AH 201 Section 3, History of Art I
In this course students will interpret representative examples of prehistoric, ancient, and medieval art of Western and selected world cultures using the specific vocabulary of art. They will investigate various art styles in their historical, political, and religious contexts. In addition, they will examine the roles of artists, patrons, and audiences, and will identify the processes by which artists produce their work. This Honors College section differs from large lecture-focused sections of the course by requiring students to understand readings of primary documents as they interpret art works within chronological and geographical contexts. Classes will consist of a blend of illustrated lectures, discussion, and group and individual presentations. In this low-enrollment Honors section, students will demonstrate critical thinking while evaluating various perspectives on art in several brief oral and written assignments. Rote memorization of works of art is not the goal of this course, yet potential art or art history majors must be prepared for departmental assessment tests on fundamentals of art history, so students are required to identify primary monuments of the history of art.
AH 202 Section 2, History of Art II: Renaissance to Contemporary Art
This course works to familiarize students with the major stylistic, thematic, and historical trends in art history from the Renaissance through today. It is designed to encourage a critical understanding of the meaning and function of art objects, architecture, and design artifacts within their original historical contexts. The final part of this course deals with the emergence of mass media and modernity in art. Class sessions consist of lecture (interlaced with videos/virtual tours, etc.), discussion, group projects and hands-on individualized synthesis of lecture and reading materials. As an Honors College course, this class will place a greater emphasis on discussion/synthesis, and on a two-way conversation with peers and the professor.
Art 101 Section 3, Two-Dimensional Design
This studio-based art course introduces students to the basic principals and elements of two-dimensional design. Through the experiential art-making process, students gain an understanding of how to utilize and apply the principals and elements of design through the medium of cut paper. The course consists of lectures, demonstrations, in-class projects, and critiques. As an Honors College course, there is a greater emphasis on cut paper techniques and the cultures from which they originated.
Art 383 Section 1, Digital Photography
This course is structured as a studio course for beginners of digital fine art photography. Students will focus on the technical and conceptual language of digital imagery while learning to see through concept-driven projects. Course Objectives and Skills to be Mastered: Understand the language of digital photography, both technical and conceptual; Develop beginner level skills using Adobe Creative Cloud for Photographers; Understand digital workflow, capture, output and printing; Learn studio lighting techniques applied to strobe and continuous light sources; Develop and share photographs using web based portfolios; Final project will be exhibited in the Honors College Gallery. Required materials: These are the materials listed on the B&H site. www.bhphotvideo.com; Epson, Premium Luster Paper 8.5 x 11″, 50 Sheets, B&H # EPPLPL50; Epson, Premium Luster Paper 13×19”, 50 Sheets, B&H # EPPLPSB50; Hahnemuhle, mix pack of paper, B&H # HASPRCL10; External Hardrive, 500 GB; Matte board- white, enough for each project. Images created for this class will be produced digitally. There are several camera options for you to consider. Before you decide upon a certain camera system, however, first consider your major, area of concentration and the extent of your future involvement in photography. There are certain basic features your camera needs to meet for the requirements of this class. All cameras must have the following capabilities: 1) Ability to set equivalent ISO ratings; 2) Manual mode; which allows you to select f.stop and shutter speed setting; 3) Manual focus capability; and 4) Monochrome (black and white) mode; that allows you to photograph directly in grey scale (b+w) mode. Please note that Point and Shoot cameras are not acceptable. DSLR cameras offer a greater range of both technical and image control and introduces a complete range of interchangeable lenses in a broad spectrum of focal lengths. If you currently own a DSLR that is not listed below, but meets the four requirements mentioned, chances are, that it should be fine for this class.
Bisc 104 Section 4, Inquiry into Life–The Environment
Bisc 104 is a course designed for non-biology majors in which we explore the biodiversity and the natural world that supports life. The intent is for students to better understand the basic principles of evolution and ecology and to develop a stronger familiarity with the diversity of life on Earth. Topics include the evolution and taxonomy of life on Earth, the ecology of microbial, plant and animal life, and contemporary environmental issues. As an honors section, the class size is small and allows for more student participation and engagement compared to a large lecture format. The course includes multiple days set aside for discussion of current science news as well as a project to learn about different topics relating to the natural world. A passing grade in Bisc 102 is a prerequisite for this course. The associated laboratory is Bisc 105, which may or may not be taken concurrently with the lecture.
