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.
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 2022
HONORS 211.1*
Introduction to Community Engagement
Meetings: Tu 2:55PM-4:10PM
Instructor: Ben Calabretta & Jessica Perone
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student
This course is required for HONORS students in the Mindfulness Emotional Social Intelligence (MESI) Certificate program. Students will be introduced to community engagement and the importance of it in their own work and life. Over 10 weeks, the class will meet once per week for 7 weeks and 3 weeks will be dedicated to participating in community engagement projects.
Communities are diverse and interconnected. This course surveys critical concepts of community engagement, including but not limited to, equity, citizenship, human rights, advocacy and activism, civic leadership, social justice, civil discourse, social capital, education, environment, health care, immigration, socioeconomic status, discrimination. Students will use an interdisciplinary approach to analyze and actively engage in principles and practices of community engagement through a local lens. This course also serves as an introduction to the MESI Certificate within the Honors College. This course gives the student the opportunity to grow academically, professionally, personally and civically through participation in a transformational service-learning experience.
*This course qualifies as credit for the MESI Certificate.
Required Course Materials
The Student Companion to Community-Engaged Learning by David M. Donahue and Star Plaxton-Moore
HONORS 212.1*
MESI Community Engagement Lab Course
Instructor: Lydia Gerber
Prerequisite: Honors 211, unless an exception has been granted by the Honors College
Active and Immersive Community Engagement
This one-credit course fulfills one credit of the Community Engagement requirement for Honors students in the Mindfulness Based Emotional Intelligence (MESI) Certificate program. Students will register with the Center for Civic Engagement on the WSU Pullman campus and with the center’s help establish a working relationship with a suitable partner program. The program of their choice needs to include a strong focus on serving human needs. It may be engaged with communities anywhere across the globe.
1 Credit / S/F Grading / can be taking repeatedly (up to 3 times)
*This course qualified as credit for the MESI Certificate.
HONORS 270.1*
Principles and Research Methods in Social Science
Meetings: W 2:10PM-5:40PM
Instructor: Phyllis Erdman
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student
Overview of Human-Animal Interaction Research
This course is an introduction to the field of human-animal interaction research and is designed as a seminar for students from any discipline who are interested in the field of human-animal interaction. The course is designed with an interdisciplinary focus to help students explore various topics and current research related to human-animal interactions. Examples of topics include the benefits of animal assisted interventions, how to assess animal behavior, ethics of animal research, homelessness and pet ownership. The seminar will include lectures by various faculty, and class discussion and participation.
*This course qualifies as credit for the MESI Certificate.
Required Course Materials
None
Other course that will satisfy the social sciences requirement in place of HONORS 270 are ECONS 198 and HD 205 section #7 (see description below)
ECONS 198.1+
Economics Honors
Meetings: Tu, Th 1:30PM-2:45PM
Instructor: Mark Gibson
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student. Enrollment in ECONS 198 is not allowed if credit has already been earned for ECONS 101 or 102.
Principles of Economics
This is an introductory course that covers principles of both micro and macroeconomics. My goal is for the student to learn, rigorously, the concepts that are crucial for her to understand how our political-economic system works. An organizing theme of the course is the question ‘under what circumstances are individual self-interest and the public good aligned, and when are they in conflict?’ Economic theory offers numerous insights into these important questions. Students will be introduced to the methodology of economic research, and they will learn to apply economic principles to real-world examples.
+ This course can be taken in place of HONORS 270 to satisfy the 200-level Honors social science requirement and counts for ECONS 101 and 102 for programs that require those courses.
ECONS 198.2
Economics Honors
Meetings: M,W,F 11:10AM-12:00PM
Instructor: Eric Jessup
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student. Enrollment in ECONS 198 is not allowed if credit has already been earned for ECONS 101 or 102.
Principles of Economics
This is an introductory course that covers principles of both micro and macroeconomics. My goal is for the student to learn, rigorously, the concepts that are crucial for her to understand how our political-economic system works. An organizing theme of the course is the question ‘under what circumstances are individual self-interest and the public good aligned, and when are they in conflict?’ Economic theory offers numerous insights into these important questions. Students will be introduced to the methodology of economic research, and they will learn to apply economic principles to real-world examples.
+ This course can be taken in place of HONORS 270 to satisfy the 200-level Honors social science requirement and counts for ECONS 101 and 102 for programs that require those courses.
