Spring 2025 Seminars
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Toni Morrison: Celebrated and Censored
HNRS 2011 Gen Ed Credit: Humanities, Domestic Diversity
Instructor: John Hoppenthaler
Tuesday & Thursday, 3:30-4:45pm
Toni Morrison: Celebrated and Censored, taught by Morrison’s former Personal Assistant, is an introduction to one of the most influential writers and thinkers in American literary history. Toni Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and remains one of our most censored, banned, and studied American writers. The course offers frequent opportunities to read, discuss, and write about her work. We will examine course texts from various critical perspectives; situate them within their artistic, historical, and cultural contexts; and interpret them. The course meets University Writing Intensive, Diversity Credit and General Education Humanities requirements.
Examining Personal and Societal Diversity through Novel Discussions and Analysis
HNRS 2011 Gen Ed Credit: Humanities, Domestic Diversity
Instructor: Rachelle Savitz
Wednesday, 3:30-6:15pm
This Honors College Seminar will focus on reading, analyzing, and discussing various social constructs presented within young adult literature (i.e., youth, identity, race) connected to lived experiences and society. Students will be required to read four books and will choose from pre-determined lists four additional books. Young adult literature will be examined, analyzed, and discussed through different lenses. Students will develop an understanding of the complexities of YA literature and understand the need and purpose for reading YA to learn about life, societal in/equities, and ways to make positive changes in your own communities.
HNRS 2011 Gen Ed Credit: Humanities
Instructor: James Smith
We begin with a story that for more than thirty years has produced the obvious need for the class to discuss moral relativism. That discussion will lead to interrelated topics dealing with the relation of the social sciences to philosophy, with the nature of inference, and with some introductory considerations of the cognitive status of moral claims. These considerations will include issues regarding inferential justification, the nature of the American founding, domestic and foreign diversity, and methods for the presentation of sound argumentation in cases of moral importance in the professions. Students will complete three exams of four or five mini-essays each, a longer semester essay, and a final exam with four or five mini-essays, each of these five requirements weighted equally in the determination of the course grade. Each of the five requirements may be submitted optionally in draft form for instructor critique before final, almost always revised, later submission. Together, this work will result in a course-long conversation about content and how to write about it successfully. This course design has for years emphasized the skills associated with writing and writing improvement as those five different extended essays are submitted for instructor feedback for improvement prior to final submission.
Human Rights: Cultural and Creative Perspectives
HNRS 2011 Gen Ed Credit: Humanities, Global Diversity
Instructor: Melanie Robbins
Tuesday& Thursday, 9:30-10:45am
n 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), proclaiming fundamental human rights “for all peoples and all nations.” But how “universal” are universal human rights? To what extent does the UDHR allow for cultural diversity and varying interpretations of these human rights? Should creative expression be a protected human right? Furthermore, to what extent are these rights, proclaimed 75 years ago, relevant today? In this course, students will explore these questions and more, examining the development of the UDHR, global perspectives on human rights, and the intersection of human rights, culture, and creative expression. Students will also develop intercultural skills through participation in a semester-long virtual exchange with university students at a partner university in Algeria. Together, students will compare cultural perspectives on human rights and complete a creative collaborative project focusing on human rights.
Utopias and Dystopias in Medieval and Early Modern Texts
HNRS 2011 Gen Ed Credit: Humanities
Instructor: Tom Herron
Monday & Wednesday, 2-3:15pm
In this class we will explore many imaginative works from the medieval and renaissance periods across Europe that focus profoundly on the questions, “What makes a good or a bad society, what kind of citizens and rulers best fit such a society, and what is the role of protest and rebellion in making, sustaining, and/or destroying such a society?” One of the works we will read coined the term “Utopia”, and more than one work laments how humankind lost it. Where can we find it again? Literary, philosophical, religious and political texts will be studied alongside famous artworks of the time.
HNRS 2012 Gen Ed Credit: Fine Arts
Instructor: Gerald Weckesser
Wednesday, 5-7pm
This course will explore creativity, art, and craft through the act of making. Students will be introduced to several disciplines within Art and Design, in an experientially based class. Students will create objects to better understand the creative process. It is the intimacy of our hands with raw materials that we gain a greater insight into our creative production, influencing the way we see the world around us, what we value, and impresses upon us a respect for artists, designers, and makers.
Toward a Caring Society: What is the Nordic Model?
HNRS 2013 Gen Ed Credit: Social Sciences, Global Diversity
Instructor: Susan Pearce
Monday, Wednesday & Friday, 11-11:50am
This course introduces students to the Nordic Model of support for social programs across health care, education, family support, and other sectors in society. The focus will be on the broader welfare-state support that the Nordic countries have offered for decades, and whether this model has lessons to teach for our society. The course model includes lectures, interactive learning, guest speakers, hands-on projects, and field trips.
