Fall 2018
HNR 1100-01, 02 & 03: Humanistic Inquiry, Criminal Minds and Bodies: Narratives of Gender, Crime, & Deviance
Dr. William Carpenter, Director of Honors, Professor of English
Dr. Nahed Eltantawy, Chair and Associate Professor of Communication
Dr. Joey Fink, Visiting Assistant Professor of History
- Course Description:
This course will explore the relationship between stories and truth as they relate to historic, literary, and media constructions of gender and the body with respect to deviancy and crime. Students will analyze historical texts, literature, film, journalism and other forms of contemporary media with the goal of understanding the ways gender frames our understanding and consumption of the documenting, reporting, and representation of deviancy, victimhood, and criminal behavior.
- Sample Readings:
- From Dr. Fink’s unit, an example of a reading on the Borden murders in Fall River, MA, 1892: Ann Schofield, “Lizzie Borden Took an Axe: History, Feminism and American Culture,” in American Studies 34, no. 1 (Spring 1993): 91-104.
- From Dr. Eltantawy’s unit, an example of a reading on media framing would be: Gillespie, L. K., Richards, T. N., Givens, E. M., & Smith, M. D. (2013). Framing deadly domestic violence: Why the media’s spin matters in newspaper coverage of femicide. Violence against women, 19(2), 222-245.
- From Dr. Carpenter’s unit, an example of a reading on the role of narrative in reflecting and shaping social constructions of gender, deviancy, and crime: the novel Sula by Toni Morrison.
- Sample Project:
The final project will be a collaborative exercise in researching a specific topic or theme from one of the units. Students will work in small groups to select their chosen topic/theme, identify and analyze additional sources, and develop their research project. Each group will produce a polished, finished public-facing product that demonstrates the new knowledge and critical analyses generated by the group. The public-facing product may be a multimedia presentation, a digital or artistic installation, or a performance exhibit, which will presented to the class during the final exam period.
HNR 1100-04, 05 & 06: Humanistic Inquiry, The Beautiful & The Good
Dr. Matthew Carlson, Assistant Professor of English
Dr. Nathan Hedman, Assistant Professor of Theater and English
Dr. Claudine Davidshofer, Assistant Professor of Philosophy
- Course Description:
Our work together will entail a survey of the most penetrating insights into aesthetics and ethics in Western philosophy (Plato, Aristotle, Kant), complemented by three case studies in artistic practice and reflection (Greek sculpture, Medieval Painting and Theatre, 19th-century Aestheticism) and framed by the unique socio-cultural concerns of these artists and thinkers. More, students will have regular opportunity to reflect critically on the often hidden assumptions and proclivities of contemporary American taste. Toggling between theory and practice, historical context and universal concerns, our course will enable students to build their own working theory of beauty and goodness, informed by the Western tradition but crafted for a contemporary audience.
- Sample Readings:
Aristotle, Poetics
Immanuel Kant, Critique of the Power of Judgment
Oscar Wilde, critical dialogues and The Picture of Dorian Gray
- Sample Project:
In consultation with the home instructor, the student will select and write a substantive piece of criticism on an artifact of beauty on campus. This 4-5-page essay will demonstrate facility with at least two of our thinkers (Plato, Kant, Pater, Wilde, etc.) or systems of thought (Greek, Medieval, Renaissance, etc.) by applying them to the artifact at hand to discern whether and in what way the artifact is beautiful, whether it posits a relationship with the good, and in what ways the theories may fall short of accounting for the artifact’s beauty or goodness.
HNR 1300-01: Quantitative Reasoning, The Art of Never Being Wrong
Dr. Alixandra Yanus, Associate Professor of Political Science
- Course Description:
This course will equip students with the skills necessary to be educated consumers of the data-driven arguments that surround us daily. From public opinion data to fantasy sports statistics to consuming endless charts, tables, and graphs, we are constantly confronted with “big data”. All too often, the people who present this information to us are skilled data analysts tasked with persuading us to believe their “spin” on an issue. In this course, we will learn to approach these presentations with a critical eye. We will learn basic statistical methods that will help us to understand many of the most commonly used (and misused) tools of data analysis. We will also learn to approach others’ data with a careful eye and quantitative consciousness that will make us more informed citizens, less gullible purchasers, and more ethical producers.
