Courses for Honors College

Taken by first-year students in the Randall Research Scholars Program, this course provides an accelerated introduction that uses algorithmic thinking to develop computational artifacts. Open only to students admitted to the Randall Research Scholars Program. Computing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course.

Taken by first-year students in the Randall Research Scholars Program, this second freshman year course provides an accelerated introduction to additional computational techniques as well as project management techniques. Open only to students admitted to the Randall Research Scholars Program. Computing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course.

Sophomore RRS research seminar where students work as undergraduate research assistants with faculty members on computational research projects. Computing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course.

Sophomore RRS research seminar where students work as undergraduate research assistants with faculty members on computational research projects.

Junior RRS seminar where students work as undergraduate research assistants with faculty members on computational research projects.

Junior RRS seminar where students work as undergraduate research assistants with faculty members on computational research projects.

This is an independent study course, with variable credit. Students develop a research project contract with semester project deliverables to the RRS office by the second Friday of the semester. Students meet with their project supervisors on a regular basis throughout the semester. Prior approval from the RRS Program Director is required to register for this course.

Senior RRS seminar where students work as undergraduate research assistants with faculty members on computational research projects.

Senior RRS seminar where students work as undergraduate research assistants with faculty members on computational research projects.

Honors Connections introduces first-year students to the UA Honors College experience. The aim of this course is to aid each student in finding and interrogating their place within the Honors College, the University of Alabama and the greater community. Students will learn and practice the key concepts of engaged scholarship, including critical and creative thinking, ethical and empathic dialogue, and collaborative and inclusive leadership. Students will gain a practical understanding of the Honors College and their role within it, while also building relationships that foster continued participation in the kinship of scholars.

In this six day, one-credit hour introductory course, students are immersed in the foundations of the Honors College and community engagement. Students attend a daily lecture series followed by small discussions. In addition to the lecture series and small group discussions, students participate in daily community-engaged projects at local public schools. Community engagement-focused readings will link to the course themes, lectures, and service projects.

Honors Engagement introduces first-year students who have completed their first semester of study to the UA Honors College experience. The aim of this course is to aid each student in finding and interrogating their place within the Honors College, the University of Alabama and the greater community. Students will learn and practice the key concepts of engaged scholarship, including critical and creative thinking, ethical and empathetic dialogue, and collaborative and inclusive leadership. Students will gain a practical understanding of the Honors College and their role within it, while also building relationships that foster continued participation in the kinship of scholars. Instruction will include lecture, guest speakers, and small group discussions with Honors College student mentors. Student reading, writing, and reflection will be emphasized and connected to the examination of the Honors College and wider academic communities.

In this course, students will study and discuss the Honors Common Book (chosen annually). This course may not be taken in the same academic year as UH 100 or UH 110.

Special Topics.

This course explores the Ascension Story, an adaptation of Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey,” through an in-depth comparative analysis between a) Judeo-Christian monarchical concepts as recorded in the Hebrew/Christian sacred texts (primarily 1 Samuel- 2 Chronicles, prophetic books, and gospels) and b) Final Fantasy XV, a 2016 video game that reimagines those same kingship narratives. Topics addressed within the Ascension Story include the Trials of a King, Kingly Relationships, a King’s Responsibility, and a King’s Deliverance of Order to Chaos. Concepts of ancient near-eastern kingship, Levitical priesthood, religious prophecy, and messianic hope will be fully analyzed. The course addresses questions of moral virtue and leadership ethics in the humanistic fields of religious literature, theological studies, and secular and sacral kingship archetypes. This course also examines the broad implications that sacral kingship/leadership has on cultural identity, with attention to Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Jewish narratives. Rather than primarily measuring proficiency in writing, this course emphasizes the history and appreciation of sacred texts and ancient near-eastern kingship narratives.

This course will explore the history of storytelling and how stories and storytelling connect people, create cultural understanding, and effect change. This course will take a global, analytic perspective on storytelling and American narratives. We will develop a vocabulary for discussing the relationships between narratives and social change and analyze written and oral narratives and the cultural and historical contexts that surround them. We will concentrate specifically on narratives of marginalized writers in American literature, various narrative forms of 20th century and modern American literature, and the Honors College Common Book. We will also explore how we shape and interact with narratives in our own lives, examining the question, “Who are you?”.

This course explores how work and leisure influence our everyday lives. Are we governed by the necessity of work, while we pursue momentary havens of leisure? Or, is it the other way around? Is it because of the necessity of leisure in our lives that we pursue work at all? When are we most ourselves? From Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy which explored the antagonism between the Apollonian and Dionysian spirits, to Max Weber’s The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, to modern movies such as Office Space, the tensions between, not just work and leisure, but ultimately meaning as well, provide productive spaces for exploration.

This course is an introduction to the study of the influence of society and language on each other as well as on individuals. Students will explore the role of language in society and in their own personal development, paying particular attention to the influence of learning an additional language – before and during experiences in other communities. That is, students will reflect on how acquiring another language may change them and impact their own identities. Additionally, students will further refine their understanding of culture and knowledge via discussions. Throughout the semester, this course will strive to understand the impact of varied linguistic experiences in other countries and communities on personal development and on society.

From the Mississippi Delta to Memphis to Chicago then to London and back, The Blues are a potent means of communication, a powerful and persuasive connection. They are a language. Through them, artists and their audiences found a distinct voice that could share and engage emotion, meaning, time, place, change and identity. Students listen to and examine the communicative power of The Blues, and the Blues ‘language’, what they say, who says it, who hears it, what they hear, and how meaning is created and taken. Students will listen to blues alongside a wide range of readings, including Wittgenstein’s Language Games, Foucault on how power is found in everyday language, James Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues and Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God.

