Honor Classes: Spring 2008

Ten classes in the Spring schedule are designated as "honors" classes. These are highly recommended for students of strong academic ability who welcome an intellectual challenge, especially those who may aspire to graduate from Calvin College with honors. These classes are open only to students who have a Calvin GPA of at least 3.3 or the approval of the instructor. Honors classes differ from regular classes in various ways, especially in devoting less time to elementary skills and information while stressing personal initiative and greater depth of learning. Apart from their intellectual value, the benefits of honors courses include smaller than average classes, greater freedom of exploration, opportunity to work with other honors students and some of Calvin's best teachers, and credit toward graduation with honors.

Pre-registration option: If you wish to reserve a place in one of these classes, we will accept pre-registrations for any honors course by e-mail through October 22 . Send requests with your name, student number, major & requested course to stobja@calvin.edu . We will confirm your pre-registration as soon as possible. After the 22nd you will only be able to register for honors courses that are still open.

Honors Credit by Contract: Honors students may take any course for honors credit by special arrangement with the instructor. To do this, students should negotiate an "honors contract" with their professors as early as possible in the semester. Such contracts should spell out clearly the special requirements for an honors grade in the course. A sample contract form is available at:

http://www.calvin.edu/academic/honors/forms/contract.htm

Graduation with honors: To graduate with honors students must complete at least six honors courses (18 credit hours minimum), including at least two honors courses outside their major, with a GPA of at least 3.5. In addition, students must complete the departmental requirements for graduation with honors in their major . Departmental requirements are summarized at:

www.calvin.edu/academic/honors/courses/requirements.htm

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HONORS BIOLOGY: "Honors Colloquium in Cell Biology" (Biology 141 H-HA, 12:30 - 1:20 on Monday with Prof. Joy Bonnema; 4 credit hours for Biology 141). Students who register for Honors Biology (141H-HA or H-HB) take one of these weekly one-hour discussion sessions in addition to a regular lecture and lab section of Biology 141. The weekly honors meeting is devoted to a study of various articles from Scientific American which are chosen to stimulate greater discussion and deeper understanding of topics addressed in the lectures of the course. The honors session is conducted in seminar style, which allows ample opportunity for discussion and personal initiative. No special tests or quizzes are required for the honors section. To receive an honors grade in Biology 141, a student must participate in the extra weekly honors session and earn a grade of B (3.0) or better in the lecture and lab portions of the course. Participation in the honors section will provide a valuable base for further work in the natural sciences, especially for those who wish to enter the Biology Department's Honors Program, which leads to graduation with honors from Calvin College. Students must register for a regular section of Biology 141, the honors colloquium (141H-HA), and a lab. Enrollment in the honors colloquium of Biology 141 is limited to 20 students. Biology 141 satisfies a core requirement in the Living World category. For more information contact Prof. Bonnema at jbonnema@calvin.edu

HONORS BIOLOGY: "Honors Colloquium in Animal Biology" (Biology 242-HA, 9:00 - 9:50 on Tuesday with Prof. John Ubels; 4 credit hours for Biology 242). Students who take Honors Biology register for this weekly one-hour class in addition to a regular lecture section of Biology 242 and its lab. The weekly honors session is devoted to a study of recently published review articles which are chosen to stimulate greater discussion and deeper understanding of current topics in the main course. The honors colloquium is conducted in seminar style, which allows ample opportunity for discussion and personal initiative. No additional tests or quizzes are required for the honors section, but students will be given assignments related to each of the articles being discussed. To receive an honors grade, a student must participate in the honors colloquium and earn a grade of B or better in the lecture and lab portions of the course. Students must register for a regular lecture session of Biology 242, the honors colloquium (242 HA), and a lab. Enrollment in the Biology 242 HA is limited to 20 students. For more information contact Prof. Ubels at jubels@calvin.edu

