Honors Seminars

Honors Seminars

Honors Seminars offered recently have included the following:

"Emerging Infectious Diseases: History, Science and Medicine." One accepted definition of emerging infectious diseases is infections that have newly appeared in a population or have existed but are rapidly increasing in incidence or geographic range. This course provides an overview of the nature of human and animal pathogens and the diseases they cause that are associated with emerging infections. The course also gives a global perspective on how emerging infectious diseases have influenced history.  

"Music and Nationalism," This course examines the connections between music and the identity of the nation in which the music is created. Using the cases studies of the United States and Russia, we consider what can be learned about the people comprising a given modern nation from the music produced within it. We also investigate how events and trends within the society (and societies) comprising these nations influence the music produced within them. 

"‘Though this be madness': Hamlet from page to stage."  Hamlet is the most discussed piece of art in the world and Shakespeare's most performed play. The course looks at what is often considered one of the greatest plays in the history of the English language from both a literary and a theatrical perspective.  Students will see the play through critical analysis, examining the literary history and value of the play, as well as begin a creative exploration of the text, experiencing the play as actors and directors. 

"Music and the Brain."  This course focuses on the interplay of music, in various forms, with cognitive and emotional functions of the human brain. Not only does the course examine how music affects brain and behavioral functioning, but also the role of brain functioning in the creation and interpretation of music.

"Criminal Investigations and Society."  A detailed analysis of several major criminal investigations and how societies' opinions and expectations influenced the investigation and outcome of each case.  We discuss how these cases influenced citizens' feelings about their country and the criminal justice system that either served or failed them during each of these historic events.  The course focuses on four cases: the Sacco-Vanzetti murder trial of 1921, the Boston Strangler case in the early 1960s, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, and the Michael Peterson murder trial in 2003.

"Engineering and Society." Relationships between engineering and society were investigated by focusing on environmental concerns.

"Contexts and Images: African-Americans in Literature and Film." This course provided an opportunity to examine literature and film as integral elements of African-American experience, heritage, and culture from the Civil War to the present.

"Classical Experiments in Science." In this course, classical science experiments are studied in their historic intellectual context and reproduced in the laboratory. This course is built around nine experiments, three in biology, three in chemistry, and three in physics. Students recreate the conditions that existed in the labs at the times of the experiments, conduct the experiments, and repot their findings in the context of the understanding of the day.

"The Ethics of Sport." This course examines some controversial issues in contemporary sport within the context of several major ethical frameworks. This course draws heavily on both philosophy and sociology

"Cultural Entrepreneurialism." In this course the relationship between the cultural importance and interpretation of the artifacts of Connecticut and their potential as sites for tourism and economic development is explored. Historical, cultural, literary, and economic impact are assessed in relation to geography, population, education, cultural expectations and funding and long-range planning resources.