Honors Courses - Spring 2024

 


WHY HONORS?
 BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT COMPLETING YOUR DEGREE. IT'S ALSO ABOUT THE QUALITY OF YOUR LEARNING EXPERIENCES. HONORS CLASSES ARE NOT ONLY TAUGHT BY SOME OF THE BEST PROFESSORS ON CAMPUS,
THEY ARE FILLED WITH AMAZING STUDENTS - STUDENTS LIKE YOU: LIVELY, ENGAGED, AND EAGER TO LEARN!


 


 

No special permission or requirements are necessary to register for an Honors course!

HONORS COURSES in the CREATIVE ARTS

HNRS 1530 CA: The Body of Religion: Interfaith Explorations

The common thread in religious ritual is that the senses and the body are used to achieve feeling states. We might not all believe the same; on some level, we often feel the same about what we believe. In this class we look at the senses in ritual through the lens of many cultures and perspectives. How does ritual use spaces, sounds, words, and movement? How can learning about a range of rituals support a positive interfaith dialogue? 

CRN 36443
Syllabus

Erik Stern | 9 - 10:15 am | Tuesdays & Thursdays | LI 321
This course fulfills a Creative Arts general education requirement.

HNRS 2020 CA: Art of Genocide

30 Years after the genocide in Rwanda, we see memory shaped through visual, artistic, and digital means.  This course with explore how this genocide is represented through watching films, reading graphic novels, and exploring photography, artwork, and other visual and literary representations of the genocide. 


CRN 36446

Stephanie Wolfe | 9 - 10:15 am | Tuesdays & Thursdays | LI 325
This course fulfills a Creative Arts general education requirement.

HONORS COURSES in the HUMANITIES

HNRS 1540 HU: Oscillations in Film & Fiction 

What is the relationship between narratives in print and narratives on screen?

We will pair literary texts with their adaptations. Put differently, our class has two ambitious goals: to think through the very term “adaptation,” and to probe, in a more media-theoretical way, the conflicts and oscillations between print and the post-print world.

CRN 36445
Syllabus

Michael Wutz | 12 - 1:15 pm | Tuesdays & Thursdays | LI 325
This course fulfills a Humanities general education requirement.

HNRS 2010 HU: Keep or Cancel? Immoral Artists, Immoral Art?
 

Ur fav was canceled, now what? This class will explore the ethical dimension of "cancel culture" and whether we should continue to enjoy the works of artists, musicians, and writers after they behave badly. 

 

CRN 38393
Syllabus

Mary Beth Willard | 10:30 - 11:20 am | Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays | LI 325
This course fulfills a Humanities general education requirement.

HNRS 2130A HU/EDI: The Meaning of Life: Great Ideas of the East

Ever wondered about the meaning of life? So have countless others around the world! Explore and examine with us the various answers that Eastern philosophers, gurus, poets, movements, cultures and historians have proffered to this timeless question.

We'll talk about Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Charvaka, Shinto, Samurai, Zen and the historical backgrounds of all these traditions and more in this mind expanding class. You will also have the opportunity to practice Eastern martial arts and many different forms of meditation. 

CRN 37962
Syllabus & Schedule

Katie & Marc Nelson | 10:30 - 11:45 am | Tuesdays on Zoom, Thursdays in Class | LI 325 
This course fulfills a Humanities & Diversity (DV) gen-ed requirement. 

HONORS COURSES in the SOCIAL SCIENCES

HNRS 2120 SS: Abortion, Education, Guns & Privacy as State Constitutional Rights

State supreme courts can recognize, pursuant to state constitutions, MORE (but not fewer) rights than what the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution to require. This has implications for the rights to abortion, education, bearing arms, and privacy across this country.  We will examine state supreme court opinions establishing these rights, while also critiquing U.S. Supreme Court opinions. 

CRN 37976
Syllabus

Mark Denniston | 11:30 am - 12:20 pm | Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays | LI 325
This course fulfills a Social Science general education requirement.

1-CREDIT DISCUSSION COURSES

Students may take the 1-credit courses a) bundled together to count as a 3-credit course or b) individually alone or c) as a supplement to HNRS 2010. 

