Honors Curriculum

Below are brief course descriptions for the Winter Intersession and Winter 2010 University Honors (UH) classes.  Refer to WINGS Express via the WINGS portal for a complete listing of Honors courses, including days, times, and locations.

WINTER 2010 INTERSESSION

UH 202-96 Decision Making (J. Morrisette)

Decision making is an integral part of our daily lives, ranging from the relatively simple--shall I have Coke or coffee?--to the complex and seemingly insoluble--how can we reduce the rate of violent crime in the U.S.? Regardless of one's area of interest or expertise, difficult decisions must be made. This course provides an introduction to the concepts of decision theory, systems analysis, and rational analytic techniques of decision making, as well as an exploration of non-rational theory and processes. Students will analyze the process and the assumptions that underlie the process from several viewpoints and disciplines: rationality, incrementalism, analytical reasoning, and complexity and chaos. This is a Web-only class.

WINTER 2010

UH 201-01 Visual Rhetoric & Web Design (Blakelock)

This course will teach the basics of visual design and how it combines with text to communicate ideas shared in Web-based environments.  Students will work with Photoshop and Dreamweaver to design original Web pages and will focus on using CSS to exert style control and address browser presentation issues.  Attention to conciseness and appropriateness of text will complement the focus on graphic design and interface relationships.

UH 202-01 Environmental and Social Sustainability in Appalachia (Twill)

This course will integrate information gathered by faculty and students on economic, social, and environmental issues in Appalachia with a week-long service learning trip to Southeastern Ohio during Spring Break 2010.  Students will gain an appreciation for a regional culture facing multiple challenges and will work with community partners in Appalachia on projects of mutual interest.  This class is cross-listed with UH 203.  Contact Dr. Sarah Twill for specific details.

UH 203-01 Environmental and Social Sustainability in Appalachia (Brown)

This course will integrate information gathered by faculty and students on economic, social, and environmental issues in Appalachia with a week-long service learning trip to Southeastern Ohio during Spring Break 2010.  Students will gain an appreciation for a regional culture facing multiple challenges and will work with community partners in Appalachia on projects of mutual interest.  This class is cross-listed with UH 202.  Contact Mr. Hunt Brown for specific details.

UH 202-90 Decision Making (J. Morrisette)

Decision making is an integral part of our daily lives, ranging from the relatively simple--shall I have Coke or coffee?--to the complex and seemingly insoluble--how can we reduce the rate of violent crime in the U.S.? Regardless of one's area of interest or expertise, difficult decisions must be made. This course provides an introduction to the concepts of decision theory, systems analysis, and rational analytic techniques of decision making, as well as an exploration of non-rational theory and processes. Students will analyze the process and the assumptions that underlie the process from several viewpoints and disciplines: rationality, incrementalism, analytical reasoning, and complexity and chaos. This is a Web-only class.

UH 400-01 Semiotics of Communication (Gaines)

Semiotics is the study of how meanings are represented and interpreted.  This course will examine this concept, originally introduced by early philosophers like Aristotle and Hippocrates, and how it has recently emerged globally as an important interdisciplinary academic specialization relevant to science, culture, and communication in contemporary society.

UH 400-02 The Great Depression (Osborne)

The recent global economic turmoil has brought much comparison, some valid and some not, to the greatest economic catastrophe of the 20th Century, the Great Depression.  The Depression changed world history and left the U.S. in particular a permanently transformed country.  This course will explore such questions as why the Depression happened, what our politicians tried to do about it, why they failed so miserably, its impact around the world, why fascism failed to take hold in the U.S. (or did it?) while flourishing in Europe, and the nature of American society after it was over.  The course is about economics, but only partly so; it is also a study in history, politics, and the relation between the state and the individual.

UH 400-03 China's Re-emergence (Luehrmann)

This course will focus on the meaning of China’s re-emergence as a powerful country on the world stage, including, but not limited to, China’s growing economic, cultural, and political clout.  Students will explore the connections between China’s domestic transformations, its foreign policy, and the broader contexts in which this is taking place, paying special attention to China-U.S. relations.  This course will provide students the foundations to understand where China stands today and the ways in which its re-emergence is already impacting nearly every aspect of human activity, from pop culture and the global recession to nuclear non-proliferation, carbon emissions, and beyond.  (No prior study of China or Chinese politics is necessary to be successful in this course.  Students who have already taken PLS 460-01 should not register for this class.) 

UH 400-04 China's Art Revolution (L. Morrisette)

Today Chinese art is exploding on the contemporary art market, and Chinese artists are making significant contributions toward a new globalized milieu in the arts. This class will examine the work of Chinese artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, exploring artist’s responses to social and political changes that shaped a modern China.