250. Sophomore Seminar. Open to Honors
students. (3). (SS).
Section 001 – Law, Culture, and American Minority Groups.
This course is centered on the status of minority groups in the
United States. It is both historically oriented and interdisciplinary
in approach. It begins with the making of the Constitution and deals with nineteenth-century issues such as citizenship, slavery, the status of American Indian tribes and Asian laborers. The second
half of the course deals with twentieth-century issues. Although
some focus will be provided by the student-led roundtable discussions, the following groups will be discussed: religious minorities (Amish, Mormons), Native Americans (land controversies, gaming), racial
minorities (Japanese-American internment), immigration reforms, and the great battles-legal, political, and social-of the Civil
Rights Movement. (Wacker)
Section 002 – Organizational Behaviors, Structures, and Dynamics. This course examines behavior in organizations, as well as the behavior of organizations. We all work in "organizations." How does the organizational environment affect what we do and how we act? What are the main kinds of organizational cultures, and how do we fit into them? Four cultures will be specifically explored – the clan culture, the hierarchy culture, the market culture, and the advocacy culture. Implications for us personally will be considered. But organizations are also actors. Organizations make, or do not make decisions. They need to contend with rapidly changing environments. Organizations which fail to contend and adapt appropriately become "boiled frogs." We will examine conditions which distinguish those organizations which adapt from those which are rigid and die. Students will have the opportunity to assess their own "style" and its fit with organizational styles. Issues of leadership, gender, and race in organizations will be a special theme. (Tropman)
Section 003 – The Food and Foodways of China. Throughout the history of China, food has been far more than a source of nourishment. It has served an enormously important role in the social scheme. Almost no occasion is complete without food of some kind – business deals, family gatherings, religious and civil observances, seductions, excursions, and many other events offer opportunities to eat and drink, and the consumption of the requisite foods and beverages gives a sense of correctness and completeness to the activity. In a way, Chinese define themselves by what they eat, when they eat it, why it is consumed, where they eat, how their food is prepared, and the intricate relationships among these and other variables. This course will explore the rich history of food in China with an emphasis on what can be learned about the culture by looking at its foodways. If you have never thought about eating a pangolin (a large, scaled mammal) or a bear's paw, you will learn why you should be honored to be offered such delicacies. Requirements include regular attendance and participation, several short writing assignments, one or two class presentations, and a final paper. Cost:1 WL:3 (Crown)
Section 004 – The Expanding Universe in America: Men, Women, and their Reactions to Science. This is a seminar about science as a human activity. Using the growth of our knowledge about the local stellar swimming hole, the Milky Way as one galaxy among millions, and the "discovery" of the expanding universe, we will examine the ways in which scientists have worked, among themselves and among the wider public. Discussions will include gender roles, political drivers, science education, the personality of science, the "scientific method," and the role of media in public support of science. Readings will include autobiographies, fiction, and archive materials. This is NOT a science course, and it is not intended for science concentrators. (Lindner)
251. Sophomore Seminar. Open to Honors
students. (3). (HU).
Section 001 – Imagination. The Romantics claimed that Imagination
was both an artistic and cognitive faculty; the seminar will begin
by considering both the structure of the Romantic literary Imagination
and the romantic theory of knowledge in works by Wordsworth, Blake, and Coleridge. Attention will then shift to more general questions:
Does artistic Imagination tell us anything about reality? Can
Imagination become a rigorous mode of cognition? What is its relationship
to rationality? Does some form of imagination have a place in
science and ethics? The nature of metaphorical thinking will be
considered, as will the function of Imagination in scientific
revolutions (Kuhn, Barfield, Goethe), ethics (Schiller), the psychology
of perception, and the visual art (Cezanne, Merleau-Ponty). (Amrine)
252. Sophomore Seminar. Open to Honors
students. (3). (NS).
Section 001 – Concepts in Twentieth Century Physics. The
revolutionary concepts that have developed within this century
and that are now the basis for our understanding of the physical
world are presented and discussed. Following a brief summary of
definitions and principles of classical physics, Einstein's Special
Relativity and then quantum mechanics will be introduced and discussed.
We will then study the elementary particles that comprise, and the fundamental forces that govern the functioning of the Universe, including concepts such as parity and time reversal non-conservation.
