First Year Honors Courses

HON 151: Sapien Logic

Satisfies Humanities and Fine Arts (A) requirement

This is a first year seminar for students in the honors program. In this course students examine human thought and imagination from various perspectives, including philosophy, history, literature, religion, science, and art. This course explores the limits of human knowledge from a variety of topical and disciplinary perspectives. Whether they are debating the potential colonization of Mars or engaging in mindfulness meditation, students confront the limits of their own personal knowledge and the limits of our collective knowledge as a species. In so doing, students must also consider how we come to know things about our world. Essentially, the seminar presents students with multiple ways of understanding the world, and then asks them to consider the insights and limitations of that way of thinking.

The course accomplishes this by being divided into three sections taught by three instructors. Each section is five weeks. Section 1 runs for the first three weeks and the last two weeks. This section establishes the overall structure of the course. Sections 2 and 3 run for the next 10 weeks. Topics will vary and each section can operate independently.

Topics Covered in HON 151: Sapien Logic

Profit, People and the Planet: Competing Roles of Business in Society

Introduces students to corporate social responsibility from multiple stakeholder perspectives, exposing the often conflicting or differing viewpoints that companies must consider. Introduces the triple bottom line that guides business environments in all industries locally and globally.

Astrobiology and the Search for Life in the Universe

This course will focus on the interdisciplinary scientific concepts and methods relating to detecting life on other planets, including the biochemical components required for life to function, how organisms deal with extreme conditions, and how we might recognize life over vast distances.

Mindfulness

Exploration of emotional intelligence, communication, mindfulness, and their application through the lens of systems thinking (mental models).

Science and Public Policy

This course will be part retrospective, part student-led discussion about the productive (often life-saving) relationship between science and public policy, in addition to the often contentious and destructive relationship between the two.

Science of Superheroes

In this course we will explore the science (both fact and fiction) behind superheroes and their powers.  We will also investigate real-world organisms that already have superpowers and developing technology that may give humans their own superpowers in the near future.

You and Your Government

In this course students will look at how they can directly influence the political process through the creation of political documents, and the barriers the public face to action.

HON 193: First Year Projects

HON 193 courses are 1 credit. The topics vary but every course uses project based learning to develop the skills that will be required for the honors capstone project.

Examples of HON 193 courses

Remembering 9/11
September 11 lives in our collective historical memory. But, how was that memory created? Who created the narrative of 9/11? Are there alternative narratives? In this course we will untangle the threads of memory by examining the recreation of 9/11 in news footage, novels, websites, memorials, movies, music, documentaries, interviews, youtube videos, emails, and artwork. As part of this course, students will work in teams to create their own 9/11 memorial.

Systems Innovations to Advance Human Resilience
This course will focus on understanding principles of systems-based innovations across interconnected challenges of agricultural production, food security, global public health, energy diversification and water challenges in the midst of global climate change. Many real life case studies from diverse ecologies of the world will be presented towards understanding of systems innovations to advance human resilience.

Well Being.
Human well-being and how it can be promoted. Students will be able explain what well-being is and describe several components, critically evalutae ideas about well-being promotion in the context of scientific evidence and describe a research study that would provide evidence regarding the effectiveness of a particular method or activity purported to increase well-being.

The Revolution will not be Televised
This course will be an interactive game based on American radical thought. Through game play students will be introduced to radicals throughout American history. From Thomas Paine to #metoo, Nat Turner to Emma Goldman, students will rub shoulders with radicals as the details of an impending revolution unfold. The question is: will you join Salafia’s revolution? Or, will you try to stop it?

Everybody Lies. 

How do you know if you can trust something someone has told you? Does “Minnesota/North Dakota Nice” make it impossible to know what other people really think? This course explores both the science and art of deception, focusing on how we lie, why we lie, and what counts as lying. You will learn how to recognize the multiple forms of deception that occur in everyday talk, understand why they are happening, and use corresponding strategies to encourage truth-telling.

 

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