Courses in the Honors College
Please note: this list is incomplete and will be updated with new information as it is received. If you have questions about the following courses, please contact honors@wsu.edu.
A wide variety of course topics are available to Honors College students. Please check back often, as changes may occur until the semester begins. Need an appointment with an Honors College advisor? Stop by the Honors College main office in Elmina White Honors Hall 130 or phone 509-335-4505. NOTE: Advising will be offered by email or telephone ONLY to students currently studying abroad.
Course descriptions are intended to provide general information about the scope of the class, the name of the faculty member teaching it, credits, and texts. All descriptions are posted as soon as possible the semester preceding so students can consider their options and plan accordingly with their Honors College academic advisor. Listings from previous semesters are located at the bottom of this page.
Spring 2018
ECONS 198.1 – 3 units
MWF 10:10am – 11:00am
Economics Honors
Instructor: P. Kuzyk
Prerequisite: Admitted to the Honors College. Enrollment in ECONS 198 is not allowed if credit has already been earned for ECONS 101 and 102. Introduction to economic theory and policy issues.
This is an introductory course that covers principles of both micro and macroeconomics. My goal is for the student to learn, rigorously, the economic concepts that are crucial for her to understand how our political-economic system works, and to build a framework for analyzing social issues that dominate today’s political dialogue. Proficiency in algebra and graphing is necessary for keeping up with the pace of the course. If you haven’t taken a Math class since Algebra I, wait until you’ve taken college Algebra before signing up for EconS 198.
ECONS 198.2 – 3 units
MWF 11:10am – 12:00pm
Economics Honors
Instructor: P. Kuzyk
Prerequisite: Admitted to the Honors College. Enrollment in ECONS 198 is not allowed if credit has already been earned for ECONS 101 and 102. Introduction to economic theory and policy issues.
This is an introductory course that covers principles of both micro and macroeconomics. My goal is for the student to learn, rigorously, the economic concepts that are crucial for her to understand how our political-economic system works, and to build a framework for analyzing social issues that dominate today’s political dialogue. Proficiency in algebra and graphing is necessary for keeping up with the pace of the course. If you haven’t taken a Math class since Algebra I, wait until you’ve taken college Algebra before signing up for EconS 198.
English 298.2 – 3 units
TuThu 9:10am – 10:25am
Science Fact, Science Fiction
Instructor: Leah Benedict
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student.
Human knowledge is transient. At every moment, scientific research is overturning older models of understanding. But while the scientific process is ongoing, most people receive only small glimpses into the way scientific paradigms are regularly theorized, constructed, and overturned. We cling to antiquated facts, unable to keep up with the rapid pace of discovery. Or, at times, we reject new information that might force us to give up our most cherished ideas. Any time that we pause our process of discovery to proclaim that something is just true, and any time that we fill the gaps of our evidence in with speculation, we inhabit the world of science fiction. In this course, we will be carefully examining the way that knowledge is created, and the channels by which it is distributed through our society. We’ll begin with “paleofantasies” of cavemen in perfect union with their environments, and popular depictions of dinosaurs that sustain “terrible lizards” rather than birdlike beings with feathers, lips, and gums. From there, we will examine the common myths surrounding human sexuality and reproduction. In the final section of the course, you will choose one example of an invented technology, and you will research its cultural life—not only its history of production, but also the hopes, promises, and fears that it generates.
English 298.6 – 3 units
TuThu 12:00 – 1:15pm
Writing and Research Honors: Nonhumans from A(nimals) to Z(ombies)
Instructor: Jon Hegglund
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student.
In English 298, you will develop your skills as a reader, researcher, and writer by working with materials in a number of disciplines that center on the topic and theme of the nonhuman. According to many thinkers and practitioners in the sciences, arts, and humanities, human beings are no longer thought of as the measure and meaning of all existence. Through research on human and animal cognition, environmental and climate processes, microbiology, molecular physics, and many other fields, the condition of “being human” is often now seen as a fragile, uncertain, contingent state undergoing constant transformation. And yet, for all of the importance now placed on nonhuman beings and forces, humans are still the species responsible for the complex languages, histories, and cultural institutions through which we understand and interpret the world. By looking at a few different types of nonhuman entities—animals, cyborgs, aliens, environments, and, yes, zombies—we will be able to consider how the boundaries between humans and nonhumans are constructed and maintained through a number of disciplines and systems of thought. Although we will spend most of our time on literature (including such authors as Virginia Woolf, Ursula Leguin, Franz Kafka, Jeff VanderMeer, Margaret Atwood, and Colson Whitehead) we will also consider the perspectives of film, neuroscience, philosophy, and ecology. Your work for the course will be oriented toward a research project in which you address some question or problem of a specific nonhuman entity through multidisciplinary perspectives.
