Honors Course Archive

Examines the works of Vladimir Nabokov, from his early novels written in Europe to his later masterpieces, including Lolita, Pnin, Pale Fire, and Ada.

The story of Rāma or Rāmāyana, has through the centuries influenced not only religious and moral but also cultural, social and political life in south and southeast Asia. The classical version of the story is often seen to be the Sanskrit epic attributed to Vālmīki, commonly said to be compiled from the second century BC till the second century CE. However, proof of the popularity of the story are its innumerable retellings not only in Sanskrit but also in local languages, some of which have become regional classics in their own right. Its remarkable persistence is clear from recent transformations in the form of comic book, film, and television versions. In this course, we will compare different versions (mainly south Asian) of the Råmåyaˆa, including the widely popular television version. We will concentrate on some of the most famous and controversial passages, with special attention to gender issues.

This interactive class will be used as a space to critically analyze notions of love and where our understandings of love have come from. We will ponder and attempt to perceive how love is incorporated into our daily lives as students, scholars, workers, families, and active members of communities.

We will vision possible logic trajectories of love, or lack thereof, individually and societally based on what we discover while learning through our explorations.

We will explore:
o ways in which love is expressed by human people
o words and metaphors associated with love in English and other languages
o where love is placed in different philosophical and scholarly schema
o historical concepts and discourses regarding human love
o how love can be a force for social action
o what sorts of actions are attributed to human love
o human discourses on love about non-human love

The 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia led to an explosion of social and cultural experimentation, with no less a personage than Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin proclaiming cinema “the most important of the arts.” This course examines how three leading filmmakers both reflected and shaped the great changes that characterized the 1920s; how their theories, manifestoes and debates altered cinema forever; and how a recalcitrant Soviet state eventually shut them down, severely compromising their careers. All screenings and readings in English.

As part of course requirements, students will need to reflect on and be ready to participate in discussions and active learning assignments (i.e. movie reviews). Discussion questions and assignments will be relevant to course lectures, and will be posted on the Course Canvas website. Written assignments, and class and e-discussions will be conducted/continued in class and on the Canvas website. Students must be present in class and in discussions to earn participation points. Full participation points will be given for attendance and participation in 90% or more of the course lectures.
Students will be required to write a 15 page research paper focused on the Sustainable Development Goals, set in 2015 (http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/) to be achieved by 2030. Students will choose a lower or middle-income country and describe what their country’s Health Goal is, and how it applies to the in-country AIDS epidemic. As part of SDGs, countries have committed to a 90-90-90 target for their AIDS epidemics. Students will summarize the current in-country AIDS epidemic in terms of its epidemiology (disease transmission and spread) and compare it to the epidemic in that country in 2000. Students will describe in-country HIV/AIDS evidence-based prevention and treatment (medical/clinical and/or behavioral), and social or economic programs that were designed to reduce the in-country AIDS epidemic. Students will then document the evidence on how their country is progressing in its 90-90-90 goals, and explain whether and why they think their chosen country will or will not achieve its 90-90-90 goal by 2030. Students will provide documented evidence from research, WHO/UNAIDS/CDC/USAID reports, as well as in-country Ministry of Health reports to back up their explanations. Papers will be due last week of class (week of May 29, 2017) on JUNE 2, 2017.

This class deals with the broad topic of how the findings of scientific research are received, accepted, rejected, or modified both among scientists and among the general public. We address three basic questions:

-How do scientific ideas become consensus among scientists?
-How do broader publics accept, reject or debate scientific ideas?>/li>
-How does science interact with politics and religion to produce consensus or contention?

To address these questions, we first take a general look at the scientific method and at non-scientific influences on science, and then we dig deeply into two case studies:

-The origin of species by means of natural selection, again accepted for over a hundred and fifty years by science and by the public in most countries, but still hotly debated, mainly for religious reasons, in the United States and a few other very religious countries

-The predicted warming of the earth’s climate, something now accepted generally as scientific consensus, and accepted by the public in many countries, but still hotly debated, primarily for political and economic reasons, in the United States

This course employs the history of cattle as a lens to investigate broad patterns of human-animal interaction from the Palaeolithic era until today. Our principal goal is to gain insights into the conception and treatment of animals in diverse cultural settings. To keep the topic within manageable bounds, we will focus on cattle (and related bovine species), though you are welcome to write about other species and themes for your final paper. The assigned readings range widely across world history, including the Ancient Near East, the Greco-Roman world, India, East Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Grading will be based on 1-page response papers (35%), a final research paper (25%), a class presentation (20%), and participation (20%).