Bisc 164 Section 4, Honors Recitation
This is a reading and discussion course, focused on the book, The Thing With Feathers: The Surprising Lives of Birds and What They Reveal About Being Human, by Noah Strycker, Riverhead Books, 2014 (ISBN 978-1-59463-341-6). This course is designed to provide inspiration about how fascinating biology can be, to provide a broader perspective on biological science not provided by the lecture and lab portions of the course, to help student develop communication and critical thinking skills related to biological science, and to opportunistically (but not comprehensively) amplify and review concepts from BISC 160 as they arise in the reading. The participatory nature of this course is intended to provide for a deeper level of intellectual engagement and growth beyond what is possible with lecture and lab. Upon completion of this course, students will have a deeper understanding of the ecology, evolution, and behavior of birds; the similarities and differences between bird behavior and human behavior; and how to discuss and critically think about biological science.
Bisc 164 Section 6, Honors Recitation
This is a discussion-based course that is intended to provide a broad overview of current research topics in the biological sciences. The goal of the course is to familiarize students with current research trends in order to gain a greater understanding and appreciation for major biological principles. Students will read, summarize, and discuss overviews of topics from popular literature. Topics to be covered will broadly fall under the realm of evolutionary biology and will include major recent discoveries and advances in animal behavior, neurobiology, endocrinology, paleontology, genetics and ecology. Upon completion of this course, students should 1) gain a greater understanding of basic biological principles and current biological research, 2) develop their ability to critically evaluate the findings reported in the literature, and 3) hone their communication skills by discussing recent research findings and why they are important.
Chem 393 Setion 1, Advanced Special Topics in Chemistry: Modern Environmental Chemistry
The solution to pollution is not dilution! This course introduces the environmental chemistry of pollution, including microplastics, toxic heavy metals, and radionuclides, that threaten our water, air, and food. Understanding the basic chemistry of pollution helps us to determine its source, spread, fate, and impacts, which is the first step to solving the problem. Class will consist of lectures, case studies, and group projects integrating sampling and chemical analysis. Emphasis will be on discussion and synthesis of concepts, both with peers and the professor.
Clc 325 Section 1, Topics in Classical Civilization: Slavery & Freedom in Ancient Greece & Rome
This course examines slavery in ancient Greek and Roman culture, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. We will engage with legendary and literary slaves from Homer’s epic poems to slapstick slaves of Roman comedy, juxtaposed to ancient bronze shackles and collar tags. We will compare the historical serf-like helots of the Spartans with Spartacus and the slave army that he led against Rome. We will investigate the economic, social, and legal sources on slavery, and manumission too, and debate relevant texts by Aristotle, the Stoics, and early Christians. Our daily meetings will consist of close readings and discussions of the ancient sources, literary and archaeological, contextualized within a historical, socio-political framework.
Econ 202 Section 3, Principles of Microeconomics
Microeconomics is the study of how individuals and firms make choices, and how these choices affect society. Economics shares with other behavioral sciences the general goal of explaining and predicting human behavior. The distinguishing feature of the economic approach is the emphasis on rational decision making under conditions of scarcity. This course is an introduction to the basic concepts and tools of microeconomics. The emphasis of the class is on economic reasoning. Throughout the class, we will concentrate on applying the concepts that we learn to real life situations. In the honors section, students will be given some additional readings, including suitable chapters from The Economic Report of the President. Students are also encouraged to read the economics sections of newspapers and magazines, and to suggest articles or ideas which they would like to discuss. The smaller size of the honors section makes it more suitable than regular sections of Econ 202 for such discussions. In addition, students in the honors section are expected to answer essay test questions rather than multiple-choice. By the end of this class students should 1) develop a deep understanding of a small number of core concepts of microeconomics that are essential to informed analysis of any economic issue; 2) develop an ability to use key economic ideas in evaluating public policies; and 3) develop an ability to critically analyze economic arguments put forth in public policy debates. For instance, they should be able to read and evaluate general material in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, or the Economist.
