Fall 2016 Honors Courses
Only for First-Year Honors Students:
Instructor: Honors College Director
Course: Honors Education: History, Theory, & Practice (TCPY 110X)
Description: A course for all incoming first-semester students in The Honors College. Students will be
introduced to university life, the roles of students and professors in the University, and working
effectively in small groups to promote each other's learning. All first-semester honors students are
strongly encouraged to enroll. (1 credit, 8-weeks session 1)
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Department: Anthropology
College/School: College of Arts and Sciences
Instructor: Walter Little
Course: Global Latin American Cities (TANT 272)
Description: What are contemporary cities and how do we understand them in the contexts of
globalization and transnationalism? How do anthropologists study such cities? In order to address these
basic questions, this course is organized around a set of films and important theoretical concepts that
have been debated in anthropology, urban studies, geography, sociology and other disciplines. Being an
anthropology class, however, it will emphasize an anthropological perspective. The ethnographic
readings and films presented in the class will primarily focus on Latin American topics. While this will
give the class ethnographic focus, we will think about cities, urban life, and cosmopolitanisms from
outside of Latin America. The films and readings on urban Latin America will serve as bases for crosscultural analysis. It is expected that students taking this course will have already taken a course in
anthropology, sociology, political science or geography. Prerequisite(s): permission of instructor
General Education: Social Sciences; International Perspectives
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Department: Art
College/School: College of Arts & Sciences
Instructor: Sarah Cohen
Course: Art of the Enlightenment (TARH 252)
Description: This course examines art produced in Europe during the eighteenth century, a period of
rich cultural and intellectual exchange known as the “Enlightenment.” We explore the original context,
use, and significance of the art, as well as the association between artmaking and other forms of cultural
inquiry and expression during this era of profound societal change. The art that we examine includes
painting, sculpture, graphics, and decorative arts, and we explore a number of key trends that
developed in France and England through a process of influence, exchange and rivalry between these
two European powers. These trends include the playful, sensual style known as the Rococo; complex
treatments of gender; the fascination with nature and science; and encounters both economic and
cultural with people of other parts of the world, notably China, Japan, and Africa.
General Education: Arts; International Perspectives
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Department: Atmospheric Sciences
College/School: College of Arts & Sciences
Instructor: Andrea Lang
Course: Weather and Climate Issues for the 21st Century (TATM 110)
You can't avoid it; everyone experiences the weather and climate in their daily lives! This course will
examine the physics that explains weather and climate variability as well as climate change. Topics of
discussion will include the nature of weather systems (e.g., fronts and cyclones, hurricanes, tornadoes
and thunderstorms, lightning, rain processes, etc.), observations and theory of climate variability and
change (including introduction to the climate system, water and energy cycles, the greenhouse effect
and anthropogenic climate change) as well as key environmental issues (e.g., pollution, ozone hole,
etc.). The science will inform classroom discussions and projects focused on 21st century issues related
to weather and climate.
General Education: Natural Science
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Department: Biological Sciences
College/School: College of Arts and Sciences
Instructor: Richard Zitomer
Course: Genomics and Biotechnology (TBIO 176)
Description: The sequencing of the genomes of a large number of organisms, from bacteria to human,
has provided enormous insights into a wide range of human endeavors. Almost no aspect of human
knowledge has been untouched by the information being compiled. The information gathered has also
driven the development of new technologies designed to explore and exploit the information gathered.
The goal of this course will be to familiarize students with the nature of the information that can be
gathered from genomics and the benefits derived from the new biotechnologies. Also, simple research
problems will be assigned to introduce students to the web based resources and programs used to
analyze genomic data.
General Education: Natural Science, Challenges for the 21st Century
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Department: Chemistry
College/School: College of Arts and Sciences
Instructor: Priyantha Sugathapala
Course: Advanced General Chemistry (TCHM 130)
Description: Energy, enthalpy, thermochemistry, quantum mechanics and atomic theory, general
concepts of bonding, covalent bonding and orbitals, gases, liquids, and solids. Only one of ACHM 120
and TCHM 130 may be taken for credit.
Prerequisites: One year of high school chemistry; having taken AP chemistry in high school will be
helpful, but is not required.
General Education: Natural Science
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Department: Criminal Justice
College/School: School of Criminal Justice
Instructor: Megan Kurlychek
Course: Criminology (TCRJ 203)
Description: Introduction to the study of crime, including the development of criminal law, the
relationship between crime and social structure, and the individual and social causes of crime.
