Honors College Courses

The Honors College is pleased to offer more than 1 course in each of the general education categories.  Please read course titles and descriptions within each category.

ART = Art   HC2010
LIT = Literature   HC2020
WCIV = Western Civilization   HC2040
GP = Global Perspective   HC2050
SS = Social Science    HC2060
FR = Formal Reasoning    HC2070
NSTN = Natural Science & Technology    HC2080

Attributes
DIV = Us Diversity
KA = Knowledge Application
WIG = Writing Intensive in the General Education

Summer I 2025

HC 2020  All the World is a Playground
CRN: 32199
Instructor:  Susan Lynne Beckwith
Gen Ed: LIT + WIG
Course Time:  T/TH 1:00 p.m. - 4:20 p.m.
Course Description: Even fish play. In class, we’re going to explore the world around us through literature that celebrates the interconnectedness of human and nonhuman life–and the desire for play we all share. In Richard Power’s Playground, we’ll discover a story woven together where the three human characters are a poet, a marine biologist, and a computer scientist: but the ocean is the main stage and marine life the lead. We’ll play
catch with a manta in this novel and think about the way play is ‘fun-and-games’ as well as growth. In this same story, the evolution of the seas is set alongside the development of AI and the ending of is described as a ‘Move 37’ (when humans were surprised by AlphaGo’s move in a computer-plays-human match). Incoming Twist! From Reddit to ‘read it,’ we’ll weave these knowledges together as Robin Wall Kimmerer does in Braiding Sweetgrass, where she explores poetry, science, and indigenous knowledges and we’ll learn the language of our connectedness to the wide wild world in our own stories. In Shelby Van Pelt’s Remarkably Bright Creatures, an octopus steals the show (and your heart!) as a main character and narrator! So pack your bags to go where the wild things are! The animals will be our main characters in this class and since as Richard Powers says, “play is the engine of evolution” we are going to evolve our understanding of where the wild things are (including, perhaps, in our PCs and devices!) and learn by having fun!


HC-3900 Research & Scholarship
CRN: 3200
Instructor: Susan Lynne Beckwith
Course Time:  (Online)
Course Description: With the support of an OU faculty member of your choice (your thesis mentor) and the HC 3900 teaching team, you will work to develop the proposal for your final Thesis project.


SUMMER II

HC-2050 Tudor Intruders
CRN: 32201
Instructor: Randall Engle
Gen Ed: GP 
Course Time: M/W  5:30 p.m -8:50 p.m. 
Course Description:  The Tudor sixteenth century is one of the most fascinating yet challenging periods in English history, even as it was England’s most formative. This course will survey the events that brought the Tudors to the throne, and England out of the medieval period and into the early modern world. Such topics as the English Reformation, the Church of England, the development of the nation state, the monarchy, and the blossoming of English literature and music will be explored. Tudor Intruders will be offered as a Summer 2course, with an optional travel component that invites students to travel to London for 12 days, a vivid travel experience to immerse students in all they have learned.
 

The Honors College is pleased to offer more than 1 course in each of the general education categories.  Please read course titles and descriptions within each category.

ART = Art   HC2010
LIT = Literature   HC2020
WCIV = Western Civilization   HC2040
GP = Global Perspective   HC2050
SS = Social Science    HC2060
FR = Formal Reasoning    HC2070
NSTN = Natural Science & Technology    HC2080

Attributes
DIV = Us Diversity
KA = Knowledge Application
WIG = Writing Intensive in the General Education

Fall 2025

HC1000 Making Discoveries
Instructor:  Dr. Graeme Harper, Dean of The Honors College
Gen Ed:  Art or WCIV
Course Days/Time:  MW 3:00 p.m. - 4"47 p.m.  or TR 10:00 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.
Course Description:  HC 1000 is a 4 credit freshmen course exploring the exciting and significant nature of human discovery, whether in the sciences, the arts or the community, whether by individuals or by groups. It is also a course in which you can explore your own ambitions; that is, your own potential personal and professional discoveries. We will look at things that have been (and are) discovered in and around a university (like this one!). In addition to exploring a range of university disciplines and subjects, Making Discoveries will examine the wider world, to industry and the professions, and to the community for models of the opportunities that the world offers. The course will encourage and develop your critical thinking, as well as your creative engagement. It will look at what we can do individually as well as what we can do in teams or groups, as a leader and as a participant.

ART 

HC- 2010 Improving Life with Improv
CRN 45039
Instructor:  Shaun Moore
Gen Ed: Art
Course Days/Time:  TR 1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.
Course Description:  This course will introduce students to the art of improv, and how learning the skills can benefit them in many facets of their life, such as social, educational, and professional. Improvisation is an art form, a fun way of traveling on the journey to self-actualization and feeling comfortable in one's own skin. Improv is a wonderful vehicle for leadership development, as it imparts crucial life skills that every person needs. We have all had moments in our life when we knew exactly what to do without censoring ourselves. These are moments we are using our intuition. This class will help us respond on impulse, on an intuitive level beyond intellectual and rational thought, by practicing a variety of improvisational exercises and games. This course is appropriate for complete beginners as well as those with previous acting or improv experience. Learn to play, connect, and heighten your awareness. Get outside your comfort zone and rediscover your natural spontaneity and flexibility. Through improv, students in this course will be empowered to find out more about who they really are, gain more confidence, and experience a sense of ensemble.

HC -2010 Saints and Sounds
CRN: 45040
Instructor: Randall Engle
Gen Ed:  Art
Course Days/Time:  M,W,F, 12:00 p.m. - 1:07 p.m.
Course Description:  Without fail every religious community has used music as an integral part of their worship and faith practice. This honor’s course will review the history of religious music from the earliest civilizations to the present. In between, lectures will survey the music of the orient, Africa, Palestine, the Arabian Peninsula, and Western Europe. In each case, music will be examined as it was used as a vehicle for faith expression and worship practice. The course will also help the student understand the theology of sound; that is, why in some cultures were certain sounds sacred, but in others the exact sound considered profane? In addition to lots of listening, a final project will allow the student to explore and write about the musical soundscape of their chosen religious community. The course coincides with the release of the professor’s book Sound Theology (Wipf & Stock, 2024). "Music is like a feather on the breath of God." -Hildegard von Bingen (Germany, c. 950 A.D.)

HC - 2010 Knitted Good
CRN: 45041
Instructor: Carol  Hart
Gen Ed: ART
Course Days/Time:  MWF 2:40 p.m. - 3:47 p.m.
Course Description:   The craft of knitting has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity over the last 20 years or so. Prior to its rediscovery as a craft with multiple benefits, the image of a knitter was of a gray-haired grandma in her rocking chair fighting with the cat over the ball of yarn. Today, there are an estimated 45 million knitters in the US, and they are not all grandmothers! The increase in knitting numbers was buoyed during the pandemic as people sought activities to do at home. Many new knitters discovered what experienced knitters already knew – knitting has proven health benefits. Knitters enjoy lower stress, greater contentment, social connection with other knitters, meditative flow, satisfaction from creating for themselves and others. Studies also suggest cognitive benefits from crafting. Knitting also has a long past, the oldest known knitted item dates to around 1100 CE from Egypt. Men have knit across the centuries and they are also participating in the craft’s renaissance. British diver Tom Daley attracted attention at the Paris Olympic Games for knitting while waiting to compete. Machine knitting has industrial applications, so engineers and mathematicians investigate knitted materials for their structure and characteristics. In class you will learn to knit, learn about the history and the future of the craft and the materials that supply it. After mastering the basics, students will produce items for donation to various knitting charities such as Mittens for Michigan, Knitted Knockers and Knit the Rainbow.

HC - 2010  Matilda Matters:  Meadow Brook Hall and OU
CRN: 45174
Instructor:  Randall Engle
Gen Ed:  Art OR WCIV + WIG + DIV
Course Days/Time: TR 1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.
Course Description: This course surveys the life and context of an amazing woman, Matilda Wilson, and uses Meadow Brook Hall, Matilda’s beloved home on OU's campus, as its classroom.  The course will review the industrial revolution, the rise of the Detroit auto empire, the Dodge Brothers, the roaring 20s, and the home and art collection of Matilda––all in addition to understanding the formation and goals of graduate education.  The class will comprise classroom lectures, and out-of-classroom tours of Meadow Brook Hall, Oakland University archives, the Dodge art collection, and other surprises related to Matilda.  Taken together, we’ll discover that, indeed, Matilda’s life and legacy matters!

