Accy 420 Section 1, Independent Study (Accountancy Practicum)
ACCY 420 is a two-course sequence which serves as an alternative to the traditional honors thesis for accountancy majors. The class will be an evening class meeting one day per week (3 credit hours for each semester) that will meet throughout the fall and spring semesters of the junior year.
Case Studies–Students will prepare cases approximately every other week. These cases will deal with financial reporting, judgment and analytics and go beyond but reinforce the Intermediate curriculum. The cases studies will take place throughout the year. Professional Speakers–In the alternative weeks throughout the year, representatives from the accounting profession will speak to the class. The topics will be regarding current topics in the profession. We encourage the professionals to engage the students in active discussion. Case Competitions–This part of the course will be focused on developing presentation and communication skills through preparation and participation in a case competition format. Final Thesis Document–
The final thesis work will include the many case briefs worked on over the course of the year in addition to the case competition materials.
AH 101 Section 3, Introduction to Western Art
This course is designed to introduce students with no prior knowledge of art to the various styles and media of Western art. After an introduction to the fundamentals of art, two-dimensional media, including painting, drawing, and photography, and three-dimensional media, such as sculpture and architecture, will be explored. This course concludes with a brief overview of the history of art from Prehistory to now. After completing this course, students will be able to: analyze the basic vocabulary of visual elements (line, shape, mass, texture, light and value, color, space and time) and principles of design (unity and variety, balance, emphasis and subordination, scale, proportion, and rhythm); analyze works of art, verbally and in writing, based on the elements, principles, and materials (media) of art; place works of art in their historical context based on a general timeline and identify different styles and movements in art. During this course, students will have the opportunity to explore the University museum’s collection and attend in-studio demonstrations related to media and processes with practicing artists and faculty. The Honors section of Art History 101 will aim to develop oral presentation skills throughout the semester, practice visual and contextual analysis through compare and contrast exercises, as well as completing written responses to issues raised in class.
AH 102 Section 2, Art Beyond the West
This course is designed to introduce students to works of art in various media developed in isolation from the European tradition. Lectures focus on the major artistic traditions of South/Southeast Asia, China, Japan, Korea, the Islamic World, Oceania, the Americas, and Africa from ancient until modern time. Using visual arts as a tool, this course introduces students to the diverse social customs, religions, and beliefs of Non-Western peoples. The Honors College section of this course differs from other sections of the course by incorporating active learning strategies in the form of a museum visit, a small group discussion, and an individual student presentation. The assessment of this Honors section is based on several quizzes, “blue-book” essay exams, an oral presentation, and several written assignments.
Arab 471 Section 1, Issues & Trends in Contemporary Lebanon
In this content-based course, students will examine major socio-political issues in contemporary Lebanon, with the purpose of achieving a better understanding of the political, social, and cultural context of the country. The majority of the course will revolve around the following four issues: (1) the sectarian problem of Lebanon; (2) the Lebanese-Israeli conflict; (3) the refugee crisis; and (4) the economic crisis, along with a brief introduction to the history and culture of Lebanon. Because this course is an upper-level one, the targeted linguistic function is argumentation. Students will work thoroughly in both written and oral assignments on how to summarize the views of others, articulate their own well-substantiated views, and respond to critiques of those views. The course will be conducted entirely in Arabic.
Bisc 165 Section 8, Honors Recitation
Over the course of the semester, we will read and discuss the book ‘Improbable Destinies’ by Jonathan Losos, which focuses on the question of predictability in evolutionary biology. The course is designed to expose students to new topics and approaches in biological sciences that may not be covered in the lecture and lab sections of the course. Moreover, the course will allow students to develop critical thinking and oral communication skills through student-led discussions of the readings. While the course is not primarily intended to serve as a review or preparation for Bisc 162, overlapping themes from the reading may allow occasional reviews to happen. By actively leading and participating in discussions of chapter readings, students will be able to engage with the material more deeply than in other sections of the course. Upon completion of the course, students will have an enriched view of biology, including how various fields of biological science connect, including evolution, genetics, and ecology.
EDCI 353 Section 1, Planning & Teaching Strategies for Effective Classroom Practice
Introduction to teaching strategies and models including direct instruction, discovery and inquiry, cooperative/collaborative learning, concept teaching in a developmental-constructivist context; attention to taxonomies for cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains; reflection of classroom practices; curriculum design and planning; classroom management; evaluation and assessment; use of technology across the curriculum. Participants in the Honors/METP section of this course will be required to teach multiple days from an original unit plan developed during the course.
