Courses in the Honors College

Please note: this list may be 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. Listings from previous semesters are located at the bottom of this page.

Spring 2020

HONORS 270.1
Principles and Research Methods in Social Science
Meetings: Tu,Th 9:10-10:25am
Instructor: Lydia Gerber

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student

A Mindful Exploration of Powerful Women in Chinese History
To this day, few women have played a significant role in Chinese public life. Yet stories abound in Chinese history and literature of women who caused the ruin of individual men, families and entire states through their powers of seduction. Evil empress dowagers, goddesses and women immortals, female fox-spirits, beautiful concubines, women moralists and talented poets and artists – Chinese culture offers a wealth of intriguing female subjects. Moreover, Chinese traditions, such as Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism had often surprising views of women and their roles and options in life.

In this class, we will use mindfulness to engage with Chinese history and culture with a focus on women’s lives. How do the experiences of women from another age and culture resonate with us, and what can they teach us about leading our own lives?
Mindfulness practices will also support us as we move from careful analysis of source material to the creation of our own research projects on women in Chinese history and culture. Previous exposure to, or knowledge of Chinese culture is appreciated, but not required to be successful in this class.

*This course qualifies as credit for the MESI Certificate.

Required Course Materials:
TBD

HONORS 270.2
Principles and Research Methods in Social Science
Meetings: Tu,Th 1:25-2:40pm
Instructor: Stacey Hust

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student

Media, Adolescents, and Gender
In this course, we will explore how perceived messages in media inform adolescents’ and emerging adults’ understanding of gender and sexual stereotypes. We will consider how their perceptions relate to meanings adolescents and emerging adults ascribe to romantic and sexual relationships. After completing the course, students will understand the role of media in gender socialization, recognize gender portrayals in the media, understand how to conduct research that examines the intersection of gender, adolescence, and media, and understand the influence of gender portrayals in the media on our daily lives.

HONORS 280.1
Contextual Understanding in the Arts and Humanities
Meetings: M,W,F 9:10-10:00am
Instructor: David Shier

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student

The Good Life
Everyone wants the good life, but what does that really mean? What makes a life most worth living? Pleasure? Wealth? Friendship? Freedom? Wisdom? Power? Compassion? Love? Balance? These are among the proposals we will discuss. Our philosophical investigation into the very concept of the good life will be informed by a number of classical and contemporary readings, with an emphasis on the way-of-life philosophies of the ancient Greeks and Romans such as Socrates, Aristotle, Epicurus, and the Stoics. We will also consider some the ways that literature, architecture, politics, and the arts envision the good life and contribute to it, and the course will include guest speakers from a range of disciplines and perspectives

You will develop your own answers to the question “what is the good life?” Coursework will include essays on the assigned films, two service-learning assignments and a reflection paper on them, a midterm exam, and a “theory to practice” paper in which you’ll write about the week you spend trying out one of the way-of-life philosophies.

*This course qualifies as credit for the MESI Certificate.

Required Course Materials:
Approximately 12 classical and contemporary readings (provided free online)
Four feature films and several short videos.

HONORS 280.2
Contextual Understanding in the Arts and Humanities
Meetings: Tu,Th 10:35-11:50am
Instructor: Annie Lampman

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student

Creative Writing: Fiction, The Short Story
This is a creative writing course that introduces students to the art and craft of short-form fiction writing. We will read, analyze, and discuss award-winning short stories, complete in-class writing exercises and write two short stories (employing research/annotated bibliography) while working to explore and develop short-story craft elements including characterization, point-of-view, dialogue, plot, scene and summary, setting, and the use of metaphorical language and themes. Throughout the semester, each student will have one of their short stories work-shopped with written peer reviews and instructor feedback provided. No previous creative writing experience is necessary, although strong general writing abilities are required to do well in this course.

Required Course Materials:
Method and Madness: The Making of a Story, Alice LaPlant. ISBN#: 9780393928174

HONORS 280.3
Contextual Understanding in the Arts and Humanities
Meetings: Tu,Th 1:25-2:40pm
Instructor: Phil Gruen

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student

Reading the American Landscape
Is it possible to read, understand, and appreciate the totality of the American landscape: its farms, grain elevators, Indigenous communities, small towns, suburbs, roads, and restaurants as well as its spectacular national parks, glittering skyscrapers, and exquisite residences? This course is intended to deepen an understanding of the American built environment and, by extension, American culture. We will critically investigate everyday or vernacular landscapes built by ordinary people and often shaped by politics, economics, race, and gender; that is, meaningful spaces and places that comprise the vast majority of our physical settings but are typically overlooked in favor of professionally-designed, high-style landscapes. To provide tools for reading the landscape, we will employ disciplinary methods from the visual arts, architecture, history, geography, anthropology, and literature. A segment of the course will feature our regional landscape: the Pacific Northwest, eastern Washington, the Palouse, Pullman, and/or WSU. For contextual, comparative, and historical purposes, examples may be drawn from across the globe.

