Spring 2023 Honors Seminars

HONS 1810W-71
“Early Modern Theories of the Passions”
W 11:15 am – 1:45 pm
Professor Emanuele Costa
Department of Philosophy
AXLE: Humanities & the Creative Arts (HCA)

What does it mean to “feel” anger? Does reasoning help us gain control of our fear? How do we rely on sympathy to create community? Were the Beatles right, and “all we need is love”? The dawn of the Modern age was the laboratory in which many Western conceptions of emotions and the mind-body connection were developed. Through the lens of the Early Modern age (roughly 1500-1800), this course examines psychological theories of passions and actions. Students will be introduced to the views and methods of inquiry prominent in this period, interacting with issues of permanent philosophical importance within a historical context. Coursework will highlight paradigmatic figures of the era such as Descartes, Spinoza, Hobbes, and Hume, while also engaging with authors from both the French and the American Revolution.

 

HONS 1810W-79
“Playwriting and Screenwriting”
MWF 11:15 am – 12:05 pm
Professor Judy Klass
Department of Jewish Studies
AXLE: Humanities & the Creative Arts (HCA)

Writing scripts for the stage is actually very different from writing for the screen. We’ll spend the first half of this creative writing workshop reading some famous stage plays and scenes from others, with students working on creating their own scenes with three-dimensional characters who have believable motivations and relationships, as students develop an ear for dialogue – and then we’ll get visual, as student write screenplays: a short “silent” film first, then a music video of some kind, and then short screenplays with dialogue that involve intercutting, frames within frames, match cuts, and other cinematic techniques. We’ll look at film clips and screenplays from great films that showcase interesting options. Students write up plot summaries for potential full-length plays half-way through the course; at the end of the term, students come up with plots for feature films, and “pitch” their ideas to the rest of the class, as if we are a bunch of Hollywood moguls who could greenlight their movies.

 

HONS 1820W-40
“Science, Technology, Values”
MW 1:25-2:40 pm
Professor Michael Bess
Department of History
AXLE: Perspectives (P)

In this course we explore what it means to live in a scientific and technological civilization.  Starting with ancient forms of science in China, Greece, Mesopotamia, and other cultures, and working our way through the centuries to the modern global era, we will engage with the human thirst for discovery and innovation – charting both the benefits and the dangers of our emergence as technologically dominant creatures on the planet.  We will investigate the fertile interconnections among the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, showing how these three domains complement each other in shedding light on the human experience.  A core theme of the course will be the two-way relationship between technoscience and ethics, as we reflect on what it means to live a good life, and on the powerful but ambiguous roles played by science and technology in shaping the human condition.

 

HONS 1820W-41
“Being Human, Becoming Citizens”
TR 9:30-10:45 am
Professor Paul Stob
Department of Communication Studies
AXLE: Perspectives (P)

This course will orient you to some of the biggest questions of life—who are we, why are we here, how can we make a difference in this world? It will also help you confront a question that is likely foremost on your mind: What is the purpose of a college education? We will grapple with these and similar questions by discussing key texts from the past and the present, by watching thought-provoking films, and by exploring the defining documents of civil society. Our approach will be to consult the work of prominent thinkers, writers, and speakers from across the globe, not so much to answer the big questions of life but to understand how these questions have shaped, still shape, and will continue to shape our collective existence.

 

HONS 1830W-66
“What Makes us Kind?”
TR 2:45-4 pm
Professor Amy Needham
Department of Psychology and Human Development
AXLE: Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS)

Kindness does not always come naturally to young children, who often must be coached by their parents to share their toys or play nicely with others. Social media seems to intensify the negativity we feel towards those who do not share our views. What has psychological research revealed about the factors that contribute to children being kind to others and the factors that contribute to children growing into kind adults? Why does it feel easier for us to be kind to others who seem similar to us than to those who seem different from us? In this seminar, we will explore these questions and others that can help us understand the factors that contribute to our thoughts and behaviors in this realm. Course materials will include scientific journal articles, as well as recent books and book chapters about the role of kindness, empathy, and compassion in our lives.

 

HONS 1850W-32
“Delusions, Forms of Belief, & Theories”
TR 9:30-10:45 am
Professor Sohee Park
Department of Psychology
AXLE: Math and Natural Sciences (MNS)

From the disease model perspective, delusions are bizarre, incomprehensible, and irrational symptoms of underlying psychopathology. However, milder forms of irrational and false beliefs seem widespread across the general population. For example, according to a 2019 Ipsos poll, 46% of Americans believe in the existence of ghosts, and a 2021 PRRI poll found that a fifth of Americans believe QAnon conspiracy theories to be true. To understand the origins of delusions, we must first clarify the concept of (non-pathological) belief, as well as our assumptions underlying the foundations of rationality, faith, and reality, and explore the adaptive and protective function bizarre beliefs may serve depending on the social environmental context. In this seminar, we delve into the study of delusions by drawing upon a variety of disciplines including psychology, neuroscience, psychiatry, philosophy, history, and the social sciences. To complement the ‘objective’ study of delusions, we will capture our own subjective thought processes, beliefs, and moments of insight in everyday life by keeping a diary.

 

HONS 1860W-30
“Why do we meme?”
TR 1:15-2:30 pm
Professor Emanuelle Oliveira-Monte
Department of Spanish and Portuguese
AXLE: International Cultures (INT)

This seminar explores the importance of memes in the era of social media with the goal of understanding the importance of memes in a global era when information and images immediately spread, in a world increasingly apprehended by visual representations and mediated by social media. Why do we create memes? Why do memes go viral? What’s the social value of memes? To what extent do memes elicit hate or produce social contestation? These are some of the questions discussed in this class. The memes discussed will not be limited to the U.S. experience but will crisscross several cultures and societies. NOTE/DISCLAIMER: Some memes will be funny, others might be offensive/violent. To promote freedom of expression and critical thinking, I will keep the discussion and analysis of memes open.