- Sample Readings:
Statistics for People who (Think They) Hate Statistics by Neil Salkind
Naked Statistics by Charles Wheelan
- Sample Project:
Will be a collaborative effort using multiple types of evidence and forms of analysis to answer a data-driven question of your choice. Students will be asked to prepare a range of materials making a pitch for their argument, including but not limited to: an executive summary, a research report (with visuals), and a PowerPoint presentation. Students will also be asked to complete a critical evaluation of their work and that of their teammates that explores the ethical implications and potential unintended consequences of their argument.
HNR 1300-02 & 03: Quantitative Reasoning, Mathematics of Democracy
Dr. Adam Graham-Squire, Associate Professor of Mathematics
- Course Description:
Mathematics of Democracy examines quantitative aspects of democracy, including methods of voting, apportionment, and redistricting/gerrymandering. Concepts will be taught through inquiry-based exploration, followed by simplified examples, and capped with real-world applications and data analysis from current and historical elections and events. While certain historical events, including laws passed and supreme court cases, will be included in the course to illuminate the context of changes to democracy, the focus will be on methods of quantifying democracy and the fairness of electoral systems.
- Sample Project:
The group project will be an in-depth research analysis of local and/or state democratic institutions. Students will analyze why a particular area (of their choosing) has chosen their democratic methods and make recommendations (rooted in the material taught in the course) for ways of improving democracy in that region.
HNR 2400-01: Scientific Reasoning, Uniquely Developing You
Dr. Kristin Ackerman, Assistant Professor of Biology
- Course Description:
This section will use Biological Concepts to explore characteristics that initiate within the womb and that ultimately define us as unique adult human beings. The biological fields of genetics, cell/molecular biology, and embryology will provide the backbone to understanding physical development. The impacts of these developmental cues on our daily adult lives will also be explored with ideas from the disciplines of psychology, sociology, anthropology, history, ethics, and global inquiry. This course will be divided into six main modules, and each will explore a distinct timeframe during the first 4 months of development: 1) Gross/Physical human development, 2) Intelligence, 3) Gender Identity, 4) Skin Color, 5) Face Shape, and 6) Handedness.
- Sample Project:
At the end of each 2-3 week module, one laboratory group will present its project in PowerPoint/lecture format: Intro, methods, data, conclusion, etc. They will then write/record/film a PSA announcing “the scientific” break through. The class will debate whether the PSA was an accurate reflection of the scientific work.
HNR 2400-02: Scientific Reasoning, The Domestication Syndrome
Dr. Cindy Vigueira, Assistant Professor of Biology
- Course Description:
This course is about doing and thinking about science as professional scientists do. We will work together to ask questions, design experiments, make predictions, take risks, fail, revise experiments, fail again, and keep working until we get it right. Specifically, this section will use biological concepts to explore crop and animal domestication. The fields of evolution, genetics, and physiology will be used to explore how and why the same suite of traits are selected during domestication (sometimes referred to as the domestication syndrome). We will use historical, archaeological, and anthropological approaches in understanding how domestication shaped human civilizations and why humans have benefited from domesticating particular species of plants and animals. We will explore how domestication has changed in the last 10,000 years from trial and error approaches to modern crop and animal breeding and genetic modification. We will also explore the ethical implications of all approaches in domestication. In lab, we will conduct our own domestication and selection experiments.
- Sample Readings:
Domestication: Evolution in a Man-Made World by Richard C. Francis
The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan
- Sample Project:
Teach to Learn Presentation and Paper: Each student will choose a domesticated organism or a technique in selection and present the class with details on that topic. The presentations are testable material for the course and students will be asked to be the ‘expert’ on that topic as it comes up in class throughout the semester. Students will also write a five-page research paper on the same topic as their presentation.