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT (H_D) 205.7 *+
Meetings: T, TH, 1:30-2:45pm
Instructor: Joe Hewa
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student
MESI Communication and Life Skills: Creating a rich, full, and meaningful life
Why study communication and life skills? We all have hopes and dreams, goals and aspirations, values and visions for our lives. HD 205 is designed to support you in creating a life that is rich, full, and meaningful as you move toward what is most important to you. When asked what they are looking for in new university graduates, an overwhelming majority of employers emphasize the importance of transferable skills, such as flexibility in response to change, self-awareness, self-management, effective communication, and teamwork ability. In this course, we will develop these skills that will help you successfully navigate a college career, build long-lasting relationships, and create clarity about what is possible for your future.
Course Overview: HD 205 is an interpersonal communication course that utilizes experiential learning to develop effective communication and life skills through a Mindfulness-based Emotional and Social Intelligence (MESI) framework. With activities designed to enhance self-awareness and self-management, we will explore who you are and how you want to be both personally and professionally. And by engaging in and reflecting on real-life communication experiences we will develop empathy and put compassion in action. This highly interactive course utilizes a workshop format where students practice communication in an active learning model. We will meet twice a week with the collective group and you will also meet with a smaller cohort of your peers in a weekly lab session. The labs will be offered at a time that works with your schedule and will be set up during the first two weeks of class.
*This section of H_D 205 qualifies as credit for the MESI Certificate.
+ This section of H_D 205 satisfies the Honors 270 requirement.
Required Course Text:
The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris
Contextual Understanding in the Arts and Humanities
Meetings: Tu,Th 9:10AM-10:25AM
Instructor: Cyn Zavala
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student
Transformative Narratives of Fantasy, Identity, and Social Activism
This class will examine what it means to transform. From the metamorphoses of mythological figures and alter-egos of super heroes, to the practice of contemporary social activists, “transformation” is an evocative concept that will we will use as a lens for observing individuals, communities, and the knowledge expressed in their narratives.
In our first module, each student will contribute to a class collection documenting fictional and historical examples of transformation in our attempt to co-create a working definition of our theme for the course. For the second module, we will narrow our focus to a common read—The Magic Fish, a graphic novel by Trung Le Nguyen—to investigate specific themes of transformation, including but not limited to fairy tale adaptation, LGBTQIA communities, and Vietnamese diaspora. During the final module, we will branch out into abstract transformations by contending with calls for social and ideological change through a series of texts by activists. The course will culminate in a portfolio that documents your learning process through a reflective letter, revised essays from each module, and additional multimodal examples from in-class activities and independent study.
Required Course Materials
The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen (Random House Graphic), 2020, ISBN 1984851594; in addition to one-shot comics, short films, essays, and scholarly journal articles that will be made accessible to you
Contextual Understanding in the Arts and Humanities
Meetings: Asynchronous online course – no scheduled class meetings
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 writing exercises, and write two short stories 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 workshopped 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.
*This course qualifies as credit for the MESI Certificate
Required Course Materials
Required Text: Method and Madness: The Making of a Story, Alice LaPlant. ISBN#: 9780393928174
Contextual Understanding in the Arts and Humanities
Meetings: M,W,F 9:10AM-10:00AM
Instructor: David Shier
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student
The Good Life in Philosophy and Film
What is most essential for a good life? Pleasure? Wealth? Purpose? Relationships? Freedom? Wisdom? Love? Growth? This class is a philosophical investigation into the concept of the good life as discussed by selected classical and contemporary writers and as portrayed in selected films and videos, including some episodes of “Ted Lasso” and “The Good Place.” We will emphasize ancient Greeks and Romans such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, and the Stoics, but also consider several more recent thinkers including Jean Paul Sartre, David Foster Wallace, Rebecca Solnit, Emily Esfahani-Smith, and Todd May.
The main project in this course is you. For much of the course, you’ll work on refining your own view of “the good life” through our class discussions, the short essays you’ll write on 4 of the films, and some short assignments. In the latter part of the semester, you will conduct a “theory to practice” project by adopting a life-improvement practice of your choice and doing a presentation to the class discussing the impact of these changes.
Required Course Materials
About 15 classical and contemporary readings (free online), 6 feature films (easy to rent for streaming) and several short videos (free online or shown in class).
