University Honors 200-Level Courses
Click on the links below to see descriptions for the University Honors courses offered for Fall 2007.
UH 257: TR 12:40-1:55
Special Topics in the Arts and Humanities: Civil War in Modern Memory
Dr. Paul Ashdown (Journalism/Electronic Media)
Gen. Ed. Arts and Humanities & WC
An estimated 50,000 books and pamphlets about the Civil War were published between 1865 and 1995, and the last decade has seen an even more astonishing production of Civil War literature. Few conflicts in world history have been so thoroughly vetted by journalists, historians, novelists and filmmakers. This course examines the meaning and legacy of the war as a cultural phenomenon. We will explore ways the war has been shaped and remembered and why it continues to trouble our conscience.
UH 257: TR 2:10-3:25
Special Topics in the Arts and Humanities: Colonial and Post-Colonial Literature and Film
Dr. Urmila Seshagiri (English)
Gen. Ed. Arts and Humanities & WC
At the dawn of the twentieth century, the British Empire ruled over vast portions of the globe. This seminar invites students to interrogate the multiple, irreconcilable consequences of British imperialism by looking at literature and film inspired by a century of colonization and decolonization. We will begin with the ur-text of twentieth-century colonialism, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, and end with contemporary narratives about post-coloniality. How did Great Britain justify its hold over non-Western peoples? How do formerly colonized nations negotiate the legacy of British rule? And how does literature shed light on the machinery of imperialism and the writing of history?
UH 267: TR 3:40-4:55
Special Topics in the Social Sciences: Can Markets Save the Environment?
Dr. William Park (Agricultural Economics)
Gen. Ed. Social Sciences & WC
Market-oriented or incentive-based policy approaches can often achieve environmental goals more cost effectively than inflexible regulatory policy approaches. This seminar will explore the basic logic of these innovative approaches and their practical application in addressing a variety of resource conservation and environmental quality problems. Emphasis will be placed upon our experience with the Acid Rain Allowance Trading Program in the U.S. since 1990 and the potential for using a market trading approach to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions. However, application of these approaches to water pollution, water resource scarcity, ocean fisheries depletion, endangered species protection and waste management/recycling will also be addressed. The resource and environmental issues addressed will range from local to global in terms of scale and communities affected.
UH 277: TR 9:40-10:55
Special Topics in Cultures and Civilizations: Theory and Representation of the Holocaust: Victims and Survivors
Dr. Mark Luprecht (English)
Gen. Ed. Cultures and Civilizations & WC
Following an examination of arguments concerning the uniqueness of the Holocaust in World War Two Europe, several theories concerning concentration camp survival will be discussed. We will then read several fictional accounts of the Holocaust, written both by actual survivors and by non-participants from various European countries. Five European films will be viewed, and student-teams will analyze them along the theoretical lines established early in the semester. Some of the questions to be addressed are: to what extent do the fictional accounts reflect theories concerning the Holocaust generally and concerning survival specifically?; does nationality seem to matter in representing the Holocaust?; how does human “culture” deal with inhumanity on a massive scale?