Literature 

HC - 2020  Medical Mysteries & Thrillers
CRN: 45046
Instructor: Susan Lynne Beckwith
Gen Ed: LIT + WIGE
Course Days/Time:  MWF 12:00 p.m. - 1:07 p.m.
                                MWF 10:40 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.
Course Description:  Robin Cook’s Coma combined medicine and thriller in a single novel, perhaps establishing a genre where physicians and former medical practitioners put pen to paper and explore the emerging technologies, ethical concerns, and patient perspectives of their field. In this class, we’ll examine this body of literature to consider not only what this might reveal to us about realities in science and medicine, but why and how these stories appeal to us and continue to be popular best sellers.

IKYK Sherlock. Not only is his sidekick Watson a doctor, so was his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – and in one story the mystery is a tropical disease that is used as a weapon in The Adventure of the Dying Detective. Jurassic Park’s author Michael Crighton, also a Doc, publishes The Andromeda Strain the same year he got his MD from Harvard. And Bones is based on the works of Kathy Reichs, a forensic anthropologist. We’re going to explore how these medical practitioners call on their education and training to consider contemporary ethical concerns in their thrillers.

We’ll also explore medical-thrillers from authors who draw on their research expertise and observations, like Cate Quinn’s The Clinic, and Caleb Carr’s The Alienist (not a UFO thing! This is the now-obsolete term for psychiatry as it emerged as a recognized field in medicine in the mid-1800s).

HC 2020 Priest. Spy. Assassin. Meet Bonhoeffer
CRN: 45042
Instructor:  Randall Engle
Gen Ed:  Literature + Writing Intensive
Course Days/Time:  TR 10:00 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.
                                TR   8:00 a.m. -   9:47 a.m.
Course Description:  How could a Lutheran priest justify murder––so much so that he would even be part of the (unsuccessful) Valkyrie plot to assassinate Hitler? This course reviews the writing and complex life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer: priest, spy, assassin and, finally, execution victim. The course will situate Bonhoeffer in his historical context through engagement with primary sources, and help students understand the predominant concerns and animating center of Bonhoeffer’s life and work. Further, students will be able to gauge the impact of events in Nazi Germany on Bonhoeffer’s thought and writing. The class will also review two film adaptations of this intriguing figure of the 20th century, and pay a visit to the Holocaust Museum in Farmington Hills.

HC- 2020 University as Science Fiction
CRN: 45043
Instructor:  Christina Moore
Gen Ed: Literature + Writing Intensive
Course Days/Time:  TR 8:00a.m. - 9:47 a.m.
Course Description: This course invites students to explore how imagined academic institutions in literature reflect and critique our current societal issues, from technological advancements and climate change to elitism and the evolving role of higher education. Through a blend of historical texts, literary analysis, creative projects, and research, students will engage with provocative narratives that challenge and reimagine what higher education might become. Students will not only analyze these texts but also create their own speculative projects, imagining the future of education.

HC- 2020 Radical Writings and Banned Books
CRN: 45047
Instructor:  Roberta Michel
Gen Ed: Literature + Writing Intensive
Course Days/Time:  TR 3:00 p.m. - 4:47 p.m.
                                 TR 1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.
Course Description:  How does changing societal structures, culture, and political events influence the life fabric of fiction? What musings, ideas, and story plots are “too radical” and threaten social norms?  Questions that will be considered include: What constitutes a banned book? Are the social norms that govern the creation of a book different than the norms governing a social media post? What role does Artificial Intelligence play in the development or lack thereof of critical analysis of texts and their potential propagation of “ideas” as social influence? A diverse range of writings that have fueled a cultural change engine within the USA will be examined. The course will fulfill the Writing Intensive requirement and Diversity.

WESTERN CIVILIZATION

HC - 2040  History and Ethics of Hunting in USA
CRN: 45048
Instructor:  Nichols Bongers
Gen Ed: WCIV 
Course Days/Time:   TR 1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.
Course Description:  This course offers students a unique lens to explore the cultural, economic, and environmental impacts of hunting across different American eras. This course is designed to be engaging and interactive, with a mix of lectures, discussions, and activities. Purpose: Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of how hunting has shaped American history and society. By examining key events, legislation, and influential figures, students will develop critical thinking skills and a deeper appreciation for wildlife conservation. Why Students Will Enjoy It: This course is perfect for history buffs, nature enthusiasts, policy analysts, and anyone interested in the intersection of culture and conservation. With a blend of storytelling, primary texts like Aldo Leopold's "A Sand County Almanac," and opportunities for field research, students will find the content both educational and enjoyable. Innovative Approaches: Research Component: Students will conduct independent research projects on specific aspects of hunting history, utilizing primary and secondary sources to produce well-supported historical arguments. Interactive Learning: Weekly discussions, guest speakers

 
HC - 2040  Less Grim(m): Fairy-Tale Films
CRN: 45049
Instructor:  Cornelia Schaible
Gen Ed: WCIV 
Course Days/Time:   TR 3:00 p.m. - 4:47 p.m.
Course Description:  When beloved fairy-tale figures come to the big screen, astounding things start to happen: A beautiful princess kisses an ugly frog, and – lo and behold – turns into a frog herself! That was unexpected, and clever twists and turns of this kind may greatly improve the watching experience of fairy tale films by Disney, Pixar and others. And yet, the House of Mouse is often criticized for sanitizing these old tales. There is even a verb for that: to disneyfy. Nevertheless, these stories of once upon a time tend to be highly enjoyable after turning them into animated movies, and they always have a better plot than folk fairy tales; the latter being clearly more beast than beauty. In this course, we will contrast and compare traditional stories from the collection of the Brothers Grimm and other sources to literary fairy tales as well as to modern and contemporary fairy-tale adaptations in a variety of media and texts. After all, fairy tales are not static; they are constantly retold, recreated and reformed.

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE 

HC2050  Culture Through Film
CRN: 45350
Instructor:  Ashley Cerku
Gen Ed:  GP + WIG + DIV
Course Days/Time: T/TH 1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.
Course Description:   This course will serve as an introduction to anthropology as well as how films (classical and modern) can be viewed through an anthropological lens. The beginning of this course will explore classical ethnographic films that depict anthropologists’ work within specific cultures.  The course will then evolve into analyzing modern films that can be interpreted in an anthropological way. Students will learn about anthropology’s impact on films by gaining anthropological perspective in discussing concepts of race, class, identity, ethics, and representation. Thus, this course is structured as an exploration on how students can develop an understanding of how film can be used to represent culture.
No background or familiarity in anthropology or cinema studies is required. However, students are encouraged to explore a new way to view films. Through readings, lectures, and discussions students will develop an understanding of the cinematic approaches to evaluating culture.

HC-2050  Anime Movies: Art, Culture, and Narrative
CRN: 45050
Instructor:  Xiaoxia Chen
Gen Ed: GP
Course Days/Time:  R 5:30 p.m. - 8:50 p.m.
Course Description: This course offers an in-depth exploration of Japanese anime movies, focusing on their artistic, cultural, and narrative dimensions. Students will examine the evolution of anime as a cinematic genre, tracing its roots from early Japanese animation to contemporary masterpieces. Through the study of iconic directors like Hayao Miyazaki, Satoshi Kon, and Makoto Shinkai, the course will explore how anime reflects and influences Japanese culture. Key themes such as identity, environmentalism, and the supernatural will be analyzed, providing insights into the unique storytelling techniques that distinguish anime from other film genres. Students will also consider the broader societal implications of anime, including its portrayal of gender roles, technology, and the tension between tradition and modernity.

HC-2050 Mirror into Quebec
CRN: 45051
Instructor:  Roberta Michel 
Gen Ed: GP + WIG
Course Days/Time: T 5:30 p.m. - 8:50 p.m.
Course Description:  Quebec’s citizens are divided by different histories, sources of pride and grievances. Young people experience Quebec differently than seniors, who lived through decades of religious and linguistic conflict.  Québécois living in the regions often see Montreal as a foreign metropolis.  Quebec is increasingly the story of immigrants, the distinctly labelled Allophones, who think it is time for old-stock Francos and Anglos to get over their long-lost wars of conquest to deal with the urgent problems of the 21st century.  Mirror into Quebec will explores the things that make the Quebec Providence so fascinating, frustrating, and different.

