Winter 2023 & Spring 2024 Honors Scholars Seminars

Winter Session 2023 Honors Scholars Seminar Offering:

My Health, Your Health, Our Health: Private to Public

HON 431-50 / HON 441-50
Professor Kandi Walker
Distance Education

Despite vast improvements in health care and disease prevention, we still have a long way to go in terms of making our world a healthier place. "It appears that the severity of many health problems could potentially be reduced by improving communication among providers, between providers and patients, between health researchers, and between public health leaders and the public" (Wright, Sparks, O'Hair, 2020, p. 4). This seminar will examine how we communicate health in personal, interpersonal, public, cultural, and mediated ways. The information presented in class will cover a broad range of topics, such as ethical dilemmas surrounding health, the close relationship between health and religious beliefs, and different types of images of health in the media.  Additionally, we will look at how race, age, ability, language, sexual orientation, and economic status impact health.

Students are encouraged to voice and consider a wide variety of viewpoints. The object is not to find the one right answer, but to gain experience discussing and reflecting on the immense responsibilities involved in communicating about health.

This course fulfills requirements in the Humanities or the Social Sciences. The course cannot be used to satisfy Cardinal Core Requirements.

Spring 2024 Honors Scholars Seminar Offerings:

President's Council International Travel Seminar: Frankenstein & Its Contexts (WR)

The deadline to apply to this travel seminar has now passed.  Please watch for future travel seminar opportunities next year!

HON 436-05 / HON 446-06
Professor Karen Hadley
TTh, 9:30 - 10:45 AM

The eruption of Mount Tamboro in Indonesia in 1815 affected weather worldwide, producing dropping temperatures, torential rainfall, and frequent darkness at midday; to many across the globe, the atmosphere lent a supernatural quality, a sinister sense of impending gloom. It was in this atmosphere, in the “year without a summer,” that the celebrated Romantic poets Lord Byron, Percy Shelley and their entourage gathered at the Villa Diodati on the shores of Lake Geneva. They spent long evenings by candlelight in discussion ranging from philosophy, to contemporary scientific topics such as alchemy, galvanism, and the principles of animation, to tales of ghosts and vampires. One evening Lord Byron read the Fantasmagoriana, a collection of German ghost stories (with titles such as “The Death Bride” and “The Black Chamber”) and—against lightening flashing over the Alpine scenery outside—challenged those present each to write a ghost story. The challenge produced in literary fragments and poems, notable among them Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein and Polidori’s novel The Vampyre, forerunner of Stoker’s Dracula, and of modern vampire fantasy fiction.

This course will explore the lives of the individuals present on this occasion, the contemporary contexts informing their discourse, and the texts generated in response to Byron’s “ghost story challenge.” Among these texts, we will place special emphasis on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Where she was a “silent auditor” to these conversations, we will explore how nonetheless she represented an interpretation of the remarkable occasion in her novel: its setting, its characters, its themes. We shall see how Mary herself and her “monstrous” desire to write, is figured in Victor Frankenstein’s “monster”—which monster, in turn, will serve as guiding light for the course.

Travel for the course will follow the end of the Spring semester in early May.  The group will travel to Switzerland and France with the possibility of other surrounding areas in Europe that serve as settings for significant events in the novel.

Estimated course fee: $2,200-$2,500 per student

This course fulfills elective requirements in the Humanities or the Social Sciences. The course cannot be used to satisfy Cardinal Core Requirements.

The Wild in the Global Humanities

HON 331-11 / HON 341-11
Professor Simona Bertacco
MW, 2:00 - 3:15 PM

What do images of the wilderness evoke in us? Where and who is “wild” today? How are notions of wildness present in current ideas of culture and civilization? 

We live in a state that celebrates its “unbridled spirit,” we may occasionally feel “the call of the wild” or have read the eponymous novel by Jack London or Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are in our youth. Images and ideas of the wild have been part of our education and they are present in current discussions about the Anthropocene, climate change, even the most recent global pandemics.

Starting from our own understanding of the imagery and meanings of wildness, we will study the impact that the historical experience of colonialism has had on the making of “the wild” in the global humanities. We will consider a range of narratives, oral, musical and written, read and compare theories and epistemologies, and look at images and selected films that translate the idea of “the wild” in different places and at different times. Our discussions will be framed largely in postcolonial and decolonial terms with special attention given to how discussions of wildness have affected the regulation of gender and sexuality.

