Courses

  • HNRS-104C P1 Medieval World (3)

    This course introduces students to European culture of the Middle Ages, including the literature, art, music, and architecture of England and the Continent from c. 500 to 1400.

    Attributes: P1 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-111 P1 Caught On Film (3)

    The course explores how different disciplines can be used to interpret film. The primary task for students will be to compare and contrast interpretations of film from the perspective of multiple disciplines.

    Attributes: P1 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-114P P1 Caribbean Diaspora (3)

    Food and music have always played an integral part of life on the islands. This course will explore what transpires when exile severs these crucial lifelines. Samples the topic in film and literature.

    Attributes: P1 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-199C RW Research-Based Writing (3)

    Students learn the basics of writing an academic research paper in this discipline. Emphasis is on elements of persuasive argumentation, the inclusion of more than one perspective on an issue, the proper use and documentation of sources, and revision. Students also learn how to make an effective oral presentation of their research. Department-determined topic may change from semester to semester and is likely to include literary texts as primary materials. Restricted to Honors Program new students. Note: 199C courses may not be taken for credit more than once.

    Attributes: RW YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Class: Freshman, Sophomore -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-209 CC Undrstnd Contemp Africa (3)

    Most people in America know very little about sub-Saharan Africa, and most of what they do know is only partially correct or based on stereotypes or an inadequate historical or conceptual framework for understanding and interpretation. This course will provide the essential information, basic concepts, and theoretical frameworks from an interdisciplinary perspective, so that the students may be equipped with the necessary intellectual tools for understanding the dynamic and complex region that is Africa today. Major issues to be explored in this course include history, the politics of democratic transitions, the economy, the environment, health policies, family structure and women in development, religion, ethnicity, as well as African music, food and literature.

    Attributes: CC ISRS YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-211C P4 Geol Natural Disaster (3)

    This course examines earthquakes and volcanoes, water quantity and quality, the coastal setting and ocean processes, and wildfires, including the aftermath of landslides. The geologic processes that create threats to global populations are studied, as well as possible mitigation of these geologic hazards.

    Attributes: P4 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student; Excluding: -Class: Freshman, Sophomore
  • HNRS-213 P1 Crime and Literature (3)

    The outlaw, the criminal, and the rebel have maintained a central place in Western Literature since at least the 15th century. How does this fit with our general understanding of literature as an exercise that teaches morals and makes us better people? How does the characterization of the outlaw change with the generations, and what does that change reveal about the desires and fears of a culture? In this course we will read literature from England and America which celebrates or explores the outlaw, and watch films which glorify or expose the criminal, both alongside historical documentation and legal literature regarding real life criminals.

    Attributes: P1 YLIB
    Pre-requisites: ENGL-101C D- OR ENGL-101X D-
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-214 P4 The Theory of Games (3)

    The course will focus on combinatorial games. A robust theory will be developed from scratch, including theories of partizan games, non-partisan games, nimbers versus numbers, the ‘”mex” function, and basic Sprague-Grundy theory. Several games will be introduced, including Nim, Hackenbush, Kayles, White Knight, and Chomp. Randomness will be added to these games, which is an active area of ongoing mathematical research.

    Attributes: P4 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student; Excluding: -Class: Freshman
  • HNRS-217 P3 Inside HBO’s America (3)

    This course looks at the premium cable channel that has dominated the primetime television landscape for the last decade-plus. Whether it is through its original series, documentaries, miniseries, comedy specials, or sports programs, HBO has raised the bar on what storytellers who wish to work in television can do. This course will take a critical look through the last 10-15 years of HBO?s cutting-edge, award-winning programming to examine how it has been such a successful juggernaut. We will study the production, distribution, and reception of programs through contexts (artistic, economic, political, social, cultural) that offer a deeper explanation, understanding, and appreciation of them.

    Attributes: P3 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-218 P1 Chocolate & Its Impact (3)

    The course traces the impact chocolate has had in world cultures since its mythical/botanical origin to the present day. The material includes select readings as well as multi-national films. In addition to the obvious presence/absence of the product, students explore important social issues such as human trafficking, immigration conflicts, societal infrastructures and gender and sexual identities.

