UH Courses

Designed for first-year Chancellor’s Honors students:

UH 257 Sexual Violence in Western Culture (Arts & Humanities)
Section 004, 3 credits
2:10PM-3:25PM TR
Location Melrose F301
Barrow, Robin

Sexual violence is a tacit element of our cultural heritage. It occurs in music, literature, and the visual arts in almost all ears and cultures. Representations of sexual violence can reflect social and political realities, and they can communicate psychological or symbolic themes. By foregrounding stories of physical and emotional abuse in history, literature, film and art, we will interrogate cultural attitudes about victims, perpetrators, sex, violence, and the individual. Requirements include two short papers, an annotated bibliography, weekly Blackboard posts, and a group service learning project. Professor Barrow received her doctorate in English from the University of Iowa and is a lecturer in the Department of English.

UH 257 Contemporary Women’s Spirituality (Arts & Humanities)
Section 005, 3 Credits
11:10AM-12:25AM TR
Location Melrose E308
Mendola, Annette

This course will explore the contribution women’s experiences make to women’s spirituality, and women’s spirituality makes to American communities. While we will begin with a look a historical perspectives, the focus will be on contemporary women. Professor Mendola received her doctorate in philosophy from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and is a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy.

UH 257 The City as Theater (Arts & Humanities)
Section 006, 3 Credits
3:40PM-4:55PM TR
Location Melrose F301
van den Berg, Klaus

This course offers an interdisciplinary study of the relationship between theatre and its urban context. Throughout history cities have been conceived as metaphors of civic theatre, sites for social and political drama, and most recently, as critical texts for understanding cultural history. Similarly, theatre buildings are often integrated into cities contributing to the social, political and aesthetic experience of performance. Students will study how a variety of performance venues—traditional theatres, cultural centers, concert halls, memorial sites, hotel complexes, industrial sites, and museums influence the shape of performance and perception of spectators. Professor van den Berg received his doctorate from Indiana University, Bloomington, and is a member of the faculty in the Department of Theatre.

UH 257 Thoughts/Values in Modern America (Arts & Humanities)
Section 008, 3 Credits
8:10AM-9:25AM TR
Location Melrose F301
Wheeler, William

This seminar will examine and analyze the historical background of the current debate in the United States between “liberals” and “conservatives” (placed in quotation marks because these titles gradually have been stripped of almost all worthwhile meanings) over the foundations that underlie modern thought, “truth,” and values. Particular attention will be paid to the emergence of relativism and subjectivity in such diverse fields as law, politics, economics, sociology, religion, history, architecture, art, etc.

UH 257 Literary Venice (Arts & Humanities)
Section 011, 3 Credits
12:40PM-1:55PM TR
Location Melrose E308
Schoenbach, Alisa

This course takes as its subject one of the world’s most beautiful and inspiring locations and attempts to understand its extraordinary symbolic power as well as its political legacy by examining a variety of literary representations and homages. We’ll begin with the historical origins of the Venetian empire, reading Shakespeare’s “Othello” and considering Venice’s early role as a crossroads of East and West. From there we will jump to the end of the nineteenth century to consider Venice’s new symbolic incarnation in modernist literature. We will read Ruskin’s The Stones of Venice, Henry James’s The Wings of the Dove, Thomas Mann’s “Death in Venice,” selections from Marcel Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past, and poetry by Lord Byron, Ezra Pound and F.T. Marinetti. We will also consider representations of Venice in visual arts and view films such as Visconti’s “Death in Venice,” David Lean’s “Summertime,” and Roger Vadim’s “No Sun in Venice.’” Along with several short response papers and homework assignments, students will write a research paper of 10-12 pages, and over the course of the semester, each student will be responsible for a brief (5-minute) presentation on a topic of cultural/historical relevance to the class. These presentations are intended to aid our ongoing discussion of the historical and cultural contexts. Professor Schoenbach received her doctorate in English from the University of Virginia and is a member of the faculty in the Department of English.

