Spring Honors Courses

Instructor: Julia Daly

Lecture Times:
Wednesdays: 11:25 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
Mondays & Fridays: 11–11:50 a.m.

Lab: Wednesdays 9:30–11:15 a.m.

Course Attribute: GEO

Course Description:
What can we learn about the evolution of Mars, and what can it tell us about the story of Earth? This course will focus on the geologic history of Mars and how it might inform us about Earth’s early history. We’ll learn about major geologic processes active on both Earth and Mars, and how to interpret the geologic history of Mars from available remote and lander data. As one of our nearest planetary neighbors and subject of long-standing human interest, we will also look at the intersection of science, science history, and popular writing about Mars, space travel, and the potential for life on Mars.

Instructor: Paul Gies
Schedule: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 9:30–10:45 a.m.
Attribute: MAT course attribute

This course will look at several kinds of “machines” invented by mathematicians like the late Alan Turing to investigate the nature of computation. Some of those machines turned out to be the predecessors of modern computers; all of them have something to tell us about how our own minds work and about the nature of knowledge itself. There aren’t any specific math classes a student would need in order to understand this material.

Jeff Thomson
Thursdays 3:30–6:00 p.m.
HUM course attribute

In this seminar, we will explore the formation and transformation of Greek myth as a way of understanding the ancient world, as well as how we see ourselves. After all, writers and artists have continually turned to myth and mythic images to evoke the present. Attention will be given not only to what Greek myth tells us about Greek culture but what our interest in these myths tells us about our own. We begin our discussion with four Greek texts – one in each major genre (drama, epic, lyric, and prose) – and we will jump ahead 2,000 years to think about modern and contemporary writers/filmmakers and how they reinterpret and re-imagine these stories and others.

Misty Krueger
Mondays & Wednesdays 2:00 – 3:15 p.m.
HUM course attribute

In this course, students will study fandoms and fanfiction derived from the writings of famous authors and popular television series and film franchises. Students will not only read and analyze fanfic in the course, but also contribute to a fanfic anthology compiled by the class.

Jayne Decker
Mondays 3:30 – 6:00 p.m.
ART course attribute

Passion, Protest, Fires: Theatre as Public History. Public history is examined through the context of theatre to consider how a story is told. Course content includes Oscar Wilde’s trial for Gross Indecency, voices from the Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL) after the Triangle Shirtwaist Company’s devastating fire, and other plays about war and its impact on the human experience.

Brianna Grumstrup
Tuesdays 3:30 – 6:00 p.m.
SED 429 cross-list

This course provides education majors with a range of knowledge and skills needed to support students with challenging behavior in educational settings. Course topics include positive behavioral intervention and supports (PBIS) frameworks and collection and use of data to develop positive behavior supports for students. Major focus is on development of a proactive class-wide PBIS plan, as well as the use of functional behavior assessment to develop individualized behavior support plans. Crisis prevention and intervention as well as ethical principles of supporting students with challenging behavior are also discussed.*