An experimental magazine class that produces, from scratch, an online magazine, website and social media. Students can specialize in writing, editing, graphic design, photography/videography and/or website or social media. The class also helps both on and off campus organizations with multimedia projects that need such expertise as a support service. Students also focus on examining the nature of the communication functions of their creative work with other Mosaic students and with non-creative sources and subjects they interact with in their work. Student staff will work with the aid of UA staff/faculty instructors and advisers.

This course takes "the idea of a scholar" as its theme. Students will examine definitions of education and the university, contrasts and conflicts for students and scholars within academic life, and the "life of the mind" conceptualization of higher education as preparation for lifelong learning. These themes will be explored through detailed readings and class discussions. Moreover, it includes a strong component of comparing and contrasting our readings and class discussions with scholarly life at the University of Alabama, both current and historical.

This course introduces students to the western literary canon from the ancient to the medieval period. Writers to be studied include Homer, Sophocles, Virgil, and Dante. Satisfies HU core curriculum designation.

Examines the impact of the classics on African culture, focusing on reading and writing about the concept of identity in African civilizations and cultures. Students will become familiar with classic works that represent current themes in African culture and societies such as oral tradition, use of language, community, post-colonial influence, and gender roles.

As a “prelude” to service learning, students will understand the philosophical structure of “public goods” (e.g., education, health care, housing, etc.) and how they relate to specific needs in public spaces which are used for the betterment of communities. Students will explore the possible causes of political, educational, social, and economic inequalities as well as the benefits, responsibilities and limits of the service response to public problems. The course provides a basic understanding of what the purpose of “public goods” are and how society actualizes these currencies.

This course introduces students to some of the classic texts of Eastern Civilization. The particular focus of this course will be Ancient China. Students will cover the origin and development of the Chinese intellectual tradition; in particular, the ethical and politics topics that can be grouped under “the way” (dao, 道), as this was the central concern of writers and thinkers in the period. Specific topics to be discussed include: “Is human nature fundamentally good or fundamentally bad?”; “How can we best achieve an enduring social order?”; “What is the shape of a life well lived?”; “Is the development of civilization conducive to human flourishing?”. Figures to be studied include Sunzi, Kongzi (Confucius), Mozi, Mengzi (Mencius), Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, and Sima Qian. A primary goal of the course is to expose students to the richness, vitality, and plurality of the Ancient Chinese intellectual tradition.

What’s next for you after graduation? Is it graduate or professional school or will you be headed into the workforce? Do you have a plan for how to develop and market your most successful personal and professional self? This course will provide students with the knowledge and resources needed to prepare for life after their undergraduate academic career. Students will explore concepts of career readiness, articulate their personal strengths/weaknesses/values, set and pursue personal and professional goals, and develop a strong professional portfolio. This course also seeks to help students understand the importance of personal branding and networking, effective communication, collaboration with an array of persons and backgrounds, emotional intelligence, and leadership.

This class seeks to introduce University Honors Program students to moral discourse and civil deliberation via the analysis of one particular controversial moral resolution. Student teams will then participate in the Moral Forum Tournament, where they will be required to use ethical theories to argue for and against the resolution. The moral issue to be examined in the course changes each semester. Topics are based on current events that offer varied, balanced arguments from multiple ethical perspectives.

A course in the practicality / functionality of improvisation via sound with an eye toward philosophical aspects of improvisation in all the arts and the relationship to other non-arts related disciplines. The goal is to generate creativity and new perspectives in the student’s primary course of study and life, in general, by exploring the art of improvisation.

The Art for Life’s Sake course is an exploration of the artistic process and its application in everyday life. Our primary goals are to study, communicate, and increase the practical application and implementation of art philosophy, core concepts, and principles of creation into both academics and everyday life; synthesizing creativity, open-mindedness, authenticity, and innovation into a holistic, mindful approach, with a concerted effort to increase not only human technological and physical progress, but also psychological freedom, mental fitness and general well-being. Art is a process of exploration, externalized. Human beings are inherently artistic. Therefore, any human activity can be expressed artfully. Our goal is, simply put: to become aware of this phenomenon and learn to practice it in all aspects of our lives.

What is the book’s place in history, and what does the future hold for it? In this transdisciplinary course, students will investigate the close relationship between major world religions and the bookbinding industry, the impact that innovations in printing and binding technology have had on literacy rates throughout the world, the role of women in bookbinding through history compared to women working with books today, and what the rise in digital books, audiobooks, and eReaders mean for the publishing industry today and future of the traditional book. Students will also have some hands-on instruction in bookbinding and will create East Asian accordions, Japanese stab bindings, Coptic bindings, and Ethiopian bindings. Throughout the semester, students will be assigned readings over the history, present, and future of the book, leading to a final research paper that speaks to the student’s specific area of interest.

This multi-disciplinary course will provide an overview of the cultural dimensions, history, and contemporary landscape of papermaking, including Eastern, Western, Mexican, and other papermaking traditions. Special emphasis will be placed on papermaking in the American South. Students will make paper by hand using a variety of techniques, and each student will design a research project using handmade paper as a medium for examining and critiquing significant aspects of culture and identity.

This lecture and active learning course will cover the fundamentals of the science behind color and visual art media, focusing on the physics and chemistry involved in the production and perception of art.

In addition to weekly class meeting patterns, students will be required to spend approximately 25 hours immersed in an “out of the classroom” experience/opportunity, which will vary each semester. This experience/opportunity might involve an approved community-based partner, non-profit organization, or K-12 city/county school or classroom. Students will work in collaborative teams providing solutions to project-based issues, problems, and experiences.

Special Topics.

