Honors Course Archive

Course Archive for Spring 2014

* Add codes are placed on all courses one week after the first day of the quarter. If you need an add code, please email the course instructor for permission, and once approved, forward the confirmation from your instructor to uwhonors@uw.edu. We will be in touch with registration details as soon as possible.

Honors Arts & Humanities (3)

Arts & Humanities courses may only count for your H-Arts & Humanities requirement or your Honors Electives requirement.

HONORS-prefix courses

Honors 212 A: Seattle: Reading and Writing the City (A&H)

Honors 212 A: Seattle: Reading and Writing the City (A&H)

SLN 14694 (View UW registration info »)

Naomi Sokoloff (Near Eastern Languages & Civilization)
Office: Denny 220C, Box 353120
Phone: 206-543-7145
Email: naosok@uw.edu

Credits: 5
Limit: 25 students

How has the literary imagination perceived and portrayed Seattle?

This course examines fiction, poetry, vignettes, essays, and song lyrics that explore the city, its history, its geography, and its diverse population. One of our goals is to ask how literature has shaped, conformed to, diverged from, and/or contested prevailing images of Seattle — as pioneering outpost, as provincial town, as radical hotbed, and as hi-tech hub. Known for its economic cycles of boom and bust, Seattle has often been cast in pop culture and commercial contexts as a hip city; it has been celebrated for its coffee culture, grunge music, and cutting edge arts scene. It has also been hailed as a “livable city,” a city of neighborhoods, and a gateway to the great outdoors. The texts selected for this course illuminate and complicate such commonplaces and stereotypes, and so they may serve to enrich readers’ own experiences of Seattle and guide us to interpret the city 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 locales. Literary festivals, readings, bookstores, and special events abound. Students are encouraged to discover and experience some of that cultural vitality. In addition, for those interested in experiential learning, there will be opportunities to volunteer with community organizations that promote writing in and about Seattle.

Assignments:
Two essays, 1000-1250 words (4-5 pages) each
Midterm exam
Class participation
Portfolio
Service learning , term paper, or project

Learning Goals:
Students will read notable literary depictions of life in Seattle as a means
-to strengthen skills in reading analytically and critically;
-to enhance knowledge of Seattle, its history, and its diverse population; an integral part of the course is attention to sociocultural perspectives of minorities (Native American, Asian American, and African American)
-to practice writing skills by producing portfolio entrees, in-class writing exercises, and essays that require peer review, editing and revision.

Honors 212 B: The World of Chinese-character based Writing Systems (A&H)

Honors 212 B: The World of Chinese-character based Writing Systems (A&H)

SLN 14695 (View UW registration info »)

Zev Handel (Asian Languages and Literature)
Office: 245 Gowen Hall, Box 353521
Phone: 206 543-4863
Email: zhandel@uw.edu

Credits: 5
Limit: 30 students

Non-alphabetic writing systems such as Sumerian cuneiform and Egyptian hieroglyphs have fascinated Europeans for hundreds of years. But it is only in East Asia that we find such writing systems in use in modern times. Chinese characters (aka kanji) are employed in written Chinese and written Japanese, and were until relatively recently also widely used in Korea and Vietnam.

This course examines the origin and development of Chinese characters within China; the various strategies used to adapt them for writing different languages in Asia; and their current status in written Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. In order to understand how Chinese characters have functioned over the last three millennia, we will explore the relationship between linguistic features and writing systems, and discuss the different linguistic structures of several Asian languages. Along the way we will explore such questions as:

– How are Chinese characters structured, and how do they represent language?
– What can Chinese character-based writing systems tell us in general about the nature of writing and its relationship to spoken language?
– Is a universal writing system possible?
– Are alphabetic writing systems superior to character-based systems? If so, why have Chinese characters survived into the modern era?
– What do popular views of writing imply about our conceptions of the fundamental nature not only of language, but of reality itself?

The course is open to all students regardless of language background; no prior knowledge of Chinese characters, Asian languages, or linguistics is necessary. Curiosity, enthusiasm, and a willingness to engage with the unfamiliar are the only prerequisites. There is no textbook for the course. Instead, we will read a variety of articles, excerpts, and reference materials, some of which will be collected in a course reading packet.

Classes will involve a mixture of lecture and group discussion. Students will be expected to read in depth and engage in classroom discussions of course material. Grading will be based on class participation, homework assignments, written responses to readings, and one or more short papers.

Honors 212 C: Vladimir Nabokov (A&H)

Honors 212 C: Vladimir Nabokov (A&H)

SLN 14696 (View UW registration info »)

Galya Diment (Slavic Languages and Literatures)
Office: A219 Padelford Hall, Box 354335
Phone: 206-543-6848
Email: galya@uw.edu

Credits: 5
Limit: 10 students

Offered jointly with RUSS 240 A, RUSS 543A, ENGL 242 H, ENGL 550 B, and C LIT 396 B.
Examines the works of Vladimir Nabokov, from his early novels written in Europe to his later masterpieces, including Lolita, Pnin, Pale Fire, and Ada.

ALL READINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ARE IN ENGLISH. NO PRE-REQUISITES!

Class participation (20%); Midterm (for all but longer for grads and Honors; 30%); Final (Papers for grads; longer exams for Honors; 50%)

Honors Science (3)

Science courses may only count for your H-Science requirement or your Honors Electives requirement.