This course has 3 aims: 1) To introduce students to contemporary human trafficking as one of the darkest sides of globalization, but also in relation to historical forms of slavery and issues of human rights, international migration and trade/labor flows, and socioeconomic conditions that give rise to the commodification of some people by other people; 2) To build students’ understanding of the scope, scale, and complex dynamics of human trafficking; 3) To equip students to assess the current state of anti-human trafficking efforts with appreciation for the difficulty of such efforts, and to begin strategizing more and better ways to combat human trafficking.

These aims will be accomplished through a) the reading, written analysis, and in-class discussion of relevant texts produced by concerned government bodies and nongovernmental organizations as well as scholars; b) class visits by local experts representing local and/or national law enforcement, providers of services to trafficking victims, and community organizers; and c) written analyses of case studies and a research paper on a particular aspect of the problem of human trafficking and/or efforts to combat it. There will be a few small quizzes on key terms/concepts, but no midterm or final exam.

Students will have the option of satisfying one of the 2 experiential learning projects required by the Honors Program through volunteering with Seattle Against Slavery to: 1) promote and attend a SAS-sponsored event at Elliott Bay Bookstore (3pm on 4/22/17); 2) recruit UW participants for a SAS-sponsored survey on sex-buying and prostitution and assist in the one-to-one administration of that survey on campus; and 3) collaboratively create and/or host a counter-trafficking campaign or event for the UW community during the latter half of the quarter, in cooperation with fellow classmates and members of the UW chapter of SAS. In addition to on-time completion of the Honors experiential learning application and reflection requirements detailed on http://depts.washington.edu/uwhonors/reqs/exp/, students who seek experiential learning credit will be required to document their participation in all three of these activities and submit that documentation along with a brief reflection paper to the instructor by noon on 6/2/17.

What’s it like to live in Seattle? Can you put it into words?

This course considers a range of writers who have taken on that challenge and, in a variety of ways, in different eras, have depicted life in Seattle. Reading assignments for this class include fiction, poetry, vignettes, essays, and popular song lyrics that explore the city, its history, its geography, and its diverse population.

Till recently, the notion of a “Seattle literature” has received relatively little attention. Interest in it has been overshadowed by efforts to establish a canon of Pacific Northwest writing– -a body of work devoted largely to environmental themes and a focus on nature. Since the 1980s and 1990s, though, writing about Seattle has gained prominence, even as the city itself has gained a higher profile both nationally and internationally. No single school of writing prevails – there has been no Seattle movement per se — but multiple texts have been inspired by and respond to distinctively Seattle milieus, circumstances, and personalities.

How has the literary imagination perceived and portrayed Seattle? One of the goals of this course is to ask how literary representations have shaped, conformed to, diverged from, and /or contested prevailing images of Seattle. In popular culture and commercial contexts
Seattle has often been associated with economic cycles of boom and bust; it has been cast as a town beset by provinciality and boosterism, and as a singular locale that has evolved from pioneering outpost to radical hotbed to hi-tech hub. Often defined as a gateway to the great outdoors, Seattle has also been called a livable city and a city of neighborhoods. It has come to be known, too, as a hip city, celebrated for its coffee culture, grunge music, and cutting edge arts scene. The texts selected for this course illuminate, complicate, and enrich such understandings of the city. As Peter Donahue remarks in Reading Seattle: The City in Prose, literature may serve to “amplify, augment and add to” readers’ own experiences of Seattle, making the city more legible to them and guiding them to interpret it with new insight.

In the past two decades, even as literature of Seattle has proliferated, Seattle has emerged as one of America’s most literate cities. Literary festivals, readings, bookstores, and special events abound. This course encourages students to discover and experience some of that cultural vitality. Students will have opportunities to work with community organizations
that promote writing in and about Seattle, so as to learn about contemporary literary voices and about museums, historical societies, and other agencies engaged with recounting stories of Seattle’s past. Students may choose to volunteer 2-3 hours a week, to reflect on their experiences in connection with issues raised in classroom discussion and reading assignments,
and to include written reports of their activities in their Honors portfolios. Students who prefer may write a 7-8 page research paper in lieu of service learning. Another option is to prepare an exhibit on Seattle in literature for the UW Libraries. This is a C (Composition) course, which means that student will compose several drafts of their essay assignments and they will receive peer review along with feedback from the instructor. Editing and revision are an integral part of the process of writing; students will rework their essays in order to refine their prose, articulate their views, and practice proofreading, citation and documentation of sources.