HNR 2500-01: Aesthetic Inquiry, What’s the Use of Art?
Dr. Bryan Vescio, Chair and Professor of English
- Course Description:
What role does art play in our practical lives, and is its value predicated on how well it performs that role? Opposing answers to that question determine two major approaches to thinking about art: formalism and anti-formalism. The formalist approach takes meaning and purpose as irrelevant to the value of art, while the anti-formalist approach takes the value of art as at least partly determined by what it means for our other everyday practices. This course will critically evaluate arguments for both positions, exploring the consequences of adopting one or the other for our practices of creating and appreciating art works, including ethical consequences involving the social responsibility of artists. We will also evaluate some attempts to find a middle ground between formalism and anti-formalism. Our own approach to these questions will be interdisciplinary, examining disciplines from art history to the philosophy of art to literary and film criticism, and spanning artistic genres from music to literature to painting to theater to film. Your exploration of the implications of formalism and anti-formalism will involve not only writing in multiple genres, including theory, criticism, and reviews of art, but also the creation of your own work of art in a medium of your choice. We will be engaging not only with theories and works of art, but also with the institutions that provide access to art in the Piedmont Triad area and even with practicing, professional artists themselves.
- Sample Readings:
“Significant Form” by Clive Bell
“The Art-World” by Arthur Danto
- Sample Project:
Each of you will create your own work of art in a genre of your choice after researching the history and theory of that medium throughout the semester. I will not be grading you on the quality of your work of art, but rather I will grade you on a presentation during the final exam period in which you reflect on your experience, describing how your intentions and process were informed by formalist or anti-formalist considerations.
HNR 3600-01: Scholar Seminar, Who Am I? Locating the Self Through the Whedon-verse
Dr. Tony Kemerly, Professor of Exercise Science
- Course Description:
We will work together to build a conception of self that draws on your individual experiences and your scholarly research. Who are you? What has your world imparted to you? How has it affected the person who sits in this room today? Your understanding of who you are is basic to your thought processes and fundamental to the world and the way you think about it. Therefore, in order for us to expand our conception of self, we will combine publications related to understanding the self with texts from popular culture, specifically the works of Joss Whedon and his “Whedon-verse”. Such a combination enables us to examine the behaviors of others to whom we can relate, as the characters within the Whedon-verse are undergoing many of the same life changes and experiences that you are right now.
- Sample Readings:
Ford: “Willow’s Sexuality & Empowerment”
Reiss: “Taming the Darkness within Ourselves”
- Sample Project:
Includes a character analysis of the character with which the student most connects and folding that into a larger paper highlighting either the personal or social significance of that character.
HNR 3605-01: Scholar Seminar, The Cost & Value of Higher Education
Dr. William Carpenter, Professor of English & Director of Honors Scholar Program
- Course Description:
This course looks to generate and evaluate radical alternatives to the dominant systems and structures of U.S. higher education. Under specific scrutiny will be the areas of recruitment, financial aid, student services, and curriculum design and assessment. Our analytical lenses will be shaped by critical theories that aggressively question the values and practices associated with grand narratives, meritocracy, capitalism, privatization, utilitarianism, and credentialing processes – with the understanding that such questioning will help alienate students from engrained and traditional ways of thinking about college and careers and encourage them to invent new ideas about what college should be. By the end of the semester, students will be able to identify, analyze, and propose changes to the ideologies and practices (good and bad) that now define higher education.
- Sample Readings:
Delblanco, Andrew. College: What it Was, Is, and Should Be. Princeton, 2013.
hooks, bell. Teaching to Transgress. Routledge, 1994.
- Sample Project:
Oral and visual presentation of “The College of the Future.”
Spring 2018
HNR 1200-01: Social Scientific Inquiry, Co-Opting the White Paper for Educational Change
Dr. Allison Blosser, Education
In this course, students will hone their observation, interview, writing, and presentation skills as they become social scientists for the common good. Through extensive service in a local school, students will explore problems in the school’s community and through their research, become agents of educational change. This is a service-learning course.