This course fulfills elective requirements in the Humanities or the Social Sciences. The course cannot be used to satisfy Cardinal Core Requirements.

European Fictions

HON 331-01 / HON 341-01
Professor Elise Franklin
TTh, 9:30 - 10:45 AM

As he wrote the famous existentialist novel, The Stranger, French author Albert Camus quipped, “fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.” In this class, we will consider the historical lives of these lies. How do the fictions that European authors circulated about themselves and their empires shape our understanding of history? How did colonial subjects and postcolonial citizens craft counter-narratives that pushed back against these European definitions? What can we learn about the past from fiction and what fictions have supported the crafting of history? Through the works of a diverse array of authors of literature and history, we will read and contextualize 20th century fiction to understand how—in the midst of war and the dislocations of colonialism—empire came to fashion “fictions” about the self and the other. In this class, we will explore how European empire shaped 20th century fiction to test Albert Camus’ famous quip that “fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.” We ask: what can we learn about the past from fiction and what fictions have supported the crafting of history?

This course fulfills elective requirements in the Humanities or the Social Sciences. The course cannot be used to satisfy Cardinal Core Requirements.

Music Scenes: U.S. & Beyond

HON 331-03 / HON 341-03
Professor Luke Buckman
MWF, 12:00 - 12:50 PM

I hope you’ll join me this spring as we retrace music’s cultural influence in 20^th and 21^st centuries through the development of music scenes (local, regional, and even virtual), musical subcultures, and their relationship to various social movements. The global musical landscape is peppered with independent factions that operate--and, in some cases, thrive--according to their own set of rules and ideals. Many of the scenes we will consider developed as localized alternative responses to mainstream popular culture or societal norms and expectations. The internet and virtual connectivity have provided avenues for musicians, artists, and their fans to creatively collaborate and usher in a new era of virtual scenes. In this seminar, we will examine (through listening, reading, and viewing) some of the significant music scenes that developed over the last 75 years, while also dedicating time to the exploration of lesser-known national and--time permitting--international scenes. We will take a multidisciplinary approach as we dive into some of the following: Stax Records & Memphis during the Civil Rights era; the early days of disco and dance music and its relationship to LGBTQ history; the Riot Grrrl movement & grunge in the Pacific Northwest; Athens, GA and the creation of indie music culture; 1980s rave culture and class issues in England; international fan communities and the increasingly complex parasocial relationship between artists and fans (e.g., the depiction of Depeche Mode fans as seen in Our Hobby Is Depeche Mode); 1980s Japanese Techno and City Pop’s recent resurgence in popularity online.  

We will grapple with questions such as:  What constitutes a music scene? What is genuinely and authentically local about local culture? How does the production and consumption of its music affect a scene? What happens when the sounds of a scene are absorbed into popular music? Are music scenes bound by physical space and geography? How has the Internet transformed our understanding of music scenes? How does the relationship between musicians and fans shape a scene? How is music used to represent or depict a place, a community, or its way of life? Assignments for the course will include presentations, a few writing assignments, and a final project.

This course fulfills elective requirements in the Humanities or the Social Sciences. The course cannot be used to satisfy Cardinal Core Requirements

Entrepreneurship

HON 331-03 / HON 341-03
Professor Arielle Clark
TTh, 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM

Entrepreneurship is a one-of-a-kind journey: create your own business, be your own boss, and watch a dream of yours come to life. But where do you start? And what happens when you’re a marginalized entrepreneur? In this seminar, you will bring a business idea, a business concept, or a random solution to a problem; and we will create your own business. Along with practical information (such as how to register your business, how to write a business plan, and how to perform customer discovery), we
will also cover the different, essential pieces of entrepreneurship (such as customer discovery, knowing how to pivot, and completing a business model canvas). While learning about the entrepreneurship process, we will also cover barriers that marginalized entrepreneurs face, from funding to how generational wealth gives unfair advantages. We will cover how racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, fatphobia, etc., affect entrepreneurship success and how to overcome these barriers. We will also review current businesses and how they can improve, the mistakes they’ve made, and how they can focus more on fulfilling community needs as opposed to profit. At the end of the semester, you’ll have a completed business plan, expertise in doing customer discovery and completing a Business Model Canvas, knowledge on how to craft a pitch, insight regarding the barriers regarding entrepreneurship, general knowledge on how to start a business, and access to resources to overcome gatekeeping and barriers.