English 298.7 – 3 units
MWF 2:10pm – 3pm
Writing and Research Honors
Instructor: Jacob Hughes
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student.
Have you ever wondered at the deeper meaning or significance of your favorite books, films, or pieces of music? Are you interested in literature, drama, mythology, or popular culture? Have you ever felt compelled – as Hildegard of Bingen once did – “to tell and write”?
In this class you’ll develop an interdisciplinary research topic of your choosing and sustain a semester-long scholarly conversation. Since research arguments shouldn’t exist in isolation, you’ll have the opportunity to actively engage with other members of your learning community in class, both through writing and presentational formats.
My own area of expertise is in medieval and Early Modern literature – Shakespeare and Chaucer more specifically – though inquiries and arguments concerning any aspect of the humanities are welcomed and encouraged. The idea here is for you to take the reins and drive research you’re passionate about.
English 298.8 – 3 units
MWF 1:10pm – 2pm
Writing and Research Honors
Instructor: Jacob Hughes
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student.
Have you ever wondered at the deeper meaning or significance of your favorite books, films, or pieces of music? Are you interested in literature, drama, mythology, or popular culture? Have you ever felt compelled – as Hildegard of Bingen once did – “to tell and write”?
In this class you’ll develop an interdisciplinary research topic of your choosing and sustain a semester-long scholarly conversation. Since research arguments shouldn’t exist in isolation, you’ll have the opportunity to actively engage with other members of your learning community in class, both through writing and presentational formats.
My own area of expertise is in medieval and Early Modern literature – Shakespeare and Chaucer more specifically – though inquiries and arguments concerning any aspect of the humanities are welcomed and encouraged. The idea here is for you to take the reins and drive research you’re passionate about.
Honors 270.1 – 3 units
TuThu 10:35am – 11:50am
Principles and Research Methods in Social Science
Instructor: Brendan Walker
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student.
The objectives of this course are to familiarize the students with both an historical and contemporary perspective on the field of psychology. This will be achieved by evaluating the genetic, biological, and environmental contributors to the behavior of both humans and animals in a manner designed to promote critical/creative thinking, quantitative/symbolic reasoning, information literacy, communication, and a sense of self in society. By striving to embrace these course goals, the students should depart with an enhanced level of disciplinary knowledge that should translate into effective long-term strategies for the evaluation of information over their life span. The course will begin by identifying important historical ideologies and theories that have been instrumental in shaping the way we now view the field of psychology and introducing the concept of psychology as a science. This will be followed by an exploration of the various sub-domains of psychology that will provide a solid understanding of the many systems designed to assist us in navigating through the trials and tribulations of our daily existence. The course will also have a generalized sub-theme in which different aspects of the substance abuse research field will be applied to different sub-fields of psychology that are presented during the course as a means to enrich the learning experience and allow for a more in-depth exposure to experiment-based methodologies.
Required texts:
Introduction to Psychology, by Wayne Weiten, 8th ed., ISBN978-0-495-60197-5
**For more information on this section, please contact the instructor directly.
Honors 270.2 – 3 units
TuThu 2:50pm – 4:05pm
Gender, empire, and nation in colonial South Asia
Instructor: Ashley Wright
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student.
This course investigates the complex intersections of gender, imperialism and nationalism in nineteenth and twentieth century South Asia. We will trace changes in ideas about masculinity and femininity, the status and place of men and women in society, sexuality, the family, and national identity from the beginnings of British colonialism in India to Independence and Partition in 1947. From the time the British East India Company established a territorial presence in Bengal in the eighteenth century, aspiring British administrators drew on ideas about the social status of women in India to legitimate their presence there. In the nineteenth century, Indian nationalists, social reformers and others responded to the increasing encroachment of British colonialism in gendered terms. And in the twentieth century, Indian women activists pursued campaigns for women’s rights in parallel with their participation in the nationalist movement. We will read a variety of primary and secondary sources in order to better understand these, and other changes.
Honors 270.3 – 3 units
TuThu 9:10am – 10:25am
Migration and Conquest: From Anglo-Saxons to Vikings
Instructor: Kim Andersen
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student.