Edsp 327 Section 4, Classroom Mgmt & Behavioral Interventions
Classroom Management and Behavioral Interventions. This course focuses on effective classroom management and behavioral principles, including evidence-based models of classroom discipline, proactive strategies to prevent misbehavior, effective responses to problem behaviors, and ethically appropriate discipline procedures for students with disabilities. Participants in the Honors/METP section of this course will develop in-depth schoolwide and individual behavior management plans practicing data driven decision making as well as an additional 5 hours in Field Experience.
Eng 220 Section 16, Survey in Literary History
This course will explore the emergence of the modern subject in early modern English literature. For some time it has been a topic of considerable debate as to when and how the modern self first emerged. Without assuming in advance that we’ll find the definitive answer, we will examine a grouping of early modern texts to see how they approach questions of self-awareness, self-fashioning, doubleness, gender, sexuality, race, religion, and power. Our investigation will range from the early sixteenth to the late seventeenth century, but because the extant body of literature is vast, we’ll have to be selective and focus our attention, for the most part, on the “greatest hits.” We’ll study prose, lyric, narrative, and epic poetry, as well as dramatic texts. Authors you can expect to read are: Thomas More (Utopia), Thomas Wyatt, Henry Howard, Elizabeth I (poetry and speeches), Christopher Marlowe (Dr. Faustus), Philip Sidney (Defence of Poesy), Shakespeare (one play plus selected sonnets), John Webster (The Duchess of Mafi), John Donne, George Herbert, Ben Jonson, and John Milton (selections from Paradise Lost). Requirements: class participation, class presentations, reading quizzes, 2 exams, and a term paper.
Eng 393 Section 1, Studies in Popular Culture (Teaching Jane Austen for Fun)
We’re going to read three novels by the classic English novelist, Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice (1813), Emma (1815), and Persuasion (1817). We’ll read some of the best literary criticism focused on Austen, and we’ll both study and dip our toes in the wild waters of Austen fan culture. Like the Harry Potter books, the Star Wars films, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jane Austen’s books have long inspired super fans and super-fan experiences. This class will offer students the opportunity to virtually participate in these communities and experiences through Jane-Austen-Society-of-North-America programs. In keeping with our seminar’s unconventional focus, students will have the freedom to produce and disseminate their own, original pop-cultural and literary analysis in print, digital and social media. This is your chance to generate Austen-related content for an expansive audience. Whatever your major is, join us if you crave intellectual stimulation and want to build your resume.
Hon 399 Section 4, Special Topics in Honors (Influences and Interactions in Art and Music)
This course will explore the influences and interactions between the visual arts and music from the Renaissance to the present day. There will be particular emphasis on works of the Classical, Romantic, Impressionist and Modern periods with focus on such artists as Caravaggio, Fragonard, Goya, Delacroix, Corot, Manet, Eakins, Monet, Cassatt, Van Gogh, Picasso, Ernst, Matisse, Kahlo, Warhol, Basquiat, and Close and their stylistic parallels and influences upon such composers as Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Bartok, Schönberg, Cage and Glass. We will also study other related media including film, dance and sculpture. The class will involve looking, listening and analyzing the lives and works of these artists and their eras. It only requires a passion to learn and explore the extraordinary richness of the artistic creative spirit.
Hst 131 Section 11, 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.
Hst 180 Section 1, Intro to East Asian History
This course is an introduction to the history of East Asia – a region that for the purposes of this class covers the present-day nations of China, Korea and Japan. The purpose of the course is to introduce the cultural foundations and modern history of one of the most populous regions of the world today. Whether or not the twenty-first century will be the “Asian century,” as some say, no responsible person can afford to be ignorant of that part of the world. Nor is it sufficient simply to examine the situation as it exists today; an understanding of the tradition, of the historical roots of East Asian societies is essential for anything more than a superficial acquaintance with Asia’s current state and future prospects. The course is designed thematically, in three sections. Each Section of the course begins and ends with a present-day “problem,” and then sets out to introduce students to the historical background of that issue. The three sections are: Race and Ethnicity, Class and Capitalism, and Gender and Sexuality. As this is an introductory course, the only prerequisites are an open mind and an eagerness to learn about other cultures. Students will develop skills in primary source analysis, classroom discussion, and crafting historical arguments. Writing assignments will take students through each step of the writing process from critically analyzing primary texts to forming an analytical argument. Class discussions will help students develop questioning strategies, articulate opinions and engage in debate.
ISS 125 Section 2, Introduction to Intelligence Studies
ISS-125 introduces students to the history, structure, and current focus areas of the Intelligence Community (IC); the strengths and weaknesses of the various collection disciplines; the challenges associated with covert action; the tradecraft practiced by all-source analysts; and issues related to Congressional oversight and reform of the IC. The Honors College version of the class will accomplish these goals with a combination of discussions, hands-on learning activities, and group wargames based on historical intelligence dilemmas.