HNR 1200-02: Social Scientific Inquiry, Approaches to the Justice System
Dr. Thomas Dearden, Criminal Justice
Many of us desire to help others. Yet, we may wonder what is the best approach? How do I know if what I am doing has any lasting impact on people’s lives? This class explores these ideas by adopting a research approach to helping. Working with the High Point Jail Ministry we will explore the programs that are offered to inmates. Our service project involves analyzing programs in the jail to see how/if inmates are being helped. By so doing we will be faced with complex questions such as: why do people commit crime? what is the purpose of the United States’ Justice System? and what programs will reduce crime and help inmates succeed? This is a service-learning course.
HNR 1200-03: Social Scientific Inquiry, Serving the Social (and Self-) Interest
Dr. Daniel Hall, Economics
“How shall we serve the social interest when human behavior is motivated by self-interest?” The social interest can be served in privately markets, publicly by governments, and through cooperation and voluntary associations, but these institutions are limited by the information and incentives they can provide individuals pursuing their self-interest. For this section of HNR 1200 the semester-long project will involve the reactivation of a student service club known as the Circle K Club, a collegiate chapter of the Kiwanis International. Thus, a Service Learning (SL) placement outside of class (with a minimum of 25 service hours) is required that will involve club building and service projects with Kiwanis and related service clubs like Civitan International and Rotary International. Voluntary provision of public goods and services by these associations will be compared with market-based and government-based provision, determining whether these approaches are complimentary or in competition for resources. This is a service-learning course.
HNR 1200-04 & 05: Social Scientific Inquiry, Learning to be a Mind Reader
Dr. Stacy Lipowski, Psychology
The main topic of this course is theory of mind, which is the ability to attribute mental states (e.g., beliefs, desires) to oneself and to others. It also involves understanding that others act based on their beliefs, wishes, and goals, which may be different from ours. Students will learn how theory of mind develops throughout childhood, how it is measured, and how understanding varies by culture. Students will also learn how theory of mind is related to a variety of other topics, including autism, empathy, altruism, and religious beliefs.
HNR 1200-06: Social Scientific Inquiry, Investigating Public Opinion
Dr. Martin Kifer, Political Science
The course focuses on how collection of public opinion data can help us understand what large groups of people think about crucial issues. Students will complete a semester-long project serving as an interviewer for a unique study with the High Point University Survey Research Center and pursuing an independent or collaborative qualitative data collection project (such as individual face to face interviews, archival research, or focus groups). Readings and other media for class will reflect an interdisciplinary approach to investigating public opinion on a range of current public policy issues.
HNR 1300-01 & 02: Quantitative Reasoning, Graph Theory & Science of Networks
Dr. Jenny Fuselier, Mathematics
This course is a project-based introduction to the field of network science. Network science allows students to craft solutions to real-world problems arising in a variety of fields using the mathematical language of graph theory. Graph theory is the study of graphs formed by collections of vertices (or points) and edges between them. Graphs can be used to represent data in many realms, including biology, political science, travel, and social connections between people groups. In conjunction with an introduction to graph theory, students will learn methods for collecting network data, representing it in graphs and matrices, and analyzing network models.
HNR 1300-03: Quantitative Reasoning, Mathematical Modeling
Dr. Aaron Titus, Physics
We will construct mathematical models to solve real-world systems in physics, biology, economics, and social science. We will also learn the necessary mathematical and computational tools to solve our models, visualize data, and make predictions.