Are the ancient Romans still relevant to modern conversations and ways of life? This course invites students to strengthen their skills in various kinds of writing by developing a range of historically, linguistically and culturally informed modern ways to write about the ancient world. Some class work will include exploration of the vocabulary, syntax and rhetorical devices of the Latin language and its ancient Roman context. Students will also develop a research project on an issue in the ancient world of especial interest to them. Assignments will also include essays and various kinds of informative and persuasive writing. Writing projects will require meticulous citation of primary and secondary sources, and will be revised on the basis of several drafts and peer review. Projects will be gathered into a portfolio along with a final reflection. Some previous exposure to the Latin language is desirable, but not required. Students with background and interests in ancient Greek can also be accommodated.

The Honors Ecuador Study Abroad includes a 2-credit mandatory preparatory seminar which engages students in collaboration on campus and through a digital platform (Canvas). The highly focused seminar meetings and digital platform will introduce students to the study abroad’s structure and topics, as well as Ecuadorian society. At the end of the course, students will be able to: identify the major cultural, political, and economic changes in northwestern South America during the last three decades; and, identify the major origins and developments of social movements in northwestern South America during the last three decades.

This 2-credit prep seminar will prepare students to participate in service internships abroad and will work with the Carlson Center expertise to facilitate learning outside of the classroom and engage ethically and reflectively with community partners. The seminar will also provide an introduction to German history, culture, education, identity, and politics via a comparative interdisciplinary curriculum structure. The instructors will introduce students to topics relevant to the larger themes of the program (identity politics; immigration policy; border studies; comparative international service based methods, theory, and action) and identify key social issues in Berlin and more broadly, Germany’s position in the European Union towards migration and asylum laws and globally; identity formation issues as related to demographic changes, re: immigration policy and patterns.

This course examines cultural visions of the local landscape through time. We will start with visions of the pre-European landscape, both from the perspective of Native Americans, and early European explorers who kept detailed journals and sketches. We will then focus on the origins and philosophy of our regional wilderness preservation movement (juxtaposed against a separate vision of resource extraction), a mainstay of American conservation that was in large part responsible for preserving the iconic landscapes that continue to make our burgeoning region such a desirable place to live. We will spend time critically examining wilderness as both a concept and a place, paying special attention to the human/nature divide, and a number of narratives around equity, privilege, and cultural marginalization that stem from the institution of wilderness. We will ask whether wilderness has been a successful conservation framework, who benefits from wilderness as an institution, and what role wilderness (or a modified vision of the natural landscape) will play for the people of our region going forward. By understanding the historical tensions and frameworks that define our regional landscape, we will be able to shed light on current land-use controversies, as well as identify new themes that are unique to our time. The course will draw readings from a variety of sources and disciplines including history, art history, historical journals, nature writing, biology, psychology, current events, and recently published editorials, and will pay special attention to underrepresented and historically marginalized cultures and groups. There will be one campus-based walking field trip, and a possible optional field trip further afield. Your grade will be based on contributions to discussion, a creative research-based project and presentation, and one essay.

How do the imagined worlds of speculative fiction reflect, and reflect upon, the real worlds of their authors and audiences? And on the other hand, how can works of speculative fiction have real-world impacts? Is speculative fiction different, in either of these respects, than other genres of narrative? This course explores a variety of works of speculative fiction from the perspective of an anthropological interest in ideas, imaginations, and narratives in relation to social life. Readings include scholarly articles as well as works of fiction.

Introduction to systematic inorganic chemistry: representative elements, metals, and nonmetals. Includes coordination complexes, geochemistry, and metallurgy. Additional material on environmental applications of basic chemistry presented. Includes laboratory. No more than the number of credits indicated can be counted toward graduation from the following course groups: CHEM 162, CHEM 165 (5 credits); CHEM 165, CHEM 312 (5 credits).

Chemistry majors and other students planning three or more quarters of organic chemistry. Structure, nomenclature, reactions, and synthesis of organic compounds. Theory and mechanism of organic reactions. Biomolecules. Introduction to membranes, enzyme mechanisms, prosthetic groups, macromolecular conformations, and supramolecular architecture. No more than 4 credits can be counted toward graduation from the following courses: CHEM 239, CHEM 337.

