cultural history, Comic Book Nation; Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay; and Alan Moore’s revisionary hero rendering, the graphic novel Watchmen, among others.

ENGL/HUM   222H-H1           The Mystery of Language            
MW 9:25-10:40 
Dr. Johannes Wich-Schwarz         Fulfills Humanities or Elective Requirement

We speak and write every day, and yet language remains one of the greatest mysteries of our existence. Is it language that distinguishes humans from animals? Is it possible to trace the origins of human language? What is the relationship between speech and silence? Between language and experience? Between words and images? Between original and translation? What are the limits of language? Can we even define what language is? This interdisciplinary course will explore the mythological, philosophical, theological, linguistic, and literary dimensions of these and similar questions. Our readings will span 2500 years of reflections on language, from the Bible and Plato to contemporary inquiries. Along the way, we will encounter philosophers such as Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, and Heidegger, poets such as T. S. Eliot and Emily Dickinson, medieval mystics and modern linguists, and many other writers wrestling with the enigma of language. 

ENGL 223H-H1  Portraits of the American Landscape in Literature and Art     
 MW 10:50-12:05
Dr. Germaine Murray                       Fulfills: Humanities or Elective Requirement

 The course will consider portrayals of both natural landscape and the city in American Literature and art and how these portrayals tell us about American national identity, the American character, regional difference, and attitudes toward place and the natural environment. Literature and art from all major regions of the United States will be discussed.

HIST 206H H1                       The 1950s and 60s                
TTH 3:05-4:20
Dr. Linda Pitelka                  Fulfills History or Elective Requirement

 This seminar will integrate social, economic, political, and cultural history to explore the dramatic changes that occurred in the United States from the end of World War Two to the 1970s.  We will study a variety of events and people, but we will focus particular attention on two major themes of the period: the Cold War (both foreign and domestic) and the activities of various social movements (Civil Rights, Peace/Anti-war, Women’s).  We will attempt to understand how Americans viewed their times by examining a variety of primary and secondary sources and popular culture examples such as magazines, movies, television, and music.

PSCI 202H-H1 Honors Seminar on the 2008 Election                  
 TTh 4:30-5:45
Dr. Marshall King                                         Fulfills History or Elective Requirement

 Did you answer “Bart Simpson” when the history professor asked “what great American was born in Springfield?”  Do you think the presidents on Mt. Rushmore are named Larry, Moe, Curly and Shemp?  Still trying to figure out how George W. Bush got fewer votes than Al Gore and still got elected President?  Are you a political “junkie” looking for a “fix?”  Tired of being identified with the most politically inactive generation in all American history?  Or do you just want to expand your horizons?  Have we got a course for you!?!?  PSCI 202H Seminar on the 2008 Election looks at these momentous questions and many others. Its primary purpose is to provide students with a firm, sophisticated understanding of the manner in which America’s political leaders are selected for office, and the implications of this process for such larger concepts as justice and democracy.  More specifically the course will address two general objectives: (1) to identify and analyze several topics and ongoing controversies connected with the American election process, and (2) to apply the results of this analysis to the specific candidates, issues and controversies of the 2008 election.  Research projects and class presentations will be used to help you learn about how America chooses its leaders. 

PSYCH 202H-H1 Thinking Like a Social Scientist           
MW 3:05-4:20
Dr. Judy McGee                                Fulfills Social Science, Elective Requirement
                                                            Is the honors version of Psych 101

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.

SCI 207H-H1 Biomedical Politics                                                   
MW 1:40-2:55
Dr. Jeff Sich                                                  Fulfills: Science or Elective Requirement 

For decades, biomedical scientists have taken credit for the dramatic improvement in the practice of medicine and the accompanying improved health outcomes across many diseases and conditions. Examples include remarkable advances in coronary heart disease, declining mortality rates of cancer, improvements in the therapies for diabetes and improved treatment of cognitive decline and mental disorders. Because of our ever-increasing desire for improved health, pressure is mounting on our Nation’s biomedical research enterprise. This course will provide a framework for understanding the changing roles, ethical conflicts, and public perceptions of biomedical science and scientists in American society. Topics to be covered include the modern history of biomedical research, public support and sponsorship of biomedical research, and the responsibilities of scientists to society.