Through examining stories, histories, artifacts, and films from Quebec, students will explore the events and role that English and French-Canadian identity plays as a narrator into people’s personal and professional lives.  In one portion of the course, lectures and readings will provide the backdrop that will enable the students to understand and analyze the cultural, socio demographic, and political development of Quebec.  The other portion of this course, about 7 days, is designed to provide a vivid travel experience that immerses the students in the culture of Quebec and encourages analysis of its unique development.  A Journal and daily explorations as well as a term-based project will guide this understanding and analysis.


HC-2050 Global Guitar Traditions
CRN: 45052
Instructor:  Chad Bousley
Gen Ed: GP
Course Days/Time: MWF 4:00 p.m. - 5:07 p.m.
Course Description:  Students will embark on a world tour to discover how the guitar has impacted musical cultures and societies worldwide. From Europe’s classical roots to Latin American rhythms, African innovations, Asian influences, and the rise of Rock and Roll, students will explore how the guitar has influenced and contributed to musical traditions and pop culture globally. With a hands-on, active learning approach, students will analyze music from a social context, engage in guided listening, research regional styles and genres, and participate in group discussions and presentations on the guitar’s cultural and social impact. This course blends historical analysis, musical exploration, and cultural research, offering students a dynamic perspective on the guitar’s role in traditional and popular music worldwide- from Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia and North America.


HC-2050 Questioning Resistance & Revolt
CRN: 45053
Instructor:  Bernadette Donohue
Gen Ed: GP
Course Days/Time:  TR 3:00 p.m. - 4:47 p.m.
Course Description:  The French are known for their tendency to go on strike, and these are nation-wide strikes, not miniature, special interest group strikes. And of course, the French Resistance to the German occupation in WWII is legendary and popular literature still returns to this source. But what about French culture makes them so predisposed to questioning authority and the status-quo, and what can we learn from this in our modern, troubled times? Through the analysis of historical examples of resistance, students will be asked to examine how they approach authority and the status-quo, and what constitutes acceptable ways of resisting in our modern society. The course will draw on historical documents and media, no textbook required.

SOCIAL SCIENCE

HC-2060 The Book – History and Future
CRN: 45054
Instructor:  Carol Hart
Gen Ed:  SS
Course Days/Time:  MWF 10:40 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.
Course Description:  Nowadays the book can seem like a relic, but it survives and thrives and continues to evolve as a technology while it serves as a key form of cultural knowledge and transmission. We will learn about the history of early written forms and the role that the written word has had for societies and cultures since humans have been writing. Our topics will include the economics of book production and the impact of books on scholarship and disseminating knowledge. Questions of access to books continue to be relevant to readers today whether they rely on libraries - public and private or fight against censorship and for freedom of the press. We will see how some things never change – when the printing press was new, it didn’t take long for people to claim that instead of fulfilling its promise to improve access to books, the world had been flooded with mediocre books not worth opening. (Sound like complaints you may have heard about the internet?) The class will assess the impact of the digital age on book access and the publishing and book trades. Our inquiries into the world of books will introduce us to some of the interesting men and women who affected the course of book production. We will visit the Kresge Library to examine some of the special collections and volumes held there. We will also read some key books in history and relate them to their places in publishing and reading history.

HC-2060  Board Games in History
CRN: 45055
Instructor:  Doris Plantus
Gen Ed:  SS
Course Days/Time:  MWF 8:00 a.m. - 9:07 a.m.
Course Description:  A study of classic board games as a reflection of human responses to historical events. Students will analyze how people interpret cultural, political, scientific, issues into pastimes. Additionally, we will consider how history influences games, and how games influence history. Finally, students will propose an original board game that addresses a specific issue.

FORMAL REASONING

HC-2070  Procrastination 4 Productivity
CRN: 45056
Instructor:  Susan Lynne Beckwith
Gen Ed:  FR
Course Days/Time:  MWF 1:20 p.m. - 2:27 p.m.
Course Description:  Can taking a nap be good for your grade point? (<Spoiler: Yep!) What is work? These are some of the questions we’ll be exploring together in this class. The subtitle for the class could be “How ‘Putting It Off’ Can Be a Plus! [aka “A ‘Nap’ for Success”]” because we’re also going to explore how our lives are sometimes mapped out for us and how alternate routes to success can be equally, well, successful!  From the “OMG-is-that-a-kitten?!?!” impulse to scroll to the buckle down and “Get-‘er-Done,” we all have contradictory calls upon our time.  Our society tells us we should always be productive, but is this a drain on our creativity?  da Vinci was known for getting ‘lost in the clouds’ and not getting down to business. Darwin got, well, distracted. A lot.  19^th-Century authors, like Hardy, integrate work/workers into their novels, though reading is a ‘leisurely’ activity: and scholars, like Scarry, tackle the perception of productivity and the representation of labor in art/literature to give us insight into the necessity of leisure for laborers.  The perception of work varies across the globe and history: different cultures approach work differently, offer more time off, achieve more productivity, and report greater life satisfaction.  In class, we’ll consider how ‘work’ works around the world and how mental vacations can lead to inspiration! And because play can be an essential aspect to the procrastination that leads to productivity, we’re going to have fun! In fact,  OHHHH, look, a kitten…  ;)

HC-2070  Underdogs and Outliers
CRN: 45057
Instructor:  Doris Plantus
Gen Ed:  FR
Course Days/Time:  MWF 1:20 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.
Course Description: History has been shaped by unlikely heroes at a distance from the center of power, whether geographically, economically, or institutionally. This course explores such people as Sacagawea, Alexander the Great, Joan of Arc, Confucius, Marie Curie, Galileo, Homer, Einstein, Elvis, Gandhi, Genghis Khan, Hannibal, Michelangelo, MLK, Mozart, Napoleon, Isaac Newton, and others, whose unique contributions determined the course of history. We will consider how individual characteristics combine with timing and opportunity to influence human events. As we analyze the role underdogs and outliers have on historical outcomes, students will evaluate contenders who deserve distinction in this category by creating a detailed profile of their choosing from the present day, with supporting criteria. The final project will include designing a trophy and certificate of recognition for the outlier/underdog, and how, specifically history will acknowledge their accomplishments.

 


NATURAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
 
HC-2080  Plant-Based Nutrition
CRN: 45058
Instructor: Kelly Bambrick
Gen Ed: NSTD
Course Days/Time:  TR 1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.
Course Description:  While nutrition is not the only component of health, it plays a fundamental role in promoting or demoting health. Many nutrition myths abound; yet, there is a dietary pattern suitable for the human body, and by understanding the human design, we are able to discern what foods will bring not only essential fuel but nourishment and healing to the body. Conversely, the study of the human design will also reveal what foods (or food-like substances) will be detrimental to the body. This class focuses on whole food plant-based nutrition by examining the research behind this dietary pattern that has been demonstrated to not only prevent, but treat and in some cases reverse common chronic conditions. We will also investigate common pitfalls and assumptions found in nutrition research that may prevent us from finding reliable sources on nutrition. This class is a combination of understanding nutrition research and gaining practical information, offering not only the "what" and "why" but the "how" of plant-based nutrition so that the information gained in this course will have lifelong impact.

HC-3900 Research and Scholarship
Instructor: Susan Lynne Beckwith
Course Day/Time: Online (1 credit)
Course Description: With the support of an OU faculty member of your choice (your thesis mentor) and the HC 3900 teaching team, you will work to develop the proposal for your final Thesis project.

The Honors College is pleased to offer more than 1 course in each of the general education categories.  Please read course titles and descriptions within each category.

ART = Art   HC2010
LIT = Literature   HC2020
WCIV = Western Civilization   HC2040
GP = Global Perspective   HC2050
SS = Social Science    HC2060
FR = Formal Reasoning    HC2070
NSTN = Natural Science & Technology    HC2080

Attributes
DIV = Us Diversity
KA = Knowledge Application
WIG = Writing Intensive in the General Education

Winter 2026

ART 

HC-2010  Creative Minds: Puzzle Me This
CRN: 14565
Instructor: Susan Lynne Beckwith
Gen Ed: ART + WIG
Course Days/Time:  MWF  1:20 p.m. - 2:27 p.m.
Course Description: In this class, we’re not going to focus on ‘answers’ but rather the fun and benefit of creative puzzle solving. In fact, there won’t ever be a single ‘right’ answer, which also means there will be no wrong answers!   Instead, we’re going to consider how we put the pieces together to see the puzzle in the first place. We’re going to build games, play games, and puzzle through together!  This class is adapted from a medical school seminar, but it isn’t just for students in the medical and health sciences fields which increasingly emphasize and rely upon this in the practice of medical care – it is going to be beneficial and interesting to all students in all fields as we take into consideration the way in which a problem is presented in order to find a better and possibly more creative solution.    And whether we are going into healthcare, business, engineering, criminal justice, creative writing, or the arts, we all want to better understand the questions that puzzle us. Is something a problem or is it an opportunity? How do we find something or be rid of it? How do we achieve something we want? Why is this happening? What does it mean? Life is a puzzle to be figured out, putting pieces together, each in our own way.  Oh. And it’s all about having fun with games and puzzles. Who doesn’t love a good puzzle?