Basic programming-in-the-small abilities and concepts including procedural programming (methods, parameters, return values), basic control structures (sequence, if/else, for loop, while loop), file processing, arrays and an introduction to defining objects.

Continuation of CSE 142. Concepts of data abstraction and encapsulation including stacks, queues, linked lists, binary trees, recursion, instruction to complexity and use of predefined collection classes. Prerequisite: CSE 142.

This course is designed to offer Honors students a chance to deepen and complicate their study of Greek. We will meet for one hour per week to discuss additional readings and develop critical perspectives on materials studied in the class.

Depending on student interests and goals, there may also be a project component of the class. My goal is to help you connnect the fascinating world of Greek literature and ancient Greek culture and history with issues and ideas that you find important and compelling. We can explore issues connected to the history of Latin as a language, the interpretation of major texts, and historical periods and trends, and the history and socio-economic context of the teaching of Latin.

Your grade for this course will be 90% based on your grade for the work assigned in Greek and 10% based on your grade for work done with me. That 10% will be based on participation for and preparation in our weekly discussion sessions, and completion of a final project: a 2 page reflection.

Cultural interaction among societies and civilizations, particularly Western and non-Western. Intellectual, cultural, social, and artistic aspects; historical factors.

This course is designed to offer Honors students a chance to deepen and complicate their study of Latin. We will meet for one hour per week to discuss additional readings and develop critical perspectives on materials studied in the class.

Depending on student interests and goals, there may also be a project component of the class. My goal is to help you connnect the fascinating world of Latin literature and Roman culture and history with issues and ideas that you find important and compelling. We can explore issues connected to the history of Latin as a language, the interpretation of major texts, and historical periods and trends, and the history and socio-economic context of the teaching of Latin.

Your grade for this course will be 90% based on your grade for the work assigned in Latin 103 and 10% based on your grade for work done with me. That 10% will be based on participation for and preparation in our weekly discussion sessions, and completion of a final project: a 2 page reflection.

Explores the intersection of recent developments in neuroscience and its impact on law. After introducing basic neuroscience concepts and imaging techniques, considers the relationship of law and neuroscience, largely through looking at variety of focused topics such as brain death, pain and suffering, memory, bias, and adolescent brain.

Sequence covers the material of 124, 125, 126; 307, 308, 318. Third quarter of the first year of a two-year accelerated sequence. May not receive credit for both 126 and 136. For students with above average preparation, interest, and ability in mathematics.

Introduction to proofs and rigor; uniform convergence, Fourier series and partial differential equations, vector calculus, complex variables. Students who complete this sequence are not required to take 309, 324, 326, 327, 328, and 427. Third quarter of the second year of an accelerated two-year sequence; prepares students for senior-level mathematics courses.

Explores electromagnetic waves, the mechanics of oscillatory motion, optics, waves in matter, and experiments in these topics for physical science and engineering majors. Lecture tutorial and lab components must all be taken to receive credit. Credit is not given for both PHYS 116 and PHYS 123.

Traditionally, natural history and culture museums have served both as a repository for specimens and objects, and as a place of public education and engagement. Today, visitors are still captivated by these museum collections, drawn in by dinosaurs, whales, masks and canoes. However due to resource constraints, most natural history and culture museums are able to share only a small fraction of their vast collections and their in-depth research. A key challenge is to connect visitors to museum collections, to share the relevance of museum research, and to make museums matter.

The aim of this seminar is to explore both the public faces (exhibit/education programs) and the behind-the-scene spaces (collections/research) of a natural history and culture museum. Students will examine first-hand the Burke Museum’s paleontology, biology, archaeology, and ethnology collections, and learn about contemporary museum research. We will assess how these collections and their stories can be shared in creative and novel ways, and together, what they can teach us about ourselves and our communities.

The course will be hosted on-campus at the Burke Museum, where students will engage with a variety of museum experts and explore multiple collections. Assignments will include weekly course readings and discussions, two short papers, and a final group project. Seminar is offered as CR/NC (minimum performance level required for CR is 1.5 out of 4.0); grading will be based on participation (40%), written assignments (20%), and final presentation (40%).

This project based seminar is the culminating seminar in this year’s GLP Waseda curriculum. It is restricted to current students in the Honors GLP Waseda Japan Exchange.

This seminar provides an entry way to cultivating your music creativity. The ensemble will create their own music using improvisation and composition techniques geared toward students who aren’t comfortable doing either! Bring your instrument and an open mind.