Econ 203 Section 1, Principles of Macroeconomics
The main objective of this course is to introduce the world of macroeconomics, the study of the economy at the national and the international levels. We will begin with learning basic concepts such as gross domestic product, inflation, and unemployment rates to measure the economy. We will explore how those macroeconomic variables are related and how they are affected by the external shocks such as technological innovation and globalization by using simple mathematical tools. We will also study the roles of fiscal and monetary policies to stabilize the effect of the external shocks in the short-run and long-run. The Honors section of this course will offer an opportunity of policy-evaluating project in which groups of students can write a short country-specific report and present it in class. This project can help the students know how to collect the economic data and to provide useful information by analyzing it with simple tools. Also, students are strongly encouraged to ask questions and participate constructively in class discussions which will lead us to study our topics in depth.
Eng 222 Section 10, World Literature since 1650
In this course, we will study fictional and non-fictional works from all the continents of the world in the contexts of cultural, political, social, and aesthetic concerns of writers and their communities. Among other issues, we will examine the unique qualities of texts produced by different international communities, strategies for studying world cultures through literature, and how texts and authors write and re-write themselves and other cultures. We will read Mohsin Hamid’s Moth Smoke, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, various poems, and short stories; and discuss how issues raised in the texts are different and comparable.
Eng 224 Section 1, Survey of American Literature since the Civil War
English 224 surveys American literature from the late nineteenth-century until the threshold of the twenty-first centuy, paying particular attention to historical and cultural influences and to the role of place in shaping individual experience. We will approach course material by dividing it into five thematic units: “Varieties of American Literary Realism at the End of the Nineteenth Century,” “Native Peoples and the Question of American Citizenship,” “The African American Experience, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Advent of Literary Modernism,” “Immigration and the Making of ‘America,’” and “Being an ‘American’ in the Twentieth Century.” Each unit will include one short reading and one book-length text. We will concern ourselves both with authors (including Mark Twain, Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins, Zora Neale Hurston, William Faulkner, and Maxine Hong Kingston, among others) and with places (ranging from Hannibal, Missouri to Wounded Knee to Ellis Island and Angel Island to Oxford, Mississippi). Course requirements include regular participation in class discussion, regular in-class reading responses, two written examinations, a paper, and a group project.
Eng 224 Section 2, Survey of American Literature since the Civil War
This course is a survey of American Literature from 1865 to the present. We will read poetry, fiction, and nonfiction written by Americans of diverse backgrounds, and examine the ways in which those writers respond to literary, social, and political circumstances in the shifting cultural landscape of the United States over the past 150+ years. The Honors section of this course will emphasize class discussion and written responses to the texts.
Eng 225 Section 27, Survey of British Literature since the Romantic Period
This course provides a historical survey of English literature, from the Middle Ages to the late eighteenth century. We will examine the relationship between literature and society, focusing particularly on satire and parody, and more generally on the role writing plays in upholding and challenging dominant values and institutions. Satire—literature that uses humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize immorality or foolishness—comes in many forms. By its very definition, so does parody: the comic imitation of a style, genre, or author. In our survey of 300 years of writing, we will examine poetry, drama, narrative fiction, and essays as well as a variety of literary modes, including romance, epic, and comedy. Only this course never plays it straight. We will study the funniest, angriest, most outraged and most outrageous authors in the English literary canon: men and women who have exposed religious hypocrisy, political corruption, and social injustice; those who fought for social change, and those who zealously defended the status quo. Our aim is to better understand literature and the part it has played in historical struggles. As an Honors College seminar, this section of English 225 will be a discussion-based class, with special emphasis on close reading and textual analysis.
Hon 391 Section 5, Honors Conversations: Topics in Medicine and Health Care
Topics in medicine and health care will be presented as documentaries which students view outside of class. Weekly classroom sessions will discuss and analyze the issues. Topics will include human genomics and personalized medicine, obesity and chronic diseases, antibiotic and vaccine controversies, aging and death, and U.S. and global health care policies.
