Honors Core Courses: Spring 2017

The following spring 2017 Honors courses will fulfill the Honors Core requirement for Sophomore Honors.  Always check to make sure you are registered for an Honors section.

Course Number Title Gen Ed
AH 1030-001 Interdisciplinary Approach to Obesity Prevention CA 3
ANTH 2400-001 Honors Core: Analyzing Religion CA 2, CA 4-Int
CLCS 1002-001 Reading Between the Arts (online!) CA 1
DRAM 2134-001 Honors Core: Analyzing Sports as Performance CA 1
ECON 1107-001 Honors Core: Economics, Nature, and the Environment CA 2
ECON 1108-001 Game Theory with Applications to the Natural and Social Sciences CA 2
HEJS 1103-001 Literature and Civilization of the Jewish People CA 1, CA 4
HRTS/SOCI 3835-001 Refugees and Humanitarianism
MCB 1405-001D, 002D Honors Core: The Genetics Revolution in Contemporary Culture CA 3
POLS 3023W-001 Politics & Literature  W
SLHS 3295-001 Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Communication Disorders: From Brain to Behavior
SOCI 1701-001 Society in Global Perspective (CANCELLED) CA 4-Int
SOCI 3823-001 Sociology of Law: Global and Comparative Perspectives CA 2, CA 4-Int
WGSS 2105W-001 Gender and Science CA 4-Int,W

AH 1030: Interdisciplinary Approach to Obesity Prevention

Obesity is considered a national epidemic and possibly a pandemic as it affects many developed countries around the world. This interdisciplinary course explores the biology of obesity, including genetic predispositions and behaviors that increase obesity risk (dietary, physical activity, social, and psychological); the obesigenic environment, including how communities are physically built as well as the economic relationship to obesity risk; and the policy and ethical implications for obesity prevention. Multi-level obesity prevention approaches that involve the individual, family, organization, community, and policy will be considered. The format will consist of common lectures, weekly discussions, hands-on activities, team projects, and synthesis of material presented.

Trouble registering? This class is open to freshmen and sophomores in the Honors Program. If you will be a first- or second-year Honors student with 54 or more credits in Spring 2017 and you want to register for this course, please email honors@uconn.edu and include (1) your name; (2) your 7-digit Student Admin number; (3) the class number (17194); (4) the course number and section (AH 1030-001); (5) the semester you entered UConn as a freshman (e.g., Fall 2016); and (6) confirmation that there are seats available in the course.

ANTH 2400: Honors Core: Analyzing Religion

This course is an interdisciplinary introduction to the academic study of religion. The goal of the course is to acquaint students with frameworks for understanding religion as an institution embedded in culture and social life. Students will learn conceptual tools for understanding religious phenomena and religious conflicts in their social, historical, and political contexts, and will consider rationalist and atheist critiques of ‘religion’ and religious belief. Analysis of the common components of religion–theology, cosmology, myth, ritual–will be illustrated with examples drawn from both indigenous non-Western and Western religious systems. Case studies will show how religion has operated as a means of political resistance to colonialism and capitalism. Other topics include comparative models of the divine in the three Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) and the “science versus religion” debate. Course activities will include student-led discussions of issues and texts, group exercises, and independent projects. Active engagement in the class is expected of all students.

CLCS 1002-001: Reading Between the Arts – ONLINE CLASS

In everyday reading of news media, we are often exposed to a dynamic intermixing of media and arts as well as an intermixing of images and stories about events around the world. This intermixing is also prevalent in the arts and cultural expressions such as cinema, theater, visual art, text, music, and computer and video games. In this course, students will explore, analyze, and unravel some of this intermixing and transmedia. The course is an introduction to aesthetics, semiotics and structures of interart relations. Students will develop transferable multimedia reading skills in an effort to become interpreters of 21st century multi- and transmedia products. Much of the work will bridge natural sciences and the humanities.

Questions that will inform discussions and work include: Are there similarities connecting the diversity of expression in various arts and media? Can one characterize the arts as an area of research comparable and equal to scientific inquiries; and if so, how? Does art, as a diverse world of signs, help us recognize and understand reality? What can we learn about individual approaches to experiencing art and media when focusing on sensory perception?

DRAM 2134: Honors Core: Analyzing Sports as Performance

Through a rigorous critical investigation of lived human experience, this course uses the lenses of theatre studies, performance studies, and cultural studies to analyze and articulate the parallels between sports and performance. Consideration of gender, sexuality, nationalism, race, human rights, and ethics will be mediated through readings, attendance at live athletic events, film/media viewings, written assignments, multimodal research presentations, experiential activities, and student-led discussions of various sports. Students will be assigned innovative writing prompts and participate in lively discussions to identify and examine the interrelated aesthetic, performative, and humanistic values in the arts and athletics.

Permission number A permission number is required. Please email honors@uconn.edu and include (1) your name; (2) your 7-digit Student Admin number; (3) the class number (20212); (4) the course number and section (DRAM 2134-001); and (5) confirmation that there are seats available in the class.

