PERSPECTIVES/PILLARS

Transcription

1 Honors Courses Fall 2012 FIRST YEAR HONORS FOUNDATION COURSE FALL 2012 DISC 2305 Honors Humanities Seminar I This course confronts profound ethical questions through considerations of history, literature, psychology, philosophy, and sociology. Beginning with a story by Flannery O Connor that poses questions about ethical conduct, students explore texts and events that challenge the foundations of philosophical and religious ethical systems. The course also addresses contemporary ethical questions regarding individual freedom and responsibility and the meanings of community. MWF 002H 9-9:50 am Stone (VS 203) 003H 10-10:50 am Stone (VS 203) 004H 10-10:50 am Hopper (Dallas 101) 005H 12-12:50 pm Hopper (Dallas 137) TuTh 001H 8-9:20 am Schott (Dallas 343) 006H 9:30-10:50 am Goyne (VS 203) 007H 11-12:20 pm Grumbles (Dallas 149) 008H 11-12:20 pm Goyne (VS 203) 009H 12:30-1:50 pm Boulanger (VS 303) 010H 2-3:20 pm Foster (Dallas 102) ALL FIRST-YEAR HONORS STUDENTS MUST ENROLL IN DISC 2305 DURING THE FALL SEMESTER PERSPECTIVES/PILLARS CREATIVITY AND AESTHETICS LITERATURE ENGL H Doing Thing with Poems MW 3:00-4:20 pm Willard Spiegelman, Dallas Hall 149 Class # 3030 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. Satisfies Poetry requirement for English Majors. 1

2 ENGL H Fiction MWF 12:00-12:50 pm Rajani Sudan, Hyer Hall 102 Class # 2346 Analysis, interpretation and appreciation of fiction, with attention to terms and issues relevant to the genre. INDIVIDUALS, INSTITUTIONS, AND CULTURES POLITICAL SCIENCE/ECONOMICS PLSC H Intro to American Government and Politics MWF 10-10:50 am Joseph Kobylka, Florence Hall 0302 Class # 2892 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. First Year Seminar ECO H Principles: Consumers, Firms, and Markets TuTh 8-9:20 am Rajat Deb, Umphrey-Lee 303 Class # 2293 The first term of a liberal arts education sequence discussing issues such as consumers, firms, and markets in microeconomics. Please Note: Students must have the necessary background in calculus to enroll in this class. PLSC H Introduction to Comparative Politics MWF 9:00-9:50 am Michael Lusztig, TBA Class # 3677 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. BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES ANTH H First-Year Seminar: Debunking Myths in Archaeology Marty Authier, Virginia-Snider 203 TuTh 2:00-3:20 pm Class # 3342 The popular culture that surrounds archeology is filled with fantastic claims. How do archaeologists weed through the outlandish to understand the human past? Using critical thinking skills and scientific reasoning and logic, we will evaluate a variety of assertions about the human past, including pseudo-scientific claims, hoaxes, and other spurious arguments relating to archaeology. As an on-going project, the students will explore a scientific debate on the peopling of the Americas, ultimately producing a research paper and presentation. ANTH H Peoples of Southeast Asia Ben Wallace, Heroy Building 0426 MW 11:00 am-12:20 pm 2

3 Class # 5408 Fulfills human diversity requirement A comparative study of insular and mainland cultures of Southeast Asia, their history and development, and their social and economic structures. SOCI H Global Society MWF 9-9:50 am Nancy Campbell-Jeffrey, Dallas Hall 115 Class # 2896 Provides students with a sociological orientation to the contemporary world, viewed as an evolving network of nation-states. Focusing on the global interdependence of countries, the position of societies in the world system will be related to their internal patterns of social stratification. HISTORICAL CONTEXTS HISTORY & ART HISTORY HIST H First-Year Seminar in American History: Marriage/Sexuality in America TuTh 4:00-5:20 pm David Doyle, Virginia-Snider 203 Class #5422 This course explores American history through the lens of gender and sexuality. Although the story begins with the colonial period, particular emphasis will be placed on developments and changes over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries concluding with some of the more urgent controversies of our own day. Among the issues to be studied: how marriage has changed through the years as a result of a corresponding cultural context; how our understanding of race has shifted over time; the defined role of women and men in society; and the radically different ways same sex relationships have been understood. In addition to historical monographs, class readings will include primary documents from myriad sources letters, sermons, laws, newspaper and magazine articles, etc. Readings include: 1) Hendrik Hartog, Man and Wife in America (2000); 2) Steven Seidman, Romantic Longings: Love in America, (1991); 3) Martha Sandweiss, Passing Strange: A Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception across the Color Line (2009); 4) Elizabeth Stoddard, The Morgesons (1862, Penguin edition); 5) Stephen Mitchell, Can Love Last? (2002); 6) Stephanie Coontz, A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960s (2011); 7) Leila Rupp, A Desired Past: A Short History of Same Sex Love in America (1999); 8) Henry James, The Bostonians (1886, Penguin edition). HIST H The U.S. and the Cold War MWF 11:00-11:50 am Thomas Knock, Hyer Hall 107 Class #5431 An examination of major events in American foreign policy since World War II, emphasizing policy toward Western Europe, the Soviet Union, Asia, and Latin America. ARHS H Introduction to Architecture Th 12:30-1:20 pm &TuTh 11 am-12:20 pm Randall Griffin, Owen Fine Arts Center 1635, OFAC 2130 Class #

