Honors Courses

ENG 102 H
Honors English: Composition and Literature II
3 credits -- Wednesday – 1:00 – 3:50 p.m. – Room TBA
Composition and Literature II introduces students to literary genres (short story, poetry, drama, novel). This course will present masterpieces in each of these forms which students will read, discuss and write about in their journals and in critical essays. Research will be required. 3 credits, Instructor: Prof. Martucci

ENG 126H
Honors English: Readings in Human Rights
3 credits -- Tuesday – 1:00 – 3:50 p.m. – Room TBA
This course studies significant literary, historical and other texts related to human rights. Students read works that address essential questions of social justice, individual conscience and human dignity. International in scope and interdisciplinary in approach, this course explores the role of writing in the concept and practice of human rights. Students complement their reading with independent projects and participation in human rights actions. 3 credits, Instructor: Prof. Alan Devenish

ENG 204H
Honors English: Literature of New York
3 credits -- Wednesday – 1:00 – 3:50 p.m. – Room TBA
Some people say that New York is so different from the rest of the U.S. that it is like its own separate country.  This course examines how New York is perhaps a truer embodiment of the ideals of America than the rest of what we call the “Heartland” or “Grassroots America.”  Readings will sample texts from a variety of fields and disciplines, including history, poetry, music, film, philosophy, and others. 3 credits, Instructor: Professor Richard Rodriguez 

ENG 224H
Honors English: Great Books
3 credits -- Thursday – 9:30 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. – Room TBA
This course offers students the opportunity to read and to engage in intensive study and discussion of classic literary texts—works of enduring influence that stand among the sources of our intellectual tradition and have shaped the development of Western culture. Readings may include the works of Homer, Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides, Aristophanes, Boccaccio, Chaucer, Dante, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Moliere, Voltaire, Goethe, Shelley, Austen, Flaubert, Dostoevski, Tolstoy, Joyce, Woolf, Hurston, Camus, Ellison, Achebe.Class Hours: 3Prerequisite: ENG 101, 102 Composition and Literature I & II and Honors permission.  3 credits, Instructor: Professor James Werner

FILM 114H
Honors Humanities: World Cinema
3 credits -- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday – 1:00 – 1:50 p.m. – Room TBA
This is an honors-level seminar on the movies as an art form and as an international multicultural phenomenon. Students will engage in a focused exploration of the technical and formal elements that make the movies a unique and powerful means of human expression, one that finds its definition in diverse cultural contexts. The course will provide students with a window onto the rich cultural landscape beyond their own, exposing them to cinematic accomplishments that extend beyond the conventional American model and their own experience and introducing them to the national cinemas of Africa, Asia, Europe, Central and South America, India and the Middle East, with their distinctive perspectives, attitudes, values and beliefs. The course will concern itself with culture and its impact on film as a work of art, with culture as shaper of both content and form. Methods include class discussion, oral and written reports, individual and group class presentations, readings, and critical viewing of selected films and videos. 3 credits, Instructor: Prof. John Cuniberti

HIS 107H
Honors Social Science: Topics in Global History
3 credits -- Monday – 5:30 – 8:20 p.m. – Room TBA
This course is a survey of global history from earliest times to the present. It will explore themes constant throughout that period to find patterns of development of governmental institutions and economic systems emphasizing the non-western as well as western experience. The rise and decline of major civilizations, the transition from an agrarian to an urban industrial and now post-industrial society and the nature of warfare will be examined. Emphasis will be placed on discovering the historical roots of contemporary conflicts. EVENING COURSE - 3 credits, Instructor: Prof. Anne D'Orazio

INTER 161H
Honors Humanities: Seminar in Ethics
3 credits -- Thursdays – 1:00 – 3:50 p.m. – Room TBA
This discussion-based seminar explores, through works of philosophy and literature, the nature and meaning of good and evil. In exploring goodness, we will consider a set of philosophical theories (natural law theory, consequentialism, Kantian ethics, social contract theory, intuitionism, and virtue ethics) and then apply them to a variety of psychological, sociological, political, and theological issues with the help of Plato’s masterpiece The Republic.  We will then turn to a set of theories of evil (demonic, instrumental, idealistic, and thoughtless) and apply them to the same scope of issues with the help of Shakespeare’s masterful rendition of evil incarnate, Richard III. The transition from good to evil in the course will be facilitated by the fact that the argument of The Republic concludes, on the one hand, with Plato’s unforgettable portrait of the tyrant who bears a striking resemblance to King Richard and, on the other hand, with a powerful myth which asserts the reality of free will in relation to evil. We close the semester by contemplating our own place in the battle of good and evil with the help of Camus’ novel The Fall.  Along the way, we will consider excerpts from the writings of the Bible, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Hobbes, Hume, Kant, Voltaire, Sade, Goethe, Kierkegaard, Mill, Dostoevsky, Poe, Wiesel, Arendt, Sartre, G.E. Moore, and Heller.  3 credits, Instructor: Prof. Dwight Goodyear 

MATH 170H
Honors Mathematics: History of Math
3 credits -- Mondays – 10:00 a.m. - 11:50a.m., Wednesday: 10:00 a.m. - 10:50a.m. – Room TBA
A survey of the history of Mathematics from counting through Calculus and a course about thinking mathematically. The Internet is the main reference tool to investigate the contributions of various cultures and individuals. A problem solving approach is used to study the Mathematical contributions of each culture. 3 credits, Instructor: Professor Jodi Cotten

PSYCH 103H
Abnormal Psychology – Monday – 2:00 – 4:50 p.m. – Room TBA
This course focuses on the development of typical emotional and behavioral problems of childhood and adolescence, including autism and Asperger’s disorder, AD/HD, depression, eating disorders, substance abuse, and personality problems. Clinical material is an integral part of the course, including case studies, in-class case presentations, and videos of psychopathology.Class Hours: 3Prerequisite: PSYCH 101 General Psychology. 3 credits, Instructor: Professor Paul Siegel

PHYSC
Physical Science Honors: Science, Pseudoscience, and Critical Thinking Honors
3 credits – Room TBA
This course is a reading and discussion intensive course that provides the non-science major with the framework to explore how modern scientists develop and examine their ideas.  The course will focus on non-mathematical explorations of critical thinking techniques, scientific methods, pseudoscience and extraordinary claims, peer review, hypothesis testing, the media portrayal of science, and why a scientific theory is not “just a theory.”  3 credits, No lab; Instructors: Professor Paul Robinson and Laurel Senft 

SOC 101H
Honors Behavioral Science: Introduction to Sociology
3 credits – Monday, Tuesday, Thursday – 12:00 – 12:50 p.m. – Room TBA
This Honors course should appeal to students who are curious about the nature of the social world and who want to participate in a challenging academic environment that sharpens their analytical skills. Students will be introduced to the basic principles of sociology and the concept of culture, to important primary texts, and to the challenge of independent research on contemporary issues and problems. 3 credits, Instructor: Prof. Lori Maida