Fall 2009 First Year Experience courses

CFAS 2300-H01          Communication, Civility, & Ethics        (CRN 19604)         K. Harris               HS 273        TR 11 AM-12:20 PM

Corequisite: HONS 1000-H01 LCG Section            (CRN 20410)       Mentors         HS 222        M 4:30-5:50 PM

Communication, civility and ethics are skills which are crucial to every facet of individuals’ personal and professional lives.  Success is greatly determined by the proper knowledge and utilization of these life skills.  This course is designed to assist students in the transition into their first year by developing their communication styles and an understanding of ethics while teaching skills and strategies for interpersonal, academic, and business interactions.  An emphasis on civility and demonstrating respect for individuals and self serves as the underlying framework for course content which includes assessment of aptitudes in communication, civility, and ethics arenas; skill development in professional communication areas including interpersonal communication, public speaking, and writing; relationship development strategies at individual, group, and organizational levels; and strategies for bringing civility into daily interactions.  This course focuses on the application of these skills in real life situations through exercises in experiential learning.THIS COURSE FULFILLS 3 HOURS OF THE CORE CURRICULUM ORAL COMMUNICATION REQUIREMENT.

ENGL 2306-H01          Introduction to Drama:  Tragically Monstrous     (CRN 14811)         M. Purinton        
 ENGL 304         TR 11  AM-12:20 PM

Corequisite: HONS 1000-H02 LCG Section        (CRN 20509)        Mentors         HS 224       W 4:30-5:50 PM

Prerequisite: ENGL 1301 and ENGL 1302

If “all the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players,” then we can learn much about the world by looking at its drama.  In this interactive FYE course, we will explore tragedies that expose and examine the monstrosities of the human experience—actual monsters and monstrous behaviors.  We will pursue such questions as:  Why do these manifestations of the monstrous appear in our classic tragedies?  What is tragic about the monstrous?  What constitutes the tragically monstrous?  What satisfaction do we derive by seeing the monstrous staged in tragedies? We will read several tragedies from Greek theatre to the contemporary stage that feature the monstrous in one form or another:  Medea by Euripides, Othello by William Shakespeare, De Monfort by Joanna Baillie,   A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, Trifles by Susan Glaspell, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance, and Proof by David Auburn.  Some of these dramas may be new to you, and some may offer you renewed readings and reflection.  We will view cinematic versions of several tragedies.  We will also attend a play staged at one of the Texas Tech University theatres this fall. Our activities will include informal response papers, a review of a staged performance, a creative discovery activity, plus ample discussion and dramatics.   We will have fun in our discoveries about the human condition, the monstrous, and tragic drama.  Come prepared to participate in your own learning experience. Questions or comments?  Contact Dr Marjean Purinton*  THIS COURSE FULFILLS 3 HOURS OF THE CORE CURRICULUM HUMANITIES AND/OR SOPHOMORE LITERATURE REQUIREMENT.

ENGL 2351-H01          Writing in the Outdoors     (CRN 20081)         Caswell           HH 039        TR 9:30-10:50 AM

Corequisite: HONS 1000-H03 LCG Section        (CRN 20510)        Mentors         HS 114       M 4:30-5:50 PM

 Prerequisite: ENGL 1301 and ENGL 1302

Note: In addition to FYE and English, this course counts toward the major or minor in Natural History and Humanities. 

ENGR 1315-H02          Intro to Engineering          (CRN 20135)         M. Maqusi     EE 221        TR 12:30-1:50 PM

Corequisite: HONS 1000-H05 LCG Section   (CRN 20512)         Mentors   CE 007            M 4:30-5:50 PM

Note: This course is open to all Honors engineering and non-engineering majors and may be substituted for the following discipline-specific Introduction to Engineering courses: CH E 1305, CE 1305, EE 1304, IE 1305, ME 1315, and PETR 1305. This course should also be of interest to non-engineering majors who have an interest in technology or a desire to learn more about an engineering discipline.

Corequisites: ANY ENGR 1315- Lab section and MATH 1351

This course is designed to introduce engineering and non-engineering freshmen to the opportunities and challenges offered by a career in engineering.  Through an exploration of the new and evolving technologies and the national and international issues relating to energy conservation, production, and consumption, students are given a preview of the problems and analyses typical of mechanical, civil, electrical, chemical, industrial, petroleum, and computer science engineering.  Students also gain experience in the application of basic computer tools (e.g., Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Mathcad, MATLAB) to analyses, reports, and presentations typical of engineering.  Finally, students develop an understanding and appreciation of the design process and the open-ended problems found in the practice of engineering.

