Fall Semester 2008

HON 1101 The Literature of Social Change

4 creditsDr. Thomas MorganAD: Interdisciplinary Studies (IDS)

TR 2:00-3:40 p.m.

This class introduces students to a variety of perspectives and attitudes toward social change.Students will read classic and contemporary works and hear from local activists who devote a significant amount of their time working for change.Students will read several genres-fiction, autobiography, political philosophy, and propaganda.They will be encouraged to adopt a critical and skeptical attitude toward what they read and hear.

HON 1111, Sec. 1 The Responsible Self:Brave New Words -
Dark Visions of the Human Condition

2 creditsDr. Thomas MorganMeets Fall Dignitas RequirementR Noon-1:40 p.m.

We will read classic and contemporary novels that describe distressing possibilities for our future. We will read these novels critically and perhaps compare them to recent non-fiction social and political commentary. We will read three novels/semester and watch a couple of films. The course sequence includes considerable class discussion, regular short reflection papers and two short text-based papers.

HON 1111, Sec. 2 The Responsible Self:Slavery, Freedom, and Human Dignity

2 creditsDr. Randall PooleMeets Fall Dignitas RequirementR Noon-1:40 p.m.

This course is a comparative cultural history of slavery and abolition, with emphasis on slavery in the Americas.The course will explore the role of slavery in the making of western societies, giving particular attention to the long coexistence of slavery with the cultural values of freedom and human dignity.Why was this contradiction tolerated for so long (or not even recognized), how were religious and philosophical beliefs used to justify slavery, and what finally led to abolition?We will learn about the great abolitionist movements and the religious, literary, and philosophical ideas that inspired them.We will also strive to appreciate the ways in which freedom itself developed out of the experience of slavery.About half of the course will be devoted to the history of slavery in the United States, its abolition, and its legacy in the continuing struggle for freedom and human dignity.

HON 2100Great Ideas of Science

4 creditsDr. Paul SteinAD:IDSTR 10:00-11:40 p.m.

Popular science texts covering The Big Bang Theory, relativity, quantum mechanics, particle physics, evolution, genetics, and Chaos Theory will be read and discussed.Discussions will focus on investigating the scientific method; distinguishing between fact, theory, speculation, and belief; critiquing and judging the accuracy of different explanations for the same events/observations; and considering the implications of scientific theory on philosophical though, e.g., What does science have to say about determinism and free will?

HON 2777The Art of Recycling

2 creditsDr. Patrician HagenAD:08F 9:15-11:15

In this disposable culture, what can be done with the mountains of stuff people no longer want or need (if they ever needed it)?In this 2-credit class, we'll take on the challenge of making beautiful and/or useful things out of no-longer-loved stuff:grocery bags, old clothes, scratched CDs, pieces of dead electronics--whatever we can find to incorporate.This is a studio art class.Readings will present design principles and also some environmental ideas; students will be expected to work on their projects out of class as well as in class.The capstone will be an art show for the CSS community.

HON 2850Irish and Italian Film

4 creditsDr. Patricia Hagen, Dr. Thomas ZelmanAD:IDS

M 5:30-8:00 p.m., WF 11:45-12:50 p.m. (all of these times must be available to take the class)

Italian film since WWII has depicted Italy's complete wartime devastation, its economic recovery in the 1960s, and the ways in which men and women see one another.The Irish film industry, slower in developing, has depicted Ireland's turbulent past, its political troubles, its joyful sense of being human, and the ways in which men and women see one another.Students in this course will watch films produced in both countries to gain a full sense of how filmmakers have transformed national culture into artistic vision.

HON 37771968:40th Anniversary

4 creditsDr. Edward SmithAD:IDSMW 3:30-5:10 p.m.

It's hard to believe that so many things happened in just one year:The Tet Offensive/Vietnam war, anti-war movement, Democratic National Convention protests, assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., summer Olympics in Mexico City, cold war developments, election of Richard Nixon and the 3rd party candidacy of George Wallace, the Civil Rights Movement and the emergence of Black Panthers, space program, Prague Spring.Using the text 1968: The Year that Rocked the World," by Mark Kurlansky, students will thoroughly examine the events of 1968.In addition to the text, we will involve guest speakers, outside readings, and many other mass media sources (films, television documentaries, popular music recordings, etc.) to give students an in-depth look at that momentous year.

HON 4500Gods and Monsters:Religion, the Supernatural, and Youth Culture

4 creditsDr. C. Neal KeyeAD:IDSTR 10:00-11:40 a.m.

