Honors Courses Fall 2007

 

First Year Honors Core 1

 

ENGL 2305   Understanding and Doubting

Insights from literature, linguistics, philosophy, psychology, and science that explore major modes of interpreting the world in the 20th century and define what constitutes knowledge in the 21st century. Restricted to students in the University Honors Program.

Enrollment Limit: 15

 

Class #: 3437            001H   MWF   9AM-9:50AM

                        Tom E. Stone            VS 203          

 

Class #: 3438            002H   MWF   10AM-10:50AM

                        Vanessa Ann Hopper           VS 303          

                        Tom E. Stone            VS 203                      

 

Class #: 3439            003H   MWF   11AM-11:50AM

                        Vanessa Ann Hopper           VS 303          

 

Class #: 3441            004H   MWF   12PM-12:50PM

                        Vanessa Ann Hopper           VS 303          

 

Class #: 5728            005H   MWF   2PM-2:50PM

                        Nina Schwartz              VS 203                   

 

Class #: 3446            006H   TTH     9:30AM-10:50AM

                        Jo Goyne        VS 303                                              

                        Diana Grumbles Roehm      VS 203

 

Class #: 4022            007H   TTH     11AM-12:20AM

                        Jo Goyne        VS 303

                        Nancy E. Hodge        Hyer 104

                        Diana Kay Howard   FOSC 153

                        Diana Grumbles Roehm      VS 203

 

Class #: 4023            008H   TTH     12:30PM-1:50PM

                        Nancy E. Hodge        VS 203

 

Class #: 5729            009H   TTH     2PM-3:20PM

                        Diana Kay Howard   VS 203

                        Mary Ann Shattles     Dallas Hall 101

 

Arts

 

MUHI 3340. Jazz: Tradition and Transformation

002H                           Dean Jose Bowen

Class #: 5707            TTH 2:00PM                          OFAC 2130

Bunk, Bird, Bix, Bags, and Trane. From blues to bop, street beat to free jazz. A study of the people and music from its African, Euro-American origins through the various art and popular forms of the 20th century.

Honors students will meet weekly with the professor and will lead discussion groups of the non-Honors class.

NOTE 1 EXTRA CREDIT OPTION – CLICK HERE (***Extra section held Tuesdays 2pm-3:20pm in OAC 1050)

 

 

Literature

 

ENGL 2314. Doing Things With Poems

001H                           Beth S. Newman

Class #: 3105            TTH     11AM-12:20PM        Dallas Hall 138

Introduction to the study of poems, poets, and how poetry works, focusing on a wide range of English and American writers. Some attention to matters of literary history. Restricted to students in the University Honors Program. Satisfies Poetry requirement for English Major.

Prerequisite: ENGL 2305 or Departmental Approval.

Enrollment Limit: 18             

 

Politics/Economics

 

ECO 1311. Principles: Consumers, Firms, Markets 

001H                           Rajat Deb                              

Class #: 2610            TTH     8AM-9:30AM             ULEE 303

002H                           Rajat Deb

Class #: 3068            TTH     9:30AM-10:50AM     ULEE 303

Enables a concerned citizen to make an intelligent appraisal of current controversies relating to consumers and producers. Explains tools of economic analysis. No prerequisites.

Enrollment Limit: 20

 

PLSC 1320. Introduction to American Government-Politics         

001H                           Joseph F. Kobylka

Class #: 2847            MWF   11AM-11:50AM        Dallas Hall 115

The organization, functions, and processes of our national government, with particular attention to parties, pressure groups, and other forces that influence its course. Attention will also be given to the Texas Constitution.

Enrollment Limit: 20 (10 of the 20 spaces are reserved specifically for First-Year students)

 

PLSC 1340. Introduction to Comparative Politics

003H                           Michael Lusztig

Class #: 3999            MWF   9AM-9:50AM             Hyer 204

Analyzes and contrasts different patterns of national political development in Western, Marxist-Leninist, and Third World countries. Political dilemmas confronting each type of system will be examined.

Enrollment Limit: 10 (5 of the 10 spaces are reserved specifically for First-Year students)

 

Behavioral Sciences

 

ANTH 1321. First Year Seminar

001H              

Class #: 5721            TTH     11AM-12:20PM        DLSB 132

Offers beginning students an opportunity to pursue a writing and specific anthropological topic in depth in a small class setting.  Reading intensive.  Open to First Year students only.