Jour 353 Section 1, Topics in Journalism III (Freedom Farm Revisited)
Call it Mississippi’s version of Wakanda… Fifty years ago, Sunflower County was home to a place where African-Americans could eat, work and live economically independent from the all-white power structure. “Freedom Farm Revisited” will explore the rise and fall of Fannie Lou Hamer’s Freedom Farm Cooperative and its relevance to today’s Mississippi. This 3-hour depth reporting class in the School of Journalism and New Media will immerse students in Mississippi’s history, issues of race, inequality, food economics, public policy and systemic power struggles. Students will research historical records, conduct primary source interviews and immerse themselves in experiential learning activities, then produce & publish original media content that connects various aspects of Freedom Farm’s history to current issues, topics, and trends on the state and national level.
Mktg 356 Section 1, Legal, Social, and Ethical Issues in Marketing
This course focuses on various external issues and constraints that often impact upon a marketing manager’s decisions yet are typically beyond the manager’s control. Specifically, it addresses the legal/regulatory issues that impact marketing and both historical as well as contemporary social, ethical, and institutional factors. In the Honors section, each student will conduct an in-depth analysis into a specific issue and present a white paper for marketers facing the issue.
Mgmt 371 Section 1, Principles of Management
A comprehensive study of the coordination of organizational resources for the purpose of achieving organizational goals. Student’s conceptual competencies will be enhanced by understanding the managerial processes of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling organizational activities. Examines the manager’s planning responsibilities and develops a more accurate perception of what is required in the manager’s role as an integrator of the organization’s functional areas (i.e., finance, marketing, operations, research and development, international operations, management information systems, etc.). Starting with this core purpose, the class will set out the essential conceptual foundations for each topic, then focus on skill-building such that students will leave the course with a solid set of both managerial perspectives and capabilities. Students will not only have a conceptual foundation for management, but also will develop competencies in navigating the abstract and ambivalent morass of complexities in the world of managing humans in organizational settings. Specific competencies students will have opportunity to master include skills in decision making, planning, structuring, leading, motivating, communicating, and teamwork in organizational contexts. The applications will be useful in any organizational setting in which students may find themselves.
NHM 311 Section 3, Nutrition
This course focuses on the fundamental principles of human nutrition by providing a fascination of science approach to learn how to apply nutrition to the needs of individuals and families at all stages of the life cycle. The honors section will explore these areas by incorporating research articles, case studies, current events, and student-lead class discussions. In addition, students will complete a project that brings together human nutrition concepts to real world settings that serve communities.
Phil 103 Section 2, Logic: Critical Thinking (cross-listed as Ling 103)
Students will develop the ability to uncover the logical structure of ordinary language; to recognize, represent, and assess everyday statements and arguments; and to work competently within formal logical systems. The material will be presented in three distinct sections, with an exam after each section. The first section is introductory. Topics include basic logical concepts, the informal analysis of statements, the nature and analysis of arguments, and fallacies (including statistical fallacies). The second section concerns categorical logic. Topics include categorical statements, the logical relationships amongst categorical propositions, and categorical syllogisms. The third section concerns propositional logic. Topics include the truth-functional operators and the use of truth tables to prove validity. Note that the course is excellent preparation for standardized graduate admissions tests (GRE, LSAT, MCAT).
Phil 352 Section 1, Care Ethics
Most approaches to social policy stem from either a utilitarian public good or a liberal contractarian normative framework, and tend to focus on the minimization of harms and the protection of various individual liberties. Care Ethics is a new family of normative theories within ethics that alters assumptions about what we should seek as individuals within personal relationships and social arrangements. Because it is the newest family of theories within ethics, it is rarely taught, little-known, and often misunderstood, yet scholars within ethics, economics, education, criminology, psychology, sociology, and political science are beginning to apply it to specific moral issues, social problems, and policy questions. Three questions will guide our study for this course: 1) What is an ethic of care and what criteria does it establish for how one should treat and interact with others? 2) Can an ethic of care be extended beyond personal relations to social policy? and 3) What is unusual or unique about policies developed on the basis of Care Ethics? To answer these questions, we will examine four primary policy areas (Poverty, Education, Economic Systems and UM Family Leave Policy) as a working ethical ‘think-tank’ focusing on issues important to the region, state, and the university. For each policy area, we examine the theoretical arguments posed by a Care Ethicist along with empirical research. Guest lecturers (specialists from each topic area) provide students with counter-arguments and in-depth research as students work on developing care ethics-based policy proposals. As an Honors course, this is a highly engaged, discussion based, research focused course that provides students the opportunity to study new, cutting-edge theories within ethics.
