Honors Courses - Spring 2024

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. 

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.

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

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