Enrollment Limit: 30

 

SOCI 2310. Introduction to Sociology

002H                           J. Michael Cruz

Class #: 2868            MWF   12PM-12:50PM        Hyer 102

This course is an introduction to the science of sociology. Various topics surrounding US society are addressed, such as The Sociological Perspective/Imagination; Deviance and Social Control; Social Inequality based on race, social class, gender; and Family.

Enrollment Limit: 15

 

SOCI 2377. Markets and Culture           

001H                           Linda Stearns           

Class #: 3516            MWF   9AM-9:50AM             Dallas Hall 137

This course is a general introduction to economic sociology. The effects of culture and social relations on shaping production, distribution, and consumption in domestic and global markets are examined.

Enrollment Limit: 15

 

History & Art history

 

ARHS 1332. 20th Century Art      

Charrissa Terranova

Class #: 6421            T 12:30-1:50PM                    P34 Meadows

                                    TH 4:00-5:00PM

Major art movements of the 20th century from Art Nouveau, Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Futurism, The Bauhaus, and Surrealism to the Contemporary, with emphasis on parallel development in politics, philosophy, literature, music, and dance.

Enrollment Limit: 12

 

HIST 1321. First Year Seminar: Becoming Modern: 20th Century American Society

002H                           David Doyle

Class #: 6282            TTH 3:30PM                          V-S 303                     

Following the end of Reconstruction, the second industrial revolution, and the dawn of

the 20th century, the world we know today began to come into focus.  Sifting through the reality and fantasy of an equal American society, this class will trace the rise of modern politics, culture, gender and sexual norms, as well as defining decades as the Progressive era, the great depression, the conservative 1950’s, and the tumultuous 1960’s.  Particular attention will be paid to women, African-Americans, and other marginalized groups through such large movements as the Great Migration.  The final section of the class will examine social conditions in American society today. 

 

Readings will consist of one textbook, historical monographs, novels, memoirs, as well as more accessible texts by popular writers and journalists. 

Readings will include: 1) Eric Foner, Give me Liberty! (Seagull Edition, 2005); 2) Booker T. Washington, Up From Slavery (1901); 3) W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folks (1903); 4) Alan Trachtenberg: The Incorporation of America: Culture & Society in the Gilded Age (1982); 5) Martin Duberman, Haymarket (2003); 6) James Agee & Walker Evans, Let us Now Praise Famous Men (1939); 7) Beth L. Bailey, Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship in 20th Century America (1988); 8) Claude Brown, Manchild in the Promised Land (1965); 9) David K. Shipler, The Working Poor: Invisible in America. (2004)

 

 

HIST 2312. Unfinished Nation: US 1877-Present   

002H                           David Doyle

Class #: 5465            Thursday   11AM-12:20PM

This course will follow the history of the United States from the aftermath of the Civil War and Reconstruction, through late nineteenth century industrialization, the country’s rise to world power status (from the Spanish-American War to Vietnam), the Civil Rights movements of the 1950’s and 1960’s, and up to our own War on Terrorism.  Political, economic, and social history will all serve as important ways for us to recognize historical change and trends.  We will not only study the history of institutions—governmental and political—but also the history of individual people. For instance, when does the system truly work for its citizens?  How can people react when one or more groups fail to receive equal treatment?  This course argues that the study of history is critically important to understanding our own world.  Toward this end we will read and discuss the Friday New York Times each Tuesday.  Along with our historical readings, this current information will help us prepare for questions on the mid-term and final examinations.  Readings will include: Booker T. Washington, Up From Slavery (1901); W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folks (1903); Alan Trachtenberg, The Incorporation of America (1982); Martin Duberman, Haymarket (2003); Steven Hahn, A Nation Under our Feet: Black Political Struggles in the Rural South from Slavery to the Great Migration (2003); Nicholas Lehman, The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How it Changed America (1991); Eric Rauchway, Murdering McKinley: The Making of Theodore Roosevelt’s America (2003); James Agee & Walker Evans, Let us Praise Famous Men (1939); Bruce Schulman, Lyndon B. Johnson and American Liberalism (1995); David K. Shipler, The Working Poor: Invisible in America (2004).

Enrollment Limit: 15

This course may be petitioned for a Human Diversity co-requirement at the General Education Curriculum Office.

 

Religious/Philosophical Thought

 

PHIL 1305. Introduction to Philosophy           

003H                           Eric Barnes

Class #: 3123            MWF   9AM-9:50AM             Hyer 107

A general introduction to the central questions of philosophy. We will discuss topics from such areas as the theory of knowledge, philosophy of religion, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, ethics, and political philosophy. Typical questions might include: Can we know the world outside our minds? Is it rational to believe in a God who allows evil to exist? Do the laws of physics allow for human freedom? Is morality more than a matter of opinion? Can there be unequal wealth in a just society? Readings will include classical authors such as Plato, Descartes, Locke, Hume, and Mill, as well as contemporary philosophers. The focus of the course will be on arguments for and against proposed solutions to key problems of philosophy.

