spring 2013 courses

Honors cluster in ART HISTORY & LITERATURE

ARTH 102 AH (“Introduction to the History of Art II”) on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:30-12:20 with Prof. Henry Luttikhuizen; 4 credit hours.

ENGL 200 AH (“Literature in a Global Context”) on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1:30-2:20 with Prof. James Vanden Bosch; 3 credit hours.

This cluster will offer a broad but detailed survey of art and literature from 1500 A.D. to the present day. Much of our attention will be focused on European and North American culture, with a particular emphasis on the development of modernism.  However, we will also investigate the art and literature of other cultures, with special attention given to Asia.  Students will faithfully attend lectures, engage in intense classroom discussions, compose focused response papers on primary source readings, and write exams to fulfill the requirements for this cluster. Enrollment in these two honors courses is limited to 20 students. ARTH 102 satisfies the core requirement in The Arts. ENGL 200 satisfies the core requirement in Literature.  

 

Honors cluster in ENGLISH & PHILOSOPHY

ENGL 230 DH (“Understanding Literature”) on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 1:30-2:45 with Prof. Susan Felch; 3 credit hours.

 

PHIL 153 LH (“Fundamental Questions in Philosophy”) on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10:30-11:20 with Prof. Lee Hardy

Students of philosophy and literature share a common love of well-written texts. Philosophy is a discipline that invites us to think long, hard, carefully, and with others about the Big Issues that lie just below the surface of everyday life and opinion. Literary study is a discipline that inculcates attentiveness to how these Big Issues are framed and crafted in fiction, poetry, drama, and creative non-fiction. Both disciplines are alert to rhetorical strategies, structural patterns, word choice, and genres. In these joint classes, we will read a variety of classical texts, from Plato and Homer through Dante and Descartes, Freud and Dostoevsky and into contemporary writers who take up debates on such topics as God, human nature, freedom, knowledge, morality, happiness, the foundation of society and the purpose of government. We will think philosophically about philosophic and literary texts and literarily about these same texts. Using the tools of close reading and historical contextualization, we will together hone our skills of reading, thinking, and writing. Students should expect to contribute their own analyses to each class session and to write both informally and in a variety of genres. Enrollment in these two honors courses is limited to 20 students. ENGL 230 satisfies the core requirement in Literature. PHIL 153 satisfies the core requirement in Philosophical Foundations.  

 

SPRING 2013 -- STAND-ALONE HONORS COURSES

HONORS BIOLOGY: "Honors Colloquium in Cellular and Genetic Systems" (Biology 224 H-HA, 12:30 - 1:20 on Tuesday with Prof. Anding Shen; 3 credit hours for Biology 224). Students who register for Honors Biology (224 H-HA) take this weekly one-hour honors session in addition to a regular lecture and lab section of Biology 224. The weekly honors meetings give students the opportunity to learn and explore the details of scientific investigation and to connect academic knowledge with real-world practical applications. Students will also read various articles and scientific literature that relate to real-world problems or for deeper understanding of topics addressed in the lectures and labs of the course. No special tests or quizzes are required for the honors section. To receive an honors grade in Biology 224, 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 colloquium 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 224, the honors colloquium (BIOL 224 H-HA), and a lab. Enrollment in the honors colloquium of Biology 224 is limited to 20 students.

 

HONORS COMMUNICATION: “Communication and Culture” (CAS 140 BH, 10:30 – 11:45 on Tuesday and Thursday with Prof. Stephanie Sandberg; 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. Enrollment in this honors course is limited to 20 students.  This course fulfills the core requirement in Rhetoric in Culture.

 

HONORS CLASSICAL LITERATURE: “Classical Literature” (Classics 211 AH, 9:00 - 9:50 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with Prof. Umit Dhuga; 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, tragic, and comic 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/topic of their choice. Personal conferences will focus on enhancement of research methods and writing analytical papers. Enrollment in this honors course is limited to 20 students. This course satisfies the core requirement in Literature.

 

HONORS ENGLISH: “Ethnicity & Literature” (English 226 AH, 12:05 – 1:20 on Tuesday and Thursday with Prof. Linda Naranjo-Huebl; 3 credit hours). In this course, we will examine significant American ethnic literary texts—including African American, Latino, Native American, and Asian American literature—to learn of the diversity of ethnic identities in America and their contribution to an American identity, history, and literary tradition. We will use various hermeneutical approaches, including close reading and various literary theoretical practices, and investigate the cultural and historical contexts that influenced the literature that both reflects and shapes American culture. Writing assignments, presentations, and class discussion will develop critical, analytical, and writing skills. Enrollment in honors English 226 is limited to 25 students. This course fulfills the core requirement in Literature.

 

HONORS FILM & HISTORY: “Hollywood and American History: Reform, Revolution, and Reaction from Kennedy to Reagan.”

Register for either CAS 395 AH: Special Topics in Communication with Prof. William Romanowski or HIST 355 AH: American Intellectual & Cultural History with Prof. James Bratt (lectures Monday & Wednesday, 1:30 – 2:20 pm; Film Viewing Lab Monday 2:30 – 5:00 pm; 3 credit hours). 

This course will weave together the methods of history and film studies to explore American culture and society from the assassination of John Kennedy to the inauguration of Ronald Reagan. This was both one of the most tumultuous periods in American history and one of the most creative periods in American film (the “Hollywood Renaissance”). The course will explore what the one had to do with the other.  Significant changes in the film industry opened the screen to reflect the challenges that developments in the 1960s and ‘70s posed to core assumptions about American life: that the United States was a land of liberty, equality, opportunity, and prosperity, a can-do cooperative at home and a unique force for good in the world. Driving this insurgency was the rise of a youth culture of protest which produced the sights and sounds that still serve as iconic images of the age. At the same time these events galvanized the resurgence of the American Right, which would triumph by the end of this period in the election of Ronald Reagan. Through lectures, discussions, course readings, and weekly film screenings, we will analyze the core developments of this era. Students will leave this course with an enhanced understanding of (1) some classic films in the American canon, (2) appropriate methods for appreciating their cinematic as well as historical value, (3) an epochal era in American history, and (4) the roots of dominant values and divisions that mark current American life.  Enrollment in this honors course is limited to 20 students.

 

HONORS HISTORY: "History of the West and the World II" (History 152 BH, 9:00 – 9:50 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday with Prof. David Diephouse; 4 credit hours. An intensive study of world history since 1500. The first part of the course will offer an overview of the entire period, focusing on broad patterns of historical development in a global context. In the second half of the semester the focus will shift to an in-depth collaborative study of autobiography as a form of historical writing. Students will research selected examples and present their findings to the class. An autobiographical essay reflecting course themes will take the place of a final exam. Enrollment is limited to 20 students and is restricted to those who qualify for honors enrollment.  This course fulfills the core requirement in the History of the West and the World.

 

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 A, Tuesday from 3:45 - 4:50.

 

HONORS PSYCHOLOGY: “Introductory Psychology” (Psychology 151 BH, 12:30 - 1:20 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with Prof. Paul Moes; 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, memory, thought and language, development, psychopathology, social psychology, and psychotherapy). Enrollment in honors Psychology 151 is limited to 20 students.  This course satisfies the core requirement in Persons in Community.

 

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.