General Education: None
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Department: East Asian Studies
College/School: College of Arts & Sciences
Instructor: Anthony DeBlasi
Course: China's Confucian Tradition (TEAS 250)
Description: This course will address central philosophical and ethical issues in the Confucian tradition, a
main source of East Asian cultural values. The emphasis will be on reading and discussing translations of
primary sources, including the Analects of Confucius, the Mencius, excerpts from the other Confucian
Classics, as well as Confucianism’s key interpreters in later centuries. Topics addressed will include
human nature, the foundations of political life, ethical decision-making, and the Confucian vision of
learning. Upon completion of the course, students will have an appreciation of both the richness of the
tradition and the challenges it faces in adapting to the modern world.
General Education: Humanities; International Perspectives
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Department: English
College/School: College of Arts and Sciences
Instructor: Richard Barney
Course: The Cinema of Monstrosities (TENG 243)
Description: This course will be an introduction to the study of cinema by focusing on the theme of
monstrosity—those things, or human beings, that are radically excessive, whether in terms of physical
dimensions, moral proclivity, social deviance, or political impact. From its inception, cinema has been
powerfully mesmerized by the spectacle of the monstrous, while often exploring the peculiar dynamic
by which extraordinary human behavior can verge on the nonhuman, and vice versa. In this context,
monstrosity will range from the embodiment of scientific folly, such as Frankenstein’s creation in James
Whale’s famed 1935 movie, to the viciously criminal, such as Fritz Lang’s serial killer in M, to Michael
Powell’s notoriously deranged voyeur in Peeping Tom or Martin Scorsese’s unbalanced boxer in Raging
Bull. This course will introduce students to a brief history of how film has treated the idea of the
monstrous, as well as provide them with the visual and critical vocabulary by which to analyze that
phenomenon. It will also provide an international perspective on the topic by examining films by
European, American, Canadian, and Korean directors.
General Education: Humanities
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Department: History
College/School: College of Arts and Sciences
Instructor: TBA
Course: The World in the Twentieth Century (THIS 158)
Description: This course seeks to examine important political, economic, cultural, and intellectual
developments in world history in the twentieth century. The unifying theme of the course will be its
focus on moments of contact and exchange between different regions of the world. We will analyze
how the movement of people, ideas, militaries, commodities, disease, culture, and religion has
contributed to increasing interdependence between world regions, including Africa, Asia, Latin America,
the Middle East, Europe and the United States. While we will look at globalization as a process of
worldwide integration, we will also consider how this process has in turn fostered new forms of
conflict. By looking at local worlds within the context of global shifts, we will analyze how recent
historical changes have fueled integration, for example around concepts of modernity or western
values, alongside the continuation of cultural diversity and local differences.
General Education: None
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Department: Journalism
College/School: College of Arts and Sciences
Instructor: Thomas Bass
Course: Honors Intro to Journalism (TJRL 100)
Description: Introduction to contemporary journalism as a major institution in American democracy.
This course will help students become more informed about media and introduce them to the major
issues in journalism. Topics range from media history and the economic structure of the industry to
broad questions about the impact of media on individuals and society in a fast-changing technological
society. Also addressed will be ethical and legal issues related to media practices in news media.
General Education: (Challenges in 21st Century- approval pending)
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Department: Mathematics & Statistics
College/School: College of Arts & Sciences
Instructor: Boris Goldfarb
Course: Honors Calculus II (TMAT 119)
Description: Honors version of second-semester calculus: Techniques of integration, applications of the
definite integral, conics, polar coordinates, improper integrals, infinite series. These are the same topics
as AMAT 113, but topics are covered in greater depth. TMAT 119 substitutes for AMAT 113 toward the
prerequisite in any course. Only one of AMAT 113 and T MAT 119 may be taken for credit.
Prerequisites: A grade of A in A MAT 112, a grade of A in a high-school AP calculus course, or permission
of the instructor.
General Education: Math
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Department: Mathematics & Statistics
College/School: College of Arts & Sciences
Instructor: Mario Variso
Course: Honors Linear Algebra (TMAT 222)
Description: Honors version of linear algebra. Same topics as AMAT 220, but topics are covered in more
depth, with more emphasis on theory. This course is for students with more than average ability and
more than average interest in mathematics. TMAT 222 substitutes for AMAT 220 towards the
prerequisites in any course. Only one of AMAT 222, TMAT 222, and AMAT 220 may be taken for credit.
Prerequisite(s): grade of A in AMAT 113 or AMAT 214, and permission of the instructor, or a grade of B+
in AMAT 119 , TMAT 119, AMAT 218, or TMAT 218.