Students will examine contemporary New Zealand neighborhoods and communities by purposefully employing ‘engaged’ and interactive discussions and conversations with (some of the) New Zealanders they encounter each day from a wide range of demographics, i.e. an ethnographic/communications approach. Students will rely on an instructor-generated list of talking points as a general guide. Classes will assemble most, but not all, days in New Zealand to debrief and discuss the day’s conversations with the goal of (a) progressively getting a better understanding (than tourists) of New Zealand community life and (b) progressively getting better at asking people from another culture valuable (instead of predictable) questions and assessing, and following up on, answers. Students will also interact with New Zealand students and academic faculty to help build their understanding of neighborhoods and communities.

The UA Honors in Germany program is designed to provide students with the opportunity to examine the many facets of recent history and of the contemporary situation of German society and engage in meaningful, reflective dialogue with international faculty and students through their experiences while visiting academic, cultural, business and industrial institutions in Karlsruhe, Strasbourg (F), Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, and Stuttgart.

Ghana was the first country south of the Sahara to gain independence from British colonial rule and it continues to play a leading role in African development and prosperity to this day. This study abroad course functions as a broad transdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach to the study of the culture, history, economics, politics, sociology and the natural environment of Ghana using innovation as a connective device. The class highlights Ghana’s forward-thinking and progressive past, using the nation as a placeholder for both the future potential and current realities of homegrown growth on the continent. Students will experience Ghana’s progress, seeing first-hand how technological innovations are affecting social and political realities across its width and breadth, and also have the opportunity to play a role in its development as they work alongside local university students in Industry and Innovation Unit at the University of Cape Coast to help develop creative solutions to existing problems. As a bonus, the course will provide a number of vectors for study and learning in various areas of Ghana; including visits to museums, historical sites, African markets, villages, cultural centers and lectures by Ghanaian professors, professionals, practitioners and parliamentarians.

Students will examine Scottish neighborhoods and communities, purposefully employing ‘engaged’ and interactive discussions and conversations with locals from a wide range of demographics, i.e. an ethnographic approach. These conversations, or interviews, will result in general class discussion and writing to examine cultural differences, place them in context, and develop increasingly productive approaches to future conversations. Regular debriefing sessions will include all students recounting encounters and finding value in them, and students critiquing each other’s reports so that, as a group, they become better at knowing what to ask and how to ask it and at interpreting and understanding what they hear in answers.

The modern nation of Egypt encompasses a sharp juxtaposition of modernity and antiquity. Moreover, the land is awash with the vestiges of Arab and Kemetic influences. They are found in the history, in the architecture, the ruins, and most importantly, embodied within the people. In this way, Egypt is a study in conflict and contact and change and continuity. While recognizing the importance of Arab rule in Egypt from the 7th century, this course will focus on the contributions of Africana people to the fabric of ancient and modern Egypt. This seminar will provide students with an induction to Egyptian history, culture, and society from the earliest pottery producing cultures of the Neolithic Period (starting c. 8000 BC) through the early development of the Egyptian state (c. 3000 BC), to the Islamic conquest (639 CE). This long-term perspective will highlight the variability of Egyptian histories and cultures, allowing a comparative study of issues such as state formation, religious change, and imperialism.

In this study abroad course, students will study the many artistic objects, events, and histories of Oxford, England. Characteristic subjects include literature, architecture, gastronomic culture, music, sculpture, gardening, and painting.

In this course, students study and discuss the foundations of Western thought through study of ancient and classical epic poetry (in English translation). Works studied may include The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Theogony, The Aeneid, The Metamorphoses, and On the Nature of Things.

This course, students study and discuss the foundations of Western thought through study of the history, philosophy, and drama (all in English translation) of classical Athens. Authors studied may include Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Plato, Aristotle, and Thucydides.

This course will study and discuss theories and practices of love, sex, marriage, and the family from a variety of disciplinary perspectives (literature, film, sociology, history, anthropology, psychology, and/or philosophy). Readings and discussions will focus on the ethics of courtship, gender and sexuality, marriage, and parenting.

Often considered the most influential book ever published, the King James Version of the Bible (1611) is a monumental cultural achievement. It encapsulates the Renaissance spirit of eloquence, and four hundred years after its publication, it remains the most frequently used translation of the Bible in the English-speaking world, especially in America. Given the historical, political, literary, and cultural prominence of this translation, this course takes a transdisciplinary approach to understanding how the book came into existence and what accounts for its popularity. The course begins by studying the complex history of how this translation came to be commissioned, who the translators were, how the translation was accomplished, and the politics involved in the translation. The course then critically studies the structures and styles of the KJB, with particular focus on examining genres and performing close readings of texts, as well as considering the political work often attributed to the text (i.e., how the book has been used to enslave and emancipate enslaved people, how it has been used to create and maintain patriarchy, etc). The course ends by paying particular attention to the history of the KJB in the United States, as we discuss the so-called “KJB-Only Movement.” Therefore, rather than studying Jewish or Christian theology, this course aims to introduce students to issues surrounding the material book history of the KJB, its immense literary aesthetic, and its cultural influence.

This course examines the impact of the ancient world on the life of modern women. More specifically, this course examines the evolution of women’s life, starting from ancient Greece and following its trajectory to the modern day. Ancient Greece, known for catapulting civilization to higher levels with its invention of democracy, political science, philosophy, the codification of laws and the professionalization of medicine among other achievements, shaped the world, for better or worse, as it is known today. This same culture, however, has excluded women from public life since the 5th century BC and has set the stage for pioneer women in the West to combat the perception of females as inferior beings and to struggle to enter higher education and public life and, eventually, gain voting rights. This socio-political framework helps to explore the gender ideologies that have impacted women’s life since antiquity, the changes in the perception of women in the course of history, the origin and development of ideas about women’s body and mind, as well as the role of race in regard to these issues. Understanding the gamut of theories and attitudes toward women, students can develop a better grasp of what women want today, where they are headed, what obstacles are still standing in their way and how they can overcome them to achieve their goals.

