Honors ENGL 1105 (10) MWF 2-2:50pm -  Dr. Deepa Sitaraman This course is an enhanced introduction to argumentation and composition. Students will gain familiarity with the conventions of usage, jargon, format and documentation in academic disciplines. Students will complete assignments that are designed to channel their critical thinking skills as well as their writing abilities in interesting directions and at a slightly more elevated and complex level than the assignments they tackled in 1102. In addition, students will complete a group project to help them hone their ability to work as a team and meet deadlines as a group. This teamwork will also teach them the importance of values such as compromise and flexibility as well as leadership and adjustment skills-absolute essentials in the professional world today. Students will read I, Rigoberta Mechu, about human rights atrocities in Guatemala. The book generated controversy as some questioned the authenticity of some of the events described.

Introduction to Sociology SOCI 1101 M/W 4:00-5:20pm--Dr. Monique Diderich  Sociology provides us with different ways to look at life and helps understand who people are, how they shape their world, and how people are shaped by the institutions they have created. Dr. Diderich will discuss sociological theories and applications in American society as well as other societies around the world. As an Honors course, the emphasis in this class is on academic discussion and critical thinking.

Honors Civilization and Literature 1 IDST 2225 (51) W 6-8:50pm--Dr. Tim Scheurer  This course will investigate the metaphor of the journey/the voyage/the quest in literature, film, and music. Students will read, view and listen to texts in which artists and thinkers employ the idea of the journey to explore how and what people learn about other people, places and themselves during these voyages. Students will analyze the meaning of external and interior voyages on the road to understanding more about themselves and humankind.

Honors Senior Seminar IDST 4490 (05) T/R 12:00-1:20pm--Dr. Frank Byrne  The Honors Senior Seminar will be structured like Dr. Byrne's other Senior Seminar sections, but with the exception that each student will be required to do research on a current issue within his or her academic discipline. In other words, there should be consultation with faculty members of a particular discipline to determine what issues are currently topical. With that consultation, Dr. Byrne will then approve the topic if he deems it possible in the span of a semester. Dr. Byrne will then work closely with the student both in classroom discussions and with office consultations to produce a high quality research argumentative document.

Introduction to Art (Honors) - ARTH 101 (06) T/R 12:00-1:50 Dr. Graziani - The course is an introduction to the study of the visual arts.  It explores the significance of major works of art, with an emphasis on the awareness of their historical significance.  It deals with the principles of art, formal and contextual elements, and the basic vocabulary necessary in order to articulate opinions about the arts.  The course has a studio component that will allow the student hands-on experience to encourage visual communication through the visual arts.  As an Honors course, the emphasis is on academic discussion and oral presentations.

Literature and Composition (Honors) - ENGL 115 (02) M/W 10:00-11:50 Ann Linden - This course examines the relationship between literature and composition by giving students an opportunity to examine literary works from a variety of thematic perspectives.  Readings focus on themes of contemporary relevance, and students are encouraged to examine the role literature plays in defining/reflecting various cultures.  It extends the development of critical writing, reading, and thinking skills through independent analysis of texts and writing assignments. 

Civilization and Literature 3 (Honors) - IDST 227 (01) M/W 12:00-1:50 Shannon Lawson - This course is an interdisciplinary introduction to the major thoughts of various non-western civilizations.  Emphasis is placed on reading primary texts and responding to those texts through class discussions, presentations, and essays. Readings will focus on various African civilizations and will be centered upon the theme of diaspora.

Mathematics Core Course (Honors) - MATH 110 (?) M 6:00-9:50 Dr. Mendris - Tired of dry math?  Learn general problem solving methods by playing games!

Introduction to Philosophy (Honors) - PHIL 200 (01) T/R 10:00-11:50 Dr. Meriwether - This course addresses some of the most vexing questions regarding the nature of knowledge, such as: What distinguishes knowledge from opinion? Does knowledge require certainty? Is what we call knowledge simply a reflection of our culture and upbringing? Who's to say our morals are better than the morals of other times and places? We trace these questions and others through the texts of some of the most significant thinkers in Western Civilization, including Plato, Descartes, Kant, and Nietzsche GEP Preq. ENGL 115S

ENGL1102 (12) T/R 10:00—11:20 am (Shannon Lawson)  

Composition: A Vehicle for Communicating Across Gender, Class, and Cultural Divisions
The course will be an enhanced introduction to college composition. Students will be required to actively participate in class discussions of original readings relevant to the goals of the course.  The course will focus on how we use language, both written and oral to communicate with one another.  Students will develop their critical thinking and analysis skills.  Students will also produce an electronic portfolio featuring a collection of their writing pieces and reflections upon their development as a writer.
In addition to the standard departmental reader, students will read A long way gone: memoirs of a boy soldier by Ishmael Beah.  Beah began writing his memoirs when he was a junior at Oberlin College.  His story begins in Sierra Leone during the civil warfare of the 1990s.  At the young age of twelve, he witnessed the brutal killing of his family at the hand of attacking rebels.  Within a year, he had been recruited into the government army, and at the tender age of thirteen, discovered he was capable of horrific violence.  When he was finally released by the army and sent to a UNICEF rehabilitation center, he labored to reclaim his humanity.  For more info, consult the official website at http://www.alongwaygone.com/long_way_gone.html .

PHIL2230 (51) T/R 4:00—5:20 pm (Dr. John Valentine)
Social and Political Philosophy
“Below the Radar: Rogue States, Failed States and Non-State Actors”
The course will begin with a brief survey of the various social sciences. It will then examine some of the classical texts of Western social and political philosophy to determine the basic presuppositions Western thinkers have made regarding political communities and human rationality.
The course will then focus on how well these classical Western presuppositions enable us to comprehend the potentials and limitations of rogue states, failed states and non-state actors to impact the world in which we live. Special attention will be given to how well these presuppositions enable us to think through the implications of modern science and technology (the internet, WMD, genetic engineering), and the challenges of world views and movements that espouse the rationality of martyrdom (al Queda, Jemaah Islamiyah).
Readings will include Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations, Barber’s Jihad vs. McWorld, and contemporary work by foreign policy intellectuals such as Henry Kissinger, Zbigniew Brezinski and Robert Litwak.
***This class satisfies the GEP Social Science Requirement.