*This course qualifies as credit for the MESI Certificate.
Contextual Understanding in the Arts and Humanities
Meetings: M,W,F 1:10PM-2:00PM
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 prove more difficult to answer than you initially might 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 works by contemporary avatars of each discipline: those who write poems, those who write songs, and those who write both.
This course explores the art and craft of poetry and lyric writing, and seeks to answer the following questions: Where do these distinct disciplines overlap and diverge? Which craft elements and techniques are most transferable between the disciplines? 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, and seek out as Dr. Elizabeth Renker suggests, “the intersections between these sibling art forms.”
This course provides a foundational knowledge and the related tools in which to begin the effective reading, writing, and analysis of poetry and song lyrics. We will focus on honing your ability to read and analyze poems and song lyrics and to understand the techniques employed by writers to achieve meaning, feeling, and resonance. Through close reading and a discussion of terminology, craft, language, and form, we will seek to broaden the scope of techniques and styles available in your own writing. Coursework will include weekly reading and writing exercises, short presentations, discussion leads, developing “blueprints” of poems and lyrics, peer review, and short craft analyses. And yes, you will write your own poems and lyrics (no previous musical knowledge is required, but if you have some, wonderful!). A final portfolio will combine your revised poems and lyrics, a revised poetry craft analysis, and a reflective letter. I aim for a fun, discussion-based, and collaborative learning environment.
Required Course Materials:
Addonizio, Kim, and Dorianne Laux. The Poet’s Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry. W.W. Norton & Company, 1997.
HONORS 290.1
Science as a Way of Knowing
Meetings: M,W,F 2:10PM-3:00PM
Instructor: Richard Gomulkiewicz
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student. Any B, BSCI, P, PSCI, or SCI lab or concurrent enrollment.
How Science Works
Most people think of modern science as a discipline that uses “the scientific method” to achieve clearcut goals. They likewise presume that science involves logical thinking, advanced technology, precision, and lots of data, and that, in the end, it proves absolute facts about our world. Of course, these popular notions are only partly correct at best and some are simply wrong. The main goal of this course is to provide a general understanding of how science actually works. We will answer the following questions:
• What are the goals of science and how are they determined?
• How is science practiced?
• How does science progress?
As we answer these questions, we will learn about the philosophical, psychological, historical, and social aspects of science. This will reveal the central role of uncertainty in science and show how science is more a creative and collective endeavor than it is a rigid method for understanding the world.
Required Course Materials
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 10:35AM-11:50am
Instructor: Joanna Schultz
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student. Any B, BSCI, P, PSCI, or SCI lab or concurrent enrollment.
The Hungry Plague
Two bestselling novels by MR Carey, the first in the “The Hungry Plague Series, “ depict the following: a future dystopian Earth caused by a worldwide plague due to a highly infectious fungal pathogen, resulting in the total demise of Homo sapiens as we define our species. We will examine how near human extinction occurs and evolution/natural selection operates in this post-apocalyptic environment.
In this course, we will use shared inquiry/the Socratic Method to assess the bridge between MR Carey’s bestselling novels, “The Girl With All The Gifts” and “The Boy on the Bridge” and the evolutionary processes driving the fungal pathogen, Ophiocordyceps 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 an in-class discussion format reading essays from Stephen J. Gould’s “Eight Little Piggies: Reflections in Natural History” as you read the novels. Subsequently, we will break into shared inquiry/Socratic Method for the remainder of the term. Two students will develop a “Basic Question” based on an evolution/natural selection/biological topic derived from the novel, which you will present to your peers by facilitating a discussion. The two student facilitators can only ask questions to maintain the discussion, as the remainder of the cohort discuss the facilitators’ questions originating from the basic question.
This course requires oral discussion as a major portion of your grade, which is derived from your in-class contributions. You will be challenged to develop creative and critical thinking, information literacy, and oral communication. If you are not comfortable in this type of learning environment, you should not enroll in the course.
Black Box Warning: The novel contains language that might be offensive to some students (R-rated).
Required Course Text:
The Girl With All The Gifts, MR Carey, Publisher: Reprint Edition. 2015.
ISBN-10: 0316334758
ISBN-13: 978-0316334754
The Boy on the Bridge, MR Carey, Publisher: Orbit Reprint Edition. 2018.
