Spring 2009 Courses

HNRS A191 FRESHMAN HONORS TUTORIAL

Section 001: Freshman Honors Tutorial
CRN: 43226, Meets Tuesdays, 5:30pm-6:30 pm
Instructor: Steve Haycox and James Muller
Credits: 1.0
Registration is limited to students in the Forty-Ninth State Fellows Program or with permission by the instructor.

Offers freshman-level intensive reading, writing, and discussion relating to the content of another course with which it is associated; the associated course varies from term to term.  Students receive additional instruction in interpreting texts recognizing distinctions and explaining them in expository writing, and defending their opinions in class discussion.

HNRS 192 HONORS SEMINAR: ENDURING BOOKS

Section 001: Saving the World with Daniel Quinn's Ishmael
CRN: 43227, Meets Mondays and Wednesdays, 1:00pm-2:15pm, SMH 101
Instructor: Don Rearden
Credits: 3.0

Through Daniel Quinn's book Ishmael and various literary and media works inspired by the novel, explore mankind's role in nature, critically analyze what Quinn and others feel has gone wrong with civilization, and dare to utilize your own creative and intellectual talents to try and save to world.

HNRS 209 PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH

Section 001: Participatory Action Research
CRN: 47359, Days and Times to be determined
Instructor: Diane Erickson and Diane Hirshberg
Credits: 3.0

Participatory action research (PAR) is a faculty-student collaborative process of inquiry and action for change in response to organizational or community problems. Overview of the PAR process, plus examination of the democratizing and emancipatory power of PAR.  Student need to apply to be in this course.  Visit the website for more details.  

HNRS 292 HONORS SEMINAR IN SOCIAL SCIENCE

Section 001:  Lincoln and the Civil War
CRN: 43229, Meets Mondays and Wednesdays, 11:30am-12:45pm
Instructor: Steve Haycox and Jim Muller
Credits: 3.0

An investigation of American history and politics in the era of the American Civil War, with special attention to Lincoln's statesmanship and the problem of slavery.   

Section 002:  Energy and Society
CRN:  43230, Meets Mondays and Wednesdays, 1:00-2:15pm, in SSB 223
Instructor: Steve Colt
Credits: 3.0

A wide-ranging inquiry into energy and human society. What is energy and what forms does it take? How does energy flow through natural ecosystems and how have people tapped these flows throughout history? How do Alaskans use energy today? Are we "addicted to oil?" What are some realistic options for sustainable future energy use? Drawing on the collective knowledge of students, faculty, and guest professionals, this course will integrate perspectives from science, history, economics, and other disciplines to address these questions about one of today's greatest social challenges.

HNRS 310 COMMUNITY SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE

Section 001
CRN: 43231, Meets Tuesdays, 4:00pm-5:15pm, in SSB 223
Instructor: Diane Hirshberg
Credits: 3.0

This course includes guided volunteer service with a cultural organization or government agency.  Students will explore questions of service, community, and self and investigate such questions as: What is service? What experiences of community service are desirable? What is an authentic self?  What is a life worth living? 

HNRS 391 JUNIOR HONORS TUTORIAL

Section 001
CRN: 43232, Meets Tuesdays, 11:30pm-12:30pm
Instructor: Steve Haycox and Jim Muller
Credits: 1.0
Registration is limited to students in the Forty-Ninth State Fellows Program or with permission by the instructor.

Offers junior-level intensive reading, writing, and discussion relating to the content of another course with which it is associated.  Students receive additional instruction in interpreting texts recognizing distinctions and explaining them in expository writing, and defending their opinions in class discussion. Concurrent enrollment is required in History of Political Philosophy.

HNRS 392 HONORS THESIS SEMINAR

Section 001
CRN: 43233, Meets last Friday of every month from 9:00am-12:45pm
Jan. 30 in RH 211
Feb. 27 in ESH 204
Mar. 27 in RH 211
Apr. 24 in RH 211
Instructor:  Carol Jones
Credits: 1.0

This course is an in-depth application of discipline research skills to a particular problem in concert with development of understanding the research problems addressed and research methods used by different disciplines.