What happens when empires disintegrate? Over the expanse of human history cultures, if not empires, have come and gone. While the dynamics and results of each such disintegration depend upon a variety of factors: internal conflicts, external pressures, or climate changes, for example, a different set of dynamics must come into play for those left behind after the previous order came to an end. Those who find themselves in that new situation must cope with obvious concerns: How is the cultural void to be filled, socially, politically, economically, religiously?
We have a fascinating example of such dynamics in the aftermath of the collapse of the Roman Empire in the British Isles. For a good 400 years Britain was a Roman province, a colonial outpost dominated by the measures of Roman civil, religious, and military society. Roman ruins of villas, whole towns, encampments, baths and more litter the English countryside and urban areas. What happened after they left? Did the locals continue Roman ways or did life in Britain descend into the ‘Dark Ages’ following ‘barbarian’ invasions? In this course we will explore that history and ponder which lessons may be drawn for our modern world. Final grade to be determined by active participation, written assignments, and an in-class presentation.
Required text:
The Fall of Rome: And the End of Civilization, by Bryan Ward-Perkins
Other texts handled in class, available on Blackboard.
Honors 280.1 – 3 units
TuThu 9:10am – 10:25am
Open Ticket to the Arts: Contextual Understanding in the Arts and Humanities
Instructor: Kimberly Burwick
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student.
This semester we will “travel” with an open ticket to some of the greatest art events and exhibitions of both the 20th century and today. Through the lenses of Contemporary Art in Landscape, Photography, Painting, Film, Literature, and Music we will consider what makes us uniquely human and how that humanity speaks to cultures we celebrate. Specifically, we will engage with international landscape architects, the photographs of Sebastião Salgado, the paintings of Odd Nerdrum, Tarkovsky’s filmwork, the writing of Chaim Potok and finally we will embark on a musical voyage from Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia.
Course Overview
This literature course introduces students to stories, images, music, languages, intellectual ideas, critical judgments, historical perspectives, and other traditional and untraditional expressions of the Arts and Humanities. The course provides critical, analytical, and methodological skills that will guide and urge students to engage with a spectrum of human thinking and expression, and will teach students to further develop those skills through case studies of humanistic issues with global perspectives. Students will encounter familiar and unfamiliar forms of expression, people they have never met, places they have never visited, and ideas that may seem entirely alien to them. By investigating how other people live, think, and express themselves (or historically), students will enable students to critically explore their own responses to new and timeless problems, to think about their own lives, and to consider how they might address challenges they are likely to face as individuals, as families, as communities, nations, and as part of a global world.
Honors 280.2 – 3 units
TuThu 1:25pm – 2:40pm
Exploring the Art of Portraiture
Instructor: Pamela Lee
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student.
An oft repeated adage states that before twenty you have the face that you were born with, after that you have the face you deserve. The adage may stem from Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “God has given you one face, and you make yourself another.” Character is revealed in the face. Can we shape our character, and thus the face we wear through life? We anticipate, consider, and expend considerable effort when planning our education, careers, families, and the acquisition of material possessions. Can we look ahead and anticipate who we might be at fifty, sixty, or eighty? Or, are we simply batted about and patted into shape by family, economics, culture, and by the vicissitudes of fate? In this increasingly global era, do we retain a national identity communicated through the human visage? Or, is “face reading” universally understood? We will ask these underlying questions as we encounter and explore the art of visual portraiture, dipping across time, continents and cultures to investigate painted, sculpted, and photographed faces. We will question the various applications of portraiture, past and present, considering how life’s large human themes – love, mortality, disability, beauty, power, joy, sadness –affect the human countenance and the art portrait. What lies behind the faces artists have portrayed? How do their lives critically compare to ours? We will practice critical and speculative analysis, research and information literacy and communication.
Selected articles and films will be provided; purchase of text is not required.
Honors 280.3 – 3 units
MWF 9:10am – 10:00am
Origins and Transformations: Classical & Biblical Stories in Renaissance Re-Tellings
Instructor: William Hamlin
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student.
This class will explore several major narratives from the Bible and the Greco-Roman classical tradition, investigating how they were subsequently transformed in Renaissance literary settings. For instance, a unit called “Coping with the Fall” will open with the Book of Genesis and then move to literary re-tellings such as Milton’s Paradise Lost and Marvell’s poem “The Garden.” Similarly, a unit entitled “God + Human Suffering = The Problem of Evil” will start with the Book of Job and then turn to two English tragedies, Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus and Shakespeare’s King Lear. A final unit, “Sex, Crime, and Punishment,” will juxtapose Sophocles’ Oedipus the King and Euripides’ Medea and Hippolytus against Racine’s Phaedra and Shakespeare’s Othello. Students will be expected to give occasional oral presentations, take a number of in-class reading quizzes, write a research essay of roughly 10-12 pages, and complete a take-home comprehensive exam.