ISBN-10: 031600349
ISBN-13: 978-0316300346
Eight Little Piggies: Reflections in Natural History, Stephen J. Gould, Publisher W.W. Norton and Company. 1993.
Free pdf download:
https://www.docdroid.net/wx3my2U/eight-little-piggies-stephen-jay-gould-pdf
HONORS 290.3
Science as a Way of Knowing
Meetings: Tu, Th 9:10AM-10:25am
Instructor: Julie Menard
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student. Any B, BSCI, P, PSCI, or SCI lab or concurrent enrollment.
History of Space Exploration
Space exploration started long before the first man-made object reached space in 1949, and is still in its infancy. Throughout this course, we will discuss worldwide space exploration in a historical context, from star gazing to setting up colonies on the Moon and Mars.
We will talk about the past, present, and future mission objectives of the world’s major space agencies, as well as the corresponding payloads and outcomes.
Students will be tasked, as a group, to plan out a space exploration mission to the planetary body of their choice, including mission objectives and instrument payload.
Students will be encouraged to develop information literacy, and critical and creative thinking throughout the course readings, discussions and group project, which they will present orally at the end of term.
Required Course Materials:
TBD
HONORS 298.1
Approaches to Global Leadership
Meetings: W 3:10PM-5:00PM
Instructor: Grant Norton
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student
Global Leadership
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.
Required Course Materials:
None
HONORS 298.2*
Approaches to Global Leadership
Meetings: Tu 3:10PM-5:00PM
Instructor: Mary Kay Patton
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student.
Compassionate Leadership is designed to empower you to begin leading transformational change – in yourself, your relationships and in your organizations. This is a highly experiential course that combines the elements of personal development through mindfulness practices, professional development through the principles of compassionate leadership, and social impact through a service-learning project.
The goal for this course is to offer practical tools to help you respond to your life and leadership challenges with vision, wisdom and compassion. We will:
• Learn mindfulness practices that have been shown to increase self-awareness, equanimity, empathy, compassion, relationship management skills, and leadership effectiveness.
• Explore key course concepts through experiential learning, self-reflection, small-group sharing, and class discussion.
• Create service learning opportunities through Compassion Leadership projects.
*This course qualifies as credit for the MESI Certificate and is open to all Honors College students.
HONORS 370.1
Case Study: Global Issues in Social Sciences
Meetings: Tu, Th 10:35AM-11:50AM
Instructor: Kim Andersen
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 great 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) Other texts handled by the instructor.
HONORS 370.2
Case Study: Global Issues in Social Sciences
Meetings: Tu, Th 12:05PM-1:20PM
Instructor: Vilma Navarro-Daniels
Crossing Paths Between the Public and the Private
In Spring 2022, HONOR 370-02 will focus on the complexities of social, cultural, and political changes experienced in a variety of countries through the study of ten films from diverse cinematic traditions outside of the United States. Therefore, HONORS 370-02 will be taught in the discipline of Film Studies, an interdisciplinary field that integrates knowledge of cinematography, visual arts, history, literature, music, theater, politics, economics, gender, race, cultural and social studies. Students will develop a “cinematic vocabulary” with which they will discuss film and gain a sense of film as a text with visual, auditory, and semantic elements key to understanding its deeper meaning. By applying these analytical and interpretative strategies, students will understand film as a medium which embodies the culture and society in which it was produced. Through film, students will learn about the complexities of social, cultural, and political changes experienced in ten different countries. Through the eyes of a group of characters of diverse age, nationality, language, religious beliefs, gender, social class, culture, and ideology, students will be invited to look at other societies in a totally new way, letting the film protagonists “take” them to their homes, schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, towns, and cities, places where students will “meet” the characters’ families and friends, but also the potential enemies and dangers that surround them. Through these fictitious personas, students will be introduced to realities that, perhaps, they do not even suspect may exist. Students will learn about the interaction between the social and the individual, the public and the domestic realm, the historical and the transcendental. In brief, students will be invited to witness the lives of others, their struggles and fears, but also their dreams and hopes. This course includes comedy as well as historical, political, religious, gender, and coming of age films, among other genres. Students will become active participants in the film viewing experience, rather than mere spectators, by developing the skills to achieve a more discerning “reading” of films produced outside their own cultural context, exploring the familiar in otherness (and vice versa). Students will be able to differentiate and value the cultural diversity represented in these films, and, therefore, re-interpret the place of the self as an identity culturally situated.