HNRS 499 Honors Thesis

Section 001
CRN:  43234
Instructor: TBA
Credits: 3.0

The focus of this course is to articulate a researchable idea or develop a creative idea to fruition as appropriate to the student's discipline.  Students design and undertake a method of information gathering or creative presentation or performance that sheds light on the articulated idea.  Finally, students report findings and draw valid conclusions based on new research or demonstrate these findings through creative presentation. 

Fall 2008 Courses

HNRS 191 FRESHMAN HONORS TUTORIAL
Concurrent enrollment is required in the associated course whose title is the same as the subtitle of HNRS A191. 
Offers freshman-level intensive reading, writing, and discussion relating to the content of another course with which it is associated; the associated course varies from term to term.  Students receive additional instruction in interpreting texts recognizing distinctions and explaining them in expository writing, and defending their opinions in class discussion.

Section 601: Churchill’s Great Contemporaries
Instructor: James Muller
Credits: 1.0
CRN: 71894, Meets Monday, 5:30pm-6:30pm, in ARR
Registration is limited to students in the Forty-Ninth State Fellows Program or with permission by the instructor.

HNRS 192 HONORS SEMINAR: ENDURING BOOKS

Section 601: Churchill’s Great Contemporaries
Instructor: James Muller
Credits: 3.0
CRN:  71895, Meets Tuesday, 4:00-6:45pm, in ARR

A close reading of Churchill's brief lives of leading statesmen of his time, written in the interwar years, with attention to his understanding of politics. 

Section 602:  Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Instructor: Dee Foster
Credits: 3.0
CRN: 71896, Meets Monday and Wednesday, 4:00pm-5:15pm, in SSB 253

Through a variety of narrative genres (novels, poetry, drama, shorter fiction, music lyrics and visual art), the course will explore the themes of madness as a key cultural symbol, cultural reactions to threats to order, disillusionment, illusion vs. reality, ideals of beauty and goodness, the artist and society, class conflicts, deviance, organized social systems, 1960s countercultures, the role of art and literature in political and social struggles, political dimensions of art, and the influence of race and gender on literary production and interpretation.

Section 603:  Cervantes' Don Quixote
Instructor: Francisco Miranda
Credits: 3.0
CRN: 71898, Meets Tuesday and Thursday, 4:00pm-5:15pm, SSB 253

Using the metaphor of the journey as a point of departure, the course will read Cervantes' masterpiece to initiate a general reflection on the complexity of reality and its impact on the individual self.  The course will focus on the personal self as it intersects different planes of rapidly changing reality and the cultural forces it confronts as it journeys through life searching for a haven in which to seek shelter from the chaos and from which to understand its social surroundings.   

Section 604:  Limits of Growth Revisited
Instructor: Mary O. Logan
Credits: 3.0
CRN: 71899, Meets Tuesday and Thursday, 10:00am - 11:15am, SSB223

This Honors seminar uses Limits to Growth: The 30 Year Update as a departure point exploring the problems of growth and the emerging science of sustainability.  In addition to Limits to Growth, students will discuss essays by Malthus, Catton, Tainter, Diamond, Daly, Hubbert, Hardin, Odum, Elgin, and others.  Issues of population, enviornment, energy, and culture will be investigated. 

HNRS 291 SOPHOMORE HONORS TUTORIAL

Section 601:  U.S. History I
Instructor: Steve Haycox
Credits: 1.0
CRN: 71900, Meets Tuesday, 5:30pm-6:30pm, ADM 144

Offers sophomore-level intensive reading, writing, and discussion relating to the content of another course with which it is associated; the associated course varies from term to term.  Students receive additional questions in expository writing, and using these skills in class discussion.
Registration is limited to students in the Forty-Ninth State Fellows Program or with permission by the instructor.