The heart of this course will be the study of the archetype of the hero's quest in the mythology and literature of adventure. Students will study and discuss theories and practices of Adventure from a variety of disciplinary perspectives (literature, film, sociology, history, psychology, philosophy). They will read classic adventure novels such as J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, as well as stories that challenge the very idea of 'adventure', such as Samuel Beckett's "The Expelled." Through a transdisciplinary lens, students will analyze representations of identity, belief, and class in these novels, supplementing the readings with contemporary films like Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom and Werner Herzog's Grizzly Man.

What does it mean to be African? Black? Are the terms bound by racial, ethnic, or spatial limitations? Who possesses the rights of access to the cultural products and expressions unique to the continent and her descendants? In this course, students will examine how the concept of Africa, as both home and identity, is recreated and imagined through a variety of disciplines and sources (history, sociology, religion, art, media studies, anthropology, psychology, linguistics). During lectures and weekly discussions, and through words, pictures, sounds, and live performance, they will examine objects and stories that collectively make up contemporary expressions of global Africanity. Students will explore questions of home, identity, Afropolitanism, continuity, appropriation, authenticity, historical memory, and creolization using examples from academic scholars, literary figures, and popular culture. Looking and listening closely, students will observe the wide range of African cultural practices present within literature, film, music, artwork, communication styles, dress, and beauty standards to develop a critical understanding of not only how these practices continue to unfold on the African continent, but how they are also transformed by and endure throughout its many diasporas.

Twisted locs, braids, bantu knots, cornrows, and wigs are but some of the many aesthetic practices introduced globally by African people. Historically, African hairstyles were coded and complex and one’s hair could convey significant personal information, including a person’s marital status, wealth, rank, age, religion, and ethnic identity. This course traces the origins of African hair from the continent, where it stood as a marker of culture and prestige, to the Americas, where black hair has often been derided and devalued in a society where European notions of beauty are the societal standards. Students will explore the contemporary social construction of “Black Hair” and the manner in which hairstyles often signify, resist, and conform to societal norms.

This course will cover the fundamentals and curiosities of baking science, focusing on the chemistry and biology concepts interlaced within the art of baking. Students will be introduced to the chemistry and reactions of macromolecules in the baking process, with an emphasis on the characteristics and contributions of ingredients, temperature, techniques, and flavorings. Critical interactions between molecules and component behaviors will be integrated, as well as essential process features such as heat transfer and time. The students will employ critical thinking in the evaluation of the technical and scientific aspects of baking (i.e., heat transfer, reactions, quality control), and creative skills in the practice of baking or troubleshooting and development required of a baker. Students will engage with social/personal and professional baking, considering creative ideology and personal value versus scale and consistency, and collaborate through a series of demos and two baking labs. Finally, students will engage with cultural influences on baking and discuss perspectives on the geographical relevance of available/conventional ingredients and techniques.

This course asks “What” the normal legislative process was and is currently; “How” societal changes will affect current and future law making; and “Why” did we get into this condition? This course will take into consideration public demands, business interests, racial equality, and the working-class poor as influences on law making. The class will discuss immigration, abortion, taxes, health care, and other “Hot Button” issues faced by elected officials. Changing technology in business and buying habits of the public are some of the factors affecting the law-making process. The class will discuss and discover the “what, how, and why” of the political polarization and the extreme divisiveness of social and business issues.

Gain practical insights into the election process. Hear from state and local election officials, candidates, and campaign managers. Learn about candidate decision-making, influences on elections, political parties, and the effect of money on elections. The class will meet and interview state and local leaders of political parties, governments, industries, and those who conduct elections. Each student will interview elected officials in their home state.

This course will examine the relationship between the reality of the law and its depictions in television shows and films. Students will focus on the facts and the fiction of the legal process. This course will start by examining the role and position of law in both historical and modern societies and move from there into the examination of different legal institutions and study how these facets of the law are represented in movies and television shows. Additionally, students will examine the opposite perspective: how does popular culture, and in particular law as portrayed in moving images, affect real law?.

This seminar is about the state of Alabama—its history as well as the public policy issues and culture that grew out of that history and the efforts to reform the injustice embedded in Alabama’s public policy. Students will discuss the readings divided in four units, pondering the objective substance “facts” and subjective questions “why”.

This course is about empowering students to develop an opinion about highly controversial topics in current public discussion. The participants will be encouraged to find and create building blocks based on conceptions of philosophical and theological ethics. In addition to introductory lectures, book discussions, films, and other media, role playing and mock debates will be used as tools to help sharpen argumentation. Possible topics include: “Blue or Red: Why and What Kind of Democracy Do You Want?,” “Labor Unions: Engines or Brakes to Societal Progress?,” "Immigration: Opportunity or Threat?,” “Abortion: Murder or Human Right?,” and “Confederate Flag: Heritage or Hate?”.

The course is designed to enhance the learning and understanding of healthcare and its impact on our changing world. The course serves as an introduction to health care, in which trends and issues will be identified and discussed. In addition, technology in health care delivery, applications, decision-making, planning, and research will also be addressed. The course focuses on understanding the role of the health care professional in health care education, practice, and research. The course also explores health care from the perspective of the health care consumer.

This course is designed to help educate students on the techniques and skills useful in collegiate mock trial. It gives students the opportunity to hone the necessary skills before beginning their journey into the competitive sphere that is collegiate mock trial. Enrolled students are offered the opportunity to try out for the University of Alabama Mock Trial Association, but students’ grades will not be affected by successful placement on a team.

This course will introduce students to the breadth of Sustainability as a subject and will serve as a vehicle for further student research into specific topics within the context of Sustainability. The challenges faced now - both the existential threat of climate change and the unprecedented opportunities for transformation that threat offers - flow directly from the urgent need to understand what it means to be responsibly human. The nature of these questions and concerns are fundamental to all of us and cut across all disciplines and all courses of study. Regardless of their majors, this seminar will strengthen students' ability to recognize and appreciate the power of connection, and will encourage them to be empowered by complexity, rather than overwhelmed by it.