HONORS CLASSICAL LITERATURE: “Classical Literature” (Classics 211 AH, 9:00 - 9:50 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with Prof. Jeffrey Winkle; 3 credit hours). This is an honors course in the “classics” of Greek and Roman literature from Homer's Iliad to Augustine's City of God . Readings are chosen to introduce students to the origins and development of epic, lyric, and dramatic poetry, as well as historical and philosophical prose. The course devotes special attention to the stylistic characteristics of each author and period, the social and historical context of this literature, and the complex relationships between Christianity and classical culture. As part of their honors work students will complete an independent research project on a special author of their choice. Personal conferences will focus on improvement in research methods and writing analytical papers. This course satisfies the core requirement in “Literature.” Enrollment in Classics 211 AH is limited to 20 students. For more information contact Prof. Winkle at jwinkle@calvin.edu

HONORS COMMUNICATION: "Fundamentals of Oral Rhetoric" (CAS 101 FH, 10:30 - 11:20 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday with Prof. Randy Bytwerk; 3 credit hours). The primary objective of this honors section of Oral Rhetoric is to increase the student's competence in public speaking through the composition and presentation of different types of speeches. This honors section will provide more time for in-class performance exercises, discussion, and analysis of other speeches. Students will meet individually with the instructor to review some speeches. This course meets a core requirement in the “Rhetoric in Culture” category. Enrollment in honors CAS 101 is limited to 15 students. For more information contact Prof. Bytwerk at bytw@calvin.edu

HONORS COMMUNICATION: "Communication and Culture" (CAS 140 AH, 12:05 - 1:20 on Tuesday and Thursday with Prof. Helen Sterk; 3 credit hours). The honors section of "Communication and Culture" is similar to the regular course. Together we will examine the fundamental concepts of culture, society, and communication, and relate these to a range of contemporary social issues, cultural texts and communication practices. In the honors section special attention is given to the complex interaction between cultural meaning and societal structuring with specific writing assignments to enhance the student's analysis of culture and communication. The approach of this course is designed to foster the development of the student's analytical ability and reading and writing skills by critically engaging both the written text and certain phenomena from everyday experience. Students will be expected to employ a theoretical understanding of the concepts treated in class in their own critical analysis of issues in communications and culture. Emphasis is given to rhetorical and discussion methods to help students learn about analyzing and constructing oral and written arguments and work cooperatively doing a research project for class presentation. This course meets a core requirement in the “Rhetoric in Culture” category. Enrollment in the honors section of CAS 140 is limited to 20 students. For more information contact Prof. Sterk at hsterk@calvin.edu

HONORS ENGLISH: “Written Rhetoric” (English 101 MH, 10:30 – 11:45 on Tuesday and Thursday with Prof. Elizabeth Vander Lei; 3 credit hours). The honors section of English 101 is similar to regular sections in several ways: both focus on written rhetoric, both use the same department handbook, both include the same standard grammar test and roughly the same number and types of essays. But students in the honors classes spend less time reviewing the elements of grammar and rhetoric and more time experimenting with and developing their own style of writing. The writing process is carefully supervised, from conception to evaluation, and enriched by extensive editing and revising. This course satisfies the core requirement in “Written Rhetoric.” Enrollment in the honors section of English 101 is limited to 17 students. For more information contact Prof. Vander Lei at BVLEI@calvin.edu

HONORS ENGLISH: “Survey of British Literature II (English 216 CH, 2:30 – 3:20 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with Prof. Jennifer Williams; 3 credit hours). A survey of the major movements (Romantic, Victorian, and Modern) of British literature during the 19 th and 20 th centuries. We will study a wide variety of works -- poems, novels, and non-fiction prose -- as well as the social and intellectual contexts in which they were produced. This course meets the core requirement in Literature and one of the British Literature requirements in the English major. Enrollment in honors English 216 is limited to 20 students. For more information, contact Prof. Williams at jlw28@calvin.edu