This is a discussion-based course that includes a mix of readings, discussion, lectures, videos, field exploration, and student presentations. Student participation and presentations will account for a large portion of the grade.

Required Course Text:
A selection of articles, podcasts, and/or videos will accompany weekly or bi-weekly themes or topics.

HONORS 280.4
Contextual Understanding in the Arts and Humanities
Meetings: M,W,F 1:10-2pm
Instructor: Cameron McGill

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student

Sibling Art: Poetry & Song
Do you think your favorite song could be a poem? Could your favorite poem be a song? Perhaps, though these questions may be more difficult to answer than you think. In an era of unlimited access to recorded music and the written word, the lines of genre are blurring in beautiful ways. We will explore how these two disciplines (whose origins can be traced to the ancient world) have carved out unique artistic spaces while seamlessly influencing one another. We will study contemporary and historical avatars of each genre: those who write poems, those who write songs, and those who write both.

This course will delve into the art and craft of both poetry and lyric writing. Where do these distinct disciplines overlap and diverge? Why are certain song lyrics referred to as “poetic,” and their writers as poets? We will establish a groundwork of poetic terminology to aid our discussions. Through reading, listening, analyzing, and discussing contemporary poems and songs, we will seek out as Dr. Elizabeth Renker suggests, “the intersections between these sibling art forms.”

Coursework will include weekly reading and writing exercises, in-class quizzes, short presentations/discussion leads, developing “blueprints” of poems and lyrics, peer review, and short craft analyses. And yes, students will write their own poems and lyrics (no previous musical knowledge needed, but if you have some, wonderful!). A final project will combine original student work, a reflective letter, and a craft analysis of an artistic influence on their creative work.

Required Course Text:
The Poet’s Companion by Dorianne Laux & Kim Addonizio (W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.), 1997
ISBN: 978-0-393-31654-4

HONORS 290.1
Science as a Way of Knowing
Meetings: M,W,F 2:10-3pm
Instructor: Richard Gomulkiewicz

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student. Any B, BSCI, P, PSCI, or SCI lab or concurrent enrollment.

Science Thinking
Most people think of science as a discipline of action and apparatus: microscopes, telescopes, computers, test tubes, pipetting, data entry, measuring things, formulating mixtures, performing intricate experiments in the laboratory, making crosses or implementing treatments in a greenhouse, taking observations or collecting data on field survey trips, etc. Most people are also aware that science involves “thinking”, but very few are familiar with how most scientists think aside from perhaps a collection of famous “aha!” moments (Archimedes, Pasteur, the Curies, Watson & Crick, etc.). Another common misconception is that science is driven entirely by data when, in fact, scientific concepts are equally and possibly more crucial.

The main goal of this course is to illuminate the role of conceptual thinking (i.e., theory) and its connections with observation in the scientific process and help students better understand how scientists think about what they do. To this end, the class will unpack several key questions including:

How do scientists decide what to study?
Why and how are scientific hypotheses formed?
How are studies interpreted?
How do scientists deal with unavoidable limitations, such as sampling and measurement • errors, haphazard vs random choices, etc.
How are scientific ideas communicated, compared, and valued?

The course will highlight the roles of curiosity, precedent, skepticism, creativity, imagination, uncertainty, and logic in the scientific process.

Required Course Text:
Theory and Reality by Peter Godfrey-Smith. ISBN# 9780226300634
The meaning of it all by Richard P. Feynman. ISBN# 9780465023943

HONORS 290.2
Science as a Way of Knowing
Meetings: Tu, Th 2:50-4:05pm
Instructor: Lane Wallett

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student. Any B, BSCI, P, PSCI, or SCI lab or concurrent enrollment.

History of Life
This course will explore the history of life on earth. Students will discover the origins of paleontology as a science, and how its modern practice shapes our understanding of evolutionary theory and the complex interactions of species. The course may include discussion of scientific journal articles and texts, laboratory activities, and examination of fossil and modern anatomical specimens.

