Honors Program Courses

Spring 2019

Non-Honors students with a 3.0 GPA are invited to email honors@weber.edu for an override to register for an Honors course.

Click on the Course Title to access a course syllabus.
Click on the Course # to see posters designed to promote these classes.

Room guide:
BC = Browning Center
EH = Elizabeth Hall
KA = Kimball Visual Arts
LI = Library
TY = Tracey Hall
WB = Wattis Building

Course # Course Title CRN Description Times Days Room Instructor(s)
HNRS 1520 SS

Perspectives in the Social Sciences:

The Rich and the Rest of Us: Causes and Consequences

31270 The rise in income inequality and wealth inequality in the United States over the last three decades is a critically important phenomenon. It would be difficult to find a major newspaper that isn’t printing several stories about inequality every week. Many political candidates are speaking about the issue of economic inequality. Honors SS 1520, The Rich and the Rest of Us . will explore the causes and the consequences of inequality and poverty. 5:30 - 8:10 PM T LI 325 Mike Vaughan (Economics)

HNRS 1520 SS

Perspectives in the Social Sciences:

Media - TV History

31273 An analysis of television and media in context with American history and communications. Students will assess trends and hone research skills which will culminate in a final project which is intended to demonstrate analytic acumen and critical ability. With the learning community style, students will show their ability to follow and contribute to discussion 11:30 - 12:20 PM MWF LI 325 Tracey Smith (History)
HNRS 1540 HU

Perspectives in the Humanities:

Prescription for Empathy

31269 The course uses literature about health care and medicine to talk about the importance of and definition for empathy in culture and personal relationships. 10:30 - 11:20 AM MWF EH 215 Sally Shigley (English)
ENGL 2010 /LIBS 1704

Intermediate College Writing and Information Navigator:

Rhetoric In and For the Real World

31523

Come learn to rule the world with us! Read great rhetors and learn to write intelligently, logically and persuasively for our world and your world.

*This class is combined with Library Sciences 1704. Students can only register if both courses need to be completed.

10:30 - 11:20 AM MWF EH 206

Sylvia Newman (English) & Nicole Beatty (Library Sciences)

HNRS 2020 CA

Exploring Key Concepts in the Disciplines: Creative Arts:

Theater for Young Audiences and Puppetry

31271 In this course, students will learn about the history, literature and current practices of Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) and puppetry. Students will study the child audience through reading assignments and practical experiences, read a wide selection of children’s dramatic literature, and research renowned theatre for youth companies. Students will hear from professionals working in leading arts organizations across the country (via google hangouts) to gain a sense of the broad range of techniques and applications with this work. 4:30  - 7:10 PM W ED 006 Tamara Goldbogen (Art)
HNRS 2020 CA

Exploring Key Concepts in the Disciplines: Creative Arts:

Why Creativity Matters

31280 What does it mean to be creative, and how might creativity help us navigate the change from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age? In this class, we will study and discuss creativity from a multitude of angles, including what aptitudes creative people have in common, regardless of their field. We will also engage in interdisciplinary, hands-on creative exercises, especially in the areas of design, music, drawing, and writing. No experience necessary! 12 - 1:15 PM TTH BC 317 Catherine Zublin (Theatre)
HNRS 2030 PS

Exploring Key Concepts in the Disciplines: Physical Sciences:

Physics of the Human Body

31267 The human body is an amazing machine, yet most of us know very little about how it actually works. In this course, we will take a look at some of the basic principles of physics that allow the body to function, and how they developed historically. You will learn about how your muscles produce forces and torques, how your heart creates your blood pressure and pumps your blood, how your metabolism heats your body and how your body cools itself, how electrical impulses carry signals through your body, and how your ears hear and your eyes see. Many hands-on activities will make these concepts come alive. 9 - 10:15 AM TTH TY 209 Brad Carroll (Physics)
HNRS 2040 LS

Exploring Key Concepts in the Disciplines: Life Sciences:

Symbiosis

31258 From people to plants, organisms live in close association with each other. Explore these relationships and how they affect our lives and understanding of the world. 9:30 - 10:20 AM MWF TY 351 Heather Root (Botany)
HNRS 2050 SS

Exploring Key Concepts in the Disciplines: Social Sciences:

Politics in Film

31732 This course seeks to make students sensitive to and articulate about the ways in which politics and American values are portrayed in film and television. It is the contention of your professors that these depictions say something about what our real, and espoused, values are. Topics to be covered include the tensions between ethics and politics, the current debate in the academic community on social capital and what citizens owe to one another and the balancing of rights and how creative artists choose to narrate those tensions, an introduction to various moral theories that figure in contemporary policy debates depicted in film and TV and a consideration of the principal values that animate American politics including issues and dilemmas in professional agencies. 10:30 - 11:20 AM MWF LI 325 Scott Rogers (English) & Gary Johnson (Political Science)
HNRS 2130 HU/DV