The course concludes with an introduction to astrophysics and cosmology. The course emphasis is on concepts and ideas; no prior
physics nor advanced math are required. One goal of the course
is to increase the "Scientific Literacy" of students
not otherwise studying science. The classes will mostly be informal
lectures. A field trip to the Fermi National Accelerator laboratory
will be arranged for late in the term. Readings from the text: The Great Design; Particles, Fields, and Creation (Robert
K. Adair; Oxford, 1987) will be assigned. Two book reports, a
term paper, a mid term, and a final exam will be the basis for the course grades. (Jones)
Section 002 – The Great Ideas of Physical Science. This seminar may be viewed as a physical science equivalent of Great Books. Its aim is to examine the great ideas of the physical sciences from the 13th century to the present, to see them in the context of their own time, to gauge their impact upon succeeding generations, and to assess their role in the cultural development of this century. The main prerequisite is a curiosity about scientific ideas and a willingness to put as much reading time into the course as would be expected for either the Great Books or one on the history of the novel. A background in introductory physics, chemistry, astronomy and calculus will be helpful, but is not necessary. There will be two ninety-minute discussions per week, together with such other modes of discourse as seen possible and appropriate. Each student makes at least two presentations during the term, in addition to four essays of 2500 words and three of 4000-5000 words on various pragmatic or philosophical themes. Grades will be based upon papers and, to a lesser degree, in-class contributions. It should be noted that by far the majority of students are non-science concentrators. WL:3 (Dunn)
Section 003 – Race and Racism. This course examines the relationship between science and racist social policies historically and in the present day. Through a focus on polygeny, eugenics, the holocaust, and the relationships between race and intelligence and crime, the course particularly examines how anthropological work has been used and abused in socio-political arenas. During the course we will grapple with questions about the existence and definition of race, the validity of various biological claims for racial differences in behavior and the consequences of basing social policy on these claims. Students will come to appreciate how the worlds of science, politics and society are interrelated and how their relationship has been used to undermine and sometimes promote different racial and ethnic groups. Requirements: Class participation is required. Students will be responsible for presentations/leading class discussion after the fourth week and for a written version of their presentation. There will be a final take-home exam. (Caspari)
Section 004 – The History of Medicine and the Art of Humbug. This course centers around the evolution of modern medicine, including early Western medical concepts and the introduction of scientific method. In addition, attention will be directed at current fads: acupuncture, ESP, astral projections, chiropractic, diets, etc. Students are required to read one book from the suggested reading list that is provided on the first day of class and write two papers, a short paper at midterm and a 5-6 page paper at the end of the term. (Malvin)
290. Honors Introduction to Research. Open to Honors students. (1-4). (Excl). (INDEPENDENT). May be repeated for credit with permission of the Honors Program.
The opportunity is created to enable highly qualified underclassmen to elect a course for independent, guided study under the direction of a professor.
291. Honors Introduction to Scientific Research. Open to Honors students. (1-4). (Excl). (INDEPENDENT). May be repeated for credit with permission of the Honors Program.
A research tutorial course in which the participating student serves as a research assistant for a staff scientist. Valuable research experience and a more personal association with the University research program are provided. Each student is expected to work about four hours a week for each hour of college credit.
370. Junior Seminar on Research Methods. Honors
student and permission of instructor. (1-4). (Excl). May be repeated
for a total of 8 credits.
Section 001 – Rhetoric of Evidence in Research. (2 or 3 Credits*).
This upper-class course is concerned with modes of inference from
evidence across all of the arts and sciences, from physics through the humanities, the arts and sciences, from physics through the
humanities. Of particular interest will be the demonstration of
commonalties among disparate disciplines in the rhetorical modes
in which ambiguous evidence is used: modes such as preponderance-of-evidence
arguments, statistical inference, graphics, experiments, or abduction.
The seminar meets weekly, Tuesday evenings. Usually an invited
faculty guest will review the reasoning, explicit or tacit, underlying
some earlier publication (handed out the week before), whereupon the seminar will weigh in with a generalized critique. The attack
might question the target article's exclusion of plausible alternatives, for instance, or anomalies not pursued, or ambiguities remaining;
or it might inquire as to the origin of the disciplinary community's a priori agreement that certain questions of this sort
need not have been raised in the main text. In past years, the
tenor of these sessions has corresponded to that of a strenuous
doctoral defense, but the outcome is rarely so predictable.
*To receive two hours of credit, students must submit a term paper drawing upon themes common to some subset of these presentations (not necessarily those of the student's own concentration). Those wishing a third hour of credit must take charge of the seminar for one half of one of these sessions, using a reading of their own choice. Maximum class size 15, by permission of the Honors Office. (Bookstein)
390. Junior Honors Research. (1-4). (Excl). (INDEPENDENT). May be repeated for credit with permission of the Honors Program.
Independent research under supervision of faculty.
490. Senior Honors Research. Open to upperclass Honors concentrators. (1-4). (Excl). (INDEPENDENT). May be repeated for credit with permission of the Honors Program.
Independent research under supervision of faculty. Includes preparation of undergraduate thesis.
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