HONORS HISTORY: "History of the West and the World II" (History 152 DH, 10:30 – 11:20 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday with Prof. David Diephouse; 4 credit hours. “ Fins de siècle in comparative perspective:” Throughout the modern era, as historian John Lukacs once observed, the final decade of a century has often been heralded by a cluster of memorable historical events—the first voyage of Columbus (1492), the defeat of the Spanish Armada (1588), the Glorious Revolution in England (1688-), the French Revolution (1789-), the massacre at Wounded Knee (1890), and the collapse of Soviet communism (1989-), to mention some obvious examples. This honors course will use the trope of the fin de siècle (“end of the century, end of an era”) as a tool to examine the history of the West and the world over the past five hundred years. The first part of the course will offer an overview of the entire period, focusing on the context and significance of selected events near the end of each century. For the remainder of the semester, the class will pick one specific fin de siècle to analyze in greater depth. Each student will research a topic of his/her choice and contribute a chapter to a self-published volume of essays, End of an Era or Dawn of a New Age? The Late __th Century in Comparative Perspective . A book-signing party will take the place of a final exam. This course meets a core requirement in the “History of the West and the World.” Registration in honors History 152 is limited to 20 students who qualify for honors enrollment. For more information contact Prof. Diephouse at ddiephou@calvin.edu  

HONORS PHILOSOPHY: "Fundamental Questions in Philosophy" (Philosophy 153 EH, 10:30 - 11:45 on Tuesday and Thursday with Prof. David Hoekema; 3 credit hours). Like regular sections of introductory philosophy, the honors philosophy course is designed to facilitate philosophical reflection and develop fundamental reasoning, reading, and writing skills. The course uses contemporary essays and influential texts by some of the most important philosophers. The honors class is designed to encourage student participation in formulating and evaluating arguments and in writing critical essays that will sharpen analytical and hermeneutical abilities. This course meets the core requirement in “Philosophical Foundations.” Enrollment in honors Philosophy 153 is limited to 20 students. For more information, contact Prof. Hoekema at dhoekema@calvin.edu

HONORS PHYSICS: Qualified students may earn honors credit by completing any Physics course at the 100 or 200 level while concurrently participating in the "Physics-Astronomy Student Seminar." Simply register for an appropriate Physics course and Physics 195, Tuesday from 3:45 - 5:55 . For more information contact Prof. Larry Molnar at lmolnar@calvin.edu

HONORS PSYCHOLOGY: "Introductory Psychology" (Psychology 151 EH, 10:30 - 11:20 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with Prof. Don Tellinghuisen; 3 credit hours). The honors section of Introductory Psychology is similar to the regular sections in content and overall course requirements. However, the honors section provides greater opportunities for class discussion of critical issues, independent writing projects, and supplementary readings on topics of special interest. The course focuses on relationships among our general understandings of the meanings of human personhood, especially understandings shaped by Christian faith; methods of investigation and practice in psychology; and major areas of psychological theory and research (e.g. brain processes, learning and memory, motivation, perception, memory, thought and language, development, psychopathology, and social psychology). This course meets a core requirement in the "Persons in Community" category. Enrollment in honors Psychology 151 is limited to 20 students. For more information contact Prof. Tellinghuisen at dtelling@calvin.edu

HONORS RELIGION : qualified students may earn honors credit in Religion 121 (Biblical Literature and Theology), Religion 131 (Christian Theology), and intermediate and advanced courses by completing the requirements of an "honors track" in those courses. The honors track for Rel 121 and Rel 131 consists of: 1) a research/thesis paper (in place of the regular major writing assignment in the course); 2) a four-page review of a book relevant to the subject matter of the course; 3) meetings with the professor several times during the semester to plan and discuss the honors work; and 4) an overall grade of B+ or higher in the course. In intermediate and advanced courses the "honors track" includes a special research/thesis paper (in place of the regular course paper), supplementary reading, meeting with the professor, and a B+ overall in the course. The specific requirements will be worked out in consultation with the professor. Interested students should inform a professor early in the semester of their intention to complete an honors track in the course; no special registration is needed. For more information contact Prof. Ken Pomykala at pomk@calvin.edu