HONORS COURSES Fall 2007
Honors Anthropology 6: Cultural Anthropology
What is “culture”? Is it the language you speak? Your religion? Your economic system? This
riveting Honors Course will show you how anthropologists approach the complex concept of
“culture” while trying to understand how humans behave and why they behave that way. You’ll
learn how anthropology can help solve basic social problems and even get to encounter first-hand
ethnographic fieldwork done with Thai peasant women working in sweatshops as well as a
controversial study of the “crack cocaine culture” of Spanish Harlem in New York City.
TuTh 8-9:20 AM
Transfer Requirements: IGETC Area 4A, CSU Area D1,, Honors: Social/Beh Sci
Professor Liana Padilla-Wilson is an LMC graduate whose passion for anthropology took her to Saint Mary’s College
(B.S.) and Arizona State University (M.S.) and beyond. Her graduate work focused around issues of migration and
involved extensive fieldwork around the US-Mexico border. This focus on Latin American studies took her to Belize,
Guatemala, El Salvador, Honors and Chile. A recipient of the prestigious Irvine Scholar Award and the Rigoberta
Menchu Award, Professor Padilla-Wilson lives in Brentwood with her husband and two children.
Art 5LS: Introduction to the Visual Arts
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What does it mean to be creative?
Why and how do humans make art?
Does a completely black canvas really belong in a museum?
This fascinating survey class will give you the background and vocabulary you need to
approach these questions. We'll deal with art created from the beginning of humanity to
last week's conceptual pieces. Join us for a study of art that will help you understand and
harness your own creativity beyond brick and mortar!
MWF 8-9 AM
Transfer Requirements: CSU area C1, IGETC 3A, Honors Humanities/Fine Arts
Professor Curtis Corlew is an artist, journalist, photographer, multimedia developer, musician and really bad tennis
player.
Astronomy 10LS: Honors Introduction to Astronomy
Do you pass idle moments wondering about the difference between dark energy and dark matter,
or the way to calculate the number of detectible civilizations in the Galaxy? If your answer to
any of these questions is “yes”, then take this class! Expect lots of student interaction. Also, we
will use the planetarium and telescope every week, and you can look forward to at least a few field
trips to the Chabot Space and Science Center!
Mondays 7-10PM
Transfer Requirements: CSU B1, UC 5A, Honors Math/Science
Professor Scott Cabral used to come home from school and pass the afternoon making lunar landscapes out of clay or
drawing comic books about astronauts. This ultimately evolved into a B.A. at U.C. Berkeley in Physics and Astronomy
and an M.S. in physics at S.F. State. He was a still a grad student at SFSU when he started teaching astronomy at Los
Medanos in 1989. Scott is the proud owner of about 15,000 astronomy slides. His pastimes are bicycling up the hill to
CSUEB and reading the magazines Mira and Selecciones.
OVER
Philosophy 41: HONORS CRITICAL THINKING
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We are surrounded by arguments everywhere. Politicians, teachers, friends and family are
constantly trying to convince us to vote a certain way or buy a particular product. But have you
ever really examined those arguments to see whether they MAKE SENSE? This Honors Class will
delve into the world of logic and reason and give you skills to recognize when an argument should
persuade you, and when you’re being manipulated. We’ll play logic games, immerse ourselves in
the bizarre world of paradoxes and learn how to turn these analysis tools on our own psychology as
TuTh 9:30-11AM
Transfer Requirements: UC Elective Transfer Units, CSU Area A3, Honors: Arts/Humanities
Professor Jennifer Saito studied Theoretical Mathematics at UC Berkeley where she received her BA and MA degrees.
She was lured into the world of philosophy by Professor Danny Moriel when she saw him working on logic puzzles in an
LMC meeting 13 years ago. Since then, she has taught math and philosophy at LMC where she is the founder and
director of the Honors Transfer Program.
HONORS SEMINAR
Philosophy 2: Contemporary Ethical Issues: East Meets West
Can Democratic Values Survive Muslim Immigration?
With over 20 million Muslim immigrants Europe has for many years faced issues America has only grappled with since
9/11. Many European nations are reconsidering their immigration policies because of growing concerns about terrorist
bombings, street riots, highly publicized killings and death threats, and heated demands to limit free speech and
behaviors that are said to contradict Muslim religious views and customs. Do we have anything to learn from Europe?
Or, does Europe have something to learn from America, where incidents of Muslim unrest are few and where the average
income of Muslims is above the national average?
This “ripped from the headlines” Honors Seminar will present both sides of this controversial issue and require you to
come up with some of your own solutions.
TuTh 11AM-12:30PM
Transfer Requirements: IGETC Area3B, CSU Area C2, Honors Seminar
Professor Daniel Moriel, PhD received his doctorate from the UC San Diego specializing in social theory, ethno
methodology and semiotics. He has a unique professional background which includes being an Assistant Professor in the
sociology department at UC Davis, a therapist at Familias Unidas Counseling Center in Richmond, and 14 years as
Professor of Philosophy at Los Medanos College.