HC 2010 Art & Science of Emotions
CRN:  14566
Instructor: Susan Lynne Beckwith
Gen Ed:  ART 
Course Days/Time: MWF 12:00 p.m. - 1:07 p.m.
Course Description:  We all HAVE feelings. (Okay, maybe not Norman Bates.)  But does that mean the same thing to everyone??!!?!?!  In this class, we’ll look at ‘Emotions,’ and how the expression of them—even the experience of them—changes over time and place!  Society, History, and Physiology ALL determine HOW we ‘Feel’!  In this class we will attempt to join ‘reasoning and knowledge’ (the science and philosophy of an emotion) to the general understanding and myriad representations of emotions. During the semester, we will devote blocks of study to a series of specific emotions: first studying the physical science, philosophy, and theory of that emotion before moving on to reading literary works (novels/short stories, poems) and analyzing lyrics, visual artworks, music, and films that attempt not only to depict but to also ‘move’ the reader/viewer to feel that same emotion. Thus, in this course we will attempt to better understand not only emotion in general and specific emotions, but also the expression of those emotions which changes from medium to medium, society to society, and historical era to historical era. You already have ALL the Pre-Reqs and knowledge you need to take this course (unless you’re Norman Bates).  We’ll be observing, researching, and analyzing the expression & depiction of emotion to think about what ‘Emotion’ means for our individual and shared experiences.


HC 2010 Poetry through Music: Art Song
CRN: 14564
Instructor:  Victoria Shively
Gen Ed:  ART & WIG
Course Days/Time: TR  1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.
Course Description: In the 19th century, songwriters created a new genre that endeavored to marry the poetic texts of Goethe and others to music that would illuminate the poetry’s essence. In the salons of Vienna, Schubert and his contemporaries wove voice and piano into a rich tapestry that served both as art and entertainment. In addition to learning why this was the perfect time and place for this social and artistic innovation, we will interpret poetry and discover why the music effectively represents the language. We will also follow its expansion to other languages and times, including the present day. No prior music experience is necessary.



LITERATURE

HC 2020  Foundations in Civil Discourse
CRN: 14922
Instructor:  David Dulio
Gen Ed:    LIT or SS or FR +WIG
Course Days/Time:  TR  10:00 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.
Course Description:  
Is civility in modern America a possibility or only a pipe dream? This course will explore civility, or the lack thereof, in modern American public life. The struggles to have respectful conversations in our culture are apparent from candidates for office and elected officials to family members and friends. We will examine the reasons for the increasing rancor and discord in our nation as well as ways to fight it. Indeed, the cornerstone of the course will be a book by two well-known journalists who have worked to increase civility in our own backyard. The Civility Book is written by Nolan Finley from the Detroit News and Stephen Henderson from WDET and Detroit Public Television. Finley and Henderson will play a key role in the course as co-instructors along with Prof Dave Dulio from the Political Science Department. 


HC 2020  Intro to Irish Literature
CRN: 14567
Instructor:  Roberta Michel
Gen Ed:    LIT + WIG
Course Days/Time:  T/TH 1:00 p.m. -2:47 p.m.
Course Description:  This course will examine prose and poetry written in the late 20th and early 21st Century that explores the connection between what, how, and why of Ireland’s most promising voices in contemporary fiction. As a writing intensive course, students will learn how to produce well written essays drawn from critically examining the course texts; engage in various rhetorical strategies that are appropriate to the topic and context as well as gain a greater appreciation for Ireland as offered through its literature. Irish writers have continued to focus on their relation to place, politics, history, and those points where the public and the private collide often with wit, humor and satire.


HC 2020 American True Crime Literature
CRN: 14568
Instructor:  Erin Dwyer
Gen Ed:   LIT + WIG
Course Days/Time:  TR 1:00 p.m.  - 2:47 p.m.
Course Description:  This interdisciplinary class will focus on some key true crime texts, like In Cold Blood and Killers of the Flower Moon, to unpack them as works of literature and as examples of the history of true crime and the legal system. Starting with confession pamphlets from colonial America and England and going through more recent noted works of true crime, including film versions and podcasts, the class will be chronological in structure. This will enable students to see how true crime has always been popular, but the genre and its conventions have evolved over time. Because this class will teach students to identify, examine, and employ tropes of true crime literature this class also incorporates elements of media literacy and creative writing.

HC 2020  Law and Literature
CRN: 14569
Instructor:  Julie Granthen
Gen Ed:   LIT + WIG
Course Days/Time:  T/TH 3:00 p.m. - 4:47 p.m.
Course Description:  My first exposure to the field of Law and Literature came when I read an article contending that our founding documents, such as the Constitution or the Federalist Papers, should be considered to be literature as opposed to being a legal document. Judge Richard Posner, influenced by his mother’s area of expertise, wrote a book on the intersection of law and literature. He focused on the works of Homer, Shakespeare, Kafka, Camus, and Dickens. In subsequent editions of the book, he also analyzed the more recent novels of Scott Turow and John Grisham.  This field has evolved to include legal concepts or legal issues in poems and plays in addition to fiction with the focus expanding to include ethics, justice, the role of lawyers in the justice system, and the private lives of lawyers.  We will first look at how law was portrayed in some classic pieces of literature including but not limited to Kafka’s The Trial and in Dicken’s Bleak House. Then, we will view how law has been portrayed in more recent pieces of literature such as Presumed Innocent by John Grisham and One L written by Scott Turow and will note some concerns. If nonlawyers write legal works, is there a risk the legal information will be incorrect? Or should the fiction just be entertaining to the reader as opposed to being true?

HC 2020  King David: Life and Legends 
CRN: 14570
Instructor:  Michael Pytlik
Gen Ed:   LIT + WIG
Course Days/Time:  TR 10:00 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.
Course Description:  Explores the life, history, archaeology, and art devoted to one of the western tradition’s most celebrated characters, King David. Examines biblical passages, critical responses to his life and his actions in later works, including the Talmud, mystical texts and others.  Addresses the historical existence of David apart from the biblical texts.

HC 2020  A Lion. A Witch. A Wardrobe.
CRN: 14571 & 14905
Instructor:   Randy Engle
Gen Ed:   LIT + WIG
Course Days/Time:  TR 10:00 a.m.  - 11:47 a.m. 
                                TR   1:00 p.m. -   2:47 p.m.                              
Course Description:  Author C.S. Lewis is a towering giant of an author and educator. While teaching first at Oxford and then at Cambridge, Lewis wrote one of the masterpieces of 20th century literature, The Chronicles of Narnia. Though intended as children’s literature (rarely, if ever, is any word more than 2 syllables long) the 7–volume series captures adults as well, and pulls all readers into its inescapable imagination, metaphor, and delight. This course will survey the life and times of Clive Staples Lewis and read closely The Chronicles of Narnia, the work that brought Lewis such international acclaim. We’ll also evaluate radio, television, stage, film, and video game adaptations of the Narnia series

WESTERN CIVILIZATION

HC2040 Healthcare Ethics Controversy
CRN: 14856
Instructor:  Jason Wasserman
Ged Ed: WCIV or GP+ DIV
Course Days/Time: T/TH  1:00pm - 2:47 p.m.
Course Description:  This course examines some of the most ethically provocative and controversial cases in medicine and healthcare. Students will explore topics like brain death, pregnancy termination, euthanasia, pediatric decision-making, and the ethical challenges posed by AI in medicine. Through analysis of both historical and contemporary cases, participants will engage in rich ethical discourse, develop nuanced reasoning skills, and confront real-world dilemmas at the intersection of medicine, law, and culture. Designed especially for students interested in medicine, nursing, or allied health professions, this seminar will foster moral sensitivity, critical thinking, and help students reflect on their future roles in healthcare. The course content is partially co-created with students, ensuring the inclusion of their areas of interest and encouraging collaborative exploration of ethical complexity. Offered in partnership with the Oakland University Center for Moral Values in Health and Medicine, this dynamic and interactive course promises to challenge, inspire, and prepare students for the moral dimensions of clinical practice.  