ECON 1107: Honors Core: Economics, Nature, and the Environment

In this course students study the interactions between economies and their natural environment from global and historical perspectives. The course is multidisciplinary and synthesizes insights from various disciplines, including economics and the social sciences, geography, archaeology, history, and ecology, while emphasizing a scientific approach. Among the many topics discussed are the effects of geography and climate on economic development and income inequality, the impact of humans on their environment, the causes and consequences of environmental problems, the environmental collapses of societies, the valuation of ecosystem services.

Beyond offering a solid understanding of the subject, this course aims to:

  • Illustrate that a multidisciplinary approach is critical to the analysis of most real-world problems.
  • Emphasize the scientific method as that the basis for our understanding of such problems (and for possible subsequent actions).
  • Foster students’ long-term interest in current research and recent findings in various fields.

ECON 1108: Game Theory with Applications to the Natural and Social Sciences

Introduction to game theory examines applications in the natural and social sciences and technology, which may include electric power auctions, evolutionary biology, and elections. The course is an opportunity for students to begin to think strategically about many types of problems found in science, social settings, and even university life.

In this course, students will learn: To recognize strategic behavior—and the potential for strategic behavior—in a variety of situations, for example, in social and political situations and even in the natural sciences. To solve games, use solutions to predict and explain behavior, and recognize and learn from the successes and failures of their analyses. How to work through a sequence of short directed projects to learn that choosing a topic for the Honors thesis is not quite as daunting as they may believe.

HEJS 1103-001: Literature and Civilization of the Jewish People

The purpose of this course is to introduce the student to the history, religion, and culture of the Jewish people. Special attention will be given to Jewish civilization as it is portrayed in the literature of the Jews. No prior knowledge of Hebrew or Jewish culture is required.

This course fulfills General Education requirements in Content Areas I (Arts and Humanities) and IV (Diversity and Multiculturalism). One of the main goals is to enable students to develop a keen understanding of who the Jews are and an appreciation of the diverse cultures and traditions that comprise Jewish civilization. The emergence of Judaic ideas and their influence on Christianity and western civilization will be especially emphasized. The so-called “Judeo-Christian” tradition is broken down so that students understand the values and ideas that both Judaism and Christianity share as well as their distinctiveness. Students get a taste of how the earliest, ancient rabbis thought and how they succeeded in transforming a biblical religion into Judaism as we know it. Along the way, you will be challenged to think “talmudicly/midrashicly,” a critical form of analysis that may very well enable you to appreciate literary traditions belonging to other peoples and cultures in an entirely different light.

HRTS/SOCI 3835: Refugees and Humanitarianism

This class explores the social and political challenges of living as a refugee and working in humanitarian settings, with a focus on refugee camps and the institutional development of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. How did we come to use refugee camps as the primary means to administer sanctuary in certain parts of the world? What are the consequences of this? The last part of class will explore the outcomes refugees face when they are processed through the UN framework of durable solutions as well as alternative approaches to refuge. Refugees and Humanitarianism is meant to provoke passionate concern for the real world consequences of refugee aid and measured social scientific thinking about how to respond to the challenges of humanitarian crisis in our “second-best world.”

MCB 1405: Honors Core: The Genetics Revolution in Contemporary Culture

This course introduces students to genetics and genetic technologies. Various forms of popular culture—news clips, movies, books, and art—are used to provide a framework for the syllabus and to introduce students to different genetics and technology topics. A textbook introduces the scientific material, which is discussed in the context of the interpretation of science in modern society. Students study the scientific principles of genetics and genetic technology as well as the impact these topics have had on our culture, attitudes towards science, domestic and foreign policy, medical practice, and law.

Trouble registering? This class is open to freshmen and sophomores in the Honors Program. If you will be a first- or second-year Honors student with 54 or more credits in Spring 2017 and you want to register for this course, please email honors@uconn.edu and include (1) your name; (2) your 7-digit Student Admin number; (3) the class number (e.g., 22514); (4) the course number and section (e.g., MCB 1405-001D); (5) the semester you entered UConn as a freshman (e.g., Fall 2016); and (6) confirmation that there are seats available in the course.

POLS 3023W: Politics & Literature

Requires ENGL 1010, 1011, or 2011.

There has long been a close relationship between politics in the United States and popular literature. Some books, like Uncle Tom’s Cabin and The Jungle, have shaped public policy; others, like All the King’s Men and The Last Hurrah, have used fiction to describe the political game; still others, like Philip Roth’s American Pastoral and Henry Adams’ Democracy, have examined the relationship between the individual and the political community.

This course explores American politics through the lens of political fiction. Generally reading one novel per week, we will discuss the historical, economic and social context within which the work was written, define its audience, examine its impact, and discuss parallels between the time the work appeared and our own era. Students will write several short papers dealing with these themes, but the primary emphasis in class will be on discussion and dialogue on the topics at hand.

Note POLS 3023W is coded at the catalog level as “open to juniors or higher,” but first- and second-year Honors students without junior standing are invited to take this course. If you will have fewer than 54 earned credits by Spring 2017, please email honors@uconn.edu and include (1) your name; (2) your 7-digit Student Admin number; (3) the class number (24437); (4) the course number and section (POLS 3023W-001); (5) confirmation that you do have credit for ENGL 1010, 1011, or 2011; and (6) confirmation that there are seats available in the course.