Climate Crisis, Colonialism, and Natural Resource Exploitation
HNRS 2013 Gen Ed Credit: Social Science, Global Diversity
Instructor: Eric Wade
Monday & Wednesday, 3:30-4:45pm
This course explores how natural resource use and the climate crisis are inextricably tied to colonialism.It foregrounds marginalized perspectives from people of color, Indigenous peoples, and Global South peoples and includes work from scholars, advocates, and activists. It considers colonialism’s many legacies and aftermaths, including climate coloniality, extractivism, settler colonialism, security, migration, and various ways climate cThis course explores how natural resource use and the climate crisis are inextricably tied to colonialism. It foregrounds marginalized perspectives from people of color, Indigenous peoples, women, and lower-income communities. We will explore colonialism’s many legacies and aftermaths, including climate coloniality, extractivism, settler colonialism, security, migration, and various ways climate change is narrated. It also explores different frameworks for justice, e.g., reparations and land back. Throughout the semester, we will hear how colonialism and the climate crisis shape communities’ relationships with natural resources. We will also hear how communities develop solutions to mitigate and retain their connection to the environment to preserve their culture and livelihood. This course will meet the credit requirements for general education, global diversity, and writing-intensive outcomes.hange is narrated. It also explores different frameworks for justice, e.g., reparations and land back. This course will meet the credit requirements for general education, global diversity, and writing-intensive outcomes.
HNRS 2013 Gen Ed Credit: Social Sciences
Instructor: Mike Catalano
Tuesday & Thursday, 9:30-10:45am
In each part of the world sport plays a powerful role in culture. Popular culture is often driven by the sports world. We learn about gender, race, sexuality, nationalism, capitalism, ability, and religion through sport and games. Some scholars argue that society is a microcosm of sport. This course, Discourse in Sport, provides a wide-ranging introduction to how Communication Studies scholars approach the phenomena of sport.
Adapting to Coastal Hazards and Climate Change
HNRS 2014 Gen Ed Credit: Natural Sciences
Instructor: Siddharth Narayan
Tuesday & Thursday, 11am-12:15pm
This course is titled Interdisciplinary Seminar on Adapting to Coastal Hazards and Climate Change. The course will cover the following topics: coastal hazards; sea-level rise; climate change; adaptation; maladaptation; interdisciplinary; equity; solutions. The course is designed to be writing-intensive and has 3 field trips to the Outer Banks and associated activities. Credits requested: General Education; Writing Intensive.
Whale Tale: Big Challenges Facing Ocean’s Biggest Mammals
HNRS 2014 Gen Ed Credit: Natural Sciences, Global Diversity
Instructors: Tammy Lee & Bonnie Glass
Tuesday & Thursday, 2-3:15pm
Focusing on systems science and ocean literacy principles, students will investigate climate-related challenges facing the marine ecosystems of NC and Baja California Sur, Mexico. Students will meet once a week to explore climate impacts on marine mammal migration as they prepare for an immersive 6-night/7-day spring break field experience. In Baja, students will travel by boat to observe blue whales, pods of dolphin, blue-footed boobies and sea lions in the Gulf of California. Students will then travel across peninsula through the desert and over the Sierra de Gigantica mountain range to Guerro Negro. There, we will take small boats to observe gray whales and their calves – a truly magical experience!
Navigating the Foundations and Practice of Global Health
HNRS 2116
Instructor: Bege Dauda
Tuesday & Thursday, 2-3:15pm
Explore the dynamic world of global health through this course, which addresses the challenges and principles shaping healthcare worldwide. From the HIV/AIDS epidemic to the COVID-19 pandemic, global health issues have gained increasing attention in the 21st century. This course dives into the impact of globalization, the persistence of health inequalities, and the measures needed to improve health access globally.
You will examine health issues in historical, social, and geographical contexts while understanding the sociocultural, economic, environmental, and political factors that influence diseases. Ethical theories and global health ethics are explored, highlighting the complexities of clinical medicine across diverse cultures and healing systems.
Join this course to gain insights into the historical roots and ethical dimensions of global health and its contemporary practice in an interconnected world.
The Value of Sport: Research, Economic Impact, and Sport in Greenville, NC
HNRS 2116
Instructor: Kindal Shores
Monday, Wednesday & Friday, 10-10:50am
This course provides students with the skills needed to develop and implement a research study designed to assess the economic and social impacts of a local sporting event. The course utilizes a combination of experiential experience, lecture, discussion, and hands-on assignments to engage students while they gain knowledge related sport and the local economy. The course will highlight the importance of having the skills needed to make data driven decisions that will better serve local communities.