This is a service learning field experience course conducted by the Honors College Engage Tuscaloosa office. The service learning experience is a learning vehicle for the Honors students to be exposed to and learn about educational issues within multiple segments of our surrounding communities. UA students will work with pupils in local elementary, middle or high schools for 8-12 hours during the semester in a variety of educational settings and subject areas. Honors students will receive training during class time on the specific work to be done in the service learning experience, on how to work with school-aged children and how to be an effective mentor.

Students will understand the philosophy of education as it relates to the delivery of curriculum and pedagogy. Students will be trained on and practice the fundamentals of mentoring. Students will be required to spend 25 hours in Tuscaloosa City and County Public School Systems (background check required). Students will be specifically working with 6th grade classes delivering space exploration and rocketry curriculum.

Students will understand the philosophy of education as it relates to the delivery of curriculum and pedagogy. Students will be trained on and practice the fundamentals of mentoring. Students will be required to spend 25 hours in Tuscaloosa City and County Public School Systems (background check required). This course is meant to bring STEM ideas and innovations to elementary school students.

Class is for those students who have completed UH 180, and who return to take positions of leadership, sometimes as editors, working with groups of new students in that class to assist with writing, photography, graphic design, online and website work and social media. Students will be expected to develop original stories or projects that are more sophisticated and complex than their UH 180 work. Students will work with the aid of student editors and UA staff/faculty advisers.

How do writers, and journalists-as-writers, see revolutions (some well known, some not so much) and what role do they play in them? Students will examine writers (some well known, some not so much), their lives, their texts, their words, rhetoric and arguments, address their effects on revolutionary and/or cultural change, and set these writers and their works within their broader economic, social, cultural, and political contexts. Are they archivists or activists? Do they help trigger and/or sustain revolutions, or help understand them, or both? And what have they left to help understand modern political and cultural pressures that hint at radicalism or revolution?.

In this course, students will explore, debate, and analyze a range of cultural controversies that made headlines during the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. The course is organized thematically; focusing on a specific theme for each unit, discussion and analysis will afford opportunities for cross-thematic examination as well as exploration of other related cultural issues.

Global Citizenship encompasses the knowledge of nations, cultures, and societies in a complex, interdependent, and changing world. Introducing students to historical and contemporary global challenges of citizenship, this course explores comparative arenas of interaction, interdependence, and inequity among diverse geographical, social, political, and economic systems. The class will investigate questions of citizenship, membership, and belonging, asking, “What does it mean to be a citizen?” “Who is entitled to the rights, privileges and responsibilities of membership within the citizenry?” “What are the differential effects and impact of globalization in its myriad sub-forms – cultural, social, economic and political – on notions of global citizenship?” To answer these questions the course focuses on a number of distinct but related social and political issues: citizenship, nationalism, migration, and cosmopolitanism.

Students will explore scholarship about peer mentoring in the college setting, developing an understanding of the practice of mentoring and the purpose of their role as mentors within the Honors College. The course will provide the theoretical framework for the interrogation and implementation of mentoring and expose students to the various mentoring options in the Honors College. Students will also develop the skills necessary for facilitating group discussion.

In this six day, one-credit hour field experience course, students will serve as peer leaders for the Honors Action Program. They will help immerse freshmen students in the foundations of the Honors College and community engagement. Peer leaders co-lead the creation and implementation of a community engagement project. This will involve planning before the week-long program in coordination with HYO faculty and staff and Honors Action Student Leadership Team. The week of the program, peer mentors will implement these projects with the freshmen, attend the lectures, and serve as small group discussion leaders.

What is a scholar? Honors Connections/Engagement (UH 100) attempts to answer this question by introducing first-year students to the UA Honors College experience. UH 200, Life as a Scholar, explores the topic by interrogating the relationship of higher education to lifelong learning. UH 301, HCS Creative and Innovative Inquiry, builds on earlier curricular experiences by integrating and applying the ontological and epistemological modalities of Honors education in wholly new ways. Students are led through an exploration of diverse forms of inquiry and ways of knowing surrounding problems and projects of academic and cultural significance. The course explores these topics through a transdisciplinary, creative, and deeply personal lens, focusing on inquiry as connection, provocation, critical wondering, investigation, reflection, representation, and transformation. Using these understandings of inquiry as a foundation, students will develop research proposals around ideas and questions which, given often abstract and multilayered complexities, are not easily explained solely by traditional or western forms of inquiry.

What does it mean to think in a transdisicplinary way? What does it mean to be transdisciplinary? How does a transdisciplinary approach to education and the world make you a better scholar? How does it make you a better person? By building from the knowledges gained in UH 100 and UH 200, this course will prepare students for future experiences such as capstone projects/theses, graduate school, and professional life by examining the philosophical foundations and justifications of transdisciplinarity, as well as its practical applications in life both inside, and outside, of academia. Transdisciplinarity is, at its root, a commitment to creative and bold problem solving. This course will prepare students for how to practice such skills after their undergraduate careers.

This course examines representations of colleges and universities in media and popular culture. Using various forms of media including films, TV shows, novels, news outlets, trade publications, plays, podcasts, Ted Talks, music, etc., this course will examine topics including students, Greek life, athletics, faculty members, graduate school, and more to understand discourse regarding higher education in the United States from various disciplinary perspectives. The course considers the possibility that, beyond entertainment value, representations of college convey a perceived reality of what student and faculty life looks like as well as the status of higher education in the United States. This course will question those portrayals and discuss how they inform and/or miseducate various populations by comparing them with the everyday realities of students, faculty, and institutions in order to become more critical of the media and public messages students consume.