SLHS 3295-001: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Communication Disorders: From Brain to Behavior

This course will link the behavioral presentation of communication disorders to an understanding of the neural architecture supporting speech, language, and hearing abilities. This course will consider communication disorders from an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing together an understanding of speech and language processing from the domains of psychology, linguistics, neurobiology, and clinical fields. The course will cover numerous communication disorders including developmental disorders (i.e., autism, dyslexia) and acquired disorders (i.e., aphasia, hearing impairment). For each disorder, an interdisciplinary description of etiology, function, and rehabilitation will be addressed. In addition, the course will cover common imaging tools including EEG methods (e.g., ERP, ABR) and fMRI. Students will be instructed on the basic neuroanatomical methods of these tools as well as strengths and limitations of each one. The course will highlight multicultural aspects of speech, language, and hearing disorders including multicultural aspects of Deaf culture. The course will consider the broad implications of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Note SLHS 3295 is a “variable credits” course. Please ensure that you register for 3 credits.

Note SLHS 3295 is coded at the catalog level as “open to juniors or higher,” but first- and second-year Honors students without junior standing are invited to take this course. If you will have fewer than 54 earned credits by Spring 2017, please email honors@uconn.edu and include (1) your name; (2) your 7-digit Student Admin number; (3) the class number (20280); (4) the course number and section (SLHS 3295-001); and (5) confirmation that there are seats available in the class.

SOCI 1701-001: Society in Global Perspective (CANCELLED)

This course will introduce students to the sociological perspective of society in global perspective. The course will focus on the economic, social and cultural processes that shape contemporary society and will help students understand the links between their personal experiences and larger social forces by focusing on the transnational social relationships in which they are embedded. Students will learn to think critically about the causes and consequences of social inequalities and the social construction of human life across the globe.

This class will include active learning, peer mentoring, debates on controversial topics, and engagement (via Skype and blogs) with scholars and students in other parts of the world to help students develop global sociological imaginations. Sources for course materials and topical coverage include sociology; environmental studies; political science; economics; women’s, gender, and sexuality studies; and human rights.

SOCI 3823: Sociology of Law: Global and Comparative Perspectives

The course will examine the relationship between law and social change. We will examine the impact of Western Law on Third World countries, the ways in which legal strategies can and have challenged inequality based on class, race, sex, religion and sexuality, and the impact of international human rights treaties. Students will become knowledgeable about different types of legal systems and will learn to analyze the ways in which the law contends with issues of difference and inequality. Students will also be able to analyze the interrelationships between the law, social structure, and the ways in which nations are linked globally.

In this course, students examine:

  • Theoretical perspectives and empirical studies relating the type of law found in a society to its social structure
  • How the law figures into fundamental social change
  • Anthropological studies of dispute processing in societies that are structured primarily on the basis of kinship
  • What impact the introduction of Western Law into Third World countries has had on economic growth, democratic political development, and human rights protections
  • Cross-national influences on law in the post-colonial world
  • The ways in which legal strategies can and have challenged inequality based on class, race, sex, religion, and sexuality
  • The critiques and limits of legal approaches to social change
  • What is the impact of international human rights treaties on the legal systems of different countries?
  • To what extent are international treaty obligations relevant in domestic court proceedings?
  • What is the relationship between social movements and the law?

Note SOCI 3823 is coded at the catalog level as “open to juniors or higher” but other students may contact Prof. Bernstein for a permission number. In your email, confirm that you are a member of the Honors Program, provide your PeopleSoft number, and very briefly explain your interest in taking the course.

WGSS 2105W-001: Gender and Science

Requires ENGL 1010, 1011, or 2011.

This class will critically examine how social constructions of gender, race, class, sexuality, and disability shape science, medicine, and technology. We will consider the complex relationships between constructions of nature, science, objectivity, and the body to highlight how culture influences the theory and practice of different sciences, medical research, and technologies.

Some of the questions we will explore include:
How does science and technology influence everyday life? How are gender, race, sexuality and nation woven through the historical development of Western sciences? How has feminist science studies intervened or critiqued the construction of science, medicine and technology? Is there such a thing as a neutral or gender-free science? Is there such a thing as a feminist science?

We will focus particularly on the culture of science and power of scientific discourse. We will look specifically at how science is used to make claims about social differences, as well as examine the some social implications of medical technologies for women, e.g. how current medical technologies create novel, and even moral, demands and dilemmas for women. No scientific background or experience is required; only a willingness to critically examine both science and ourselves.

Note WGSS 2105W is coded at the catalog level as “open to sophomores or higher,” but first-year Honors students without sophomore standing are invited to take this course. If you will have fewer than 24 earned credits by Spring 2017, please email honors@uconn.edu and include (1) your name; (2) your 7-digit Student Admin number; (3) the class number (19256); (4) the course number and section (WGSS 2105W-001); and (5) confirmation that there are seats available in the course.