This course explores the turn to religion, the supernatural, and youth concerns in American popular culture since the early 1990s.Whether one examines the hit TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel or enormously popular films such as The Matrix trilogy, and Dogma, there has been a virtual explosion of angels, monsters, vampires, and aliens in American film, TV, and literature.Beginning with a critical and historical look at some of the precursors to the recent aesthetic and cultural articulations of religion and the supernatural - from Mary Shelley's 19^th century "gothic" novel Frankenstein to the horror films of James Whales in the 1930s and 1940s - we will raise questions about the contemporary fascination with the supernatural alongside path-breaking work in the history of religions, media studies, and cultural studies.

HON 4777Strangers in Their Own Land

4 creditsDr. Diane KesslerAD:01 WIT 4:00-7:00 p.m.

What happens to people when they are suddenly conquered or colonized by an outside group? Africa, Quebec and Vietnam are three examples of cultures that have developed under the heavy hand of an outside authority.This course will examine both the theory of colonization and then examples of its consequences in the literature of these areas of the world. Students will have the opportunity to argue the merits of colonization and to research other areas not covered in the course (such as India and Latin America).

HON 4888Thesis

0-4 creditsTalk with faculty member you want to supervise your project.

HON 4999Independent Study

0-4 creditsTalk with faculty member you want to supervise your project.

Spring Courses(Tentative Schedule)

HON 1112Sec. 1 And Dignity for All

2 creditsDr. Thomas MorganFulfills Spring Dignitas Requirement
R Noon-1:40 p.m.

HON 1112Sec. 2 And Dignity for All

2 creditsDr. Randall PooleFulfills Spring Dignitas Requirement
R Noon-1:40 p.m.

HON 3350Psychology of Human Sexuality

2 creditsDr. Debra SchroederAD:02
TR 2:00-3:40 p.m., March 17-May 7

This course will involve reading and discussing the psychology literature on selected, often controversial, topics in human sexuality.Subjects include evolutionary psychology and mate selection, love styles and classifications, unlovely feelings such as jealousy, correlates of sexual orientation, the church and sexuality, contraceptives, resolving unwanted pregnancies, impact of pornography on sexual aggression, atypical sexual behavior, realities and politics of child sexual abuse, and sex therapy.The course will emphasize the interactions between psychological factors and other influences -- biological, social, cultural, religious -- on sexual attitudes and behavior, and the study of sexuality as a scientific discipline.

HON 3666Psychology of Religion and Belief

4 creditsDr. Darryl DietrichAD:IDSMWF 1:00-2:05 p.m.

The classical and modern psychological theories of belief, focusing on religious belief and on the evolutionary/cognitive basis of belief, will be addressed in this course.Exploration of issues such as:how we believe, why people believe in god(s), the psychological needs that faith satisfies, the reasons why people differ in the ways they express and satisfy those needs, and what it is about the certainty of belief that leads to proselytizing, persecution, or feeling threatened by the beliefs of others.Seminar format and application of empirically supported theory and concepts through projects.See 2007-2009 Undergraduate Catalog for pre-requisites.

HON 3777Contemporary Social Issues

4 creditsSr. Edith Bogue, Ph.D.AD:02 WITR 2:00-3:40 p.m.

How are "social issues" created from the fabric of social life?Students in this course investigate the social construction of problems, gain knowledge of up-to-the-minute issues, and develop competence with the ideas and methods of social analysis.Students evaluate existing social analyses, use empirical data and sociological theories to formulate their own positions, and practice communicating those positions in written and oral form.Issues prominent in the news will be studied, including social inequalities (race, gender, poverty, and globalization) and social institutions (family, corporations, government, and corrections).Writing intensive (analysis, position, and research papers).Prerequisite:junior or senior status.

HON 4777Sec. 1 Earth Theologies

4 creditsSr. Katherine McLaughlin, Ph.D.AD:IDSTR 10:00-11:40 a.m.

A complete description is not yet available, but the course willcombine some ecofeminism, creation theologies, and indigenous religious systems.

HON 4777Sec. 2Poetry Movements:Theory and Practice

4 creditsMr. Ryan VineAD:IDSMW 3:30-5:10 p.m.

Students will study selected movements in poetry (both historical and contemporary) and write and workshop original poems in the vein of each particular movement.We will look at the Beats, the Imagists, Concrete Poetry, Confessional Poetry, the Surrealists and Slam poets, to name a few.

HON 4888Thesis

0-4 creditsTalk with faculty member you want to supervise your project.

HON 4999Independent Study

0-4 creditsTalk with faculty member you want to supervise your project