HIST 2300-H01           History of US To 1877        (CRN 14852)        G. Bell           HH 126        TR 2 PM-3:20 PM

Corequisite: HONS 1000-H06 LCG Section         (CRN 20513)          Mentors         AD 248        M 4:30-5:50 PM

Note: You need not take HIST 2300 before taking HIST 2301.

The first half of American history survey is not just about old, dead white people, the events in which they participated and the dates on which they did them.  It is instead our (yours and my) story- a highly complex story which we continue to write today.  So besides the more traditional topical/narrative treatment of the past which you will find in this course, this history class also puts special emphasis on current issues and events (or in other words, contemporary history)-- since you must know what is going on today to know what happened in the past; and since so many issues remain similar anyway.  Among the principal topics that will be covered are the nature of our British heritage (you know about the language and political system; did you know about the law system and the unique, and sometimes strange, attitudes we still embrace?); how we govern ourselves and why; and how and for what reasons the nation tore itself apart in 1861—a phenomenon that could happen again.  After all, "Those who do not know the past are condemned to repeat it"—G. Santayana.  Be apprised that discussions comprise a major portion of the class.  Finally, there is no better narrative available than what American denizens have been doing over approximately the last 500 (pre-Columbian to 1877) years, so the sheer enjoyment factor should be high in this class – even if history is not your cup of (British East India?) tea!  THIS COURSE FULFILLS 3 HOURS OF THE CORE CURRICULUM U.S. HISTORY REQUIREMENT. 

HIST 2301-H01        History of US from 1877       (CRN 14859)        J. Willett               HH 127        MWF 11:00-11:50 AM

Corequisite: HONS 1000-H07 LCG Section       (CRN 20514)          Mentors         AD 241        M 4:30-5:50 PM

 Note: You need not take HIST 2300 before taking HIST 2301.

This course will examine the history of the United States from 1877 to the present.  By looking at the ways in which women and men have understood their identity in terms of gender, race, class, and region, we will capture the diversity of American experiences. In the process we will explore the ways in which “ordinary” folk have coped with and challenged broader economic, cultural, and political developments in their everyday lives. Students’ grades will be based on a series of short essays, two exams, class discussion, and an oral history project. THIS COURSE FULFILLS 3 HOURS OF THE CORE CURRICULUM U.S. HISTORY REQUIREMENT.

HONS 1301-H01          “From My Cold Dead Hands”:   Shakespeare’s Violent Men     (CRN 14875)        
 K. Caswell           AD 241        TR 2:00-3:20 PM

Corequisite: HONS 1000-H08 LCG Section     (CRN 20515)          Mentors         HS 273        W 4:30-5:50 PM

Men make war. And men – not women – commit violent crimes. In the United States, almost 90% of all homicides are committed by men. Shakespeare's men are no different. Indeed, they are some of the most violent characters in literature. In Troilus and Cressida, Ulysses claims that the masculine appetite for violence and war is a "universal wolf" that will at last "eat up himself."  This course explores Shakespeare’s tragic plays and their treatment of masculine violence. We will work with Macbeth, Othello, Hamlet, King Lear; and The Tempest. We will also address the universal themes of ambition and human endurance, fatal desire and sublimation, family heritages and dynamics, as well as the wish to live forever. We’ll work with films of most of the plays, and read aloud in class often.  This class is reading and writing intensive.  THIS COURSE FULFILLS 3 HOURS OF THE CORE CURRICULUM HUMANITIES REQUIREMENT.

HONS 1301-H02          Windows on World War I    (CRN 14888)        J. Brink       EDUC 303        TR 9:30-10-50 AM

Corequisite: HONS 1000-H10 LCG Section      (CRN 20517)          Mentors         AD 245        M 4:30-5:50 PM

This course is a seminar on themes (windows) in World War I (1914-1918).  This, “the war to end all wars”, was a major watershed in the Western World.  Massive armies of conscript soldiers employed and suffered from sophisticated and terrible technology.  Yet the conduct of the war, especially on the Western Front, was for the most part static along a 450 mile line from the North Sea to Switzerland.  During periods of inactivity, soldiers wrote, sang, and drew, expressing their feelings and reactions to this human catastrophe in ways which ennobled them as soldiers and as humans and which have left a wondrous record of their experiences.  Beginning with an in-depth section of lecture and discussion of the history of the war, we will probe the social and literary history of soldiers on the Western Front.  The remainder of the course will consist of class presentations and written reports.  Topics will be selected during the first weeks of the term. THIS COURSE FULFILLS 3 HOURS OF THE CORE CURRICULUM HUMANITIES REQUIREMENT.