HC 2040  Declassified: Secret Programs
CRN: 14574
Instructor:  Doris Plantus
Gen Ed:   WCIV
Course Days/Time:  MWF 8:00 a.m. -  9:07 a.m.
Course Description:This course explores the often shocking secret government programs that had controversial objectives, paired with dangerous methods, obscured from the general public. Protected by concerns for national security, or sensitive historical content, declassification is a long process that ultimately releases information once any threat has passed. Of interest to students is the idea that many of these programs were frequently chalked up to conspiracies, but later validated after lives and reputations were ruined. Examples include Operation Midnight Climax (LSD), and Project Mockingbird (press manipulation). In addition to studying the range of declassified information, students will evaluate the merits of the secret programs. The final project will involve any one of current (conspiracy) theories, such as UFO/UAP, and others, where students will ascertain the value of both classification and declassification.


HC 2040  Kings and Things
CRN: 14572
Instructor:  Randy Engle
Gen Ed:   WCIV
Course Days/Time:  MWF 12:00 p.m. - 1:07 p.m.
Course Description:  The class will meet in the library of Meadowbrook Hall. Two sessions each week will be lecture-based, walking the students through English history and royalty. The third session (“Fun Friday”) will be an out-of-classroom experience: different tours of Meadowbrook, a visit to the Dodge graves, and so forth. A no-cost Reader, developed by the Professor, guides the course. Weekly quizzes, midterm, final, and a class project will assess students’ work.

HC2002 ST: Honors College Humanitarian Ambassador
0 credit hours, Instructor Override required after requirements are met.
Adviser:  Sheri Rourke
A student who has gone through the application process and selected for this role will be required to serve as an Honors College Humanitarian Ambassador for two consecutive years.  Upon successful completion, students will receive the The Honors College Humanitarian Ambassador Award and the Altruism in Action Certificate of Completion at time of graduation.  Both of these designations, if completed, will also be reflected on the student's college transcript.

The Honors College Humanitarian Ambassador application is located in the "Student Leadership Opportunities" + "HC Humanitarian Ambassadors" subtab.  

HC2002 ST:  Altruism in Action
0 credit hours, Instructor Override required after requirements are met.
Advisor:  Sheri Rourke
Leaders:  The Honors College Humanitarian Ambassadors
Course Description
Do you know what it is like to help others, even if it means you have to sacrifice something of your own like time or effort, without expecting anything in return?  Do you know how to prioritize the well-being of others over your own, like helping a stranger with a project? There are many types of altruism and you will begin to understand the importance of this character trait and how it can aid in the success of your future.  Those who register for this opportunity will be required to attend a mandatory information session, become a member in a group chat and participate in three predetermined service projects each academic year - for three years.  Participants must be able to provide their own transportation to project locations serving Oakland County.  Those who graduate from The Honors College with 9 or more designated service projects completed will receive a “Honors College Humanitarian Certificate” and distinction on your official OU transcript.    

Registration: Altruism in Action

The Honors College is pleased to offer more than 1 course in each of the general education categories.  Please read course titles and descriptions within each category.

ART = Art   HC2010
LIT = Literature   HC2020
WCIV = Western Civilization   HC2040
GP = Global Perspective   HC2050
SS = Social Science    HC2060
FR = Formal Reasoning    HC2070
NSTN = Natural Science & Technology    HC2080

Attributes
DIV = Us Diversity
KA = Knowledge Application
WIG = Writing Intensive in the General Education

Summer I 

HC2010 Sacred Spaces
Instructor: Randall Engle
Gen Ed:  Art + DIV
Course Time:  T/TH 5:30 p.m. -8:50 p.m.

Course Description:  “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us,” so said Winston Churchill.  This is perhaps most true for sacred spaces—be it a Chapel or Cathedral, a Synagogue or a Shrine, a Temple or a Teepee.  Each week, this class will study a different religious tradition, and then visit a representative sacred space of that faith in order to understand how theology informs architecture (and vice versa).  The on-sight tours will reveal vividly how each representative faith is expressed through space, symbol, and stone while introducing students to some of Detroit’s architectural masterpieces.  Individual presentations of sacred spaces not explored as a class will conclude the semester.

HC2020: Turtle Talk
Instructor:  Susan Lynne Beckwith
Gen Ed:  LIT or NSTD + WIG
Course Time:  T/TH  1 p.m. - 4:20 p.m.

Course Description:  In this class, we will explore novels, such as Kingsolver’s Flight Behavior, where Monarch Butterflies become the main character in a story of conservation, climate change, and conversions faced by the humans who inhabit those pages. We’ll go to Galápagos, where Vonnegut merges global financial crisis and fertility to explore the ferocity of evolution and the survival of the fittest–with flippers! From Richard Powers, physicist turned fiction writer, we’ll hear the tale the trees tell in Overstory.
     And as we read the stories, we will also explore the science behind these novels, the creatures who are characters, the planet that is protagonist. We’ll adventure into the intersections between the Arts and Sciences. We’ll also consider indigenous and native peoples’ relationships with the land and their stories of animals.  And as we listen to the turtles talk and what the trees tell us, we may even discover some interesting stories about ourselves….

HC 2050  Mirror into Montreal & Quebec
Instructor:  Roberta Michel
Gen Ed: GP + KA + WIG
Course Time:  T/TH 5:30 p.m. - 8:50 p.m.

Course Description: The Province of Quebec’s citizens are divided by different histories, sources of pride and grievances. Young people experience Quebec differently than seniors, who lived through decades of religious and linguistic conflict.  Québécois living in the regions often see Montreal as a foreign metropolis.  Quebec is increasingly the story of immigrants, the distinctly labeled Allophones, who think it is time for old-stock Francos and Anglos to get over their long-lost wars of conquest to deal with the urgent problems of the 21st century.  Quebec Province Literary Geography will explore the things that make Quebec so fascinating, frustrating, and different.
     Through examining stories (fiction and nonfiction) from Montreal and Quebec, students will explore the events and role that English and French-Canadian identity plays as a narrator into people’s lives.  In one portion of the course, lectures and readings will provide the backdrop that will enable the students to understand and analyze the cultural, socio demographic, and political development of Montreal and Quebec.  The other portion of this course, about 7 days, is designed to provide a vivid travel experience that immerses the students in the culture of Montreal and Quebec and encourages analysis of its unique development.  Journaling and daily explorations as well as a term based project will guide this understanding and analysis.


HC-3900 Research & Scholarship
Instructor: Susan Lynne Beckwith
Course Time:  (Online)

Course Description: With the support of an OU faculty member of your choice (your thesis mentor) and the HC 3900 teaching team, you will work to develop the proposal for your final Thesis project.

Summer II

HC-2050 Tudors of England
Instructor: Randall Engle
Gen Ed: GP or WCIV
Course Time: M/W  5:30 p.m -8:50 p.m. 

Course Description:  This course will survey the events that brought the Tudors to the throne, and England out of the medieval period and into the early modern world.  Such topics as the English Reformation, the Church of England, the development of the nation state, the monarchy, and the blossoming of English literature and music will be explored. 
   The course will clarify the important ways in which England responded to changing ideas about religion, government, economics and society—and help students understand the interplay between these entities.  Students will gain a better understanding of some of the conflicts that engaged people's’ minds and souls during this turbulent era, examine how England’s modern political system is based in Tudor models, and how the Elizabethan religious settlement shaped current religion and the state church.
   The first half of the course, on-line lectures and readings, will provide historical background of the Tudor monarchy that enables the students to understand and analyze the cultural development of England.  The second portion of this course, about two weeks in England, is designed to provide a vivid travel experience that immerses the students in English culture and encourages analysis of England’s cultural development.  Journaling and daily meetings will guide this understanding and analysis.
   In London, the students and professor will be housed in flats provided by Anglo-Education.  Each single room is air-conditioned, and has an en suite private bath.  Full English breakfasts are included, but students will be responsible for other meals in London.  With central London as home base, the class will be within walking distance from tube stations and thus in close proximity to all things Tudor:  St. James Palace, Lambeth Palace, Westminster, and Whitehall. 

HC2050  Fictional Food
Instructor:  Doris Plantus
Gen Ed:  LIT + WIG
Course Time:  MW 8 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.