Intellectual Traditions: Great Ideas of the East:

Islamic Civilization

31266 The Achievements of Muslim Scholars during the Medieval Ages. Students will learn how to read scientific texts belong to more the thousand years ago. 12:30 - 3:10 PM M LI 325 Abdulnasser Kaadan
HNRS 2920

Short Courses, Workshops, Institutes, and Special Programs:

Making Sense of the News: Reading and Discussing the New York Times and Wall Street Journal

31065 This workshop provides an opportunity for students to gather and discuss the news as covered in two different news sources: the New York Times, currently available to all members of the WSU community via a digital subscription (15 copies are delivered daily to the Honors Center during the week); and the Wall Street Journal, 10 copies of which will be delivered to the Honors Center beginning January 7, 2019 (possibly earlier). 1:30 - 2:45 PM T LI 324 Jeff Steagall (Business & Economics)
HNRS 2920

*Short Courses, Workshops, Institutes, and Special Programs:

Becoming a Research Assistant

32116 This workshop provides an opportunity for students to understand the depth of undergraduate research opportunities on throughout campus. Students will learn about various research opportunities available to them, and learn about the responsibilities and ethics of doing research. 4:30 PM

TH

LI 325 John Cavitt (OUR)
HNRS 3900

Honors Colloquium:

Narrative & Numbers

31264 Issues such as racism, poverty, and incarceration are complex. To understand them, we may study data on national trends and patterns, but it is also important to examine the singular stories of people who exist behind the numbers. This class will zoom in on both the numbers and narratives to achieve a quantitative and qualitative understanding of critical issues in the world today.  9 - 10:15 AM TTH LI 325 Christy Call (English) & Heather Chapman (Psychology)
HNRS 4900

Honors Colloquium:

Issues in World Soccer: Culture, Politics, Economics

32096 This course will explore issues, both historical and contemporary, related to the world's most popular sport. In a variety of national contexts, we will discuss soccer's influence on modern societies, cultures, politics, and economies, with a particular focus on the World Cup tournament. The specific cases offered here, drawn from across the football world, are intended not only to deepen students’ familiarity with key themes and issues in global history but also to enhance their understanding of the role of popular culture in modern society. Specific topics include nationalism, state violence, globalization, race and racism, gender, sexuality, mass media, and fan culture. A variety of scholarly sources will help students interrogate these issues. While most of the texts selected for this course will be historical in nature, readings and film from sociological, anthropological, and journalistic disciplines will also be put to use. 1:30 - 2:45 PM TTH LI 325 Jeff Richey (History)
HNRS 4900

Honors Colloquium:

Body of Religion

32114 What do religious rituals from around the world have in common? Whether scripture-based observances conducted in large buildings or movement-based ceremonies within an oral culture, ritual relies on the body and its senses to affect states of consciousness. In The Body of Religion, we look for commonalities – such as breathe regulation, brain response and aesthetics – and differences in diverse physical practices. Along the way, we see that rituals embody a religious culture's attitudes about the corporeal, the spiritual, and life and death. 10:30 - 11:45 AM TTH BC 211 Erik Stern (Dance)
HNRS 4900

Honors Colloquium:

Transcontinentals: Railroads and the American West

32102 It has been 150 years since the U.S. was connected by rail lines. Join the celebration. Attend programs and events being planned across the state. Read about railroads in the West. Go on field trips to Evanston, Helper, Sacramento. 1:30 - 2:45 PM TTH LI 322 Kathryn MacKay (History)
HNRS 4920

Short Courses, Workshops, Institutes, and Special Programs:

Conflict Journalism

31265 Journalist Jim Foley believed in telling the stories of people in war-torn areas of the world, and he paid for that passion with his life. Working with the James W. Foley Safety Guide, created in his memory, you can learn about the dangers of working as a journalist or relief worker in dangerous environs and gain strategies for how to stay as safe as possible when your passion takes you to dangerous places. 5:30 - 8:10 PM M LI 325  Jean Norman (Communications)
HNRS 4920

Short Courses, Workshops, Institutes, and Special Programs:

Science Fiction and the History of Science

32087 Rockets, computers, smartphones, clones, and so many other wonders. How has science fiction influenced the history of science and technology? And how has science influenced science fiction? 12 - 1:15 PM  TTH ET 104 Eric Swedin (History) & Dave Ferro (Engineering Technology)
HNRS 4920

Short Courses, Workshops, Institutes, and Special Programs:

Rwandan Genocide - 25 Years Later

32100 Almost one million people were killed in 100 days. 25 years later we are still discussing the history of the genocide and the question of justice. Join us to discuss the genocide, politics, justice, and memory through research, film, and guest speakers (including survivors). 10:30 - 11:45 AM TTH LI 325 Stephanie Wolfe (Political Science)