Enrollment Limit: 25

 

 

PHIL 1318. Contemporary Moral Problems    

An examination of current moral and legal issues. Topics may include abortion, euthanasia, animal rights, affirmative action, racism, sexism, drug legalization, censorship, and homosexuality.

Enrollment Limit: 25

 

Class #: 2823            006H   TTH     9:30AM-10:20 AM    Steven Sverdlik         Hyer 102       

Class#: 3544             008H   TTH     12:30PM-1:50PM                                         Hyer 111

 

RELI 1304. Introduction to Western Religion

001H                           John C. Lamoreaux

Class #: 3913            TTH     2PM-3:20PM             Hyer 106

A historical introduction to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Topics include Moses and ancient Israelite religion; Jesus and early Christianity; rabbinic Judaism; Muhammad and classical Islam; the birth of Protestantism; and Jewish, Christian, and Islamic modernism.

Enrollment Limit: 10

 

 

Cultural Formations

 

 

CF 3313. The Renaissance         

001H                           Kathleen Wellman

Class #: 5736            TTH     11AM-12:20PM        Dallas Hall 106

Sophomore standing is recommended.  A history of culture in the Renaissance from the perspective of advances in scholarship and science and, above all, in appreciation if social and political contexts.

Enrollment Limit: 15

 

CF 3356. Christianity/Public Life           

001H                           Charles Edward Curran

Class #: 5427            M 2PM-4:50PM                     Dallas Hall 102

The objectives of this course include these: 1) to acquaint students with some recent criticisms of the dangers of individualism permeating American understanding and life; 2) to propose the communitarian dimensions of human existence from the Christian perspective; and 3) to help students enter more critically into the dialogue about the role of religion in pluralistic contemporary American society.

Enrollment Limit: 15

           

CF 3371. Enlightenment              

001H                           Robin W. Lovin

Class #: 5685            Tuesday 2PM-4:50PM

Explores Plato, Augustine, and Kant on "What in enlightenment?"  Their three different, competing ideas shape our contemporary understandings of the educated, virtuous, and free person.

Enrollment Limit: 20

 

CF 3378. Solo Performance       

001H                           Rhonda L. Blair

Class #: 3457            TTH     3:30PM-4:50 PM      OFAC 2020

This course surveys major figures and issues in contemporary solo performance and performance studies, acquainting students with artists, forms, and venues ranging from the mainstream to the alternative.  We will view videos and video documentation of the work and read performance texts, performance theory, and interviews/writings by and about the artists and their work.  The two major assignments are a research and analysis paper examining an issue related to the course and a brief original piece applying in performance what we have studied.

Enrollment Limit: 10

This course may be petitioned for a Human Diversity co-requirement at the General Education Curriculum Office.

 

CF 3404. Social Class and Democracy           

001H                           Bruce Levy

Class #: 3722            TTH     11AM-12:20PM        Dallas Hall 343

This course explores the concept of class in American life and investigates the effects of class differences and tensions on American democratic institutions.

This class has a 3-hour community service requirement.

Enrollment Limit: 18

           

CFA 3334. Politics of Change    

001H                           Dennis M. Simon

Class #: 5686            MW     3PM-4:20PM             Hyer 107

Focusing upon American politics and society from 1930 to the present, this course will examine how America has changed, explain why change occurs and assess the consequences of these changes.

Enrollment Limit: 20

           

CFA 3312. Making History: Representations of Ethical Choices

001H                           Tom Stone      

(Class #: 3121)         MWF 12PM                           Hyer 106

Interdisciplinary course examining ethical issues associated with the writing of “historical fictions” and the production of historical exhibits. Students will complicate conventional distinctions between disciplines and genres by looking at how playwrights, novelists, filmmakers, and museum curators/directors shape their productions from the raw materials of historical data. They will explore the ways in which historical memory is created and represented, further developing and refining their own engagements with texts, films, and museums.

 

CFA 3348. Changing American Families        

001H                           Andrea Hamilton

(Class #3838: )         T Th 12:30pm-1:20pm          Virginia-Snider Rm. 303

The course explores changes in American family life from the colonial period to the present.  Seeks to understand how family ideals, structures, and roles have shaped and been shaped by social and historical change. 

Enrollment Limit: 12. 

Fulfills Human Diversity Co-requirement.