Honors 280.4 – 3 units
MWF 1:10pm – 2:00pm
Representing War: An Intercultural Approach to Portrayals of War in Germany and the United States
Instructor: Glen Downing
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student.
In this course, students will study the historical, philosophical and contemporary underpinnings of war in an American and German context. This course offers students the unique opportunity to reflect on war from a myriad of perspectives. Course readings, examinations of representative cinematic, literary, artistic treatments of war, and class discussions will encourage students to think thoughtfully, critically and in a well-informed manner about war, to understand national security policy, its implementation and dissemination, to examine the portrayals of war and the memorialization of war in the United States and Germany through an intercultural lens, and to identify the culture-specific and universal parameters of war.
Required Films: Stalingrad (1993), Enemy at the Gates (2001), Die Brücke (1959), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Paths of Glory (1957)
Required Texts: War and Existence: A Philosophical Inquiry by Michael Gelven (Penn State UP, 2005). Additional course readings will be made available to students in Blackboard Learning
Honors 290.1 – 3 units
TuThu 10:30am – 11:50am
Science as a Way of Knowing
Instructor: Joanna Schultz
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student. Any B, BSCI, P, PSCI, or SCI lab or concurrent enrollment.
How is a bestselling novel about a dystopian future on Earth, a fungal pathogen resulting in worldwide plague, and the total demise of Homo sapiens related to evolution?
In this course, we will use shared inquiry to examine the bridge between MR Carey’s bestselling novel, The Girl With All The Gifts and the evolutionary processes driving the fungal pathogen, Ophiocordiceps unilateralis, which at its core, is the fundamental element in the novel and the primary force behind the downfall of our species.
We will spend the first third of the term examining evolutionary patterns and processes in a discussion format reading essays from Stephen J. Gould’s Eight Little Piggies: Reflections in Natural History as you read the novel. Subsequently, we will break into shared inquiry for the remainder of the term. For each remaining class meeting, two students will develop a “basic question” based on evolution from the novel, which you will present to your peers during the class period. The two student facilitators can only ask questions to maintain the discussion, as the remainder of students discuss the facilitators questions derived from the basic question.
Black Box Warning: The novel contains language that might be offensive to some students (R-rated).
Required texts:
The Girl With All The Gifts, MR Carey, Publisher: Orbit First Edition (2014)
ISBN-10: 0316278157
ISBN-13: 978-0316278157
Eight Little Piggies: Reflections in Natural History, Stephen J. Gould, Publisher W.W. Norton and Company (1993). This book can also be downloaded free at https://www.docdroid.net/wx3my2U/eight-little-piggies-stephen-jay-gould.pdf
**For more information on this section, please contact the instructor directly.
Honors 290.2 – 3 units
MWF 2:10pm – 3:00pm
Science as a Way of Knowing
Instructor: Michael Allen
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student. Any B, BSCI, P, PSCI, or SCI lab or concurrent enrollment.
This course is about the history of the scientific method as illustrated in the history of western astronomy from the ancient Greeks to Galileo. We will learn how the incomplete method of investigation of the ancients allowed a false model of the celestial realm to propagate forward in time. We will learn about the tension between empiricism and contemplation. We will make a particular study of the Galileo affair, capped by a dramatic reading of Brecht’s 15-scene play, Life of Galileo”. This fast-paced course is driven by student seminars interspersed with interpretive discussion and historical readings.
Students are graded upon in-class engagement, short weekly assignments, a seminar, a midterm test, a final exam, and an essay.
Honors 290.3 – 3 units
TuThu 1:25pm – 2:40pm
Science as a Way of Knowing: “The Self”
Instructor: Leah Benedict
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student. Any B, BSCI, P, PSCI, or SCI lab or concurrent enrollment.
Reach out two fingers, and gently press them to the side of your windpipe and begin to count the gentle rhythm of your carotid artery. Do you feel a languorous beat? Does your pulse quicken with your close attention? That flutter in your veins as your heart contracts and relaxes might convey singular meaning—in its two-part tempo, a trained observer might hear heightened emotion, tension, disease, or despair. Yet even laymen might draw upon the diagnostic potential of the veins. Blood curdles or freezes in the veins of the fearful, while those who are angry might feel their blood boil. Artists might feel that a skill for color and form is in their blood. We do not stop at blood, of course. Every new physiological discovery, from the stomach to the nervous system, gives us new ways of describing and delimiting our selves. In turn, our new descriptions of feeling are funneled back into new scientific observation.