HONS 1302-H01   Perspectives on Nature& the Environment  (CRN 20085)  M. McGinley  AD 243                  MWF 12-12:50 PM    

Corequisite: HONS 1000-H04 LCG Section            (CRN #20511)       Mentors   HH 225        W 4:30-5:50 PM

The planet is warming, the ice caps are melting, our oceans are full of toxic waste.  Dolphins, pandas, and Bambi are going extinct, and it seems that everything in the environment gives us cancer.  If you spend too much time listening to Greenpeace, you might conclude that our environmental situation is hopeless.  Alternatively, regular viewers of Fox News might decide that there is nothing to worry about because the climate isn’t changing, extinction is a natural process, clean coal and nuclear power are the answer to our energy needs, there are enough resources for everyone, and technology will allow us to solve any problem we face.

In this course we will explore why people have such divergent views about the environment.  In addition to examining the science behind environmental issues, we will explore how the different ways that people value the environment (their environmental ethic) influences their opinion on environmental issues.  Wind power vs. clean coal?  Drive a Hummer or ride a bike?  Build a national park or build a mall?  Save a logger’s job or save the spotted owl?  Recycle or throw it away?  “The Earth is for us to use as we wish” vs. “The Earth is ours to care for?” At the end of the course you can decide.  THIS COURSE FULFILLS 3 HOURS OF THE CORE CURRICULUM TECHNOLOGY AND APPLIED SCIENCE REQUIREMENT. 

HONS 1302-H02          So You Think You Are Alone?    (CRN 20086)         M. McGinley & M. San Francisco
AD 243      TR 12:30-1-50 PM

Corequisite: HONS 1000-H11 LCG Section     (CRN 20518)         Student Mentors         HS 63        W 4:30-5:50 PM

Did you know ….. That there are more cells that do not belong to you on your body? There are more bacteria on the planet than all other organisms combined?  That you cannot survive “normally” without microorganisms?  This interactive course will focus on the interactions between microorganisms and the environment.  Topics that will be covered include microbes on the human body; microbes in soils/oceans; microbes and medicine; microbes and agriculture; microbes and disease; microbes and climate.  We will discuss these topics from microbial and ecological perspectives.  This course is writing-intensive.  THIS COURSE FULFILLS 3 HOURS OF THE CORE CURRICULUM TECHNOLOGY & APPLIED SCIENCE REQUIREMENT.

HONS 1304-H01  Performance: Analysis & Criticism     (CRN 14920)    M. Berry        AD 248        TR 3:30-4:50 PM

Corequisite: HONS 1000-H09 LCG Section         (CRN 20516)          Mentors         AD 243        M 4:30-5:50 PM

Note: No performing arts background is necessary for enrollment in this course.

What do we do when we perform? Do only actors, dancers, and musicians perform? How and what do we perform in our daily lives? What is the distinction between ritual and performance? What constitutes a good performance? What makes a bad performance? What is an authentic performance? This seminar seeks to answer these and many other related questions. Readings from the scholarly literature and viewing live and recorded performances will aid us in our search for answers. This course takes performance in the fine arts sense (music, dance, theatre, and film/television) as its point of departure and examines ways that more mundane activities (artistic and otherwise) might constitute a performance. Two research papers will be required in addition to smaller-scale writing assignments over the course of the semester. THIS COURSE FULFILLS 3 HOURS OF THE CORE CURRICULUM VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS REQUIREMENT.

PHIL 2320-H01           Introduction to Ethics     (CRN 20414)        D. Nathan              PHIL 264       TR 12:30-1:50 PM

Corequisite: HONS 1000-H12 LCG Section    (CRN 20519)         Mentors         AD 241        W 4:30-5:50 PM

So how ought persons behave toward one another?  And does it even make any sense to reason about moral questions in the first place?  After all, perhaps morality is just an individual subjective response, like one's taste in ice cream.  Or maybe it's just a matter of religious dogma, so that one needn't think for oneself or bother trying to reason about it at all.  Or perhaps all behavior boils down to self-interest anyway, so that talk of "moral obligation" is merely empty rhetoric.  And, if it is not empty talk, what could possibly ground moral obligation?  Imagine having one of those heavy late-night dorm discussions, but with Plato, Thomas Hobbes, John Stuart Mill, and Immanuel Kant chiming in.  You will find that, even though those folks are long dead, it turns out that they had a lot to say about matters of morality that still concern us deeply today.  In this course, we will explore the potential of thinking carefully and creatively about morality, and we will do so in the company of some of the giants of Western moral philosophy.  (Did you know that the 17th Century philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, even came up with a theory to explain why people stay late at parties?)  THIS COURSE FULFILLS 3 HOURS OF CORE CURRICULUM HUMANITIES REQUIREMENT.