Hon 399 Section 1, Honors 1, Honors Special Topics
Climate Change in the 21st Century: Causes, Consequences, and What We Can Do about It
Climate change due to rising greenhouse gas concentrations may be the most serious environmental challenge humanity has ever faced. How we deal or not with this challenge will affect the future of civilization for generations to come, with no place on the planet unaffected. Burying our head in the sand to avoid the issue is not a viable option, not for long. Much better to face the problem with eyes wide open, and in this special topics class that’s what we will do. First, we will learn about the ways in which the causes and consequences of climate change is studied and understood, using models that make projections about Earth’s future. Then, we will turn to various proposed means—individual choices, possible technological fixes, legislation, global pacts—to adapt to or head off the most dire outcomes of climate change. Our focus will span geographically from the southeast U.S. to the globe, and temporally from the short-term to centuries. The class will involve reading, writing, and discussion based on the scientific and general literature on climate change.
Hon 399 Section 2, Honors Special Topics, Journalism’s Trump Problem
President Donald Trump has posed a challenge to the press that is unique in American history, declaring journalists “enemies of the people,” “scum,” and purveyors of “fake news.” In turn, much of the news media, led by such elite institutions as the New York Times, have responded to the Trump presidency as if it were a national emergency, relaxing their traditional posture of neutrality and becoming more openly oppositional in their political coverage. Students will consider this turn from journalistic norms and grapple with its consequences for the press, the presidency and the Republic. Areas of examination will include how the press, operating under the old rules of impartiality, covered political crises in the past, from the civil rights era to Watergate to the Lewinsky scandal. The course will be taught by two instructors with many years of experience following national politics: Peter Boyer, who has reported for several leading news organizations, including The New Yorker and Fox News, and Curtis Wilkie, a former national and foreign correspondent for the Boston Globe who covered eight presidential campaigns.
Hon 399 Section 3, Dystopias
This seminar explores dystopian worlds. A premise of the class is that the social ills of present day lead to the shattered societies of fictional futures. We will examine ideas and themes that are fundamental in either place, imagined or real: cultural norms; religious values; societal governance; gender roles; ethnic and racial conflict; economic systems; technological dependence; and, environmental deterioration. To understand these ideas and themes, we will rely on works of fiction (novels and short stories), films, and contemporary non-fiction. The readings will include selections from dystopian classics (e.g., Brave New World; 1984; Fahrenheit 451), less well known but formative writings (e.g., A Canticle for Leibowitz; Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep; The Cat’s Cradle; The Handmaid’s Tale; The Children of Men), contemporary works (e.g., The Road; Station Eleven; J: A Novel), and nonfiction, such as The World Without Us. The films we view will likely come from the following: Blade Runner; Children of Men; Soylent Green; The Giver; Gattaca; Fahrenheit 451. Hope you will join us for an intriguing journey into imaginative worlds and human realities.
Hon 420 Section 1, Honors Experiential Learning, Mississippi Jukebox
“Mississippi Jukebox” is an interdisciplinary, applied qualitative methods course that teaches the best practices of qualitative data collection and empirically-informed storytelling. The course has two sections. In the “Mississippi” section, students will engage with some of the most innovative and evocative Mississippi-based storytelling projects, from Kiese Laymon’s Heavy: An American Memoir to the Netflix feature Mississippi Damned. In the “Jukebox” section, students will develop, refine, and execute their own storytelling projects, culminating with a long-form interview with an influential Mississippian. The final product of the course will be The Mississippi Jukebox podcast, with each episode corresponding to a student storytelling venture. Students will be expected to conduct their interview by the tenth week of classes, allowing approximately four weeks for editing and final composition. Students will also share content of their progress through the course via the @MississippiJukebox handle across all major social media platforms.
Hon 445 Section 1, Art and the Republic
The objective of this class is to examine various forms of art, i.e. dance. film, literature (including novels and poetry), music (all genres), sculpture, animation, comedy and theater, and to explore and analyze how these forms of human expression are affected and influenced by our society and culture; we then analyze how, in turn, these artistic genres influence and affect society and its citizens. This course also engages students on current issues relating to various forms of art. Please be prepared to read and explore a wide variety of newspapers and news sources involving complex social, societal and political issues. The course requires maturity and respect for multiple points of views.
