University Honors Program

Course Descriptions
Spring 2011

LBST 1105-H92 Arts and Society (CRN 22869)

Julie Hicks
Friday 9:30a – 12:15p
What are the connections between culture and art? How does art represent our culture? What better way is there
to explore this concept than step into our culture and explore art? The emphasis of this class is on modern and
contemporary art. We will spend much of our class time out of the classroom and in galleries that Charlotte has to
offer - The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, the Mint Museum, the McColl Center for Visual Arts, the Light Factory
and NoDa. Written responses to art venues are required for the art journal as well as a final reflective essay.

LBST 2101-H96 War, Peace, Justice, (W) (CRN 23856)

William Gay
Tuesday/Thursday 3:30p – 4:45p
All sections of this course explore a major aspect of western culture. Particular attention is given to an examination
of the constructed nature of the present through a close examination of the past and the ways that selected
institutions, ideas, or practices change over time and spread in human society, producing both continuity and
novelty. The honors section of this course will focus on the conceptual and historical aspects of violence, terrorism,
war, non violence, justice and the economic motivations and results, both intended and unintended, associated with
these phenomena. This course is interdisciplinary, exploratory, and participatory. As an instructor I believe that as
individuals, especially as citizens in the reigning superpower, each of us should examine and confront the related
issues of war, peace, and justice. Too often the individual approaches these issues quite superficially or avoids their
examination as too abstract or futile. As your instructor, I will attempt to steer you away from these pitfalls by
confronting some of the main questions, reflecting on data that documents changing realities and possible
consequences of the global war system, and exploring ideas on alternative approaches to peace and justice. By
drawing on the fields of philosophy, sociology, history, and political science the course is interdisciplinary. By
focusing more on the process by which we understand than on the search for a "correct answer," the course is
exploratory. Finally, by emphasizing individual involvement in the examination of these issues, the course is
participatory. Prerequisite: English 1102 or English 1103.

LBST 2102-H92 Global Connections (XW) (CRN 22900)

Jonathan Perry
Wednesday 6:30p – 8:45p
This course is designed to explore the political and economic linkages between the wealthy developed nations and
the poorer two thirds of the world defined as developing nations. In short, we will learn what the term
“GLOBALIZATION” means in all its various permutations! As an interdisciplinary course, we will study current thought
in the areas of economics, political science, philosophy, and sociology. Students in the course will be asked to
consider issues such as economic justice, economic development theory, the political use of food and resources,
basic economics, and the role of international institutions in the world. Prerequisite: English 1102 or English 1103.

LBST 2102-H93 Global Connections (XW) (CRN 22902)

Robert Arnold
Tuesday/Thursday 9:30a – 10:45a
In this course, we will examine the cultures of both Blacks and Whites in Sub-Saharan Africa, with an eye towards
how they have been affected by the forces of globalization. We will accomplish this mainly through the study of
several novels, memoirs and films produced by these cultures. In particular, we will focus on how the authors and
directors of these works try to make sense of their relationships and positions relative to each other. The issues of
identity, race, gender, equality, freedom, and education are a few that are sure to arise. By the end of this course,
you will have developed an understanding of the various aspects of globalization and how they manifest themselves
in the works—and, by extension, the cultures—we have studied.
University Honors Program
Course Descriptions
Spring 2011

LSBT 2213-H95 Science, Technology, & Society (CRN 22925)

Jason Flores
Tuesday/Thursday 12:30p – 1:45p
This course will focus on the discussion and understanding of current scientific topics in various media forms to help
students better engage in the science world around them. We will hold classroom discussions and engage in class
activities using the web, as well as print and visual media. The major theme of the course will be Science vs.
Pseudoscience.

HONR 2701-H01 Enrichment Seminar (CRN 23009)

Julie Hicks
TBA
Students attend a variety of events from the visual arts and performing arts as well as special lectures. Through direct
contact, this course is intended to introduce students to events, both contemporary and traditional, to which they
would not otherwise be exposed. May be repeated for credit as topics and course work may vary. Offered on a
Pass/No Credit basis. Must have permission of instructor in order to register.

HONR 2750-H01 Community Service (CRN 23010)

Robert Arnold
Monday 9:30a – 10:45a
The purpose of this course is to investigate and demonstrate how individuals can make a difference in the human
condition. Students enrolled attend weekly seminar meetings. Forty hours of community service are required. The
student will select a preferred service experience. We will read, reflect and write about our experiences. Our
emphasis will be the impact of volunteerism on human rights.

HONR2750-H02 Community Service (CRN 23011)

Robert Arnold
Friday 9:30a – 10:45a
The purpose of this course is to investigate and demonstrate how individuals can make a difference in the human
condition. Students enrolled attend weekly seminar meetings. Forty hours of community service are required. The
student will select a preferred service experience. We will read, reflect and write about our experiences. Our
emphasis will be the impact of volunteerism on human rights.

HONR3700-H01 New Media for Communications (CRN 23012)

Scott Phillipson
Monday/Wednesday 9:30a – 10:45a
New Media in Communications - This course will analyze changing communication trends in new media.  Students
will do research and projects in web and digital media. 