Course Description:  Literature records some of the most interesting scenes involving meals. This course studies how food functions in stories, revealing things about the characters, their times, places, and cultures by the things they eat. We will situate food in the literature and explore the meaning of meals by studying basic or exotic ingredients, settings for consumption, attitudes towards food, and how some foods become iconic or establish lasting traditions. Food in general, and meals in particular, all tell stories when we prepare and eat them.


HC2070 Dad Math: Math for Real Life
Instructor:  Joseph Grzywacz
Ged Ed:  FR
Course Time:  MWF 12 noon - 2:05 p.m.

Course Description: Have you ever run into a problem that just seems to be out of your reach? No matter what you try - Google, YouTube, even a book (scary, I know) - the solution escapes you. Where, or to whom, rather, do you turn? Look to your trusty dad, who has a wealth of life experience and an approximate knowledge of many obscure things. In this course, let me help you tackle the everyday questions you might turn to a dad to solve.

The Honors College is pleased to offer more than 1 course in each of the general education categories.  Please read course titles and descriptions within each category.

ART = Art   HC2010
LIT = Literature   HC2020
WCIV = Western Civilization   HC2040
GP = Global Perspective   HC2050
SS = Social Science    HC2060
FR = Formal Reasoning    HC2070
NSTN = Natural Science & Technology    HC2080

Attributes
DIV = Us Diversity
KA = Knowledge Application
WIG = Writing Intensive in the General Education

HC1000 Making Discoveries
Instructor:  Dr. Graeme Harper, Dean of The Honors College
Gen Ed:  Art or WCIV
Course Days/Time:  MW 3:00 p.m. - 4"47 p.m.  or TR 10:00 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.

Course Description:  HC 1000 is a 4 credit freshmen course exploring the exciting and significant nature of human discovery, whether in the sciences, the arts or the community, whether by individuals or by groups. It is also a course in which you can explore your own ambitions; that is, your own potential personal and professional discoveries. We will look at things that have been (and are) discovered in and around a university (like this one!). In addition to exploring a range of university disciplines and subjects, Making Discoveries will examine the wider world, to industry and the professions, and to the community for models of the opportunities that the world offers. The course will encourage and develop your critical thinking, as well as your creative engagement. It will look at what we can do individually as well as what we can do in teams or groups, as a leader and as a participant.

ART 
HC- 2010 Graffiti and Street Art
Instructor:  Roberta Michel
Gen Ed: Art
Course Days/Time:  T 5:30 p.m. - 8:50 p.m.

Course Description:  This course will examine murals, graffiti and other forms of street art created the late 20^th and early 21^st Century as an expression of culture, social and community identity.

HC- 2010 Aesthetics of Chinese Film
Instructor:  Yujie Mao
Gen Ed:  Art
Course Days/Time: MWF 9:20 a.m. - 10:27 a.m.

Course Description: This course analyzes narratives in Chinese cinema in order to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of Chinese film aesthetics such as composition, lighting, and
cinematographic techniques. Through a detailed examination of these elements, students will
investigate the aesthetic complexities of Chinese cinema as well as the cultural meanings
embedded in its films. Students will embark on a cinematic journey through the study, delving
into visual narrative, symbolism, and cultural influences, revealing the cinematic lens
language of Chinese films.

HC -2010 The Rube Goldberg Project
Instructor: Doris Plantus
Gen Ed:  Art
Course Days/Time:  MWF 8:00 a.m. - 9:07 a.m.

Course Description:  American cartoonist Rube Goldberg first established the concept of his eponymous machine that uses a chain reaction characterized by indirect and convoluted ways of performing a simple task ( e.g. The Mousetrap game). We will study various examples of such contraptions to understand the process of cause and effect. We will then explore ways to design a Rube Goldberg machine that defines a particular issue from a variety of possibilities, such as a social or policy issue, or a natural or man-made event. The goal is to analyze anything that involves a chain-reaction by assigning an element of cause or effect using physical pieces like dominoes or springboards, ball bearings, levers, or gravity to explain the completed task. This unites creativity, critical thinking, imagination and logic in problem solving.

HC - 2010 Opera: Singing Great Stories
Instructor: Victoria Shively
Gen Ed: ART
Course Days/Time:  TR 8:00 a.m. - 9:47 a.m.

Course Description:  How does music effectively illuminate narrative as varied as mythology, fantasy, love stories, and tales of deception and treason? We will first explore the nascence of opera and learn key components of this multifaceted genre. Analysis of four operas from distinct eras, different countries and languages, and varied musical styles will help us discover the techniques used by composers to effectively convey emotions and further plots. In addition, we will establish the context in which each opera was written and examine influences surrounding their creation

Literature 
HC- 2020 Unsolved Historical Mysteries
Instructor: Doris Plantus
Gen Ed: Literature + Writing Intensive
Course Days/Time: MWF 9:20 a.m. - 10:27 a.m.

Course Description: We will consider some of the more famous unsolved mysteries in history as we evaluate what missing information would give potential answers and how such information may be discovered. We will also think about what present knowledge and technological advances might support such answers—known and emergent. Topics such as the birthdate of Jesus, the identity of Jack the Ripper, who killed JFK, and the fate of the Ark of the Covenant, to name a few, will comprise our efforts to formulate a theory that could yield answers by offering explanations for past or present historical mysteries. The course will culminate in a project that theorizes a solution based on analysis and creative, modern, method.

HC - 2020 A Lion. A Witch. A Wardrobe
Instructor: Randall Engle
Gen Ed: LIT + WIGE
Course Days/Time: 1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.

Course Description:  Author C.S. Lewis is a towering giant of an author and educator. While teaching first at Oxford and then at Cambridge, Lewis wrote one of the masterpieces of 20 th century literature, The Chronicles of Narnia. Though intended as children’s literature (rarely, if ever, is any word more than 2 syllables long) the 7–volume series captures adults as well, and pulls all readers into its inescapable imagination, metaphor, and delight. This course will survey the life and times of Clive Staples Lewis and read closely The Chronicles of Narnia, the work that brought Lewis such international acclaim. We’ll also evaluate radio, television, stage, film, and video game adaptations of the Narnia series.

HC - 2020 Animals in Literature
Instructor: Carol Hart
Gen Ed: LIT + WIGE
Course Days/Time:  MWF 10:40 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.

Course Description:  We see animals in literature from our first encounters with books. Children’s literature is filled with animal characters who possess different levels of self- awareness. What does the representation of animals in literature mean? Animals can function as symbol, stand in for humans in allegory or satire, or be the recipients of the best and worst of human nature. We will look at a variety of texts depicting animals across literary traditions and cultures from early fables to folklore, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. We’ll contemplate the nature of the human-animal bond and consider the boundaries of animal rights. Our study will include questions of anthropomorphism, anthropocentrism, consciousness, and subjectivity. Potential texts include Aesop’s Fables, folklore from around the world, the limericks of Lear, Bulgakov’s The Heart of a Dog, stories from Kafka, animal biography by Virginia Woolf (Flush), Wallace’s “Consider the Lobster”, and Coetzee’s The Lives of Animals.

HC - 2020 - That's Uncanny!
Instructor: Susan Lynne Beckwith
Gen Ed: LIT + WIGE
Course Days/Time:  MWF 2:40 p.m. - 3:47 p.m.

Course Description:  From philosophy and theory to literature and film to technology, we’re going to explore the uncanny (a figurative and literal valley). This journey will start with considerations of what it means to sit with ambiguity, and why we find this both anxiety-provoking and also possibility-inspiring. However, no anxieties will be provoked in this class because we’ll also explore how we resolve these uncertainties in stories that have endings (denouement if not absolute resolution) and how we are reassured through catharsis on screen! And of course, AI has opened a whole new door for us to be able to ‘chat’ about the uncanny valley (including the tiktok trend that embraces the bot in the room!).
     The Turn of the Screw is endlessly adaptable, relocating itself to Bly Manor. Black Mirror reflects the moral uncanny. And The Outer Limits (1963) of the uncanny span from before Rod Serling’s original Twilight Zone in 1959 to Jordan Peele’s in 2020 (and beyond!).
     While ambiguity and uncertainty will be modes of being that we examine, there is no doubt that we will have fun in this class!

WESTERN CIVILIZATION
HC - 2040  Mermaids and Other Fish Tales
Instructor:  Cornelia Schaible
Gen Ed: WCIV + US Diversity
Course Days/Time:   TR  1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.

Course Description:  Mermaids have captured the collective imagination since ancient times. These mythical creatures who live under the sea are half women and half fish, but before they became movie stars, people weren’t really sure what they look like. This explains why explorer Christopher Columbus thought he was seeing mermaids when he had actually spotted manatees. Also, mermaids are often mixed up with sirens, but these have bird-like bodies. And boy can they sing! Sitting on a rock with waves crashing around them, sirens lure sailors to their death – Ulysses needed every trick in the book to escape them. In this class, we will explore how the image of the mermaid has changed over time: In Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Little Mermaid”, the heroine still has an enchanting voice, but she trades it in for the love of a prince, two legs and a soul. The redheaded Ariel, in the latest Disney version of the story, is now part of pop culture and more diverse and nuanced than ever.


GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE 
HC-2050 Social Movements and Sports
Instructor:  Roberta Michel
Gen Ed: GP
Course Days/Time: TR 3:00 p.m. - 4:47 p.m.

Course Description:  Social Movement and Sports introduces students to the global environment of Sports (and Sporting Events). This course focuses on how differences in economic systems, national culture, socio demographics, and political orientations affect the way in which various sporting events are (played) and experienced by fans. This course integrates knowledge of how different international sports such as Soccer, Rugby, Baseball, and potentially a few other sports like Golf, Basketball and American Football has impacted people socially as well as culturally for over one hundred years. Students will have opportunities to watch (directly) and indirectly international sporting events and recognize how different political, environmental as well as social constructs influence the purchasing (of seats) and the experiences of people. Sports protests raise awareness and invite spectators and fans to become engaged and speak up. Many sports protests are organized to defend equal rights for all. Whether it is the athletes or the fans, often the point is to get people engaged and aware of certain issues, be it race, religion, gender, social class or previous activism or engagement. For example, on the local level, during the summer of 2023 the Detroit FC general admission seats was an ongoing location for public protest against recent Hamtramck banning of the Pride Flag. This protest is a micro example of social movement expressions and experiences happening in various sports arenas across the globe.

HC -2050 Contemporary World Economics - China
Instructor: Frank Cardimen
Gen Ed: GP
Course Days/Time: TR 10:00 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.

Course Description:  This class will comprehensively examine the three major free trade zone initiatives in North America (USMCA), Europe (European Union) and Asia (Regional Cooperative Economic Partnership). We will evaluate the similarities and the differences of each and examine how American businesses can enter these other free market zones……studying culture, politics, language, currency and history that will provide a chance to succeed in foreign investment.
     In the past 25 years CHINA has developed into an economic powerhouse rising to the number 2 country in the world economically – GNP - $17 Trillion. The US leads the world with $24 Trillion. It is the fast growth of China economically and their current public position to become the #1 country economically, militarily and politically. This class will examine all elements of China’s growth and evaluate the future of CHINA vs. the USA.

HC 2050 Psychology of Compassion and Kindness
Instructor:  Travis Hartin
Gen Ed: GP
Course Days/Time: MWF 10:40 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.

Course Description:  What is compassion? What is kindness? Are these constructs measurable? What conditions and experiences prevent us from developing or exhibiting kindness and compassion to others? How do these ideas vary across cultures? The purpose of this course is to try to answer these and similar questions by examining compassion and kindness as psychological constructs. Throughout the semester, we will explore current and historical theories of compassion and kindness, characteristics of kind and compassionate people, barriers to the exhibition of kindness and compassion, and cultural views of these concepts across the world and across history. We will also look at these concepts through a developmental perspective to understand the childhood experiences that contribute to the development of kindness and compassion.

SOCIAL SCIENCE
HC-2060 Intelligence and Creativity
Instructor: Travis Hartin
Gen Ed:  SS
Course Days/Time:  MWF  1:20 p.m. - 2:27 p.m.

Course Description:  What is intelligence? What is creativity? What constitutes creative or intelligent thinking? How do we measure them? Can one exist without the other? What function(s) do these ideas serve in society? The purpose of this course is to try to answer these and similar questions by examining creativity and intelligence as psychological constructs. Throughout the semester, we will explore current and historical theories of human creativity and intelligence, characteristics of creative and intelligent people, barriers to creative and intelligent output, and cultural variations in the way we think about these concepts.

HC -2060 Native American and First Nations Gender Studies
Instructor:  Noelle Mongene
Gen Ed: SS
Course Days/Time:  TR  3:00 p.m. - 4:47 p.m.

Course Description:  In this interdisciplinary course, students will examine the impact that colonization has had on gender structures in Native American and First Nations communities. The course will begin by establishing a theoretical knowledge base for thorough comprehension of gender as a socially, culturally, and historically situated concept. Students will learn and discuss various gender theories, including intersectional feminism, postcolonial feminism, hegemonic masculinity, and social constructionist perspectives. The history of colonization will be discussed, and gender in Indigenous communities will be examined from early contact with European settlers to the lasting effects of colonization seen today (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit individuals, violence against Indigenous women, increased poverty and marginalization, disruption of matriarchal societies). Readings, discussions, and research projects will be used to critically examine the intersection of colonization and gender, and discuss how factors such as cultural erasure, dispossession of ancestral land, imposed patriarchy, and specific historical events have changed gender structures for Indigenous men, women, and non-binary individuals. The course will also explore cultural resilience and resistance movements that have emerged as a response to the profound and often detrimental impacts of colonial structures.


FORMAL REASONING
HC-2070 The Art of AI 
Instructor: Susan Lynne Beckwith
Gen Ed:  FR
Course Days/Time:  MWF 1:20 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.

Course Description:  Technology and technological advancements are nothing new to artists: techniques and mediums are always evolving with new tools and materials. A profession centered on creativity is not adverse to innovation. But where is the line with regard to generated? We now lean toward thinking of ‘generated’ in terms of AI, but many famous artists well-known to you and whose art hangs on museum walls had apprentices and studio workers who performed various aspects of those canonized and familiar works. How is that different from AI generated work? What do we make of our ability to now become literally part of the work with immersive experiences where we enter a field of sunflowers or starry night? Can these same technologies also perhaps be used to make the field of art more accessible to the differently-abled or those without the ability to purchase and procure the often-expensive materials? Questions of production and ethics as well as inclusivity and accessibility will be entertained in this class as we enjoy looking at works of art together. In this course we are going to explore the possibilities of AI generated art. As always, we will also expand our gaze and look at artists from outside the canon (those of other cultures) and whose work hangs on city street walls and buildings (street art and graffiti). And since we will also consider the body – the body of the artist, the body of the audience, the differently-abled creator and viewer – we’ll look at body art – tattoos – and consider the literal meeting of human and machine when AI becomes a component of these works. Who is the artist in AI generated art? Can we all become creators? We’re going to be creative and have fun as we explore these questions, our own creativity, and immerse ourselves in the question ‘What Is Art’ and who is the artist?


NATURAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 
HC-2080 What are we Eating?
Instructor: Kelly Bambrick
Gen Ed: NSTD
Course Days/Time:  TR 1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.

Course Description:  We live in a technologically advanced society with increasing demands for anything fast and convenient. Food is no exception. We are surrounded by processed foods with a large number of difficult-to-pronounce chemicals. In this course, we will examine topics such as food processing, synthetic ingredients, industry practice of labeling food items, and GMO foods and explore their potential impact on our health and wellbeing. We will also discuss health promoting alternatives that will allow us to function optimally in this fast-paced society.



HC-3900 Research and Scholarship
Instructor: Susan Lynne Beckwith
Course Day/Time: Online (1 credit)

Course Description: With the support of an OU faculty member of your choice (your thesis mentor) and the HC 3900 teaching team, you will work to develop the proposal for your final Thesis project.

The Honors College is pleased to offer more than 1 course in each of the general education categories.  Please read course titles and descriptions within each category.

ART = Art   HC2010
LIT = Literature   HC2020
WCIV = Western Civilization   HC2040
GP = Global Perspective   HC2050
SS = Social Science    HC2060
FR = Formal Reasoning    HC2070
NSTN = Natural Science & Technology    HC2080

Attributes
DIV = Us Diversity
KA = Knowledge Application
WIG = Writing Intensive in the General Education

ART 
HC-2010 Art and Accessibility
Instructor: Susan Lynne Beckwith
Gen Ed: ART + WIG
Course Days/Time:  MWF  10:40 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.

Course Description: This course will explore Art & Accessibility: how art can be used as a form of social activism and awareness and a means of advocating for inclusivity; how art can be made more accessible to those who are differently-abled; and art that is made by those who are differently-abled.
We’ll examine museums as spaces and innovations in curation that allow for more equitable and
inclusive entry into exhibits and the experience of individual works of art. In addition, we’ll
explore street art as art and also as truly public works. We will look at works of art that promote
inclusivity – including illustrations in children’s literature and animated film(s) – while also
moving beyond the canonized to works created by people who come from diverse backgrounds
or who are either differently-abled or neurodiverse themselves.  Art has long been the medium and record of change, as it pushes boundaries in its nature (creative – to create; new techniques, new mediums), through its representations of something either not seen or now seen differently, and through its appeal to our eyes and ability to affect our emotions.

HC 2010 Sebastian:  A Course on Bach
Instructor: Randall Engle
Gen Ed:  ART & KA
Course Days/Time: TR  1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.

Course Description:  Johann Sebastian Bach is a household name. But why? This course surveys the life journey of Bach, from orphan Johann, to aspiring musician, to death in obscurity, to rediscovery in the 19 th century.  How did this musician (with 2 marriages and 22 children) manage to accomplish so much and write such sublime music of the High Baroque era? Along the way, lots of musical examples will guide our discussion and make the case that, indeed, Johann Sebastian Bach deserves his fame. And who knows––graduates may even add Bach to their playlists!

HC 2010 Cinematic Migrations
Instructor:  Carol Hart
Gen Ed:  ART & WIG
Course Days/Time: TR  8:00 a.m. - 9:47 a.m.

Course Description: The theme of migration is an eternal and ever-renewing topic of concern for both emigrants/immigrants and the people and societies who receive them. This class will examine the topic through a series of films and readings that look at the migrant experience from both sides. Areas of study will include loss of home, the journey, work and exploitation, trafficking, human rights, alienation, and establishing a new identity. The migrant experience covers illegal migration as an escape from war or economic crisis and the legal movement to a new home. Legal and illegal migrants can have similar feelings of loss and alienation as well as the possibility of new beginnings. Students will gain understanding of the flow of populations, ideas and cultures across borders. They will further analyze films as social commentary and artistic expressions of human experiences.

HC 2010 Renaissance Italy
Instructor: David Kidger
Gen Ed:  ART + WIG
Course Days/Time: TR  8:00 a.m. - 9:47 a.m.

Course Description:  Introduction and Purpose of Course The notion of the Renaissance as an artistic movement remains problematic for general historians, as well as historians of architecture, the arts, music, sculpture, and philosophy. This course examines and critiques the notion of the Renaissance as exemplified through the artistic life of a number of churches, cities and courts in northern Italy in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In this period there was a patchwork of city states, republics, dukedoms and other principalities in what we now consider northern Italy. We consider how this puzzle contributed to artistic life, both sacred and secular, and how different modes of artistic expression developed as a result of these political and social systems. The course will make extensive use of internet and other multimedia resources to enhance the learning environment. Through a set of case studies of different types of artistic expression, students will discover how artists interacted with their patrons and their public audience, and how their work influenced contemporary life and thought. Finally, as a brief coda, students will examine how we view all of this in the 21st century, and what we can learn about the arts today from our study. Course Procedures The course has two lectures per week.



LITERATURE
HC-2020 Chinese Calligraphy
Instructor: Chensi Wang
Gen Ed:  LIT & WIG
Course Days/Time:  TR 1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.

Course Description:  This is a course for beginning Chinese calligraphy. It will teach students how to 
produce Chinese calligraphy during hands-on practice in class. In addition to the history, 
development, aesthetics, and appreciation of Chinese calligraphy, it also includes many aspects 
of the culturally fascinating heritage of China. Each class will begin with a lecture on a specific 
aspect of Chinese culture, and will then be followed by brush writing practice. 
 Students in this class are also expected to explore the considerable amount of material 
relating to Chinese calligraphy available on the World Wide Web and study articles and example 
styles online.

HC 2020 21st Century Irish Literature
Instructor:  Roberta Michel
Gen Ed:  LIT + WIG
Course Days/Time:   TR  3:00 p.m. - 4:47 p.m.

Course Description:  This course will examine prose and poetry written in the late 20th and early 21st Century that explores the connection between what, how, and why of Ireland’s most promising voices in contemporary fiction. As a writing intensive course, students will learn how to produce well written essays drawn from critically examining the course texts; engage in various rhetorical strategies that are appropriate to the topic and context as well as gain a greater appreciation for Ireland as offered through its literature. Irish writers have continued to focus on their relation to place, politics, history, and those points where the public and the private collide often with wit, humor and satire.


HC 2020 FanFiction: Whose Story is it?
Instructor:  Susan Lynne Beckwith
Gen Ed:  LIT + WIG
Course Days/Time:  MWF 1:20 p.m. - 2:27 p.m.

Course Description:  John Wick, the film(s), were written by Derek Kolstad and released in 2014 – but Greg Pak and Matt Gaudio (write the backstory of the leading man we fan in the prequel comic series published from 2017-2019. The graphic novels were not conceived or written by the author: it was a fan. And the film series itself takes inspiration from and was influenced by The Matrix, creating further concentric circles of fanning Keanu.... Even in the 1800s, authors were ‘shipping and spotlighting their favorite characters from other books to create best sellers as they changed up the narrative to fit their, or the readers’, needs. The 2023 film Renfield explores the blood-sucker’s little buddy’s story in a contemporary setting of self-help and support groups in a time of toxic friends, dysfunctional families, and bad bosses; but Bram Stoker could not complain even if Dracula wasn’t out of copyright, because he may have been fanning on the female vampire in Carmilla, by Sheridan Le Fanu written 25 years earlier than Dracula. Enola Holmes is Sherlock’s little sis. Cher from Clueless is Jane Austen’s Emma. After is ‘one direction’ that Harry Styles fanfic can take. Glee and Grey’s Anatomy have fanfic followings. The Mortal Instruments of writing what we readers want to read in books is nothing new, and not to be dismissed! What happens when readers have as much agency as authors?! When readers become the writers of their favorite characters and their stories?! FanFiction is fabulous, and we’ll also consider the creation and dissemination of these works (Wattpad or An Archive of Our Own anyone?) We’ll have conversations about copyright and raise questions of who owns a beloved literary character – the author, or the reader? Times change, should texts change too? Once the pen leaves the page, the book leaves the publisher, and the story enters our minds, whose story is it? How do we see the characters and world? And whose stories do we most want to tell? Is it always the main character? What happens when the reader gets, literally and literarily, into the story? This summer, we’re going to get into the stories we love...and maybe even decide our own endings for them!

HC 2020 Laboring For Better Lives
Instructor:   Amy Pollard
Gen Ed:  LIT + WIG
Course Days/Time:  TR 10:00 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.

Course Description:  Laboring for Better Lives: Fictional Accounts of American Worker Solidarity In this course students will be introduced to the American Labor Movement from the 19th and 20th centuries through works of fiction.  Possible works to read include Women of Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell, The Ink Truck by William Kennedy, and In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck. The works of fiction will cover real-life American labor movement events from the 19th and 20th centuries, such as the Copper Country strikes of the early 20th century, the West Coast Waterfront Strike, the Triangle Waistshirt Factory fire and legacy and the Sanitation Strike of 1968, as well as fictional labor struggles.  In the course students will be expected to perform close readings of texts, draw connections between fictional stories and the real-life events that inspired them, construct detailed written critical analyses that ask and answer questions about relationships between power, money, organizing, race, class, gender and more.  Additionally, students will be asked to prepare a final project that would serve as a public relations/communications campaign of sorts for a historical labor struggle, promoting the cause of either the employer or the employee as a means of showing a comprehensive understanding of the issues at stake for both parties.

HC 2020 Masters of the Short Story
Instructor: Carol Hart
Gen Ed:  LIT + WIG
Course Days/Time:  MWF  12 noon - 1:07 p.m.

Course Description:  Why does the novel get all the attention? In this course we will read and discuss the the short story in all of its glory. Our readings will move through time from the nineteenth to the twenty- first centuries and across language with English originals and master translations. We will consider what defines the genre, explore the wide range of themes and topics, and view the development of the short story over time. Readings will include some examples of the fantastic from E.T.A. Hoffmann, Poe, Doestoevsky, and Kafka; Russian masters such as Chekhov, Babel, and Nabokov; and English language writers such as Joyce, O’Conner, Carver, Mason, and Saunders, to name a few. Writers’ explorations of each other’s work will round out our reading and inform our discussions. 



WESTERN CIVILIZATION
HC 2040  German Poetry in Translation
Instructor:  Cornelia Schaible
Gen Ed:  WCIV
Course Days/Time:  TR  1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.