Hst 120 Section 5, Intro to European History to 1648
This course is an introduction to the history of Western Civilization, covering from ancient history down to 1648 C.E. We will be treating—necessarily in a very general manner—the political, social, economic, cultural, and intellectual developments that together defined Western Civilization. This Honors class differs from other sections of this course in that it is more reading- and discussion-intensive. The required readings will likely be the following: Carlo Ginzburg, Night Battles: Witchcraft and Agrarian Cults in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries; Thomas More, Utopia; Plato, The Last Days of Socrates; Plautus, The Pot of Gold and Other Plays; Larissa Juliet Taylor, The Virgin Warrior: The Life and Death of Joan of Arc; and Chrétien de Troyes, Arthurian Romances. Recommended textbook: Thomas F. X. Noble et alii, Western Civilization: Beyond Boundaries, Volume I: to 1715, 7th edition. Students will write two mid-term exams and a final examination. They will also write three papers (about 4-6 pages each, double-spaced), based on the assigned readings, on which they may also be quizzed.
Hst 130 Section 14, Intro to US History to 1877
This course will present an overview of American history from initial European exploration through the Civil War. By examining the interactions between diverse groups of peoples, including Native Americans, Europeans, European Americans, and African Americans, we will explore the changing meanings of freedom, equality, citizenship, democracy and American identity. Along the way we will cover such topics as the rise of slavery, the American Revolution, the development of a political party system, the emergence of market capitalism and the reasons behind the Civil War; approaching these topics through such categories of analysis as race, gender, and class. Special emphasis will be given to the multi-layered complexities and myriad perspectives of the many pasts and historical actors that give American history its richness. In addition, students will learn how to read primary sources as historical documents and, in turn, discover how historians interpret history. The intensive discussion of primary sources, the debating of key events and themes in American history through Reconstruction, and the assigning of essays asking students to craft their own interpretations of the American past, will allow students in this honors course to become historians for a semester. Along the way, students will burnish their critical reading, analytical writing, and oratorical abilities—pushing them to become more persuasive and eloquent, and allowing them to master a basic but essential set of skills demanded of several different potential professional tracks that they may in the future pursue.
Hst 131 Section 16, Intro to US History since 1877
This is an introductory survey course covering the history of the United States from the end of Reconstruction to the present. We will take a chronological approach to chart important political, economic, and cultural developments during this time frame, including industrialization, western conquest, the Progressive era, World Wars I and II, the Great Depression, the Cold War, the civil rights movement and other movements for inclusion, and recent events that historians are only beginning to examine. Throughout the course, we will use primary sources—materials created by historical subjects during the time we’re studying—to help us interpret and understand the past. This course will also introduce students to core principles of historical thinking. Historians do more than memorize facts, dates and names. They consider how societies change over time and debate why those changes happened. As an Honors College course, this class will emphasize in-class discussion, along with assignments in which students will advance informed and original historical interpretations.
ISS 125 Section 2, Introduction to Intelligence Studies
As US foreign policy objectives around the globe become more complex, the importance of intelligence to US policymakers is increasing. And yet, the work of the Intelligence Community remains one of the United States Government’s most misunderstood functions among the American public. This course offers students an overview of the IC, including its purpose, history, capabilities, and limitations. Students will examine the organizational structure of the IC as well as the laws, guidelines, and ethics pertaining to collection and analysis. Finally, students will receive an introduction to best practices for writing and briefing analytic products for policymakers—subjects that are the focus of ISS-351 and ISS-352.
ISS 480 Section 1, National Security Issues of the 21st Century
This course builds upon the fundamentals of analytic tradecraft that are taught in ISS-351 and ISS-352 by introducing students to concepts and approaches that are specific to the Intelligence Community’s core disciplines of political, military, economic, and foreign policy analysis. Students will learn these tools by examining current threats to US interests, including five strategic threats—Iran, Russia, China, North Korea, and transnational terrorism—that are emphasized in the DNI’s 2018 Worldwide Threat Assessment. Students will have opportunities to engage in “analytic cross-training” by applying the critical thinking, writing, and briefing skills taught in ISS-351 and ISS-352 to national security stories as told by a political, military, economic, and foreign policy analyst.