General Education: None
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Department: Marketing
College/School: School of Business
Instructor: TBA
Course: Introduction to Social Media Marketing (TMKT 200)
Description: Social media is now widely embraced around the world across several domains, be it social
development, medicine, or business. The pace at which it is evolving has left more questions than
answers. The purpose of this course is to build a disciplined approach to understanding and harnessing
social media so you can find some of the answers. The course will adopt a workbench approach--you
will be working on and experimenting with various marketing questions where a social media strategy
may be the solution. As this is an emerging topic, you will be required to keep up with the latest trends
and news in social media marketing. Given that creativity, and not necessarily a big budget, appears to
be vital to win this game, you are likely to succeed at this workbench if you are willing to experiment
with untested ideas.
General Education: None
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Department: Philosophy
College/School: College of Arts and Sciences
Instructor: Jonathan Mandle
Course: Worldviews: Theoretical Perspectives on Who We Are and Why (TPHI 116)
Description: This is an introductory philosophy course focusing on our understanding of ourselves and
others. We will attempt to answer the questions “Who/what am I?” Who/what are you?” and “How are
we related?” by studying a series of interconnected philosophical issues. Topics we will consider
include: whether we are essentially minds or bodies, whether we each have a fixed “inner” nature or are
simply the sum total of our actions, whether race and gender are essential to identity and whether we
persist as one-and-the-same self throughout the mental and physical transformations we each undergo
as our lives progress. The course readings will include both classical and contemporary philosophers,
and we will cover problems originating in a variety of sub-disciplines within philosophy, such as
metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and political theory.
General Education: Humanities
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Department: Physics
College/School: College of Arts and Sciences
Instructor: Alexander Khmaladze
Course: Honors Physics I: Mechanics (TPHY 141)
Description: An introduction to the fundamentals of physics: Classical Mechanics. Topics include the
concepts of force, energy, and work applied to the kinematics and dynamics of particles and rigid bodies
and an introduction to special relativity. Course content will be similar to APHY 140, however, topics will
be covered in more depth and at a more advanced level. Only one of APHY 140 and TPHY 141 may be
taken for credit.
Prerequisites: A college calculus course or an AP calculus course (these courses may be taken
concurrently with TPHY 141).
General Education: Natural Science
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Department: Political Science
College/School: Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy
Instructor: Victor Asal
Course: Violent Political Conflict (TPOS 260)
Description: This course is designed to introduce students to the study of violent political conflict. We
will examine the how, why and when of violent political conflict both domestic and international. What
are the key empirical and normative questions raised by violent political conflict and what answers to
these questions does the literature offer? What other strategies, like nonviolence and negotiation are
available to actors instead of political violence? In this course, in addition to studying the theories that
have been developed to explain the politics and history of violent political conflict, students will have an
opportunity to participate in simulation exercises designed to sharpen their analytic skills in the subject
area. Students will take on the roles of policy makers in several simulations. In addition students will
have the opportunity to participate in ongoing research and see how different kinds of political conflict
are studied in the social sciences.
General Education: Social Science
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Department: Psychology
College/School: College of Arts & Sciences
Instructor: Robert Rosellini
Course: Advanced Introduction to Psychology (TPSY 102)
Description: The course explores in greater detail than in APSY 101 the basic methods and points of
view in the scientific study of human behavior. Topics include biological bases of behavior, personality
organization, intelligence, motivation, emotions, learning, and social relations. This course is intended
for students who have more than average interest in psychology and who are considering becoming
psychology majors or minors. Only one of APSY 101 or TPSY 102 may be taken for credit. **Students
who are receiving credit for AP psychology get credit for APSY 101. Consequently, these students should
not enroll in TPSY 102, as they will not be given credit for it.
General Education: Social Science
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Spring 2017 Honors Courses
Department: Anthropology
College/School: College of Arts and Sciences
Instructor: Jennifer Burrell
Course: Human Rights and Wrongs: Anthropological Perspectives (TANT 141)
Description: This course is designed to provide an overview of human rights and anthropology from
theoretical and historical points of view and from the vantage point of engagement and practice. Using
a critical approach, we will move away from the notion of a set category or monolithic legal structure
toward an understanding of a flexible and elastic set of conceptual frameworks used to accomplish
transitions, make claims and gain access to resources. In doing so, we will consider the increasing
transnationalization of rights discourse and the growing terrain in which claims, legal and otherwise, are
made through it. A series of international and national case studies will be examined.