    Attributes: ISRS P1 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-221 P1 God and Modernity (3)

    This course will examine the shift in Western culture from a God-centered to a more secular way of viewing the world. This change in thinking began in the intellectual sphere and over time moved into the larger culture, and it can be seen in both the literature and film of the twentieth century. Literature studied will include T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”. We will also view such films as “Creation,” which focuses on Darwin’s struggle to publish “On The Origin of Species,” and “Howard’s End,” a dramatization of E.M. Forster’s 1910 novel, “Howard’s End.”

    Attributes: P1 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student; Excluding: -Class: Freshman
  • HNRS-230 P1 Seeing Metaphor (3)

    This course examines metaphor as it is represented in twentieth-century American film and literature. Why are metaphors an essential component of human communication? What is the relationship between art and metaphor? How do writers and filmmakers employ metaphor to effect cultural and social change? The works in question will allow us to analyze the conflicts and moral dilemmas confronting the individual in society. Restricted to Honors program students.

    Attributes: P1 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-231 P1 Out of the Wild (3)

    Stories of children raised in the wild (often supposedly by animals) go back to earliest times and have inspired such legends as Romulus and Remus, the founders of Ancient Rome, who were said to have been brought up by wolves. In this course, we’ll explore such questions as: why do tales of feral children continue to fascinate us? What is the reality behind such stories? How do these tales connect with the philosophical concepts of Enlightenment versus Romanticism? How do they relate to such issues as language acquisition, the need for civilization, the desire to be independent versus the desire for companionship, and the issues of parental and societal responsibility for proper child-rearing?

    Attributes: P1 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-232 P3 Anglo-American World (3)

    This course is a cross-disciplinary examination of the ideological, institutional and cultural forces that have shaped the post-WWII world from an Anglo-American perspective. Focusing on events in Britain and the United States, it examines developments in the political, cultural, and media realms across both societies. In addition, it charts the impact of these developments across the globe.

    Attributes: P3 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student; Excluding: -Class: Freshman
  • HNRS-235 P2 Environ Ethics&Sustain (3)

    A variety of decision procedures may be and have been used to determine what to do regarding various environmental issues. We might make the choice that has the least worst alternatives, or the best alternatives, or is approved by the majority of those who vote or of those who are affected, etc. Each alternative can determine what is reasonable and moral, and assessing them presents a theoretical problem. We examine each in terms of morality, examine their presuppositions and consequences, determine whether we can assess them, and if so, how. Students begin to learn to be conscious of and assess the decision procedures that are often buried in policy recommendations regarding particular environmental problems. The course will place an emphasis on the meaning of ?sustainability? and also will be interdisciplinary in its focus.

    Attributes: P2 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-255 P4 Resampling Methods (3)

    The course will introduce descriptive, inferential, and estimation statistics through the use of resampling. Resampling methods such as bootstrapping, permutation tests, and decision trees are common statistical tools in scientific fields from medicine to sociology to business. Resampling methods are intuitive and conceptually simple but computationally intensive; for that reason the course will cover how to write and run code in R, a statistical computing environment. Students will learn to generate and interpret basic resampled statistics, and use them to answer questions from a variety of scientific fields. No math prerequisite is assumed beyond high school algebra, and no prior experience with R is assumed or required.

    Attributes: P4 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student; Excluding: -Class: Freshman
  • HNRS-256C P4 Cryptology (3)

    An introduction to the basic techniques and underlying mathematics of cryptology. We will explore a variety of historical methods for creating secret messages (from the time of Caesar to the modern era), as well as various means of deciphering a coded message that has been intercepted. We will develop the necessary mathematical techniques (modular arithmetic, probability and statistics, matrix arithmetic, and number theory) as we progress. Honors Program students only. May be used for Old Core Mathematics/Natural Science requirement.

    Attributes: P4 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-260 P2 Applied FeministThought (3)

    A key objective of this course will be to survey four main schools of feminist political philosophy that developed either in tension with or out of critical reconstructions of liberal and Marxist thought. These fours schools of thought include: liberal feminism, Marxist feminism, radical feminism and socialist feminism. As part of our explorations in gender and society, we will look at issues of gender, power, and privilege as they apply to various areas of our social, economic, and political lives. We will discuss some or all of the following topics: gender and the family; gender and politics; gender and work; gender and issues of diversity; and gender as seen in literature and film. Contemporary connections to our daily lives will be emphasized and encouraged.

