TENTATIVE SCHEDULE for Spring Semester, 2007

History H102, 3 cr.

Honors History of Civilization.  A continuation of History H101, moving from the Renaissance to the Twentieth Century.  May be taken without having already received credit for H101.  Satisfies
core curriculum requirements for social sciences and also General Core Studies International Course requirement.  Limit of 30.

English H258, 3 cr.

Honors Literature of Western Civilization.  Reading in selected classics of Western literature from the Renaissance to the modern era.  May be taken independently of English H257.  Discussion format; satisfies core curriculum requirements for humanities.  Limit of 30.

Chemistry H112, 4 cr.: Thomas Bitterwolf

Honors Principles of Chemistry II.    Continuation of Chem 111 for students in the University Honors Program.  Some work in inorganic, organic, and biochemistry, electrochemistry, nuclear chemistry, and in qualitative inorganic analysis.  Three lectures, one three-hour lab and one recitation a week.

Prerequisite:  Chem 111 or permission.  Satisfies core curriculum requirements in the natural and applied sciences.  Majors in natural sciences and engineering are encouraged to take Honors Chemistry.  Enrollment limit of 15 in each section.

CORE - Discovery

Core H154 3 cr., Dale Graden

Honors Contemporary American Experience.  See Fall 2006 course schedule for full course description. 

Core H160 3 cr., Sandra Reineke

Honors Sex and Culture: Women and Men in the 21st Century.  See Fall 2006 course schedule for full course description. 

Core H163 3 cr., Ken Faunce

Honors Globalization. See Fall 2006 course schedule for full course description. 

CorS  Integrated Science, 3 cr.  TBD.

Economics H272, 4 cr., Steven Peterson

Honors Foundation of Economic Analysis.  Introductory course on the principles of economics, covering both micro-and macro-concepts, theory, analysis, and applications. Carries no credit after Econ 201 AND 202; carries 3 credits after EITHER Econ 201 or Econ 202.  Satisfies core curriculum requirements for social sciences. Limit of 30.

Intr H404, 1 cr. (pass-fail), Profs. Michael O’Rourke, Daniel Bukvich, Richard Fehrenbacher

Interdisciplinary Colloquium: Insight and Creativity.  UI faculty and staff present and describe their approaches to teaching and/or research in their respective disciplines in this series of lectures.  The lectures present the specific subjects and methodologies that define the disciplines and initiate
conversations about those disciplines to explore and to encourage interdisciplinary cooperation.  Students attend the weekly lectures, complete journal and response assignments, and also meet with professors O’Rourke, Fehrenbacher, and Bukvich.   Limit 15

Intr H404, 1 cr., 3:30–4:30 p.m., Tues., Prof. Stephan Flores Honors “Vacation” Reading"

This class explores several acclaimed novels and a work of nonfiction.  Two of the texts are among top picks of Nick Hornby (About a Boy, High Fidelity, Polysyllabic Spree) following his year of book reviewing: Random Family and Clockers are narratives with similar subject matter—poverty, drug-dealing, tough survival in the big city. The other novels by Hurakami and Mitchell are whirlwind journeys in form and content.  The coursework for one graded credit includes a focused journal entry (350 words) and four critical responses (700 words each), and evaluation also based on attendance and class participation. Open to seniors, juniors, and sophomores.

Students wishing to earn credit in Honors Vacation Reading should contact Dr. Flores to let him know of your interest in participating in the course (this also helps keep tabs on enrollment), start reading the following books when you can manage it, and take some notes to prepare for class discussion and for the required short writing assignments.  The class meets once a week during the spring 2007 semester for discussion.  Limit 12.

            Required texts:

LeBlanc, Adrian Nicole.  Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx. Scribner (pbk), 2004.
From Booklist: “Journalist LeBlanc spent more than 10 years following two Latina women from the Bronx, and in this ambitious work, she tells their stories, beginning in the late 1980s with their young teen years.... What emerges is an important, unvarnished portrait of people living in deep urban poverty, beyond the statistics, hip-hop glamour, and stereotypes.”

Mitchell, David.  Cloud Atlas: A Novel. Random House (pbk), 2004. “It knits together science fiction, political thriller, and historical pastiche with musical virtuosity and linguistic exhuberance.”—Evening Standard

Murakami, Haruki.  Kafka on the Shore.  Vintage (pbk.), 2006.  NY Times 10 Best Books of 2005: “This graceful and dreamily cerebral novel . . . tells two stories - that of a boy fleeing an Oedipal prophecy, and that of a witless old man who can talk to cats - and is the work of a powerfully confident writer.”

Price, Richard.  Clockers. Harper/Perennial (pbk), 2001.  “A huge, ambitious novel about cops, kids, and cocaine.... Price pressure-cooks the city down to its dense, searing essentials.” –Village Voice Literary Supplement

FLEN H420, 3 cr.  International Cinema and National Literatures.  Tentative

Spring 2007 Upper Division Honors Seminars

Course Title: “Stranger than (science) fiction: Humans and technology in the Age of the Cyborg,” 3 credits
Instructor: Dr. Jodie Nicotra, Assistant Professor, Department of English

In this honors seminar, students will focus on the interface between humans and technology, examining the language, narratives, and arguments that accompany discussions of technology and its effects on human life.  In particular, we’ll be examining the philosophy of “transhumanism,” the idea that the very definition of what it means to be human has substantially changed as a result of our encounters with and increasing reliance upon technology—that what has emerged over the last
century is a kind of life form substantially different from the human being as traditionally
conceived: the “transhuman.”  What are the features of this new human, and what sorts of ethical and political issues arise from the increasing enmeshment of humans and technology?  Limit of 15

Course Title: “Africa in Rebellion:  The Movements for Independence,” 3 credits
Instructor:  Dr. Ellen Kittell, Department of History

By the late nineteenth century, European powers had carved up the African continent into numerous colonies.  The indigenous peoples spent the subsequent seventy-five years struggling not only for independence but also for definition in a world where only “countries” and “nations,” as opposed to kin and ethnic group, were considered acceptable. The focus of this class will be on how the struggle for independence intertwined with the forging of identity from the mid-nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth.  Limit of 15

 Courses for Fall 2005

Courses for Spring 2005

Courses for Fall 2004

Courses for Fall 2003