In this class we will explore how scientific breakthroughs change the way we think of our minds and our bodies. We’ll begin with the classical history of medicine and psychology, and then shift into more recent experiments with pheromones, fascia, and the human microbiome. Along with scientific literature, we will explore the impact scientific discovery has upon everyday thought by examining popular forms such as fiction, poetry, art, and film.
Honors 290.4 – 3 units
MWF 9:10am – 10:00am
Science as a Way of Knowing
Instructor: Sian Ritchie
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student. Any B, BSCI, P, PSCI, or SCI lab or concurrent enrollment.
We will explore the development of science as a discipline from the perspective of biology and medicine. We will move from the ideas of Aristotle and Hippocrates through the major developments in our understanding of organisms, disease and treatment. Then we will look at how the 21st century research scientist works. Individual projects will use research papers from a range of scientific disciplines depending on student interest.
Required Text:
The History of Medicine: a very short introduction. William Bynum (Oxford University Press) 978-0199215430
Honors 370.1 – 3 units
TuThu 10:35am – 11:50am
Doing Cross-Cultural Research: Designing, Conducting, and Writing
Instructor: Marsha Quinlan
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; Honors 280 or ECONS 198.
Comparison of human traits across societies allows us to ask cross-cultural questions about human nature. Across societies, what features do we share, what features vary and how? What explains these patterns? WSU is a consortium member of the Human Relations Area Files (HRAF), an internationally recognized anthropological research organization housed at Yale University, which creates ethnographic databases coded by subject/trait and geography for searching and sorting (currently with over 300 cultures and over 600,000 pages). Using HRAF as a database, the course will walk students through cross-cultural research and the research process from start to finish. They will learn the steps involved in framing a research question, deriving hypotheses from theory, design of measures, coding procedures, sampling, reliability, analyzing results, writing an article, how to perform and respond to peer review, revision, and, potentially, publication. Students will develop more global understandings of the human experience as they experience the professional academic research process.
Required texts:
Carol R. Ember and Melvin Ember, Cross-Cultural Research Methods, 2nd edition, AltaMira/Rowman and Littlefield, 2009. ISBN-13: 978-0759112001
Honors 370.2 – 3 units
MWF 12:10pm – 1:00pm
The Global Food System and Food Justice
Instructor: Mary Bloodsworth-Lugo
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; Honors 270 or ECONS 198.
As noted by Raj Patel, “Global hunger and obesity are symptoms of the same problem.” The “stuffed and starved,” he maintains, “are also linked through the chains of production that bring food from fields to our plate.” Benjamin Dangl points out that “most of the water on the planet is made up of seawater or is frozen in polar ice caps. Less than one half percent of the world’s water is available freshwater.” Using a case study framework, we will examine the modern global food system, including issues of access to the world’s food and water supply. We will consider challenges presented by uneven access and distribution of vital resources, as well as the workers who supply our nation’s food. We will gain an understanding of the global chain representing an increasingly complex situation—one that impacts us and people globally.
Required Texts:
Patel, Raj. 2012. Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System. Revised and Expanded Edition. Brooklyn, NY: Melville House. (ISBN# 978-1-61219-127-0)
Giagnoni, Silvia. 2011. Fields of Resistance: The Struggle of Florida’s Farmworkers for Justice. Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books. (ISBN# 978-1-60846-093-9)
Dangl, Benjamin. 2007. The Price of Fire: Resource Wars and Social Movements in Bolivia. Oakland, CA: AK Press. (ISBN# 978-1-904859-33-8)
Honors 370.3 – 3 units
MWF 2:10pm – 3:00pm
Societies Built on Slaves: An Investigation of Slavery in World History
Instructor: Shawna Herzog
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; Honors 270 or ECONS 198.
Slavery is perhaps the most pervasive social institution in human history. At some point, virtually every society has in some sense of the term either enslaved, been enslaved – or both. Moreover, in spite of a protracted global effort to stop it, the status of slave still exists in the modern world. Indeed, the term itself is historical and has had changing meanings and social consequences around the world over time. Conversely, abolitionism and anti slavery efforts are the anomaly. The formation of social reform movements, Abolitionism, and anti slavery policies within Europe, the United States, Africa and Asia between the 17th and the 19th centuries were comparatively new to human history and challenged the legitimacy of slavery as an acceptable form of labor. Consequently, comparative examinations of the historical development of slavery as an institution will help us better understand the systemic political, cultural, and economic, components of the institution of slavery around the world.