    Attributes: P2 WGST YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student; Excluding: -Class: Freshman
  • HNRS-270 P1 Write Cntr-Write Margin (3)

    This course is an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural analysis of texts, topics and tensions based on the African American experience. At least four critical issues —medical experimentation, schooling-education, law and work—will be examined using two texts on the same topic, one written by a White author and one by an African American author. A number of genres will be used— memoir, fiction, critical essays and film etc.— to conduct a comparative analysis of how authors at the center and authors on the margin address race, gender and class challenges through the motifs of representation, agency, appropriation and identity. Texts being considered include, but are not limited to, the following: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks; To Kill a Mockingbird; The Help and PUSH.

    Attributes: P1 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-311 P3 Mental Illness Memoir (3)

    Some courses on mental illness are subject to the shortcoming that they largely divorce the extensive database of knowledge of psychiatric problems from “real people” struggling with these challenges in the “real world.” In this course, students will learn about mental illness through the lens of a variety of prominent memoirs written by individuals coping with a wide range of psychiatric problems. In embracing this “person-centered” approach, the course affords students a unique perspective on the lived experience of individuals with mental illness. Student reflection on their reading, accomplished via writing and in-class discussion, is a critical element of the course. This is a reading-intensive course.

    Attributes: P3 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-316 P4 A Fungus Among Us (3)

    More than just the fuzzy fruit in your fridge, fungi have molded life as we know it. This course will investigate fungal influences throughout history, illustrate how they ‘infect’ all aspects of the world around us, and explore the interdisciplinary nature of science. Students with credit for BIOL 116C cannot earn credit for HNRS 316.

    Attributes: P4 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student; Excluding: -Class: Freshman
  • HNRS-323C P3 France Since 1789 (3)

    This course examines the salient social and political developments that have transpired in France from the French Revolution until the present. Topics covered include revolution, Napoleonic rule, the world wars, imperialism and decolonization, and France’s role within the European Union. The format of this seminar consists of discussion and lecture.

    Attributes: P3 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-325D P3 Swastika on Celluloid (3)

    This seminar examines cinematic/televisual portrayals of Adolf Hitler in Europe and the United States before and after 1945. Topics covered include the nature of Hitler’s rule, his influence on European and global political developments, his personality, and the reasons for the enduring scholarly and popular interest in his person.

    Attributes: P3 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-330P P1 Crime in Latin Amer Lit (3)

    This course examines the notion of crime and criminal behavior as they are represented in seminal works of twentieth-century Latin American fiction and film. The works in question span the course of the century and come from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, and Mexico. Bearing in mind the varied sociocultural and historical contexts from which each work emerges and the different kinds of crimes that are dealt with (petty crimes, crimes of the heart, crimes against the nation, etc.), we will analyze the question of how the societies depicted decide what constitutes a crime and what makes one a criminal; how punishments and justice are determined; and what the repercussions of the crime are for both the criminal and the victim. More importantly, with each work, we will examine how the individual writer or director’s representational techniques help determine our understanding of the previously mentioned issues, looking at elements of form and style, the use of literary and cinematic devices, and the overall aesthetic vision. May be used for Old Core Literature/Language requirement.

    Attributes: P1 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-335 P2 The Dirty Thirties (3)

    This course is a cross-disciplinary examination of the major intellectual and cultural trends of the 1930s. We will examine the developments in politics, economics, art (paintings and movies), music (especially jazz and swing), and literature and science during this decade and explore how they intersect and influence each other. We will give particular emphasis to social movements and public morality.

    Attributes: P2 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-344 P2 Capitalism&Soc Respons (3)

    This course will trace the religious roots and societal values of capitalism as a transformational force in America and compare its current ethical underpinnings as practiced in the United States to the manner in which capitalism is currently practiced in other areas of the world (specifically countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East). The concept and meaning of corporate social responsibility and its emerging use as an ethical buffer between multinational firms and their shareholders and consumers will be explored, as well as the religious and ethical rationales for capitalism across geographies.

    Attributes: P2 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Class: Junior, Senior -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-355C P3 Stress and Illness (3)

    This is a topics course focused on the dynamic relationships between stress, illness, and healthy behavior. The course will consider stress, the role of stress in causing and moderating illness, coping, and psychophysiological disorders in which stress plays a prominent role. May be used for Old Core Social Science requirement.