Required Course Text:
A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson

HONORS 290.3
Science as a Way of Knowing
Meetings: M,W,F 2:10-3:00pm
Instructor: Michael L. Allen

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student. Any B, BSCI, P, PSCI, or SCI lab or concurrent enrollment.

History of Western Astronomy
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”.

HONORS 298.1
Approaches to Global Leadership
Meetings: W 3:10-5:10pm
Instructor: Grant Norton & Robin Bond

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student.

The Honors Global Leadership Program focuses on leadership in a global context in areas that include the demands of world trade, concerns for the environment, and the advancement of technology. The course content includes presentations from and discussions with leaders who recognize the importance of leadership in a globalized world. Students will compete in a global case project in which teams are presented with a global issue in one or a group of countries. During the semester students will gather specific data relevant to the problem, then study, reflect on, and analyze the information. With the conclusions obtained, they will propose and argue for possible approaches to addressing the issue.

HONORS 298.2
Approaches to Global Leadership
Meetings: Tu 4:15-6:05pm
Instructor: Cory Custer

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student.

Life’s MESI: Compassionate Leadership
Life is messy! So, our goal for this course is to leave students with practical tools to respond to their life and leadership challenges more wisely and compassionately. It will be a highly interactive and experiential class designed for:

Learning Mindfulness-based Emotional and Social Intelligence (MESI) practices that have been shown to increase self-awareness, equanimity, empathy, relationship skills, and leadership effectiveness.
Exploring key course concepts through self-reflection, small-group sharing, and whole-class discussion.
Creating a Compassion Leadership project by working individually and in small groups.

This course is co-taught by Cory Custer, Director of Compassion at Seattle-based wealth management firm Brighton Jones, and Lydia Gerber, WSU Clinical Associate Professor in the Honors College, and Director, Mindfulness-based Emotional and Social Intelligence.

Requirements for the class will include active participation, journal entries, and an in-class group project.

*This course qualifies as credit for the MESI Certificate.

Required Course Text:
There are no required texts for this class.

HONORS 298.3
Approaches to Global Leadership
Meetings: M 1:10-3:00pm
Instructor: Cassa Hanon

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student.

Introduction to Innovation
Organizations are under constant pressure to innovate. Do you have what it takes to be innovative? Of course, you do. In this course, we’ll look at different kinds of innovation and discover the unique personal characteristics you bring to the process. We will examine design approaches and organizational cultures that foster innovation. You will be able to talk about how your strengths and interests can successfully contribute to an organization’s innovation goals. We will also use video conferencing to meet with leaders in a variety of industries around the globe. This course is open to all majors and relevant to any type of organization – large, small, for profit, non-profit, academic and public service.

This course will include a mix of readings, discussion, lectures, videos, and student presentations.

Required Course Text:
Introduction to Myers-Briggs Type Copyright 1998, 2015 by Peter B. Myers and Katherine D. Myers, 7th Edition (approximately $20 from www.cpp.com)

HONORS 370.1
Case Study: Global Issues in Social Sciences
Meetings: Tu,Th 1:25-2:40pm
Instructor: Kim Andersen

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; HONORS 270 or ECONS 198.

The Fall of Rome, Barbarians, and Christianity
Over the expanse of history cultures and empires have come and gone. What happens when empires disintegrate? While the dynamics of disintegration may depend upon a variety of factors, e.g. internal conflicts and external pressures, the Roman Empire certainly faced external pressures in the form of barbarian invasions culminating in the 5th century. Yet, internal transformation may well have played a role in shaping the empire during the first four centuries A.D. as a new religion grew and was accepted. How did it gain foothold and transform an empire whose secular and religious traditions deviated sharply from the new organization? In this course we will explore this important history and ponder which lessons may be drawn for our modern world. Final grade to be determined by active participation, written assignments, and in-class presentations.

Required Course Text:
The Fall of Rome: And the End of Civilization, by Bryan Ward-Perkins. Publisher: Oxford University Press; New Ed edition (September 7, 2006)

HONORS 370.2
Case Study: Global Issues in Social Sciences
Meetings: Tu,Th 12:00-1:15pm
Instructor: Mary Bloodsworth-Lugo

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; HONORS 270 or ECONS 198.