UH 267 Science and Revolution (Social Sciences)
Section 006, 3 Credits
9:05AM-9:55AM MWF
Location Melrose F301
Kovac, Jeffery

This course will explore two related questions: (1) how does change in science occur? and (2) How do changes in science affect the broader society? After reading Thomas Kuhn’s classic book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, we will study several important incidents in the history of science: the so-called scientific revolution, the so-called chemical revolution, Darwin and the theory of evolution and, if time permits, the origins of 20th century science (relativity and quantum mechanics). In each case we will try to understand the important changes in the conceptual framework and practice of science as well as the influences of broader society and science and the influences of science on society. The course will be conducted primarily as a seminar with reading, discussion and occasional lectures to provide the important scientific background. An extensive background in science is not required, just a willingness to think about scientific, historical and philosophical questions. Professor Kovac received his doctorate in chemistry from Yale University and is a member of the faculty in the Department of Chemistry.

UH 267 The Civil War in American Culture (Social Sciences)
Section 007, 3 Credits
9:40AM-10:55AM TR
Location Melrose F301
Ashdown, Paul

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 267 Film Noir and American Society (Social Sciences)
Section 008, 3 Credits
11:10AM-12:25PM TR
Location Melrose E408
Frey, R. Scott

This course examines the social origins, distinguished elements, underlying values, and major auteurs of the American film noir genre. Film noir (meaning literally “black film” and defined be a distinct low-key black and white visual style, narrative and thematic conventions, character types, and mood) is a type of film that first made its appearance in the United States in the early 1940s and thrived during the 1950s. It is typically described as a film with a gritty and bleak, urban setting that deals with the dark underside of American society. Its themes of tragedy and terror, alienation, pessimism, despair, loneliness, helplessness, doom, tragic fatalism, cynicism, and paranoia and entrapment have been linked to the trauma of WWII and postwar malaise and cold War/atom bomb anxiety. Although the classic period of film noir is usually dated as the period from 1941 to 1959, film noir has continued to appear in various guises in the United States and elsewhere.

UH 267 Restorative Justice: Making Peace with Criminals (Social Sciences)
Section 009, 3 Credits
12:40PM-1:55PM TR
Location Melrose F301
Presser, Lois

This course explores an international perspective on crime known as restorative justice. Restorative justice focuses attention on the harms surrounding crimes and other injustices.

UH 277 Reconquista & Convivencia: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism in Medieval Iberia (Cultures & Civilizations)
Section 002, 3 Credits
12:40PM-1:55PM TR
Location Melrose F401
Gomez, Miguel

This course is designed as an introduction to the fascinating world of Medieval Iberia, and the major historical issues of the period (the eighth through the fifteenth centuries). We will approach the issue on a broad front, studying primary historical documents, art, architecture and literature from the period, as well as the ways in which historians have portrayed the people and events of the past. Particular attention will be focused on the issue of religious pluralism and the world of the so-called convivencia, in which Christians, Muslims and Jews often co-existed peacefully, but sometimes clashed with spectacular violence. An understanding of this land of “conflict and coexistence” not only illuminates the complexity and texture of the medieval world, but also provides a broader perspective for interpreting the issues of our own day. The contemporary focus on violence and discord between the Islamic and Western culture has frequently been described as a “clash of civilizations”, as if the human societies of the Mediterranean world existed as distinct binaries. Studying the multifaceted nature of the Spanish Middle Ages helps to dispel the monolithic interpretation of European history and culture, and to remind us that human societies share a common past, often overlooked in today’s world.

Designed for all Chancellor’s Honors students:

UH 267 Service Learning (Social Science)
Section 010, 3 Credits
9:40AM-10:55AM TR
Location Melrose E308
Kronick, Robert

Your degree is not enough. The classroom can only offer you one slice of the knowledge you need to succeed. This class will immerse you in a local community to provide you with a new way of learning through service. Success in any field requires not only knowledge of your discipline but skill in taking initiative and fostering interconnectedness with peers and the community. This class builds specifically on this basis by emphasizing the mutual benefits of service for both the community and the students. Components of this course will include weekly journals service activities, interdisciplinary discussions and speakers, and creative, self-designed projects.

UH 357 Computing in Society: Use and Misuse
Section 001, 3 Credits
11:10AM-12:25PM TR
Location Melrose F401
Booth, Heather

Survey and analysis of the impact of computers and technology on society. No prior computer/computing experience needed; course will provide an overview of the computer science concepts needed to understand everyday computer applications (e.g. Mapquest, Google, spam) and analyze social issues raised by computing (e.g. electronic voting, Wikipedia vs. truth, online privacy, and technological unemployment). Professor Booth received her doctorate from Princeton University in computer science and is a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics.