This is the Honors colloquium component for Polisci 492N.

This course introduces doctoral students to key historical and philosophical legacies and debates in American public education, with particular attention to those relevant to current issues in the fields of curriculum, instruction, and teacher education.

The pyramids of Egypt were not built in a vacuum: they emerged as symbols of power during a thousand years of cultural change that culminated in the creation of a unified state in Egypt. And the pyramids were not built to stand alone: they were parts of religious complexes built to worship the rulers buried within.
In this seminar we will explore early Egypt, and examine the social, political, and economic changes that are symbolized by the pyramids. We will study the technologies used to design and build such monumental structures.

The wide spreading of genetically modified organisms tangled together scientific knowledge, corporate financial interests, public health problems, public opinions and governmental policies. The debates around GMO are so heated that finding unbiased information is a challenge. The goal of this course is to boost students? critical thinking in a search of unbiased evidence. In this course GMO will be a focal point to analyze broad spectrum of topics from transgenesis technology to perception of innovation by human beings.

There are many examples of chemicals that were introduced into our environment and then later identified as hazardous. How do scientists and societies determine whether a chemical is ?safe?? How do we balance the use of risky chemicals with our need for modern products? And what happens when there are pressures that prevent chemicals from being labeled toxicants, allowing harmful chemicals to remain on the market? This class will focus on the emerging issue of plastic safety: how plastics are made, how they are used, and why environmental health scientists are worried about them.

This First-Year Seminar will introduce students to debates about the ways professional and amateur sports are both shaped by and shape society. We will read articles on the history of baseball, football, basketball, hockey, soccer, and the Olympics. We will discuss sports as both entertainment and businesses, and analyze how issues in American society are often reflected in sports. We will consider the question of whether or not sports lead the way in social change or lag it.

Student will learn to use internet-based services, web platforms, and open source software to support business processes, exchange information, and collaborate. This includes basic business strategy to support by content management systems, collaboration tools. In sum, students will learn basic digital strategy from concept to prototype. This includes utilizing the Business Model Canvas for planning, basic issues with design and how to market the business.

This is an introductory 1-credit course for students with an interest in developing their abilities as fiction writers. Each week, students will read and discuss short stories that highlight a particular element of craft, such as character, setting, dialogue, and voice. Students will then have an opportunity to develop their writing skills in relation to the weekly topic through in-class writing exercises, discussion, and peer review of written work.

This seminar will explore the lived experience of substance abuse and reflections on rehabilitation. Additional sources of information will come from media accounts of a famous author/substance abuser and scientific reports of the neurophysiologic basis of addiction. Understandings of the physical and emotional aspects of addiction including socially acceptable and unacceptable addictions will be explored.

This seminar will examine the question of whether environmental exposure to lead adds to the baseline crime rate, and whether the reduction in crime in U.S. cities during the last 20 years is due in any way to the elimination of lead additives in gasoline and restrictions on lead in house paint. The course will emphasize the scientific method of inquiry, delve into techniques of statistical inference, address the distinction between correlation and causation, and survey the larger question of the causes of crime.