4 A contextual history of European and North American architecture from classical antiquity to the present century, with particular emphasis on 1400 to the present. Students will be introduced to basic principles and terminology, but the course will focus on the social and cultural meanings of the built environment in its urban context. PHILOSOPHICAL AND RELIGIOUS INQUIRY AND ETHICS RELIGIOUS/PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT RELI H Ways of Being Religious MWF 10:00-10:50 am Jill DeTemple, Hyer Hall 106 Class # 3583 A comparative study of the beliefs and practices of a wide variety of religious traditions. Special attention to such perennial themes as God, salvation, evil, morality, and death. PHIL H Introduction to Philosophy MW 6:30-7:50 pm Brad Thompson, Hyer Hall 107 Class # 5587 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. PHIL H Introduction to Ethics TuTh 8:00-9:20 am Luke Robinson, Hyer Hall 110 Class # 5606 An introduction to philosophical ethics focusing on questions in ethical theory. Topics vary, but the following are representative. Is morality merely conventional--and hence historically and culturally relative--or is there an objective morality? If there is an objective morality, what is its content? And what is its basis: reason, human nature, or divine command? Why be moral? If the demands of morality conflict with our own self-interest, why should we comply with them? And what exactly is in our own self-interest: in what does human happiness or well-being consist? We will read, discuss, and write about philosophical arguments for and against proposed answers to questions like these. 4 CULTURAL FORMATIONS CF H Solo Performance Rhonda Blair, Owen Fine Arts Center 2020 TuTh 3:30-4:50 pm Class # 2763 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

5 what we have studied. CFA H Gender: Images and Perspectives M 6:30-9:20 PM Fulfills Human Diversity co-requirement Josephine Ryan, Dallas Hall 0116 Class # 2528 This course provides an introduction to Women's and Gender Studies. We will employ an interdisciplinary approach to the study of gender. Through readings, lectures, films, and discussions, students will explore various perspectives on a wide range of gender issues. Concepts and theories from a number of fields including history, biology, religion, the social sciences, communications, and popular culture will be examined in an attempt to understand the reality of women's and men's experiences as well as the production of knowledge about them. CF H Politics of Change in America, Tu 2-4:50 pm Dennis Simon, Dedman Life Science Bldg 110 Class # 3324 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. CF H Schools and Society: The Evolution of America s Public School System TuTh 9:30-10:50 am Andrea Hamilton, Virginia-Snider Hall 303 Class # 3155 An interdisciplinary exploration of America s public school system from the Colonial period to the present with emphasis on changing relationships between schools, families, and changing social and political ideals. Readings include: Kathryn Sklar, Catherine Beecher ; John Dewey, The School and Society and The Child and the Curriculum; James D. Anderson, The Education of Blacks in the South, ; Brenda J. Childs, Boarding Seasons: American Indian Families CF H Making History Tom Stone, Virginia-Snider 203 MWF 12:00PM - 12:50PM Interdisciplinary course examining ethical issues associated with the writing of "historical fictions" and the production of historical exhibits. CF H Understanding the Self/East and West TuTh 3:30-4:50 pm Class # 6090 Bill Barnard, Dallas Hall 149 Fulfills human diversity requirement An examination of several basic notions pertaining to selfhood, including consciousness, cognition, motivation, personal identity and decision, as found in Eastern and Western sources. 5

6 THINGS TO REMEMBER! * Anyone who plans to Study Abroad and wants to take courses for Honors credit should contact Dr. Doyle to orchestrate the needed Honors Petitions (again up to 2 classes per semester can be petitioned for Honors credit). *Students are permitted to petition one course for Honors credit here on the SMU home campus. Dr. Doyle for details. 6