Director: Diane Cannon

336 Wimberly Hall, 608-785-5250

University Honors Program

(Open to all qualified students in the university) — 15 credits to include HON 100 and 490. The remaining nine credits to be selected from any Honors courses offered except HON 395 and 399.

+ above a course number indicates a General Education course.

HON 100 Cr. 3

Search for Values: The Enduring Quest

A survey of humanity’s search for values from an historical frame of reference with emphasis on the contemporary world. Prerequisite: admission to the Honors Program.

HON 201 Cr. 3

Dramatic Literature and Theatre Arts

From text to theatre, how does dramatic literature translate into live performance? To read plays is but one aspect of the art of drama. To create a theatrical performance from a playscript is to appreciate the full artistic potential of dramatic literature. International and multi-cultural theatre ranging from the classical to the contemporary will be the basis for explorations into the significance and beauty of the dramatic arts. An interdisciplinary approach in both content and method will be used as the dramatic literature is considered in the context of history and culture, literature and art. Prerequisites: HON 100 and good standing in the Honors Program. Offered Sem. II.

HON 202 Cr. 3

Body, Mind, and Well-Being

This course is an interdisciplinary introduction to the study of the relationship between mind and body, and the consequences of mind-body integration for individual and social well-being. Using contributions from the disciplines of philosophy, psychology, sociology, anthropology and biology, students investigate how mind-body integration or its absence (the “mind-body disconnect”) are involved in important aspects of well-being and health. Concurrent with the academic study of the mind-body problem and well-being, students will learn and practice behavioral and cognitive strategies for mind-body integration borrowed from one or more training systems that focus on mind-body integration (e.g., Akido). Prerequisites: HON 100 and good standing in the Honors Program.

HON 203 Cr. 3

Literary Studies: The Battle of the Books

The novel documents the human experience, exploring the conflicts, confusions, passions, the ideas and ideals that have engaged the human mind and spirit from the Ancients to the Moderns. To understand and appreciate the potency of narration, which communicates compelling human issues, is to understand the conventions, traditions devices, techniques used by both past and present novelists and to recognize the social, economic, historical, philosophical bodies of ideas that impinge on human experience in the Western tradition. This course will explore novels old and new, examining their contributions to provoking, informing, and delighting the modern reader. Prerequisite: HON 100 and good standing in the Honors Program.

HON 204 Cr. 3

Human Nature, Culture, and Reality

An exploration of the process of being, and remaining human. Three major and interrelated concepts will serve as a framework for discussion: human nature, culture, and reality. Prerequisites: HON 100 and good standing in the Honors Program.

HON 205 Cr. 3

Classical Myths and Modern Literature

A survey of our quest for meaning and explanations of both ourselves and our world as manifested in the mythologies of the world and the reappearance of these myths in contemporary literature. Prerequisite: HON 100 and good standing in the Honors Program.

HON 206 Cr. 3

Human Nature and Political Life

A survey of important ideas about human nature and their impact in shaping political beliefs and institutions. The course will include a summary and analysis of various important conceptions of human nature and the influence they have had on subsequent political choices. Selected readings will represent an array of Western and non-Western cultures with both men and women thinkers included. Prerequisites: HON 100 and good standing in the Honors Program. Offered every two years.

HON 220 Cr. 3

Global Roots of United States Literature

An exploration of the literatures (poems, myths, songs, stories, drama) of multi-cultural populations of the United States to include gender, class, and ethnicity, from pre-European contact to the present with a focus on the oral and global roots that connect American literature with that of the world. An interdisciplinary approach in both content and method is used as the literature is considered in the context of both history and culture. Prerequisites: HON 100 and good standing in the Honors Program.

HON 290 Cr. 4

Science: Creative Search for Understanding

An in-depth study of the methods of science and their significance to science and society for students in both the sciences and non-sciences. The development of science made possible by the development of its investigative methods will be traced; the development of selected scientific theories will be examined and future areas of scientific progress and effects of science on society will be explored. Prerequisite: HON 100 and good standing in the Honors Program.

HON 295 Cr. 3

Decisions in a World of Science and Technology

An in-depth study which seeks to (a) develop the role of science and technology in the progress of the modern world, (b) review the utilization of science and technology in recent years especially in the utilization of energy, and (c) prepare the student for the future utilization of science and technology. Prerequisites: HON 100 and good standing in the Honors Program.

HON 351 Cr. 1-3

Symposium in Honors

Topics involving interdisciplinary studies appropriate for Honors will be offered at intervals with a specific title assigned to each. May be staffed by resident faculty or visiting lecturers. Prerequisite: HON 100 and good standing in the Honors Program. Repeatable for credit — maximum 6. Variable offerings; check semester timetables.

HON 395 Cr. 1-4

Scholarship in Practice

This is a course where individual talent and achievement combines with social involvement. This course of service learning emphasizes using one’s knowledge and abilities for the advancement of others. Making connections is the very core of education, and this course provides the opportunity to link one’s education with projects which can serve others. Prerequisites: active standing in the Honors Program, six hours of credit in Honors courses, and approval of the Director of the Honors Program. Repeatable for credit. — maximum 4. Pass/Fail grading.

HON 399 Cr. 1-4

Independent Study

This course provides the student the opportunity for a directed study in which the student can pursue intellectual interests, explore special topics or examine a subject or issue in depth under the mentorship of a faculty adviser/s. Repeatable for credit — maximum 4. Prerequisites: active standing in the Honors Program, six hours of credit in Honors courses, and approval of adviser and the Director of the Honors Program. Repeatable for credit — maximum 4.

HON 490 Cr. 3

Seniors Honors Project

Specialized, intensive study of a focused area chosen by the student in consultation with an adviser. The results of the project will be presented in written form to the advisory committee and orally at the end of the semester. Prerequisites: completion of 12 credits of Honors course work and good standing in the Honors Program.

Note:

Honors Program course work may be used to fulfill some of the General Education program and Liberal Studies and Science and Allied Health core requirements. See pp. 49-52.

In addition to the University Honors Program listed above, Departmental Honors programs are available in Biology, Economics, English, Foreign Languages, Geography, Microbiology, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science/ Public Administration, Psychology and Sociology/Archaeology.