The Global Food System
Raj Patel notes, “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.” Barry Estabrook points out, “the life expectancy of a migrant worker in the United States is only forty-nine years, about the same as that of a person living in equatorial Africa.” And regarding access to clean water, Anna Clark conveys, “Monthly water rates [in Flint] were among the most expensive in the country, and yet 42 percent of residents lived below the federal poverty level.” Using a case study framework, we will examine the modern global food system (including access to the world’s water supply) to understand the various issues and inequalities embedded within it.

Required Course Text:
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) paperback

Estabrook, Barry. 2018. Tomatoland: From Harvest of Shame to Harvest of Hope. Third Edition. New and Revised. Kansas City, MO: Andrews McMeel Publishing. (ISBN# 978-1449489533) paperback

Clark, Anna. 2018. The Poisoned City: Flint’s Water and the American Urban Tragedy. New York, NY: Metropolitan Books. (ISBN# 978-1250181619) paperback

HONORS 370.3
Case Study: Global Issues in Social Sciences
Meetings: M,W,F 11:10-12:00pm
Instructor: Shawna Herzog

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; HONORS 270 or ECONS 198.

Slavery and Forced Labor in World History
Slavery is perhaps the most pervasive social institution in human history. At some point in history, 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 modern society. Indeed, the term itself is historical and has had changing meanings and social consequences around the world over time.

Through an investigation of both primary and secondary sources, this course examines the institution of slavery, the anti slavery movement, and efforts to emancipate enslaved populations in the world history from 1500 to the present. Reading 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 and indenture in the modern world.

Required Course Text:
Kevin Bales, Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012)

Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (Boston: Bedford St. Martin, 2010).
Additional materials provided in Blackboard course space.

HONORS 380.1
Case Study: Global Issues in Arts and Humanities
Meetings: Tu,Th 2:50-4:05pm
Instructor: Annie Lampman

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; HONORS 280.

Creative Writing: Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
In this creative writing course we will examine the role of memoir and personal narrative in shaping and defining how we see and experience the world. Through readings and analysis, classroom discussion, and a variety of in-class writing exercises and essay/memoir writing work, 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? Throughout the semester, we will work on developing the basic craft elements of creative nonfiction and each student will have one of their essays “workshopped” with written peer reviews and oral feedback provided. No previous creative writing experience is necessary, although strong general writing abilities are required to do well in this course.

*This course qualifies as credit for the MESI Certificate.

Required Course Text:
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

HONORS 380.2
Case Study: Global Issues in Arts and Humanities
Meetings: Tu,Th 9:10-10:25am
Instructor: Sergey Lapin

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; HONORS 280.

Introduction to Russian Culture and Language
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 and the Russian Religious faith are discussed alongside with daily life and folk beliefs. Also included is a brief introduction 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 language, 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
Case Study: Global Issues in Arts and Humanities
Meetings: M,W,F 9:10-10:00am
Instructor: Will Hamlin

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; HONORS 280.

Global Shakespeare
One mark of Shakespeare’s talent as a playwright is that he’s studied not only in Anglophone countries such as the UK, USA, and Australia, but also in Japan, India, Germany, South Africa, Israel, Russia, Brazil, and many other places. This may mean that his plays and poems communicate successfully with readers and playgoers even in translation, which is not always the case for prominent writers. It may also mean that the stories he tells and the themes he emphasizes possess continuing relevance in the modern world, more than 400 years after his death. But how can this be? Is Shakespeare’s popularity primarily a consequence of the “Bardolatry” promoted by people who stand to gain from it? Or is it the other way around, with people in diverse placesactively choosing to read and perform Shakespeare because his work still speaks to them and their most pressing concerns?

“Global Shakespeare” will ask questions such as these, concentrating in particular on some of the Shakespearean plays that have found the largest worldwide audience. Students in the class will be expected (1) to read these plays with the utmost care, (2) to watch multiple film versions of them, and (3) to explore how these plays have been studied, understood, adapted, performed, and/or transformed in different countries and different cultural settings. How much change can a Shakespearean play undergo before it’s no longer itself? What sorts of changes are legitimate or illegitimate? What obligations, if any, do screenwriters, directors, actors, and producers have to the original Shakespearean text? Why? Is Shakespeare “not of an age, but for all time,” as his friend Ben Jonson once wrote? If so, is this why his works are studied all over the world? Or was Shakespeare very much of a certain age and time – and thus a writer with ever-diminishing relevance? Is he overrated? Over-promoted? Over-commercialized? These and similar questions will guide many of our discussions.