Through an investigation of primary sources (artifacts, slave narratives, colonial records, literature, and personal testimony) and secondary analysis, this course examines the role of slaves and slavery within societies, the anti slavery movement, and efforts to emancipate enslaved populations in world history from 1500 to the present. Course materials, class discussion, and the final research project are all designed to challenge students to draw comparisons between slave systems, investigate the impact anti slavery efforts have had on global systems of labor, and analyze the historical features of slavery, indenture, and servitude in the modern world.
Honors 370.4 – 3 units
TuThu 12:00pm – 1:25pm
Human Behavior and Climate Change
Instructor: Craig Parks
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; Honors 270 or ECONS 198.
In this class we will look at the psychology underlying resource consumption and conservation and relate it to the technologies that attempt to reduce the global carbon footprint. Our primary goal is to understand why there is a disconnect, at least in the United States, between development of these technologies and people’s willingness to use them. A major focus of the course is to lay the groundwork for interdisciplinary collaboration between social scientists, climate scientists, and engineers. Solution of the climate change problem requires approaches that integrate human expectations with engineered solutions, all while taking into account the principles of climate. Students will leave the course with a basic understanding of the key concepts in all three areas, and areas of potential collaboration among the areas.
Honors 380.1 – 3 units
TuThu 2:50 – 4:05pm
Creative Nonfiction Writing
Instructor: Annie E. Lampman
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; Honors 280.
Welcome to the exciting world of creative nonfiction! In this creative writing course, we will examine the role of the personal voice in shaping and defining how we see and experience the world. Through readings & analysis, classroom discussion, and a variety of writing exercises and essays (including explorations in memoir, visual art, “work,” flora/fauna, and place) we will explore the following questions: As global citizens, how can we represent our own experiences and stories through creative writing in a way that is universally understood and felt? How do we (and the authors we read) define/explore/write about the issues that trouble or fascinate us? What are we (and the authors we read) struggling to make sense of or understand about our own lives and the world around us?
No previous creative writing experience is necessary, although strong general writing abilities are a benefit in this course. Throughout the semester, we will work on developing the basic craft elements of creative nonfiction and at the end of the semester each student will have one of their essays “workshopped” with written peer reviews and oral feedback provided.
Required Texts:
Tell it Slant, Second Edition, Brenda Miller & Suzanne Paola, ISBN#: 9780071781770
Short Takes: Brief Encounters with Contemporary Nonfiction, Judith Kitchen, ISBN#: 9780393326000
Now Write! Nonfiction, Sherry Ellis, ISBN #9781585427581
Creative Nonfiction Anthology—TBA
Honors 380.2 – 3 units
TuThu 10:35am – 11:50am
Introduction to Russian culture, history and language
Instructor: Sergey Lapin
Prerequisite: Must be an Honors student; Honors 280.
This course is an introduction to Russian civilization, presenting an overview of art, architecture, literature, music, philosophy, and film. In this course we will place the cultural phenomena into a larger historical context. Examples of Russian culture andthe Russian Religious faith are discussed alongside with daily life and folk beliefs. Also included is a briefintroduction to the Russian language: alphabet, elementary reading and minimal conversational skills. The course format consists of lectures, slides, video and audio presentations. Questions and discussions are strongly encouraged. All materials are in English. No prior knowledge of Russian history, literature or culture is required.
Students will utilize research skills developed in Honors 280 and further develop their skills in creative and
critical thinking, information literacy, and written and oral communication skills.
Honors 380.3 – 3 units
TuThu 4:15pm – 5:30pm
Creative Nonfiction Writing
Instructor: Annie E. Lampman
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; Honors 280.
Welcome to the exciting world of creative nonfiction! In this creative writing course, we will examine the role of the personal voice in shaping and defining how we see and experience the world. Through readings & analysis, classroom discussion, and a variety of writing exercises and essays (including explorations in memoir, visual art, “work,” flora/fauna, and place) we will explore the following questions: As global citizens, how can we represent our own experiences and stories through creative writing in a way that is universally understood and felt? How do we (and the authors we read) define/explore/write about the issues that trouble or fascinate us? What are we (and the authors we read) struggling to make sense of or understand about our own lives and the world around us?