NHM 311 Section 3, Nutrition
Paleo…Keto…Gluten-free… Want to get the truth instead of the hype? This course is an introduction to the field of nutrition and the application of nutrition principles to practical situations in health and disease. Topics include discernment of nutrition misinformation, diet planning, alternative diets, health effects of carbohydrates and fats, nutrient metabolism, weight management, disordered eating, vitamins and mineral supplements, phytochemicals, food insecurity, and nutrition in pregnancy and for physical activity. Development and management of chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis and hypertension will also be discussed. This course differs from the regular sections of NHM 311 in that the discussions are student-driven and the majority each class will be centered around topics the students have chosen to cover from each chapter. Each student will research a nutrition-related topic and present their findings to the class. Examinations will involve identification and short essay questions in addition to multiple choice questions.
Pol 401 Section 2, Senior Seminar in American Politics
As we move from the Obama era to the first two years of the Trump presidency, we find a country that is divided both within Congress and the electorate. We also find ourselves in an environment where information is highly politicized, making the need for thoughtful and analytical approaches to understanding politics all the more important. As such, this course will place a special emphasis on the critical examination of institutional and behavioral factors that may be seen as causes and consequences of the divisions that characterize our current political and social context. Our overall goal will be to gain an in-depth understanding of a range of issues related to the complex (and often frustrating) topic of contemporary American politics. Our approach for the course will be to examine how political science is trying to make sense of and offer insights into the current political environment. Most of the readings will be drawn from political science literature, some of them in original article format, and some in a more distilled summary form. My expectation is that some readings will reinforce preconceived notions, while others will provide important theoretically and empirically-based challenges. Upon completing the class, students should have developed a better understanding of current American politics through the process of drawing linkages between empirical political science and its applications. This includes: Demonstrating knowledge and understanding of the dominant characteristics of our current political environment; The ability to evaluate and critically analyze theoretical and empirical arguments regarding the behavioral and institutional forces that provide the foundations of our politics; Discuss and debate major issues related to the current state of the American political system; and Apply this increased understanding to an examination of a current issue or challenge in American politics
PPL 385 Section 1, Food Policy and Agriculture Systems
Why is it that everyday US schools battle with both childhood obesity and childhood hunger? How have government policies shaped the growing, distribution and processing of food in this country and how does that affect our health, wealth and local communities? This course will delve into these and other questions surrounding issues of hunger, the health implications of farming, and community and nonprofit activism. From the global to the national to the local level, food policy will be examined along with the important social problems stemming from our policies and potential solutions developed to deal with these problems. As an honors course, students will perform advanced analyses and evaluations of specific food policies.
Psy 201 Section 12, General Psychology
Introduction: individual development, motivation, emotion, motor function, sensory and neural functions, intelligence, learning, perceiving, thinking, social behavior, and personality. In this Honors section of the course, students will be expected to come to class with a background level of knowledge from the assigned reading, engage in discussion, engage in active learning activities (inside and outside the class), and read primary source articles. All aspects of the course will be designed to help students understand and learn the material in such a manner that they will be able to apply the material to their lives and future careers.