HNR 2400-01: Scientific Reasoning, The Story of Light and Color
Dr. Keir Fogarty and Dr. Jacob Paul
What does it mean to see? In this class, we’ll use that question to probe the interplay between scientific reasoning, its discoveries, and the cultural context in which those discoveries are made. We’ll begin by exploring how the Classical world, despite a biology consistent with our own, couldn’t perceive blue, had no word for the color…until they developed the means to commercially dye fabric blue. From there, we’ll move to what it meant for the early Renaissance world to contend with the notion that we weren’t, after all, the center of our solar system, let alone the universe. We’ll return from the heavens to grapple with what it meant, upon the discovery of photographic emulsions and the invention of the photograph, for noncombatants to see the travails of modern battlefields. And, finally, we’ll end back in the sky, where our capacity to see blue (and red, too) have allowed us to begin to measure the size, speed, duration of the universe itself.
HNR 2500-01: Aesthetic Inquiry, Building and Being
Mr. John Linn, Interior Design
This course is an intentional inquiry into the natures of practice, value, and experience within the realm of aesthetics. We will explore the practice of aesthetics through inquiries of building and drawing, reading and analyzing. We will discuss the value and meaning of aesthetics through collective inquiry, and discern the experience of aesthetics through reflection. In general, this is a course intended to develop your abilities in aesthetic awareness and discernment; it is not a course intended to develop your manual craftsmanship or ‘artistic’ skills, although both could evolve.
HNR 3600-01: Scholar Seminar, Music & Identity
Dr. John Turner, Music
When a professional baseball player walks up to bat, music plays… why? Does it really matter what music is played at your graduation or your wedding? Why do politicians get into trouble when they use music from artists who don’t share their views? Who cares?
Chances are that we all do. Whether listening to the same music as our friends in order to show solidarity, or different music from our parents in order to assert independence, we tend to live our lives with a soundtrack. Streaming sites YouTube and Spotify even encourage sharing that soundtrack through their social network features. HNR 3600 Music and Identity considers this tendency, exploring what constitutes our sense of “self,” and how music is used to construct it. Course work will include close readings of articles from the scholarly literature on music and identity, as well as considerations of several case studies of musical genres and works that have defined the identities of individuals, communities, and nations.
After the initial lessons, the instructor will mentor students in pursuing preliminary research, selecting readings, preparing discussion prompts, and facilitating course discussions, and the work will culminate in a research paper intended for submission to an academic conference or journal.
HNR 3600-02: Scholar Seminar, (Neuro)Science Fiction
Ms. Allison Walker, English
Have you ever wondered why the science fiction narrative remains so pervasive in our culture? Despite our technological advances, we never seem to tire of fantasies that speculate wildly beyond our own reality. We devour science fiction in literature, film, video games, and pseudoscience, our hearts pound when we watch a scary sci-fi movie, and we delight in the telling of a good speculative yarn, even as it unravels under our scientific scrutiny. Neuroscientists tell us that our brains light up with “mirror neuron” pathways when we read, see, or hear of another person’s narrative peril. Some of our earliest memories revolve around make believe, and while we may not view ourselves as “creative” individuals, millions of us create and consume elaborate fantasy and science fiction narratives our entire lives. So how might science fiction stories help us survive? How might an examination of the theories of popular cognitive psychology and popular neuroscience enhance our understanding of the science fiction literary genre? By exploring our shared evolutionary history and the multilayered complexity of that “big brain” that makes our species unique and enables us to tell such entertaining and prescient stories, students will develop intellectual STEAM, solidifying our place as the storytelling species and proving why, indeed, we can’t live without science fiction.
Other Honors Courses
Spring 2018
ACC 2020-02 Honors Managerial Accounting
CHM 1520-01 Honors General Chemistry II
CHM 1521-01 Honors General Chemistry Lab
CHM 1521-02 Honors General Chemistry Lab
ECO 2050-10 Honors Principles of Microeconomics
EDU 4566-02 Honors Using Data to Make Instructional Improvements
FIN 3010-02 Honors Financial Management
GBS 3030-01 Honors Italian Culture and Civilization
PSY 2000-07 Honors Intro to Psychology
PSY 2500-02 Honors Cognitive Psychology
SOA 1010-05 Honors Individual in Society
SOA 1020-07 Honors Intro to Cultural Anthropology
THE 1000-02 Honors Foundations of Theater