This course fulfills elective requirements in the Humanities or the Social Sciences. The course cannot be used to satisfy Cardinal Core Requirements.

Art & Science of Tai Chi

HON 331-09 / HON 351-09
Professor Nefertiti Burton
TTh, 2:30 - 3:45 PM

Tai chi is an ancient movement system that strengthens the body, a meditative practice that relaxes the mind, and a defensive martial art that protects the entire organism. This course will examine all three aspects of tai chi through instruction of at least two tai chi short forms and several qigong healing routines that are closely related to tai chi and will enhance tai chi practice. Students will become familiar with the major meridians of the body and the connections between the meridians and the vital organs. During each class session attention will be given to stretching, balancing, relaxation, and breathwork - all critical components of successful tai chi practice. Students will learn to perform the 13 Posture Form and the Five Element Form along with various qigong healing techniques. If the progress of the entire class permits, additional tai chi forms may be added before semester's end.

This course fulfills elective requirements in the Humanities or the Natural Sciences. The course cannot be used to satisfy Cardinal Core Requirements.

The Commonwealth: Pressing Issues in KY State Government

HON 331-10 / HON 341-10
Professor Josie Raymond
M, 9:00 AM - 11:45 AM

While many college students are well-versed in national politics, few have a deep understanding of the inner workings of their state legislature, which arguably has more influence over their everyday lives. In this seminar, we will explore policymaking in Kentucky–the issues, the partisanship, and the possibilities. How will Kentucky handle the legalization of medical marijuana? What mechanism did the legislature use to ban abortion procedures? How is Kentucky responding–and how should it–to threats from climate change? Students will look at policy proposals past, present, and future, and act as an advocate, a lobbyist, and a legislator to hone their skills in policy analysis, persuasion, and negotiation.

This course fulfills elective requirements in the Humanities or the Social Sciences. The course cannot be used to satisfy Cardinal Core Requirements.

The Worlds of Ursula Le Guin

HON 331-76 / HON 341-76 
Professor Michael Williams
M, 5:30 - 8:15 PM

By the time of her death in 2018, Ursula Le Guin was widely acknowledged as one of the major American writers of the last fifty years. Beginning to write in a time when writers of fantasy and science fiction (especially women writers) were regarded as second-class citizens of the literary community, she lived to be recognized as an important voice in modern fiction. Not only a masterful storyteller, Le Guin had profound and early insight into the issues that still preoccupy our time—issues of feminism, gender, environmentalism, colonialism, and politics. Students will read a healthy number of Le Guin’s novels, view several film adaptations, write three short papers, and give one presentation.

This course fulfills elective requirements in the Humanities or the Social Sciences. The course cannot be used to satisfy Cardinal Core Requirements.

Sustainable Transportation

HON 341-06 / HON 351-06
Professor Tim Darst
MW, 4:00 - 5:15 PM

Transportation networks form the infrastructure for the functioning modern society and economy and provide the foundation for the movement of people and goods across our community. The existence and use of transportation networks is so fundamental to today's modern societies that the negative externalities such as congestion and pollution call into question their sustainability. Even with the widespread use of telecommuting and electronic commerce the demand for  transportation resources is not expected to decrease in the foreseeable future. In this course, we will explore the various ways that we get around from the lens of environmental sustainability and explore the city using some of the options available to Louisvillians. Through the lens of urban planning, we will envision a future where transportation allows both the economy and environment to flourish.

This course fulfills elective requirements in the Social Sciences or the Natural Sciences. The course cannot be used to satisfy Cardinal Core Requirements

Evolution: The Unauthorized Biography

HON 341-07 / HON 351-07
Professor Joseph Steffen
TTh, 11:30 AM - 12:45 PM

Evolution is a foundational principle in modern Biology. However, approximately 40% of Americans surveyed (the percentage is greater in some other countries) do not believe in evolution. In order to prepare students to discuss this topic with individuals with non-evolutionary opinions, this course will examine the philosophy of change (can change over time itself be accepted), the animal kingdom before Darwin, what does Darwin say, and how Darwin has been interpreted in the modern synthesis. What is creationism and intelligent design and how do these concepts approach the possibility of evolution? Was there an Adam and an Eve, and is this compatible with evolutionary theory and a religious perspective (darn that original sin!) involving human evolution? Students will discuss readings provided by the instructor and write an original paper discussing in depth some of the aspects covered in the course.