    Attributes: P3 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-356 P1 Pres Spkg & Rhet Comp (3)

    This course will focus on a study of rhetorical competence in oral communication as a way to learn to effectively prepare and deliver oral presentations. The study of historic and modern speakers will be used to develop a framework for rhetorical competence to guide the students’ work on individual and team presentations. In addition, the class will work together to prepare a presentation toolkit for students and instructors to use in future classes.

    Attributes: P1 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Class: Junior, Senior -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-383 P3 Dog Days of Psychology (3)

    Within the field of psychology and related disciplines (e.g., anthropology, ethology), there has been a recent surge of research on human-animal interactions (HAI), and on domestic canine behavior and social cognition in particular. Because dogs were the first animals to be domesticated, humans have interacted closely with them for thousands of years. For this reason, many scientists, especially those interested in social cognition and behavior, have recently been turning their attention to the study of dogs. Some argue that domestic dogs and humans represent an example of convergent evolution, and that consequently, humans and dogs have evolved to exhibit similar socio-cognitive and behavioral traits. Others argue that because humans often share their lives with canine companions, humans and dogs develop similar cognitive and behavioral traits as a result of common learning experiences. This course will explore some of the current questions and controversies in the area of canine social cognition and behavior, including: How do dogs perceive their world? Do dogs have a concept of self or others? Do they think and solve problems like we do? How do dogs communicate with us and with other dogs? Can dogs be helpful in improving our physical and/or psychological well-being?

    Attributes: P3 YLIB
    Pre-requisites: HNRS-199C D-
    Restrictions: Including: -Class: Junior, Senior -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-393 P3 Psych of Anger (3)

    In our often adversarial world, anger seems all too common. Indeed, anger is fundamental to human emotional experience. Scientific investigations of anger have yielded a large body of important, interesting, and useful insights. This course surveys the scientific literature devoted to the psychology of anger. A number of key questions will be explored, including: What is anger, and under what conditions does it arise? To what extent is anger adaptive, and to what extent is it destructive? How does culture influence the experience and expression of anger? What is the physiological basis of anger? How do psychological scientists study anger in the laboratory?

    Attributes: P3 YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Class: Junior, Senior -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-402D Politics,Lit&Arts Latin Am (3)

    A survey of the ideas, attitudes, and beliefs of Latin American and Caribbean authors, artists, and cinematographers, as manifested in representative samples of their major works. We develop an appreciation of the ideas and aspirations inherent in the works studied.

    Attributes: YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-425 Undergraduate Review (3)

    This course focuses on the value of research in the undergraduate education, for both students who are and who are not going on to graduate school. We will learn the differences in standards and expectations across fields, will canvas institutions similar to Fisher to explore the range of undergraduate research publications currently available, and will research possible platforms, budgets, and audiences. Students will create a publicity campaign both to encourage submissions to the Undergraduate Review and to make the work in the published review visible on and off campus. The work we do will be practical, creative, statistical, theoretical, financial, and active, and will culminate in the publication of the Undergraduate Review in the spring.

    Attributes: YLIB ZEXL
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student
  • HNRS-450 Capstone (3)

    This course prioritizes synthesis of knowledge obtained in the Core Curriculum and in the students? major area of study, and is organized around a big, cross-cutting topic that is especially well suited to examination through multiple lenses. The course is designed collaboratively by faculty members from the Humanities, the Social Sciences, and the Physical Sciences, and is taught in three classes simultaneously. All three sections share the same syllabus and the same assignments. Students will bring their own expertise as well as their familiarity with viewing scholarly issues through multiple perspectives, and will collaborate to create and present a solution or clearer understanding of a real world problem. Topics may include Love, Beauty, Mental illness, Conflict/violence/war, God, Poverty, Food, and others. Spring 16 Topic: Sustainability.

    Attributes: YLIB
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student; Excluding: -Class: Freshman
  • HNRS-496 Independent Study (1 TO 3)

    The student’s independent study is under the direction of the Honors Program Director. An opportunity to explore an area not regularly offered in the program. Completion of the Independent Study Authorization form is required.

    Attributes: YLIB ZEXL ZRES
    Restrictions: Including: -Attribute: Honors Student

Honors Program


For More Information

Melissa Bissonette
Program Director
mbissonette@sjfc.edu
(585) 385-7397

Admissions
(585) 385-8064
admissions@sjfc.edu