HONORS 370.3
Case Study: Global Issues in Social Sciences
Meetings: M,W,F 11:10AM-12:00PM
Instructor: Shawna Herzog
Inequity in World History
The concepts of social egalitarianism and “universal human rights” are relatively recent historical phenomena. Since the emergence of the world’s first civilizations societies have used religious, political, and/or cultural ideologies to justify and enforce social and cultural hierarchies. Some argue these hierarchies are basic ‘human nature,’ or unavoidable consequences of modern mass society while others have asserted that they reinforce oppressive systems of inequality and were strategically constructed for a utilitarian purpose. This course examines the foundations of class, gender, and racial hierarchies in World History to better understand current societal divisions and inequalities around the world. In addition to a thorough and critical analysis of the current scholarship, students in this course will make substantive use of primary source material to develop an independent research project focused on a particular component or aspect of the theme. The reading materials, class discussions, and the final research project are all designed to challenge students to analyze the components of these internal structures, draw comparisons between systems, and investigate their impact on modern society.
HONORS 380.1
Case Study: Global Issues in Arts and Humanities
Meetings: Asynchronous online course – no scheduled class meetings
Instructor: Sergey Lapin
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; HONORS 280.
Introduction to Russian Culture, History, and Language
This course surveys Russia’s cultural past and present. 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 and elementary reading.
The course format consists of slides, video and audio presentations, assigned reading and online discussions. All materials are in English. No prior knowledge of Russian history, literature, language 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 communication skills.
HONORS 380.2
Case Study: Global Issues in Arts and Humanities
Meetings: Tu,Th 2:55PM-4:10PM
Instructor: Lydia Gerber
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; HONORS 280.
In Traditional China, living in harmony with the natural world throughout the seasons of the year and of one’s life required awareness and understanding of the life force qi and a balancing of its yin and yang aspects. Chinese philosophical texts from Daoism (Taoism) and Confucianism relate to these ideas. Chinese Medicine and nutrition, Qigong, Taijiquan and other forms of Martial Arts, Feng Shui (the Art of Placement), Calligraphy and Chinese traditional painting are all based on the concept of qi as an all-pervasive life energy present throughout the cosmos that can be balanced, channeled, and harnessed to improve the well-being of “all under Heaven.” In this class we will familiarize ourselves with these traditional views and practices. We will explore them through the lens of modern science, but also through the lens of “MESI” to see whether some of them can support us in balancing our own lives within the framework of Mindfulness-based Emotional and Social Intelligence. Please take note: prior knowledge of Chinese culture is not required to be successful in this class!
Please feel free to contact the instructor 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 380.3
Case Study: Global Issues in Arts and Humanities
Meetings: Tu 1:30PM-4:00PM
Instructor: Phil Gruen
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; HONORS 280.
The Global Palouse
Our Palouse region is popularly imagined as a remote landscape of rolling hills embedded with rich soils that permit the seasonal growth of wheat and lentils. It is this–yes. But too often, the image stops there; the Palouse is broadly understood for its picturesque attributes but rarely for its emergence following conquest; its people (and those who have been historically excluded); its natural systems; its political landscape; its extractive economies, its processes of production and distribution (and their environmental consequences), and its global impact.
This course will cover the Palouse in a variety of manifestations: from campus to town to city; from culture to place to race. In effect, we will learn to read the Palouse as a landscape that is global as well as local, helping us better understand this remote region many of us call home—if only for a few years.
The Global Palouse will be a seminar-style, discussion-based “flipped classroom” course. Lectures will accompany active student participation and presentations (individual and group), typically within the same class session. Student success will rely principally on informed and energetic involvement and will account for the majority of the semester grade.
Required Course Materials
A selection of articles, chapters, podcasts, and/or videos will accompany weekly or bi-weekly themes or topics. Every effort will be made to ensure that course materials are provided free of charge.
Contextual Understanding in the Arts and Humanities
Instructor: Annie Lampman
Meetings: Asynchronous online course – no scheduled class meetings
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student
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, 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.
Required Course Material
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
*This course qualifies as credit for the MESI Certificate and is open to all Honors College students.