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). 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). It requires a proactive stance in building relationships with community entities, such as disaster-relief agencies, churches, and schools, prior to the occurrence of a disaster. The purpose of this course is to delineate in depth the role of clinical psychologists in the field of disaster mental health. Topics include common reactions to disasters, psychopathology related to disasters, vulnerability and resilience, special populations, and related mental health interventions and services, including community-based psychological first aid (CBPFA).
Psy 456 Section 1, Integrative Special Topics (Green with Envy and Going Green)
This course will situate humans as the focus of our examination of sustainability. There is broad scientific consensus that humans are causing global warning and climate change and belief that these same humans will be necessary to stop and maybe even reverse these effects. Envy. Greed. Gluttony. Lust. Pride. Sloth. Wrath. The Seven Deadly Sins, most clearly associated with Christian beliefs, are thought to be abuses or excesses of natural human tendencies. This semester, we will focus on answering two questions: (a) are our human vices and sins uniquely bad for the planet, contributing to climate change and other man-made environmental dangers? And (b) if we are all sinners (or at the very least, human and imperfect), can we leverage our “sinful nature” to make us more sustainable? To take our learning outside of the classroom, this course will also involve (a) a spring break trip to Las Vegas, Nevada – known as Sin City and as a leader in sustainability efforts (March 13-18) and (b) a presentation with the University of Mississippi Office of Sustainability to share our accumulated knowledge on the subject.
Span 111 Section 3, 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 they will engage reading and writing strategies learnt in other classes for producing meaningful speech and quality writing in the Spanish language. Because the Honors College and Croft also offer a Spanish 211 section, we will prepare all students to excel in that class.
Span 211 Sections 4 and 10, Intensive Intermediate Spanish
Spanish 211, Intermediate Spanish, is a continuation of Spanish 111, Elementary Spanish, and is therefore, designed to continue the study of the language and culture in the Spanish-speaking world. By the end of this class, students should be able to complete intermediate-level communicative tasks in Spanish using the communication strategies, grammar structures and vocabulary acquired during the semester, and to understand and be able to talk about the diversity of the Spanish-speaking world. The goals of this course are based on the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century. Students in the Honors section will have the opportunity to work with authentic material (news articles, literature, etc.) and will engage reading and writing strategies they have learned in regular classes in the production of class work and homework in Spanish. Because this Honors section will also include Croft students, who will necessarily continue to Spanish 303 and 305, we will spend more time in preparing all the students for excellence in those courses. In sum, Spanish 211 contributes to the Honors College curriculum not only by fulfilling the language requirement but also by emphasizing critical thinking and writing by using original source material, and by contributing to an interdisciplinary approach to learning.
S St 101 Section 2, Introduction to Southern Studies
This course will focus on how the South, and especially Mississippi, have been imagined (“imaged”) by scholars, writers, and creative artists—some of them not native to the region. The first third of the course will be devoted to a chronological survey of external assessments of the South and the attitudes contained therein. The work of figures as disparate as John James Audubon, Frederick Law Olmstead, W.E.B. DuBois, and Walker Evans will be considered. The middle part of the semester will focus more narrowly on Mississippi and will include discussion of such native figures as William Faulkner, Richard Wright, Robert Johnson, Bill Ferris, and William Eggleston. The final weeks of the semester will attempt to relate these varied views of the South (and Mississippi) to more current treatments of Mississippi. Figures to be considered will include Richard Grant, Jesmyn Ward, Kiese Laymon, and Steve Yarbrough. This course will differ from other iterations of Southern Studies 101 largely by virtue of being limited to a relatively small number of dedicated students. More than half of class sessions will be conducted in a seminar format. Students participation will be a major part of your final course grade.
Writ 250 Section 7, Advanced Composition
In this course, students will strengthen their research and writing skills by conducting secondary and primary research within their majors and completing projects that report on the results of their research. Class meetings will include lectures, discussions, and activities, and we will focus on strategies for developing research topics, questions, and problems; discipline-specific research resources to help students effectively and efficiently locate scholarship in their fields; fundamentals of data collection methods and analysis; reference management; research ethics; writing skills, including summary, analysis, and synthesis; writing strategies, including writing groups and timed writing; and strategies for presenting research in a multimodal format. The final writing project is a proposal in which students will describe the methods and anticipated findings of a study of their own design. Students may use the class assignments to help inform their future Honors theses, or if they have started their theses prior to their enrollment in the class, use that work to help guide their assignments. The class is designed to meet the needs of students at any stage in their thesis work. Section 7 will differ from other sections of WRIT 250, in part, by providing more in-depth coverage of research methods and data analysis; requiring students to read longer, more complex texts; and placing greater emphasis on discussion and collaboration.