Stanley Kubrick said in an interview for Full Metal Jacket that "truth is too multifaceted to be contained in a five line summary", but here's to trying. Stanley Kubrick, director of such notable films as 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, and the aforementioned Full Metal Jacket, among others, was an inveterate reader who practically could not make a film until he was an expert on the subjects he was dealing with. As such, this course will take a similarly broad approach, drawing on theoretical works from philosophy, psychology, social criticism and others, to study the one true subject Kubrick was eternally a student of--human nature. Is there such a thing, and what features define it? Like Danny Torrance in The Shining, students will draw on knowledge from the past, present and, though they can't "shine", from potential futures, to work their way through the labyrinthian mystery that is the human race.

This course seeks to answer two questions: “What do Americans fear, and what can we learn about American culture after studying that fear?” Americans have always, and perhaps now more than ever, maintained deep fear. Fear of the unknown. Of science. Of technology. Of others. Of terrorism. Of gun violence. Of viruses. Of each other. Answering such questions demands a transdisciplinary approach to fear. Therefore, students will use trauma theory, psychology, science, race theory, historical analysis, philosophy, rhetoric studies, sociology, film criticism, and gender theory to analyze fear from a variety of disciplines. The class is organized around a series of texts that depict and address American fears since the Great Depression, and students will be asked to analyze and then debate the causes of such fears. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course.

This course explores examples of how the world’s best, most admired leaders not only survive and thrive in today’s rapidly changing world, but also create and innovate by leading their teams using the same principles and philosophies that jazz musicians do. Students will explore how these principles, philosophies, and actions, at the core of jazz music and culture, can help students become a better, more successful leader, and to be more stable in an increasingly unstable world.

This hands-on course provides an introduction to the concepts, aesthetics, and techniques of contemporary book arts. The class will explore fundamental elements of bookbinding and unique artistic book structures, and students will create work that has a narrative for the viewer. Students will discover a variety of contemporary artist book structures, develop basic hand skills, and consider how content and book structure work together in artists’ books. Assignments will be given to further students’ understanding of the book and its potential for artistic expression.

Special Topics.

Carl Sagan wrote “If you wish to bake an apple pie from scratch, first you must create the universe.” The same might be said of “explaining” an artist’s work; one must understand the “universe” of ideas and experiences that “baked” the work from scratch. This is perhaps even more true of filmmakers, who work in a medium that inherently synthesizes knowledge from a vast array of fields. In this class students will try to figure out the recipes behind the works of Jordan Peele, Steve McQueen, and Satoshi Kon, three of the most interesting filmmakers in recent memory, by exploring ideas from across a spectrum of disciplines.

This courses focuses on the history, literature, iconography, and sacred practices of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Texts under study may vary at instructor’s discretion, but will generally include readings from the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, Augustine’s Confessions, Dante’s Commedia, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and Milton’s Paradise Lost. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course.

This course focuses on developments in Western thinking from the Renaissance to the present day. Authors to be studied will invariably change at the instructor’s discretion, but students should expect to read and become familiar with the works of Shakespeare, Descartes, Pascal, Swift, Hume, Austen, Darwin, Freud, and Woolf. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course.

This course examines the philosophy of history in seven plays by Shakespeare and numerous theoretical and critical readings, which may include Herodotus, Plato, Holinshed, Hume, and Hegel. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course.

The seminar will follow the general themes of myth vs. reality in the world of espionage. Students shall focus on spy novels, possibly including the works of Rudyard Kipling, Somerset Maugham, Alan Furst, Graham Greene and John le Carre to develop the spy storyteller’s craft. The texts students shall read will grapple with the moral questions raised in espionage—the manipulation of other human beings, its justification for protecting the national interests of one’s country, the long-term corrosive effects of deceit and clandestinity on the soul of the spymaster, the role of the spy bureaucracy, and the attraction of the game of espionage for its own sake. The works of fiction will be contrasted with the true lives of master spies, possibly including Oleg Penkovsky and Ryszard Kuklinski, as well as double agents— possibly including Dusko Popov, Kim Philby, Aldrich Ames, Robert Hannsen, and Jim Nicholson, posing the question whether the myth of espionage is stranger than the real thing.

This course will survey not only some of the canonical authors of existential philosophy (e.g., Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre), but more importantly, read them in relation to other authors that are not traditionally included, yet who struggle with the problems of existence and, in turn, provide wonderfully rich insights into the human condition. By breaking the boundaries of race and gender, as they are traditionally drawn by existential philosophy, and by including writers such as Ralph Ellison, Frantz Fanon, and Toni Morrison, a richer conversation on the nature of the human condition, as well as the possibilities for “being”, will be presented. The course’s primary objective is to read existential philosophy across race and gender. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course.

What is a political theory of love? What does a politics of love look like? What is it a love of? Country? Justice? Fellow citizens? Should the concept of love serve as a starting point for thinking politically? Or should it, above all other things, be avoided as a starting point for thinking politically? These are just some of the questions that the tradition of political theory, stretching back to Plato’s Republic, has sought to answer in many different ways. This course will explore such questions and some of the ways that they have been approached by various writers. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course.

This course will explore the intersections between political theory and environmentalism. When these two fields are brought together, there are interesting questions to be asked about humanity’s historically sovereign relation to, and role in, nature: What is the nature of freedom amidst so many environmental crises? How do we alter our value systems to better reflect environmentally sustainable behaviors? Do we pursue revolution or reform? This course will survey the spectrum of Green political theories, including eco-liberalism, eco-socialism, eco-anarchism, eco-feminism, eco-terrorism, etc., and explore the myriad ways people have rethought present and future politics in relation to the environment. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course.

“A Republic If You Can Keep It” was designed to refresh students' memory of the United States Constitution; to enhance students' sensitivity to the importance of preserving and protecting that constitution; to expose students to the economic, political, social and constitutional challenges of our time; and to develop and reflect on possible responses to these challenges. In developing these possible responses, students will draw on the fields of economics, finance, government, political science, law, management, religion and systems theory. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course.