General Education: Social Science
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Department: Chemistry
College/School: College of Arts and Sciences
Instructor: Priyantha Sugathapala
Course: Advanced General Chemistry II (TCHM 131)
Description: Chemical kinetics, chemical equilibrium, spontaneity, entropy, free energy,
electrochemistry, transition metals, coordination chemistry, organic and biochemical molecules. Only
one of ACHM 121 and ACHM 131H may be taken for credit.
Prerequisites: TCHM 130 or permission of the instructor.
General Education: Natural Science
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Department: Criminal Justice
College/School: School of Criminal Justice
Instructor: Alissa Wordern
Course: Honors Introduction to Criminal Justice (TCRJ 201)
Description: The purpose of this course is to introduce students to a social science approach to learning
about American criminal justice policy and administration. We will examine how the American criminal
justice system operates, and with what consequences, studying the principal institutions of the system,
the actors within the system, the goals of criminal justice administration, and the objectives and
implementation of criminal justice policy at national, state, and community levels. Throughout the
course, we will learn to recognize the limits of what we know about social and legal responses to crime,
the ways we develop knowledge, and the importance of objectivity and reflection in the discussion of
what are often controversial and politicized issues.
General Education: Social Sciences
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Department: English
College/School: College of Arts and Sciences
Instructor: Jeffery Berman
Course: Writing about Love and Loss (TENG 226)
Description: In this course we will focus on how writers use language to convey love and loss and the
ways in which they seek consolation and hope through religion, nature, art, deeds, or memory. We will
explore different kinds of love--love of God, family or friends, romantic partner, or self; we will also
explore different kinds of loss--loss of religious faith, family or friends, romantic partner, health, or selfrespect.
General Education: Humanities
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Departments: Music/Latin American Cultural Studies
College/School: The College of Arts and Sciences
Instructor: Max Lifchitz
Course: Music and Society in Latin America (TLCS/TMUS 216)
Description: The interdisciplinary approach employed in this offering is designed to acquaint
participants with the geography, history, culture and music of our neighbors to the south. The course
examines three main topics: the great civilizations that flourished in the Americas before they
encountered Europeans at end of the 15th century; the effect of three centuries of colonization had on
native cultures as well as the independence struggles that followed during the 19th century; and the
20th century social movements that shaped distinct political and cultural identities for most Latin
American countries.
Most importantly, a wide variety of musical examples from throughout Latin America will also be
explored. These include examples of pre-Hispanic music; musical genres that are clearly based on
European forms; dance music examples that exhibit strong African ties; and mestizo music – an
amalgam of the above mentioned elements.
General Education: Arts or Humanities, International Perspectives
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Departments: Mathematics and Statistics
College/School: College of Arts and Sciences
Instructor: (Boris Goldfarb)
Course: Honors Calculus III (TMAT 218)
Description: Curves and vectors in the plane, geometry of three-dimensional space, vector functions in
three-space, partial derivatives, multiple integrals, line and surface integrals.
Prerequisites: TMAT 119 or permission of the instructor.
General Education: None
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Department: Philosophy
College/School: The College of Arts and Sciences
Instructor: Rachel Cohon
Course: Introduction to Ethical Theory (TPHI 212)
Description: What is the basis of our moral judgments and attitudes? What do right actions have in
common that makes them right, and what do wrong actions have in common that makes them wrong?
(Is it that they are commanded by a divine being? Required by existing social rules? Are actions right or
wrong because of their consequences for human happiness? Their conformity to a rule of reason?) What
sort of person is it best to be? What is valuable in life? We will examine answers to these classic
philosophical questions about ethics in the works of historical and contemporary philosophers. These
answers take the form of ethical theories. We will study a selection drawn from these theories: the
divine command theory, cultural ethical relativism, the moral sentiment theory, utilitarianism, Kantian
ethics, virtue ethics, and the immoralism of Nietzsche. We will look closely at the justifications offered
for these theories, and subject the theories to critical analysis. In order to think and write clearly and
reason well about these issues, we will begin with an introduction to logical arguments and we will work
on the special skills required for writing philosophy.
General Education: Humanities
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Department: Physics
College/School: College of Arts & Sciences
Instructor: (Vivek Jain)
Course: Honors Physics II: Electromagnetism (TPHY 151)
Description: An introduction to the fundamentals of physics: electrostatics and magnetism, including
the concepts of the electric and magnetic fields, electric potential and basic circuits; the laws of Gauss,
Ampere and Raraday; Maxwell's equations; geometrical optics. Course content will follow APHY 150.
However, topics will be covered in more depth and at a more advanced level. Only one of A PHY 150,
APHY 151, or TPHY 151 may be taken for credit.