HNRS 2830: Keep or Cancel? Books by Immoral Writers

 

When your favorite writer behaves badly, what should you do? Should you cancel them and give up on the books and stories they produced? Or is it okay to keep enjoying the writing? Can we - should we - separate the written work from the writer?


CRN 36451
Syllabus



Christy Call | 1:30 - 2:30 pm | Wednesdays | LI 325

HNRS 2920: Keep or Cancel? Art by Immoral Artists 

 

When your favorite artist behaves badly, what should you do? Should you cancel them and give up on the art and stories they produced? Or is it okay to keep enjoying the artwork? Can we - should we - separate the artwork from the art?

 

CRN 36453
Syllabus

 

Paul Crow | 1:30 - 2:30 pm | Mondays | LI 325

HNRS 2900: Keep or Cancel? Music by Immoral Musicians

 

When your favorite musicians behaves badly, what should you do? Should you cancel them and give up on the music and stories they produced? Or is it okay to keep enjoying the music? Can we - should we - separate the music from the musician?

 

CRN 36452
Syllabus

 

Carey Campbell | 1:30 - 2:30 pm | Tuesdays | LI 325

UPPER-DIVISION HONORS COURSES

There are no pre-requisites to take upper-division Honors courses. 

HNRS 3900: Mountains Matter

This course will consider the role mountains play in fostering human connection, developing a sense of place and identity, and inspiring stewardship of the natural world. Situating past and present landscapes in a view of the future, we will examine the role human activity plays in the development of mountain landscapes and climate change. 

We will examine connections between the Wasatch Mountains and the Alps, delving into mythology and history during the Roman Empire, Medieval era, and 18th & 19th centuries surrounding the mythologies and trade routes of the Swiss Alps. Additionally, exploring the social psychology and the commodification of mountain experiences. 

This course will have weekend excursions and ski trips. These field experiences are a required component of this course in addition to meeting during the standard class time. If you plan to take this course, mark your calendars for February 8th & 17th, March 15th & 16th, and April 9th.

CRN 36455
Syllabus

Kacy Peckenpaugh & Cass Morgan  | 1:30 - 4:10 pm | Thursdays | SW 405

HNRS 3900: Poetry & Printmaking: As Witness for the Land

This interdisciplinary course will investigate printmaking and poetry, two art forms with a vibrant historical and contemporary relationship. In the study of the creative exchange between these two art forms, students will write their own poems and create their own prints.

CRN 36456
Syllabus


This is a Sustainability (SUS) designated course.

Laura Stott & Andrew Rice | 1:30 - 4:10 pm | Tuesdays & Thursdays | KA 251

HNRS 4900: Meditation & Mindfulness

Learn and practice meditation and mindfulness to build mental resilience and overcome the stress and chaos of daily life. This course will you in developing techniques to ease anxiety, reduce stress, and achieve greater balance and inner peace.

CRN 36457
Syllabus

Michael Olpin | 12:30 - 3:10 pm | Mondays | SW 225 

HNRS 4900: Sex & the City: Women in Industrialized Space

In the early 1900s, the US progressed from industry and struggled because of it. Lured by the promise of prosperity, thousands of rural and immigrant women arrived in cities to work in factories. This class will explore what their lives were like, what they did to survive, and how laws that governed women shaped our understanding of poverty, morality, and resistance today.

CRN 37314
Syllabus

Leah LaGrone | 9:30 - 10:20 am | Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays | LI 325

HNRS 4920: Intro to Anti-Racism: An Exploration of U.S. History, Systems, & Culture
 

Want to learn more about dismantling individual, societal, and systemic racism in order to create a more equitable, just, and antiracist future? We will explore the differences between race and ethnicity, cultural considerations regarding each, and the intersectionality present between race, and class, space, gender, and sexuality.

CRN 36458
Syllabus

Kathleen Cadman | 10:30 - 11:45 am | Tuesdays in Person, Thursdays on Zoom | LI 325


Honors Program | 801-626-6230 | honors@weber.edu |Honors Course Archive