This course will focus on women’s texts and explore how women form notions of identity and community through the production of various texts, including quilts, gardens, cookbooks, and diaries. Students will question the gendering of particular crafts and how this affects their cultural knowledge and reading of these texts. Major projects for this course will include a biographical/historical sketch, an oral history project, and a final written project. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course.

This course will examine the texts and traditions of women writers from the American South. Through close reading and writing, students will analyze the use of autobiography in these texts, exploring how writing as a southerner and as a woman shapes one’s work and achievement. Students will read works by some of the most distinguished writers of the last two centuries–including Zora Neale Hurston, Eudora Welty, Alice Walker, and Ellen Douglas, as well as lesser known writers. As students read and write, they will also discuss their own experiences of the South, its people, and its narratives and how they choose to interact with them. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course.

This course will explore the literary and historical development of American Dream(s) through narratives in American Literature. This course will engage with narratives throughout American history focusing on the narrative's power to define and develop social norms but also enact social change. Students will develop a vocabulary for discussing the relationships between narratives and social change and analyze written and oral narratives and the cultural and historical contexts that surround them. Students will concentrate specifically on narratives of marginalized people in American Literature. This course will examine how narratives are used to create connections, educate, inform, and inspire readers/listeners/viewers. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course.

This course surveys the deep historicity, the cultural diversity, and the political-economic complexity of contemporary African societies from the early post- independence period to the present day. This course will examine the Atlantic slave trade, colonialism and African nationalism as foregrounded historical events that have shaped modern Africa while also insightfully examining them from Africana perspectives and standpoints. The range of themes considered within the course include: the status of African development and democracy in a global era, modern innovation in Africa and its effect on African societies, western constructions of Africanity, the role of gender in the experiences of ordinary men and women; the nature of authority in indigenous polities; the ongoing effects of the European scramble for Africa and African responses; contemporary cultural expressions; and the economic, social, and political realities and challenges of modern global Africa.

Paul Gilroy’s The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness (1995) explores the global Black experience and Black identity formations through a transatlantic frame. Gilroy’s thesis argues that contemporary black identity constructions are a result of ongoing processes of travel and exchange between Africa, Europe, and the ‘New World’ during earlier periods of capital accumulation (transatlantic slavery and colonialism). This course disrupts Gilroy’s thesis, repositioning the focus, temporally and spatially, eastward. Students will examine often underexplored relations and routes of passage and exchange between the African continent and the peoples of Japan, China, India, the Pacific Islands, the Middle East, among other nations. The course may alternately consider any of the following propositions: (a) historical and contemporary Africa-Asia (Africa-China) relations, (b) the reasons for dispersal and processes of creating new Afro-Asian identity formations, or (c) issues of cultural continuity, nostalgia, solidarities, and belonging between Africana and Asian communities.

This course introduces three distinguished symbolic figures for the commitment to faith, peace, and justice: Gandhi, Bonhoeffer, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Building on the studies on life, achievements, and doctrines of the three selected historical persons, students will look at contemporary conflicts and reflect about what they may be able to take away from the historical conflicts for their solutions.

How did the United States, founded as colonies with profoundly religious aspirations, come to be the first modern state whose commitment to the separation of church and state was reflected in its constitution? From the election of 1800, when Federalist clergymen considered Deist Thomas Jefferson unfit to lead a “Christian nation,” to today, when religion again plays an unmistakable role in political identity, it has been a crucial and constant element in American politics. This seminar is meant to reconstruct the complicated connections of religion and politics in American history in order to enable the participants to develop a well reflected and solid position in this embattled field.

The class will focus on issues that divide Americans where they live, work, study, worship, and vote. These issues arise due to the demographics of age, sex, nationality, and race. Students will seek to identify the history of the divisive issues as they arise from ethical, economic, social, geographic, and moral conditions. Students will research each topic, analyze various “think tank” approaches to each issue, and interview persons involved in the divisive issues. This analysis will be reduced to a bullet point paper of the major issues. The class will identify and discuss through collaborative discussions the bullet point issues both nationally and in states. Students will face off in class discussions of transdisciplinary solutions to each divisive issue as they face their unrecognized biases that often dictate beliefs.

In both national and local governments, lobbying scandals make the news. Public corruption in national and state governments have caused public distrust in our democracy. Three impeached Presidents, a Vice President and two removed Speakers of the House of Representatives in Congress and convicted Congressmen were but a prelude for corruption and scandals in the states. Two Alabama Governors were convicted of corruption while the Speaker of the House was convicted from a 23-count indictment. South Carolina, Illinois, Texas, Louisiana and many other states have experienced similar misdeeds. Lobbyists have replaced the press as the 4th influence on politics, why? What do they all have in common?.

This class seeks to introduce Honors College students to questions of truth, validity, ethics, subjectivity, and form that ground social science. It will do so by exploring the philosophical foundations of qualitative inquiry, popular and critical methodological traditions, and the methods and processes students might use to engage in research. Students will think with the theories that inform qualitative research while also reading and exploring transdisciplinary qualitative work in order to develop a research proposal for their own qualitative study, which they might implement in their discipline, during graduate education, or as a culminating honors experience. No previous experience with qualitative inquiry or social science research is required for success in this course.

This course explores the connection between medicine and literature, largely (but not exclusively) through the works of a selection of well-known doctors-turned-writers. How does the practice of medicine, with its diagnostic emphasis, its balance of rationality and empathy, and its relentless proximity to human weakness and mortality affect the doctor/writer’s literary and philosophical concerns? Conversely, how might the reflective, imaginative craft of writing influence the practice of medicine? More specific questions to be explored might include: how do William Carlos Williams’ twin vocations of rural doctor and poet set him apart from his literary contemporaries? How might the archetypal characters of Holmes and Watson represent the balance doctors must strike between reason and empathy in the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle? What happens when a doctor becomes a patient? How does it change the way they approach mortality? Why is illness such a powerful cultural and literary metaphor?.