Prerequisites: TPHY 141 or permission of instructor; AMAT 113 or TMAT 119 (may be taken concurrently
with TPHY 151).
General Education: Natural Science
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Department: Political Science; Public Health
College/School: Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy; School of Public Health
Instructor: Kamiar Alaei and Arash Alaei
Course: Health and Human Rights: An Interdisciplinary Approach (TPOS 272/ TSPH 272)
Description: This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to health and human rights and the
contemporary challenges and solutions associated with them. The instructors for this course are
physicians and human rights champions. The principal format for the course will involve guest lectures
from experts in public health, philosophy, social welfare, law, gender studies, public administration,
among others. Through lectures, discussion, and case studies, students will develop a broad theoretical
understanding of health as a human right, become familiar with legal and policy frameworks to support
public health, and acquire skills in the application of these concepts and the implementation and
evaluation of solutions to our modern health challenges.
General Education: Social Science, Challenges for the 21st Century
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Department: Psychology
College/School: College of Arts & Sciences
Instructor: Ewan McNay
Course: Honors Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience (TPSY 214)
Description: The goals of this course are two-fold; One, to provide an in-depth understanding of
several selected topics in the field of Behavioral Neuroscience; Two, to provide an opportunity to
critically evaluate research in the area of Behavioral Neuroscience. We’ll be discussing - and you’ll need
to think and work - at several levels, from the cognitive/ behavioral down to the details of
neurochemistry and molecular biology. There’s no other way to sensibly do neuroscience, and in any
case it’s helpful to be exposed to how molecular-level events influence and cause macro-level behavior.
General Education: Natural Science; Social Science.
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Department: Sociology
College/School: The College of Arts and Sciences
Instructor: Angie Chung
Course: Contemporary Immigration and the 2nd Generation (TSOC 240)
Description: Contemporary immigration to the U.S. has been characterized by tremendous diversity in
terms of race, class, gender, migration contexts, transnational linkages, and incorporation into American
society. This course focuses on various aspects of immigration from Asia, Latin America and the
Caribbean since 1965, including migration processes, community and identity, race/ class/ gender
intersections, socio-economic and residential mobility, transnationalism, and acculturation into
“mainstream” America. Although the material will familiarize students with traditional approaches to
U.S. immigration, the main goal of the course is to provide you with the intellectual tools to reflect on,
critique and provide a more contemporary, global perspective on these different issues.
Based on weekly writing activities and creative discussions on related current issues, we will explore the
diverse social, economic, cultural and political contexts within which immigrants and their children have
been incorporated into American society and the various theoretical perspectives that have been
proposed to explain their possible future. Questions we will seek to answer include: Why do immigrants
migrate? What kinds of advantages and disadvantages do these different immigrant groups face and
why are some better able to adapt than others? How do the identities and communities they create
enable them to navigate the changing world around them? How do the presence of immigrants and
their children shape the neighborhoods, institutions, and social structures they occupy in the U.S. and
their sending countries? How is all of this becoming complicated by globalization, transnationalism, and
economic restructuring?
General Education: Social Science, Challenges for the 21st Century
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Department: Social Welfare
College/School: The School of Social Welfare
Instructor: Blanca Ramos
Course: Multiculturalism in a Global Society (TSSW 299)
Description: This course examines multiculturalism in the United States within a global context.
Students critically analyze earlier and current global forces underlying the ethnic diversity and pluralism
of today’s U.S. society. These include the cultural, economic, social, political, and technological impacts
of globalization, transnational migration, and the history, diversity and distinct experiences of ethnic
groups. Special attention is given to the intersection of race, gender, social class, religion, and sexual
orientation with ethnic group membership. Students also evaluate theoretical stances and controversial
issues related to the multicultural debate. Ecological and social justice perspectives are used as primary
tools for understanding. This course offers students an opportunity to heighten awareness of their own
ethnic heritage and cultural values and beliefs that shape their world view and who they are today. It
strives to enhance students' knowledge and appreciation of different ethnic groups within and outside
of the U.S., and develop a deeper sensitivity to the experiences of social injustice encountered by
members of some of these ethnic groups. The course material is designed to encourage students’
thought and exploration through lectures, active discussions, students’ oral presentations, guest
speakers, multi-media, and a community service-learning project. The ultimate goals of this course are
to encourage students to become engaged global citizens, agents of social change, and more fully
prepared to function effectively in today’s multicultural global society. This course meets the Challenges
for the 21st Century requirements of the general education curriculum. Open to Honors College
students only.
General Education: Challenges for the 21st Century