No previous creative writing experience is necessary, although strong general writing abilities are a benefit in this course. Throughout the semester, we will work on developing the basic craft elements of creative nonfiction and at the end of the semester each student will have one of their essays “workshopped” with written peer reviews and oral feedback provided.
Required Texts:
Tell it Slant, Second Edition, Brenda Miller & Suzanne Paola, ISBN#: 9780071781770
Short Takes: Brief Encounters with Contemporary Nonfiction, Judith Kitchen, ISBN#: 9780393326000
Now Write! Nonfiction, Sherry Ellis, ISBN #9781585427581
Creative Nonfiction Anthology—TBA
Honors 380.4 – 3 units
MWF 1:10pm – 2:00pm
Narrating the 20th Century though Art and Music
Instructor: Keri McCarthy
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; Honors 280.
This course will explore the years between 1900 and 2000 through a study of aesthetic trends. The broader focus is a series of 20th-century western confluences- alliances between movements in music and art that reflect societal responses to historical events. We will start at the turn-of-the-century, with Expressionism and Impressionism, continue into mid-century trends towards Abstract Expressionism and serialism, and the post-WWII movements of Anti-formalism and minimalism. Throughout the course we will investigate globalism and its impact on art and music. From exoticism and primitivism in the early decades, increased collaborations mid-century, and late-century exchanges of artistic forms and ideals, we will seek to understand how individuals borrowed inspirations and materials from other cultures, and how institutions (cultural representatives) created their own persuasive narratives by (re-)appropriating these “isms”. Through these studies, students will develop unique narratives of the 20th century and the ways in which art and music reflected and impacted events and cultures.
Honors 390.1 – 3 units
MWF 11:10am – 12:00pm
Global Issues in the Sciences
Drug Abuse—A Global Perspective
Instructor: Raymond Quock
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; HONORS 290, SCIENCE 299, CHEM 116, MATH 182, PHYSICS 205, or PHYSICS 206.
According to national surveys, the use of illicit drugs in the United States has been continually on the rise since 2002. The increase is driven mainly by marijuana use and abuse of prescription pain killers. The 2015 World Drug Report also notes an explosion in the use of new psychoactive substances (NPS) which pose a significant health threat to drug users and, at the same time, increase the demand for treatment programs for drug abuse. The topics in this course will 1) provide a scientific background in the psychopharmacology of drugs of abuse; 2) analyze trends in global illicit drug use; and 3) discuss the societal impact of drug abuse.
Honors 390.2 – 3 units
W 5:30pm – 8:00pm
The Practice, Science and History of Mindfulness
Instructor: Lydia Gerber
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; HONORS 290, SCIENCE 299, CHEM 116, MATH 182, PHYSICS 205, or PHYSICS 206.
Mindfulness, defined by Jon Kabat-Zinn as “paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally,” is an inherent human capacity, cultivated throughout history. Mindfulness training enhances one’s ability to cope with anxiety and stress, decreases the likelihood of burnout in challenging professions, and has a beneficial effect on overall health. Among mindfulness training programs Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), developed in 1979 at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, stands out as a program that has been rigorously researched for its safety and effectiveness. This class invites students to explore the practice (following the eight-week program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn) and the growing field of published research on MBSR in academic disciplines ranging from Psychology and Education to Neuroscience and Cell Biology.
The instructor has received her training in MBSR through the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She has been teaching classes in the Pullman community and at WSU since 2012 and is looking forward to working with you! Please feel free to contact her at lgerber@wsu.edu if you have questions about the class!
Required Course texts:
There is no textbook for this course. We will rely on journal articles made available without charge through the WSU Library system.
Honors 390.3 – 3 units
TuThu 12:00pm – 1:15pm
Extinction and Climate Change
Instructor: Joanna Schultz
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; HONORS 290, SCIENCE 299, CHEM 116, MATH 182, PHYSICS 205, or PHYSICS 206.
The geologic record clearly documents five major extinctions throughout earth’s history. We are now undergoing a “Sixth Extinction” event, caused by anthropogenic impacts. This semester, we will examine these six extinctions, with particular attention to the Anthropocene extinction event, its causes, rates, implications, and similarities and differences with past extinctions.
- Ordovician-Silurian extinction events (end of Ordovician or O-S): 450-440 Mya; 60-70% of all species were lost.
- Late Devonian extinction: 375–360 Mya near the Devonian-Carboniferous transition; at least 70% of all species suffered extinction.
- Permian-Triassic extinction event (end Permian): 252 Mya at the Permian-Triassic transition; nearly 96% of all species on earth went extinct, the largest of earth’s extinctions.