HONORS 390.1
Case Study: Global Issues in the Sciences
Meetings: M,W,F 11:10AM-12:00PM
Instructor: Raymond Quock
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student
Mental Health–A Global Perspective
Mental health is a state of psychological well-being in which people realize their own potential, cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively, and are able to contribute to their communities. Mental disorders interfere with these functions. The topics in this course will: 1) provide a scientific background in mental disorders and the psychopharmacology of drugs used in their treatment; 2) discuss the societal impact of mental illness; and 3) analyze trends in addressing the burden of mental disorders.
Required Course Materials
None
HONORS 390.2
Case Study: Global Issues in the Sciences
Meetings: W 4:30PM-7:00PM
Instructor: Lydia Gerber
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; HONORS 280.
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
Case Study: Global Issues in the Sciences
Meetings: Tu,Th 12:05PM-1:20PM
Instructor: Joanna Schultz
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; HONORS 290, SCIENCE 299, CHEM 116, MATH 182, PHYSICS 205, or PHYSICS 206.
The Catastrophe of Man
Imagine living in a future dystopian Earth following the consequences of cataclysmic climate change, disease, food shortages, extinction, de-extinction, bioterrorism, GMOs, and class stratification. The world is reliant on genetic/bio-engineered products, including foods, human organs, medicines, genetically engineered plants and animals, and even beauty treatments generated and marketed by large corporations, who employ scientists and all the required personnel necessary to market these products. These employees live well in secure, guarded compounds. The remainder of the human population persist outside these pristine, fenced areas at various income levels in the pleeblands and all live at risk. A bio-engineered worldwide plague breaks down the entire infrastructure, killing most Homo sapiens. One man remains, who believes he is the last human and he becomes guardian to a new, genetically engineered, human species known as the Crakers, engineered to succeed under Earth’s hostile conditions. In this course, we will explore many issues raised by Margaret Atwood in “Oryx and Crake”, with genetics/bio-engineering and climate change at the core of our discussions all at the scientific, economic, social, and ethical levels.
We will be using an approach called shared inquiry/the Socratic Method. Two students will develop a “Basic Question” based on a topic derived from the novel, which you will present to your peers using a Discussion Forum. The two student facilitators can only ask questions to maintain the discussion, as the remainder of the cohort discuss the facilitators’ questions originating from the basic question.
This course requires written discussion as a major portion of your grade, which is derived from your contributions to the discussion board forum. You will be challenged to develop creative and critical thinking, information literacy, and written communication skills in this course. If you are not comfortable in this type of learning environment, you should not enroll in the course.
Black Box Warning: The novel contains language that might be offensive to some students (R-rated).
Required Course Material:
“Oryx and Crake” by Margaret Atwood. 2004.
Publisher: Anchor, Reprint Edition
ISBN-10: 0385721676
ISBN-13: 978-0385721677
HONORS 390.4
Case Study: Global Issues in the Sciences
Meetings: Tu,Th 1:30PM-2:45PM
Instructor: Grant Norton
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student
What A Load of Rubbish
Course description for your section
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:
1. What is plastic?
2. Why does so much of it end up in the ocean or in land fills?
3. Why doesn’t plastic biodegrade?
4. 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 fueled 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.
Required Course Materials:
None
HONORS 398.1
Thesis Proposal Seminar
Meetings: Asynchronous online course – no scheduled class meetings
Instructor: Annie Lampman
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; sophomore standing.
This is a seminar-style course with the purpose of assisting and supporting each participant in completing his/her Honors thesis proposal. In the course, you will generate an Honors thesis topic, formulate your thesis question, identify a thesis advisor, and prepare you thesis proposal. We will discuss ways to structure your thesis, perform research, and evaluate the information you obtain in relation to your chosen topic. During the course, we will discuss and constructively support and critique projects as they develop in the proposals. Each student will present their proposal to the class, and submit a complete proposal—including title, introduction, research question, methodology, and annotated bibliography—as a final product. S/F grading.
Required Course Materials
None
HONORS 398.4
Thesis Proposal Seminar
Meetings: Th 1:30PM-2:20PM
Instructor: Kim Andersen
Prerequisite: Must be a current Honors student; sophomore standing.
This is a seminar 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 discuss and 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 Course Materials
Writing A Successful Research Paper: A Simple Approach by Stanley Chodorow. Indianapolis/Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Co., ISBN: 978-1-60384-440-6