HNRS 292 HONORS SEMINAR IN SOCIAL SCIENCE

Section 601:  Gender, Culture, and Nature
Instructor: Claudia Lampman
Credits: 3.0
CRN: 71901, Meets Wednesday, 1:00pm-3:45pm, RH 220

This seminar will examine the concepts of gender and culture.  Topics will include researching sex and gender, the role of hormones, chromosomes, and evolution in gender, theories of gender identity development, gender differences in emotion, friendships and relationships, sex and gender in the media, and gender and sexuality. 

Section 602:  The Mind and its Place in Nature
Instructor: Tom Buller
Credits: 3.0
CRN: 71902, Meets Tuesday and Thursday, 1:00pm-2:25pm, in RH 112

This seminar will examine the concept of mind and its naturalistic implications. Topics will include evolution, culture and cognition, self-control and voluntary behavior, contemporary naturalistic accounts of mind, the role of reason and emotions, and the moral and legal implications of recent advances in neuroscience

HNRS 310 COMMUNITY SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE

Section 601
Instructor: Dennis McMillian
Credits: 3.0
CRN: 71903, Meets Monday, 5:30 pm-6:45pm, AHS 147

This course includes guided volunteer service with a cultural organization or government agency.  Students will explore questions of service, community, and self and investigate such questions as: What is service? What experiences of community service are desirable? What is an authentic self?  What is a life worth living? 

HNRS 392 HONORS THESIS SEMINAR

Section 601
Instructor: John Kennish
Credits: 1.0
CRN: 71904, Meets first Friday of every month (Sept. 5, Oct. 3, Nov. 7, Dec. 5) from 9:00am-12:45pm in RH 313

This course is an in-depth application of discipline research skills to a particular problem in concert with development of understanding the research problems addressed and research methods used by different disciplines.

HNRS 490 SENIOR HONORS SEMINAR

Section 601:  Global Warming, Energy, and the Environment
Instructor: George Geistauts
Credits: 6.0 (3.0 Fall and 3.0 Spring)
CRN: 77384, Meets Thursday, 5:30pm - 8:15pm, RH 313

A two-semester long, six credit course focusing on what is probably the defining global issue of our times. Taught in a small class seminar format with emphasis on research-based dialogue between students, faculty and guests.

HNRS 495 Honors Internship

Section 601
Instructor: TBA
Credits: 1.0-6.0
CRN: 77385

Applying interdisciplinary knowledge and skills to a student internship project, through a variety of governmental and private settings both within and outside of Alaska.

HNRS 499 Honors Thesis

Section 601
Instructor: TBA
Credits: 3.0
CRN: 71912

The focus of this course is to articulate a researchable idea or develop a creative idea to fruition as appropriate to the student's discipline.  Students design and undertake a method of information gathering or creative presentation or performance that sheds light on the articulated idea.  Finally, students report findings and draw valid conclusions based on new research or demonstrate these findings through creative presentation.

Spring 2008 Courses

HNRS 191 FRESHMAN HONORS TUTORIAL

Section 001: Freshman Honors Tutorial
CRN: 31761, Meets Wednesday, 7:00pm-8:00 pm, in SSB 253 
Instructor: Will Jacobs
Credits: 1.0
Registration is limited to students in the Forty-Ninth State Fellows Program or with permission by the instructor.

Offers freshman-level intensive reading, writing, and discussion relating to the content of another course with which it is associated; the associated course varies from term to term.  Students receive additional instruction in interpreting texts recognizing distinctions and explaining them in expository writing, and defending their opinions in class discussion.

HNRS 192 HONORS SEMINAR: ENDURING BOOKS

Section 001: Cervante's Don Quixote
CRN: 31762, Meets Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4:00pm-5:15pm
Instructor: Francisco Miranda
Credits: 3.0

Using the metaphor of the journey as a point of departure, the course will read Cervantes' masterpiece to initiate a general reflection on the complexity of reality and its impact on the individual self.  The course will focus on the personal self as it intersects different planes of rapidly changing reality and the cultural forces it confronts as it journeys through life searching for a haven in which to seek shelter from the chaos and from which to understand its social surroundings. 

