Honors Seminars (HO)

HO 204 Hrs: Political Syst:Decison Making: 3 semester hours

This course will examine three specific historical moments that played a key role in the development of modern political systems. Students will conduct their examination by participating in a series of games designed to take them into each historical moment. The games combined research of primary texts with role playing in the classroom, so that students experience how ideological stances are translated into human actions and political structures within the context of historical circumstances. We will play three games from the Reacting to the Past series: The Threshold of Democracy Athens in 403 B.C.; Confucianism an the Succession Crisis of the Wanli Emperor; and Rousseau, Burke and Revolution in France.

HO 215 Honors: Revolutionary Christianity: 3 semester hours

This course investigates ways that victims of societal oppression are reinterpreting Jesus and his message in our time. The perspectives of blacks, women, and the Latin American poor are used to explore the revolutionary potential of the biblical story. These perspectives call for a critical analysis of the Christian tradition to test its ability to address needs of oppressed people in their daily struggles for survival and human dignity. The course examines Christianity as a possible inspiration and impetus to create radically new kinds of relationsips between races, sexes and classes of people at the societal level. Prerequisites: At least junior class standing at least a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.00.

HO 216 Honors: The Holocaust: 3 semester hours

This course will examine the Holocaust and its impact on the history of the twentieth century. The approach will be interdisciplinary using historical, literary, cinematic, philosophical, and popular sources. To create a context for the specific study of this major event of the twentieth century, the course will include discussions about the phenomenon of Anti-Semitism in Western Culture, the specific events leading up to the Holocaust, the nature of the bureaucratic mass murder, the religious crisis caused by this event, and the continuing and profound effect of this tragedy.

HO 217 Honors: Humor & Human Life: 3 semester hours

Is humor an intrinsic part of being human? What is funny to us? Why is it funny? This course introduces students to the philosophy, history, culture, and anatomy of humor, as well as laughter. Our time will be spent reviewing pertinent literature, observing humorous archetypes, and actually creating our own examples. The objective is to enable the student to achieve wisdom about mirth and self. Primarily the major content areas of the course are philosophy and psychology. However, considerable use of poetry, literature, and printed material from the performing arts will be used.

HO 218 Honors: Social Power & Architecture: 3 semester hours

Within a historical context, this course addresses the role and function of spatial design and the built environment in shaping our lives, defining social class boundaries, and reinforcing economic, political and religions power bases in society. By critically examining various schools of modern architecture and urban planning and their rise and fall in conjunction with various stages of capitalist development , the role of commissioned artists, architects and planners in serving specific interests as well as alternative approaches to designing the built environment will be discussed. The course format is a combination of intensive class discussions of assigned readings, guest speakers, hands-on experience with architectural design using CAD software and conventional techniques, films/videos, and field trips to various local/regional sites of architectural significance.

HO 219 Honors: Intel In Non-Human Primates: 3 semester hours

Are humans unique? Are we truly superior to other primates? Are humans the only species that produce and understand language? This course is designed to examine evidence of intelligence in non-human primates. Species studied will include chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and humans. Major topics will include language acquisition, cooperation, tool use, mathematical reasoning, and other forms of intelligence including the evolution of consciousness. The course includes a there-day fieldtrip to the primate center in Madison, Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Zoo.

HO 220 Honors: Life/Legacy Martin Luther King: 3 semester hours

This course will seek to understand the life and thought, and the work and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. To do this we will study the historical background of the civil rights movement, subsequent events and their consequences for race relations today. We will begin with an overview of race relations in the United States starting with the Emancipation Proclamation of 1862, through the progressive era and the influence of Booker T. Washington and William Dubois, the Harlem Renaissance, World War II and then on to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950's and the 1960's. We will examine the life of Martin Luther King JR., with an emphasis on his own spiritual journey and the influence of this religious background and beliefs on his civil rights activities. We will also consider the overall religious ties of the movement including the origins, practice and goals of passive resistance and non-violent confrontation. Finally, we will consider the effects of these things on past and present race relations within our country. This course may be petitioned to count toward the history or Religion Studies major.

HO 222 Honors: Gender Issues:Past,Present,Futur: 3 semester hours

There are many pre-conceived ideas and stereotypes regarding gender roles. This course asks the questions: What are the origins of our traditions about feminity and masculinity? What are the realities of being men, of being women? To find the answers we will be studying historical, social/ philosophical writings about men and women. This course is about issues that affect our lives, e.g. marriage and its alternatives, a society without definite sex roles. This course is designed for men and women who wish to go beyond both "revolutionary feminist rhetoric" and sex role stereotypes to study their own gender identity and that of the other half of the human race.

HO 231 Hnrs: Happiness:Phil/Psych Perspec: 3 semester hours

Recent studies have suggested that, although Americans generally have more money, pleasure, and power than we had fifty years ago, significantly fewer of us report that we are happy. Perhaps this surprising development is related to the growing number of authors, from social science and other academic backgrounds, who are studying and writing about happiness today. This course is designed to help participants to read some of the best of this material, compare it to some ideas about happiness from other time periods, and apply our findings to our own lives. Topics will include the definition of 'happiness', the demographics of happy people, and the relationship between happiness and cognition, biology, personal relationships, and religious faith, among others. Students should expect to be active daily readers, writers, and knowledgeable participants in discussion. Prerequisite: completion of core curriculum requirement in philosophy and PS 101.