POLS 2302-H02          American Public Policy     (CRN 15080)      I. Leslie                AD 245        TR 12:30-1:50 PM

Corequisite: HONS 1000-H13 LCG Section        (CRN 20520)        Mentors         AD 248        W 4:30-5:50 PM

Note:  You need not take POLS 1301 and 2302 in any particular order.

We are currently in an age of radical change. Public policies, from health care to education policy, punishment to corporate regulation – are under a new scrutiny in the contemporary climate of economic crisis, and for many citizens, existential crisis – crises that are about the very means by which Americans will live. In this course we will examine particular public policies, their impact on the masses of Americans, and on specific subpopulations (such as Latinos and African Americans) to better understand the significance of this transformative period in public policy that the nation is now undergoing. The major assignments for this course are weekly writing assignments, an in-class presentation of a research topic of your choosing that is relevant to the course material, and a final essay exam.  THIS COURSE FULFILLS 3 HOURS OF THE CORE CURRICULUM POLITICAL SCIENCE REQUIREMENT.

PSY 1300-H01            General Psychology        (CRN 15084)        J. Clopton            AD 245        TR 9:30-10:50 AM

Corequisite: HONS 1000-H14 LCG Section     (CRN 20521)        Mentors         AD 245        W 4:30-5:50 PM

This course is for students who will major in psychology or related fields of study and for other students who recognize that solving the most challenging problems of our time is dependent on understanding human behavior.  This will be a classic course.  The preface in the textbook I have been using explains it best:  We will cover a “broad range” of topics “from biological psychology, cognition, and perception to social and personality psychology, and from normal development to psychopathology.”  Students will learn what psychologists have discovered about human behavior and the methods they use in describing and explaining human behavior.  Each student will complete three examinations and three in-class writing assignments.  If you are looking for a challenging and interesting course, if you know that rewarding experiences often require hard work, this could be the course for you.  THIS COURSE FULFILLS 3 HOURS OF THE CORE CURRICULUM INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP BEHAVIOR REQUIREMENT.

PSY 1300-H02          General Psychology          (CRN 19533)          E. Hardin          PSY 305      MWF 11:00-11:50 AM

Corequisite: HONS 1000-H15 LCG Section         (CRN 20522)         Mentors         HH 225      M 4:30-5:50 PM

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior; as such, this introductory course is relevant for any human, regardless of his or her intended major. In this course students will acquire basic knowledge about major facts and theories from the domains of experimental, biological, cognitive, developmental, social, and applied psychology; learn to apply this knowledge to events and situations in their everyday lives (e.g., How could I use operant conditioning to train my cat? How does cognitive dissonance help explain why people remain committed to a position that seems to be failing?); and combine and synthesize this knowledge to draw conclusions (e.g., Based on the results of several research studies, what conclusions can be drawn about the relationship between aggression and exposure to violent media?) and critically analyze information (e.g., Is the claim in this news story consistent with what I know about psychological processes? What additional information would help me decide?).  Students’ grades will be based on performance on both in-class and take-home quizzes and exams; contributions to class discussions; and several writing assignments.  THIS COURSE FULFILLS 3 HOURS OF THE CORE CURRICULUM INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP BEHAVIOR REQUIREMENT.

SOC 1301-H01      Introduction to Sociology         (CRN 15091)        C. Dunham           HH 109        TR 2:00-3:20 PM

Corequisite: HONS 1000-H16 LCG Section           (CRN 20523)         Mentors         AD 243        W 4:30-5:50 PM

Ever wondered why some people fall in love?  Have you ever wondered why some kids turn to crime and others don’t? This introductory course is just for you!  In this class we will examine individuals, families and communities and the social factors that play such an important role in determining life experiences. We’ll study social issues like crime and deviance, social inequality and the relationship between women and men.  We’ll use popular culture such as the critically acclaimed movie CRASH or moving documentaries like God Must Be Tired of Us as well as the scientific studies. This course is not only an opportunity to expand your understanding of people and social life; it is also a chance for you to examine where your own ideas and beliefs come from (and how they can change!).  Are you interested yet?  I'll see you in the fall!  THIS COURSE FULFILLS 3 HOURS OF THE CORE CURRICULUM INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP BEHAVIOR REQUIREMENT.