HONR3700-H02 Radical American Women (CRN 23013)

Carol Gay
Tuesday/Thursday 2:00p – 3:15p
This course will explore, in as much depth as possible, the lives and works of specific American women who
dedicated their lives to creating positive social change to help build a more democratic America. Students will study
the historical origin and meaning of women’s often unrecognized contributions to America’s pluralistic society.
The objective of the course is to place the life and work of each woman studied in a social-historical context.
American life has progressed, in a chronological sense, from a white, male-dominated society (given early restrictions
on land ownership, the right to vote, etc.) to a society that proposes to include everyone -- with talent, character and
motivation as relevant criteria for leadership and prominence. This progression, however, (which is still incomplete)
University Honors Program
Course Descriptions
Spring 2011

has required significant sacrifice by women from all walks of American life. Women have often been at the forefront
of positive change in the society. This course will analyze that contribution and place it in an historical context.

HONR3700 H03 Federalism, Free Markets, & Concentrated Power (CRN 23041)
Jonathan Perry
Monday 6:30p – 8:45p
If there is anything unique about the American contribution to the fields of political science and economics, it may lay
in the way that American institutions control and direct the flow of power. In this course, students will learn the
basics of the early days of both economic and political theory in the American context, in the forms of the writings of
the American founders and the early economists. The class will read about how both classical economists and
federalists expected the abstract ideas of both systems of thought would deal and alleviate a common problem – the
effect of concentrated power. Case studies will include examples from economic, political, and legal problems that
the earliest writers on the subject both encountered and merely entertained. The course will then leap ahead to the
current day and look at how these early problems and solutions have matured over the evolution of the Republic,
and in what context they reappear over two hundred years later. We will look at how modern federalism and the
free market operate today in their common aims of breaking down concentrated power. In addition to the
traditional proponents of these theories, we will look at their opposing schools of thought. The student will be asked
to both assess how America has dealt with issues of concentrated power and think about how we may shape our
institutions better in the future as well.

HONR3700-H04 Wastelands, Borderlands, Homelands (CRN 23860)

Betsy West
Friday 9:30a – 12:15p
 As human beings we take our place in a continuum composed of preexisting systems, infrastructure and landscapes
both mythopoetic and real. Understanding our place within these systems is essential, allowing us to more readily
see ourselves in context. Only by inserting ourselves appropriately and creatively into context can we imbue our
work, whatever that may be, with greater resonance and meaning. The objective of this course is to broadly engage
issues of site and landscape and to come to an understanding of the connections between these issues. Students will
engage physical, cultural, social, political, economic, and ethical issues of site and landscape and will be asked to
make links between disparate issues. This will be an act of discovery. The scale of inquiry will range from the intimate
(the body as landscape - piercing, tattooing, and otherwise marking it as territory) to the global (the daily creation
and destruction of site and landscape caused by weather, war, technology, etc.) to the infinite (ancient alien
visitations [?], lunar landings, virtual landscapes). You’ll be expected to relate what we study in this class to issues in
your discipline, be that theater, music, psychiatry, literature, art, architecture, etc. Work engaged in the class will
generally be approached visually rather than through writing. Though there will be readings/films/etc. assigned each
week, there will be no tests or papers. The articles you read and images you generate will explore the ironies,
beauties, horrors, and mysteries of site and landscape, and assignments will encourage you to record and critique
similar issues. Through this exposure you will learn to be more keen observers and critics of your everyday world, a
world you encounter most significantly and most frequently on a visual plane.

HONR3702-H01 World Thru Film (CRN 23043)

Julie Hicks
The purpose of this course is quite simple: to explore various cultures through film, India, Iran, Israel, even Igloolik
offer mesmerizing films that pull us into cultures foreign and mysterious. The films of China explore the explosion of
modernity / technology as it clashes with ancient traditions and values. Films from the Middle East offer glimpses of
women’s lives, both privileged and desperate, as well as values and customs that seem quite foreign. Eastern
European films often show us a world out of sync, perhaps even out of control. And French films always have a
unique perspective of modern life. The films chosen for this course are intelligent and worthy of discussion and
exploration. Stark and shocking, poignant, perplexing, compelling, and at times, humorous, these films are, above all,
University Honors Program
Course Descriptions
Spring 2011

thought-provoking. This course is an invitation to peek into the world of foreign films. With this peek will come a
greater understanding of other cultures, other worlds, far from ours. Certainly we cannot hope to fully understand a
culture from a film, but film exposes relevant social issues that can broaden our perspective of the world in general.
Hopefully, we will also come away with an enlightened sense of the many perspectives that make up the world of
film – multiple visions beyond the Hollywood hype. And finally, these films offer not only a journey to places far
away, but also an inner journey to a greater understanding of ourselves and our place in this world.

HONR3790-H01 Senior Project (CRN 23045)

Connie Rothwell
In this course, we will explore the options for the Senior Project for graduation with Honors Distinction. We will also
explore life after college, and what one needs to do to prepare for the transition to graduate school or to
employment. Our main objective is to complete the application for candidacy to graduate with honors and the
project proposal. We will meet once a week. The course is graded on a Pass/NoCredit basis

HONR3790-H02 Senior Project (CRN 23046)

Julie Hicks
Friday 12:30p – 1:45p
To graduate with University Honors Program Distinction, this course must be completed with the grade of “A.” You
will continue and complete the work you proposed in your application for candidacy under the auspices of your
thesis director and readers.

HONR3790 H03 Senior Project (CRN 26134)

Connie Rothwell
Monday 5:00p – 6:15p
To graduate with University Honors Program Distinction, this course must be completed with the grade of “A.” You
will continue and complete the work you proposed in your application for candidacy under the auspices of your
thesis director and readers.