This course fulfills elective requirements in the Social Sciences or the Natural Sciences. The course cannot be used to satisfy Cardinal Core Requirements.

Religion & World Politics: Democracy and the Divine

HON 431-02 / HON 441-02 / POLS 402-03
Professor David Buckley
MW, 2:00 - 3:15 PM

Religion remains a significant influence on global politics, from inspiring human rights activists to motivating violent nationalists. Is religion a key source of democracy’s strength in troubled times, by motivating citizens to act responsibly, sacrifice for the greater good, and abide by the norms that make democracy work? Or does it threaten democracy, by encouraging hardliners, obstructing compromise, and threatening minorities? In this course, students will grapple with religion’s impact on global democracy, examining cases drawn from across Asia, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and the Americas.

This course fulfills elective requirements in the Humanities, the Social Sciences, or the Department of Political Science. The course cannot be used to satisfy Cardinal Core Requirements.

Art & Politics

HON 431-03 / HON 441-03  / POLS 402-02
Professor Charles Ziegler
MWF, 10:00 - 10:50 AM

Art reflects the values and norms of the era in which it was created. This course explores how the visual arts both support and challenge political orthodoxies, and the power relations that are at the heart of politics. Topics will include art and revolution; art and imperialism; art and democracy; art and totalitarianism; art, women and power; art and race; art and social class; art and war. We’ll examine how Jacque Louis David approached the French Revolution, discuss socialist realism under communism and Hitler’s degenerate artists exhibit, analyze Judy Chicago’s tribute to women through history, and learn about the Great Migration northward through Jacob Lawrence’s series. Other topics will include Italian futurism and fascism, American expansion westward through art, and French and Russian realist art depicting travails of the common folk.

This course fulfills elective requirements in the Humanities, the Social Sciences, or the Department of Political Science. The course cannot be used to satisfy Cardinal Core Requirements.

Medieval Women (WR)

HON 436-02 / HON 446-02 / ENGL 402-02
Professor Joseph Turner
MWF, 9:00 - 9:50 AM

This class focuses on women’s experiences in medieval western Europe by surveying texts written by and about women, including romances, saint’s lives, love poetry, and folk tales. Our materials will include biography of exceptional and socially elite women such as Eleanor of Aquitaine and Joan of Arc and also recent scholarly literature from a variety of disciplines on more everyday topics, such as women’s health, spirituality, and labor and marriage practices. These readings will allow us to explore key concerns such as the representation of gender and feminine sexualities, the conflicts between secular life and religious ideologies, and the far-reaching consequences of a culture in which women’s self-definition and creativity were often  circumscribed (a problem that continues to generate debate today). All readings will be available in English, and you will need no previous knowledge of medieval culture or literature to succeed in this course.

This course fulfills elective requirements in the Humanities, the Social Sciences, or the Department of English. The course cannot be used to satisfy Cardinal Core Requirements.

Psychology of Social Media (WR)

HON 446-05 / HON 456-05 / PSYC 414-02
Professor Cara Cashon
TTh, 4:00 - 5:15 PM

In this course, we will draw from different areas of psychology (e.g., cognitive science, social psychology, clinical psychology, and neuroscience) to examine social media use from a psychological perspective. We will explore questions related to how social media is used in people’s daily lives, the impact of social media use on well-being, and how social media use can positively and negatively impact lives. We will closely examine cognitive and neurophysiological biases in the human mind and uncover how social media may exploit those biases. Finally, we will look to the field of cognitive science to help us understand the roles of artificial intelligence(AI), computer vision, and natural language processing in social media. Special consideration will be paid to the ethics of using AI-driven social media platforms and posts. In particular, we will discuss the potential for AI-driven systems to produce biased output, spread negative stereotypes, and cause direct harm to members of marginalized groups. Students will also learn digital skills and have the opportunity to earn an industry micro-credential related to the course (e.g., from Google, IBM, Adobe, or Microsoft). No programming experience is necessary.

This course fulfills elective requirements in the Social Sciences or the Natural Sciences. The course cannot be used to satisfy Cardinal Core Requirements.