HO 235 Hnrs: City As Text:Soc Of Cedar Rapids: 3 semester hours

This course will utilize field-based urban observation, presentations by city and community leaders, class discussion and critical analysis to help students comprehend the complexity of the city of Cedar Rapids as a "living social organism." Topics include the city's urban history and structure such as the social class boundaries, neighborhoods, land values and unequal distribution of urban services; Economic base including industries, service and retail activities, downtown business and shopping malls; political government and its functions; spatial distribution of schools; and various cultural and religious institutions that make Cedar Rapids 'tick." There are no texts for this class in a conventional sense. Rather, students will be required to read packets of locally produced primary sources such as newspaper and online articles an reports, census data, and booklets produced by local companies and various urban agencies.

HO 238 World Cinema: The Major Directors: 3 semester hours

Students will study films by major directors form around the world. They will learn how to read a film, to analyze and interpret visual images. They will learn about film technique, including mise-en-scene, point of view, narrative, premise of adaption, etc. Students will use film to interpret, reveal, and interrogate their cultural and historical contexts, especially by comparing American filmmakers with directors form other countries. Students will be expected to reserve 2-3 hours per week to view films outside of class. Prerequisite Sophomore standing in the Honors program or permission of instructor.

HO 244 Hrs: America's Cities:Chicago & NY: 3 semester hours

The course will look at America's "first and second cities" during two distinct historical periods: Chicago (1890-1975) and New York City (1890-1975). The class will examine the social, cultural, literary and political life of these cities during these critical periods. Included in this course will be a weekend trip to Chicago to view significant cultural and social sites.

HO 248 Hrs: Cultural Study Of American Family: 3 semester hours

This course will examine the American family as a social system and how the family is portrayed in literature (fiction, drama and memoirs), film and television. This course will offer a strengths perspective (how families support and nurture individual members). The course will cover a wide range of issues including the evolution of the American family, immigration, ethnicity, substance abuse, social class, divorce, family violence, alternative families and death.

HO 257 Economics/Culture of Food Distribution: 3 semester hours

This course will examine the production, processing, distribution and consumption of food with an emphasis on Cedar Rapids. We will study the food economy and how it affects its cost and price. The students will survey the envirnomental, cultural and health implications of modern food production and distribution systems and how these systems can evolve in the future. Students will be able to see the food economy from a social welfare as well as a business perspective. Prerequisite: junior standing in the honors program or permission of instructor.

HO 260 Honors: Evolutionary Psychology: 3 semester hours

The class is a seminar that investigates the fundamentals of evolutionary psychology, including issues of natural and sexual selection, adaptation, and domain-specific psychological mechanisms as they relate to human behaviors, cognition, and emotions. Reading and discussion will be the main format of the class.

HO 270 Modern Chinese Politics and Society: 3 semester hours

This course will combine historical and political science perspoectives on the rise of Modern China and its prospects as a political and economic superpower in the 21st Century.

HO 310 Ethical/Social Implications Human Genome: 3 semester hours

This course is an exploration of the ethical, legal and social implications of the Human Genome Project. Students will acquire knowledge of the basics of genetics and an understanding of the role science plays in our society and the great potential scientific knowledge has to improve or harm life on our fragile planet. Students will reflect on the ethical implications of genetic research and on their role as citizens in determining governmental funding for and use of scientific knowledge. Students will understand the implications of genetics for our socially constructed concept of race. Students will be challenged to write on the following questions: What is considered acceptable diversity and who should decide that? Who owns and controls genetic information? How does genomic information affect members of minority communities and indigenous populations? Related to one's ethnic identity, how does personal genetic information affect an individual and society's perception of that individual? Do people's genes make them behave in a particular way? Who determines what behavior is "particular"?.

HO 320 Media and Voters: 3 semester hours

This honors seminar will investigate the 2012 presidential election and how it and mass media interact. It will include ways in which public opinion is measured and shaped by media messages, and how news coverage of the election shapes perception of the race. This is a joint communication and political science course, and will include topics from both disciplines.

HO 330 Biological Anthropology: Human Evolution and Biocultural Adaptations in the Ancient and Modern World: 3 semester hours

This course introduces students to the field of biological anthropology. Biological anthropologists use information from both the social and physical sciences to gain a holistic understanding of humans as biocultural beings and investigate a broad range of subject matter including the biological origins of the human species, the range of human variation, and the impact cultural innovations can have on biological development in past and present environments. In this honors seminar, the topics discussed will include: human evolution and evolutionary theory, biological variation between and within populations, the biocultural impacts of activity and food production on human health and demography in the ancient world, and the positive and negative influences of technology, social structure, diet, and work activities on human health, reproduction and life expectancy in the contemporary world.