Psy 417 Section 1, Disasters and Mental Health
Disaster mental health, or clinical-disaster psychology, is an applied science. It refers to the “specialized domain of training, research, and service provision applied to or with individuals, communities, and nations exposed to a disaster” (Yutrzenka & Naifeh, 2008, p. 97). Disaster mental health, as an applied science, incorporates many different aspects of psychology, with clinical, counseling, social, community, multicultural, developmental, cognitive, neuroscience, and industrial-organizational psychology serving as examples. While human beings have always had to deal with the wide-ranging and potentially devastating effects of disasters, it was not until the 1990s that the field of psychology really began to play a major role (see for example, Jacobs, 1995, 2007). Clinical psychologists working in disaster mental health may find themselves working with disaster-relief agencies, such as the American Red Cross or the Department of Health and Human Services, participating in the immediate response to a disaster event. Such disaster-related field work (e.g., working in schools or churches where a shelter may be located, working at or near the disaster site itself) is often a dramatically different experience than working in office or institutional settings, presenting unique challenges (noise, limited privacy, limited resources) and requiring specific training and experience. Professionals may also be involved in their communities prior to the occurrence of a disaster (e.g., developing relationships with community agencies and entities, such as disaster-relief agencies, schools, and churches). They may be involved in research, as well as training and education, pre- and post-disaster. Moreover, for months following a disaster, they may be of assistance to professionals returning from disaster relief assignments, and/or they may see clients in professional settings with disaster-related symptoms of anxiety, depression, and/or posttraumatic stress, among others. Because the occurrence of a disaster is a matter of when as opposed to if, it is essential that clinical psychologists who feel called to respond in instances of disaster prepare now for the next disaster (Schulenberg, Dellinger et al., 2008). Mental health professionals should seek out the necessary training, as disaster mental health work requires strong generalist training coupled with specialized education in disaster-related mental health issues (Schulenberg, Dellinger et al., 2008). The purpose of this course is to delineate in depth the role of clinical psychologists in the field of disaster mental health. Topics include psychopathology after disasters, vulnerability and resilience, special populations, and related mental health interventions and services, including community-based psychological first aid (CBPFA).
Rel 103 Section 2, Intro to Judaism, Christianity and Islam
For a description, please click here.
Soc 335 Section 1, The Sociology of Food
The production, distribution, and consumption of food are core activities in human life, and from a sociological standpoint, do much more than sustain our bodies. Food and the activities surrounding food have powerful social meanings. We distinguish our group from other groups by comparing food choices and habits. How and what we eat creates and maintains racial/ethnic and regional differences, and symbolizes national solidarity. We indicate social status with our food preferences. With food and eating we define gender and infer character and morality. The recreational purposes for food are myriad: we celebrate with food and drink when we want to bond with others or say goodbye to them. We eat when we are bored or happy or distressed. Where we choose to dine out may symbolize social status and social aspirations, degrees of intimacy with those with whom we dine, and our cultural capital. The production and distribution of food have changed dramatically in the last century or so. We rely on a fast-food industry to save time for our jobs or families. That industry has, in turn, shaped our wage structures and food production, our food budgets and our waistlines. Food is increasingly a manufactured product, designed for our convenience, as well as manufacturers’ and distributors’ bottom lines. Factory foods contain ingredients—natural and manmade—not found in home kitchens, often yielding startlingly long shelf life. New methods of genetic modification of agricultural products and food preservation spur debates about food safety and environmental consequences. These controversies affect global markets, and occasionally become points of conflict, even in nations facing severe food shortages. We may worry about the sustainability of our food sources in a world of climate change, water shortages, and environmental degradation. In short, by examining food issues, we can tackle any number of central issues in sociology: social identity, race and ethnicity, gender, power and social stratification, mass culture and communication, economic and political interests, science and technology, and globalization. In this weekly seminar we will use both scholarly and popular readings and videos to survey and discuss food and eating as relevant to nearly every aspect of human social life.
Span 111 Section 11, Intensive Elementary Spanish
Spanish 111 Elementary Spanish is an introduction to the language and culture of the Spanish-speaking world. Spanish 111 is designed for students to learn the skills to communicate effectively in Spanish and to develop a knowledge and appreciation for Hispanic cultures. By the end of this class, students should be able to complete basic communicative tasks in Spanish using newly-acquired communication strategies, grammar and vocabulary, and to be able to understand and speak about the diversity of the Spanish-speaking world. Students in this Spanish 111 Honors section will be exposed to authentic material (news articles, literature, movie clips, etc.) and will engage the reading and writing strategies they have learned in regular college classes when producing speech and writing in Spanish. Because the Honors College and Croft also offer a Spanish 211 section, we will prepare all students to excel in that class. Spanish 111 contributes to the Honors College curriculum not only in fulfilling language requirements but also in emphasizing critical thinking and writing by engaging original source materials, and by contributing to an interdisciplinary approach to learning.