HNRS 291 SOPHOMORE HONORS TUTORIAL 

Section 001: Sophomore Honors Tutorial
CRN: 31763, Meets Tuesdays, 5:30pm-6:30 pm, in SSB 224 
Instructor: Steve Haycox and Jim Muller
Credits: 1.0
Registration is limited to students in the Forty-Ninth State Fellows Program or with permission by the instructor.

Offers sophomore-level intensive reading, writing, and discussion relating to the content of another course with which it is associated; the associated course varies from term to term.  Students receive additional instruction in interpreting texts recognizing distinctions and explaining them in expository writing, and defending their opinions in class discussion. Concurrent enrollment is required in HNRS 292: Lincoln and the Civil War. 

HNRS 292 HONORS SEMINAR IN SOCIAL SCIENCE

Section 001:  Lincoln and the Civil War
CRN: 31764, Meets Mondays and Wednesdays, 11:30am-12:45pm, in SSB 223
Instructor: Steve Haycox and Jim Muller
Credits: 3.0

An investigation of American history and politics in the era of the American Civil War, with special attention to Lincoln's statesmanship and the problem of slavery.   

Section 002:  Man, Woman: Investigating Gender Differences
Meets Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4:00-5:15pm
Instructor: Dee Foster
Credits: 3.0

This course is an introduction to social science research methods in the study of gender and an examination of major theories on the development of gender identity, including both biological and social approaches.  You will study patterns of sex differences and similarities in a number of important areas, including intelligence and cognitive abilities, emotion and mental health, relationships and sexuality, and school and work.  The course is a blend of reading, discussion, examinations, and practice designing research projects on the topic of gender differences. 

HNRS 310 COMMUNITY SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE

Section 601
CRN: 31766, Meets Mondays, 2:15pm-3:45pm, in PSB 210
Instructor: Jane Emerman
Credits: 3.0

This course includes guided volunteer service with a cultural organization or government agency.  Students will explore questions of service, community, and self and investigate such questions as: What is service? What experiences of community service are desirable? What is an authentic self?  What is a life worth living? 

HNRS 391 JUNIOR HONORS TUTORIAL

Section 001
Meets Thursdays, 5:30pm-6:30pm
Instructor: Steve Haycox and Jim Muller
Credits: 1.0
Registration is limited to students in the Forty-Ninth State Fellows Program or with permission by the instructor.

Offers junior-level intensive reading, writing, and discussion relating to the content of another course with which it is associated.  Students receive additional instruction in interpreting texts recognizing distinctions and explaining them in expository writing, and defending their opinions in class discussion. Concurrent enrollment is required in History of Political Philosophy.

HNRS 392 HONORS THESIS SEMINAR

Section 601
Meets last Friday of every month (Jan. 25, Feb. 29, Mar. 28, Apr. 25) from 9:00am-12:45pm
Instructor: TBA
Credits: 1.0

This course is an in-depth application of discipline research skills to a particular problem in concert with development of understanding the research problems addressed and research methods used by different disciplines.

HNRS 499 Honors Thesis

Section 601
Instructor: TBA
Credits: 3.0

The focus of this course is to articulate a researchable idea or develop a creative idea to fruition as appropriate to the student's discipline.  Students design and undertake a method of information gathering or creative presentation or performance that sheds light on the articulated idea.  Finally, students report findings and draw valid conclusions based on new research or demonstrate these findings through creative presentation. 

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Julie Decker
"I think my job is to create a spark for the student - to offer some bit of information, some idea, some content that intrigues them.  The biggest challenge and the biggest thrill is to look for and present the things that might spark interest - the kind of interest that prompts a student to make that idea their own and to explore it and shape it willingly and enthusiastically.”  

- Julie Decker, University Honors College Faculty