- Triassic-Jurassic extinction event (end Triassic): 201.3 Mya Triassic-Jurassic transition; 70-75% of all species suffered extinction.
- Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event (end Cretaceous K-Pg extinction, formerly the K-T extinction): 66 Mya at the Cretaceous-Paleogene transition interval; 75% of all species went extinct.
- Anthropocene (or Holocene) extinction event (currently ongoing): Extinction rates are occurring at 1000x the background extinction rate due to anthropogenic activity (since 1900).
Required Text:
We will begin the semester with an examination of climate change by reading and discussing the following non-fiction book:
Field Notes From a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change
Elizabeth Kolbert
2006, 2007
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN: 1-59691-125-5
ASIN: B001TKBLGM
Subsequently, for the remainder of the term, we will engage in shared inquiry, an approach derived from the Socratic Method. For each remaining class meeting, two students will develop a “basic question” based on the Pulitzer Prize winning non-fiction book by Elizabeth Kolbert, her investigation on extinction (see below). You will present this basic question to your peers during the class period. The two student facilitators can only ask questions to maintain the discussion, as the remainder of the students discuss the facilitators questions derived from the basic question.
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, 1st Edition
Elizabeth Kolbert
2014
Henry Holt and Co.
ISBN-10: 0805092994
ISBN-13: 978-0805092998
Honors 390.4 – 3 units
MWF 1:10pm – 2:00pm
History, Physiology and Ethics of Athletic Doping
Instructor: Peter Meighan
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; HONORS 290, SCIENCE 299, CHEM 116, MATH 182, PHYSICS 205, or PHYSICS 206.
The course will begin by examining the history of athletic doping and performance-enhancing drug (PED) use in organized athletic competition. In addition to assessing the personal, social and political circumstances surrounding notable instances of doping in sport, we will consider the biological underpinnings by which various doping techniques produces the physiological benefits that enhance athletic performance. Second, this course will examine the ethical issues surrounding the use of PEDs to gain a competitive advantage. This will include a rigorous examination of the increasingly muddy line between socially acceptable means of increasing athletic performance (e.g., optimal nutrition, supplement use, altitude training) versus illicit performance enhancing methods.
Honors 398.1 – 1 units
W 11:10am – 12:00pm
Honors Thesis Proposal Seminar
Instructor: Joanna Schultz
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; sophomore standing.
Honors 398.2 – 1 units
Tu 1:10pm – 2:00pm
Honors Thesis Proposal Seminar
Instructor: Annie E. Lampman
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; sophomore standing.
Honors 398.3 – 1 units
W 2:10pm – 3:00pm
Honors Thesis Proposal Seminar
Instructor: Kim Andersen
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; sophomore standing; 45 unit hours preferred. Students majoring in the social
sciences, arts, or humanities are encouraged to enroll in this section.
This is a seminar-style course with the purpose of assisting and supporting each participant in completing his/her Honors thesis proposal. By the end of the course you will be ready to submit your Honors thesis proposal for approval and to initiate your thesis research. In the course, you will learn how to generate an Honors thesis topic, how to formulate a thesis question, how to identify a thesis advisor, and how to prepare the thesis proposal. In addition, we will discuss ways to structure your thesis, how to perform a literature search, and how to evaluate the information you obtain in relation to your chosen topic. During the course we will constructively support and critique projects as they develop in the proposals. Each student will submit a complete proposal including title, introduction, research question, methodology, preliminary annotated bibliography, as a final product. S/F grading.
Required text:
Writing A Successful Research Paper: A Simple Approach by Stanley Chodorow. Indianapolis/Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Co., ISBN: 978-1-60384-440-6
Honors 398.4 – 1 units
Thu 9:10am – 10:00am
Honors Thesis Proposal Seminar
Instructor: Pamela Lee
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student. Sophomore standing (45 semester hours recommended)
The purpose of this seminar style course is to assist each student with the inception and completion of her or his Honors College senior thesis proposal. We will engage with each step of your thesis proposal, including the formulation of a successful thesis question, the selection of the thesis advisor, how to conduct an academic literature search, information literacy, critical analyses skills, appropriate methodology, the organization of your bibliography and strategies for organizing your research notes. You will be working on your individual thesis proposal with the support of your advisor, the instructor, and constructively critical peer review sessions. At the end of the class, you will prepare your proposal, offer a 10-minute presentation to peers, and then submit your thesis proposal for approval. Pending Honors College approval, at the completion of our seminar, you will start down the path of your senior research venture. S/F grading.