Free Speech vs. Cancel Culture, Right to Life vs. Right to Choose, Gun Control vs. Gun Rights. It all boils down to my freedom vs. your freedom – or does it? The current polarized, political rhetoric surrounding “American freedoms” would have people believe this either/or approach to what it means to be free and to be a citizen of a democratic society is just the way it is. This course will examine traditional and modern texts to consider the nature and power of freedom as a moral concept that has informed our contemporary understandings of the self and citizenship. Using collaborative research and deliberative dialogue experiential learning practices, students will engage the ethical and civic dimensions of how they think and talk about freedom.

This is a service learning field experience course conducted by the Honors College Engage Tuscaloosa office and is a follow up to the UH 270 field experience for students who are interested in a more in-depth experience. This service learning opportunity is meant to enhance the prior learning experience of the Honors students by challenging them to look deeply at not only educational issues, but social issues within multiple segments of our surrounding communities and state. UA students will continue to work with pupils in local elementary, middle or high schools for 10-12 hours during the semester in a variety of educational settings and subject areas. Honors students will receive additional training during class time on the specific work to be done in the service learning experience, on how to work with school-aged children and how to be an effective mentor.

The course will serve as a Leadership/Mentoring course that is connected to the Tuscaloosa Rocketry Challenge Project. Students in this course will be expected to provide leadership and mentoring for the students in UH 272 as well as students in the K-12 public school system. Students will be required to spend 25 hours in Tuscaloosa City and County Public School Systems (background check required). Students will be specifically working as mentors for UH 272 Tuscaloosa Rocketry Challenge.

The course will serve as a Leadership/Mentoring course that is connected to the STEM Outreach course, UH 273. Students in this course will be expected to provide leadership and mentoring for the students in STEM Outreach, as well as students in the K-12 public school system. Students will be required to spend 25 hours in Tuscaloosa City and County Public School Systems (background check required). Students will be specifically working as mentors for STEM Outreach.

This course is a continuation of Mosaic class UH 280. Students return to take positions as highest level of leadership (e.g. Editor-in-Chief, Executive Editor, Managing Editor). Students will make editorial and management decisions (e.g. theme of Mosaic work for the semester, subjects to address, deadlines, assignments, choice of editors, editing decisions, what to run and what not to run, editing instructions, Style, work priorities, work loads, publications times and dates, and approve content, designs and layouts. Students will work with the aid of student editors and UA staff/faculty advisers.

Gossip and rumor are essential, powerful and subversive forms of human communication, yet their roles in society are commonly overlooked, dismissed or trivialized. This class examines their history, morality, psychology, vital agency in social change, commercialization and ethics, the mass media’s amplification of them and their role in our closest circles, workplaces and organizations. This class will also look to their future given the immense impact of social media on interpersonal communication. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course.

English radical Thomas Paine (1737-1809), writer and thinker but more writer than thinker, is author of the most influential and distinctly “American” revolutionary ideals and roadmaps, best selling author of the 18th century, a significant factor in both the American and French Revolutions and pioneer of modern democracy. This class will look at his life, character, times, influences, ideas, works and legacy and compare him to other revolutionary writers. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course.

The Honors Year One program provides Honors College students the opportunity to serve as peer mentors for incoming Honors College freshmen. Mentors for UH 100 will lead small group discussions and assist first-semester students in developing an awareness of the Honors College, the university, and the greater community. During preparation classes, mentors will develop leadership, teamwork, and inclusivity skills and discuss different tactics for mentoring and what roles mentors play in the transition of first-semester freshmen. During small group discussions with freshmen, mentors will put to practice this work and help first-semester freshmen practice the key concepts of engaged scholarship, including critical and creative thinking, ethical and empathetic dialogue, and collaborative and inclusive leadership.

Honors Year One Mentors for UH 110 will serve as discussion leaders and peer mentors for first-year students in the Honors College have completed at least one semester on campus. Mentors will assist these freshman students in continuing to develop an a sense of belonging and purpose in the Honors College, the university, and the greater community. During preparation classes, mentors will develop leadership, teamwork, and inclusivity skills, discuss mentoring and their role in the HYO program, and analyze the developmental stages for students in their first-year of study. During small group discussions, mentors will put to practice this work and help first year students practice the key concepts of engaged scholarship, including critical and creative thinking, ethical and empathetic dialogue, and collaborative and inclusive leadership.

In this six day, one-credit hour course, students will serve as peer mentors for the Honors Action Program. They will help introduce freshman students to the foundations of the Honors College and community engagement and also take the lead on a project with a first year Action leader, mentoring a first year Action leader as they work together in a pair to plan and conduct the service project. Action peer mentors will take part in service learning project creation and planning before the week-long program in coordination HYO faculty and staff and Honors Action Student Leadership Team. The week of the program, peer mentors will implement these projects with the freshmen, attend the lectures, and serve as small group discussion leaders.

Students work on an independent project with a faculty supervisor.

In “Signature Work,” students will integrate and apply the whole of their Honors learning experience to complex problems and projects that are important to the student and important to society. Students will also participate in a research and methods seminar in which Honors faculty offer support to student projects and in which students have the opportunity to discuss work-in-progress with their peers.

Research on a topic chosen by the student in consultation with a qualified faculty supervisor pertaining to an honors thesis. A proposal outlining the thesis project must be approved prior to registration.

Research on a topic chosen by the student in consultation with a qualified faculty supervisor culminating in an honors thesis. A proposal outlining the thesis project must be approved prior to registration.