Class work will involve the submission of multiple discussion questions, taking a number of in-class reading quizzes, locating and viewing Shakespearean films produced in non-Anglophone settings, writing a research-based argumentative essay of roughly 10-12 pages, and completing an in-class midterm exam and a comprehensive take-home exam.

HONORS 380.4
Case Study: Global Issues in Arts and Humanities
Meetings: M,W,F 10:10-11:00am
Instructor: Robin Bond

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; HONORS 280.

Introduction to the Literature and Language of Ancient Greece
This course is an introduction to the literature and language of ancient Greece that focuses on the epic poems of Homer – the Iliad and Odyssey – in an exploration of what it means to be human. Greek poets depicted the human condition as an existence apart from, and contrary to, the leisure enjoyed by the gods. Human life, in the Greek mind, was at its core suffering, toil, and death. In Homer’s poems this vision of humanity appears in the struggles of the individual hero. The study of ancient Greece allows us the opportunity to appreciate a culture very distant in time from our own and to understand the cultural legacy of the past to the modern world, but it also challenges us to explore and evaluate our own perspectives on being human.

Ancient Greek literature is not easy and will require slow and careful reading. Much of the class will be devoted to close readings and discussion of the poems as a window into broader Greek culture. Additionally, in order to deepen our connection with the works, we will devote regular class time to the introductory study of ancient Greek language. No previous familiarity with Greek literature or language learning is required or expected, but you must have a willingness to grapple with difficult texts and ideas and be open to learning an unfamiliar alphabet, vocabulary, and grammatical constructions.

*This course qualifies as credit for the MESI Certificate.

Required Course Text:
The Iliad of Homer, translated by Richmond Lattimore. University of Chicago Press, 2011.
The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson. W.W. Norton & Company, 2018.

HONORS 390.1
Case Study: Global Issues in Arts and Humanities
Meetings: M,W,F 11:10-12:00pm
Instructor: Ray Quock

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; HONORS 290, SCIENCE 299, CHEM 116, MATH 182, PHYSICS 205, or PHYSICS 206.

Drug Abuse – A Global Perspective
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
Case Study: Global Issues in Arts and Humanities
Meetings: Tu 5:30-8:00pm
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!

*This course qualifies as credit for the MESI Certificate.

Required Course Text:
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
Case Study: Global Issues in Arts and Humanities
Meetings: Tu, Th 12:30-1:15pm
Instructor: Joanna Schultz

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; HONORS 290, SCIENCE 299, CHEM 116, MATH 182, PHYSICS 205, or PHYSICS 206.

Extinction and Climate Change
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, its causes, rates, implications, and similarities and differences with past extinctions. We will also explore the scale of climate change and its contributions to the Anthropocene extinction.

Required Course 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
Revised Edition 2015
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, 1^st Edition
Elizabeth Kolbert
2014
Henry Holt and Co.
ISBN-10: 0805092994
ISBN-13: 978-0805092998

Finally, we will complete an exciting project started by HNRS390 last semester, developing a local community currency for Moscow, Idaho.

HONORS 390.4
Case Study: Global Issues in Arts and Humanities
Meetings: Tu, Th 12:00-1:15pm
Instructor: Grant Norton, Honors College Dean

Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; HONORS 290, SCIENCE 299, CHEM 116, MATH 182, PHYSICS 205, or PHYSICS 206.

What a Load of Rubbish
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris that extends for more than 1.6 million square kilometers. The majority of the debris is plastic waste that finds its way from land-based activities into the ocean. In this course, we will look at the following questions:

What is plastic?
Why does so much of it end up in the ocean or in land fills?
Why doesn’t plastic biodegrade?
How can we reduce our consumption and disposal of plastic?

By completing a “plastics inventory” at the beginning and at the end of the course students will identify how much plastic they use and what might be some possible alternatives. A group project performed throughout the semester will examine how cities in the United States and around the world deal with waste.

The course will also look at issues related to the extraction of critical minerals such as Coltan (a source of tantalum), which is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo and fuels a vicious armed conflict and nickel, which is mined in Guatemala creating an environmental nightmare in the surrounding Mayan villages. These metals, and many others, are essential components of our modern technology. We will look at why we need these materials, are there more sustainable alternatives, and what role, if any, is recycling playing.

HONORS 398.1
Honors Thesis Proposal Seminar
Meetings: Tu 10:35-11:25am
Instructor: Joanna Schultz