HONORS-prefix courses

Honors 222 A: Disaster Science: Exploring Marine Oil Spills and the Environment (NSc)

Honors 222 A: Disaster Science: Exploring Marine Oil Spills and the Environment (NSc)

SLN 14697 (View UW registration info »)

Robert Pavia (School of Marine and Environmental Affairs)
Office: 3707 Brooklyn Avenue NE, Box 359485
Phone: 425-502-5243
Email: bobpavia@uw.edu

Credits: 5
Limit: 25 students

Oil and its environmental consequences are at the center of the Climate Change debate. Could an oil spill fundamentally change U.S. domestic and international policy? These recent headlines provide some insight into how it might:

“Obama to confront oil pipeline, climate change.”
“Shell ship grounding fuels Arctic drilling debate.”
“With Arctic ice melting at record pace, the world’s superpowers are increasingly jockeying for political influence and economic position.”
“Oil-tanker traffic is expected to increase in Washington waters under an expansion by a Canadian pipeline company”
“Syria’s Assad accused of boosting Al-Qaeda with secret oil deals.”

This course explores marine oil spill science, policies, and practices. Students will gain knowledge of key marine science principles and apply them to contemporary issues such as Arctic oil development, fracked oils, and the BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Oil spills provide a lens for viewing the theme of knowledge across disciplines – applied to real-word problems of managing marine ecosystems. Students will examine major oil spills to understand both the scientific and human dimensions of preserving ocean resources.

Oil spills can also provide a window into how society uses science to mitigate the effects of technology. By studying the science of oil spills, students will develop skills for critically evaluating the popular portrayal of scientific concepts and their role in policy debates as a way to gain a deeper appreciation for the complexity of developing sustainable societies.

Over the past decade, there have been between 3,000 and 5,000 marine spill incidents annually. Marine oil spills are among the most visible and potentially damaging threats to fish and wildlife and their habitats, regional economies, and the people of the region. They can impact international relations, national energy policy, and even election outcomes, yet few people understand the scientific foundations of spills and response measures like dispersants.

We will begin the course with an introduction to oil spills that have had a major impact on science, technology, and policy in the United States. Each spill will illustrate key disciplines that provide the scientific foundation for mitigating spill impacts, such as physical oceanography, chemistry, geomorphology, and ecosystem interactions. Understanding oil spills requires an interdisciplinary approach that considers both natural and social sciences.

Learning Goals
At the end of this course, each student will be able to:
-Explain how oil spills behave in the marine environment, with an emphasis on effects to humans and ecosystems.
-Describe, and compare the advantages and disadvantages of the basic spill response strategies and their differing impacts to the environment and humans.
– Demonstrate how to apply oil spill tools to an oil spill scenario in order to critique alternative response strategies.
– Recognize the role of old and new media in communicating science and affecting policy.
– Display a leadership role in the classroom community through discussion, group learning, and class presentations.

Recommended preparation
We expect students to be new to this topic and many to be non-science majors. There are no prerequisite courses required to enroll in this class. Students can prepare by reading articles on the Arctic oil development, oil shipping by rail, and oil spills as they occur.

Class assignments and grading
The course will strongly encourage student participation, discussion, and peer collaboration. Differing points of view are encouraged when presented in a positive context. Student can expect a high level of success if they attend
lectures and complete the readings and course assignments.

-Attendance and general in-class participation – 10%
-Discussion briefs and short writing assignments – 20%
-Quizzes – 30%
-Group Project – 20% (10% individual grade, 10% group grade)
-Final Paper – 20%

Honors 222 B: The Neuroscience of Sex (NSc)

Honors 222 B: The Neuroscience of Sex (NSc)

SLN 14698 (View UW registration info »)

Simina Popa (Biology)
Email: simina@uw.edu

Credits: 5
Limit: 30 students

Which aspects of gender are influenced by nature and which are influenced by environmental factors? How do the brains of gay sheep differ from those of heterosexual ones? Does sexual activity boost cognitive brain function? Should cheaters take a love hormone to help them stay committed to their partners? You will explore these questions by discussing case studies, news stories, and primary scientific articles. While discussing primary literature, you will engage in the scientific method, using background information to generate hypotheses, proposing experiments, and interpreting data. In addition, you will evaluate the accuracy and clarity of news articles about the primary scientific research articles you read. In the last part of the course, you will write your own news articles based on primary scientific papers and have the opportunity to submit your work for publication to Real Clear Science or another science news source.

Learning objectives:
After taking this course you should be able to:
1. Apply the scientific method to
• analyze data
• deduce hypotheses
• design experiments
• evaluate evidence for claims
2. Write and speak about biological findings to non-biologists.

Education research shows that people learn better when they actively practice solving problems than when they listen to lectures. Therefore, interactive lectures will be at most 10 minutes per class session and serve the purpose of providing you with enough background information and guidance on readings. During most of the class time, you will practice interpreting data, creating diagrams, and exchanging ideas with your classmates. This means that you will need to come to class having done all the reading and assignments.

Assignments and Projects
The course grade will be determined as follows:
-Reading responses 30%
-Writing news articles (2) 30%
-Oral presentation (with a partner) 20%
-In-class participation 20%

Honors 222 C: Pain (NSc)

Honors 222 C: Pain (NSc)

SLN 14699 (View UW registration info »)

Jonathan Mayer (Epidemiology; Geography)
Phone: 206-543-7110
Email: jmayer@uw.edu
John Loeser (Neurological Surgery; Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine)
Phone: 206-499-1408
Email: jdloeser@uw.edu

Credits: 5
Limit: 25 students

Pain presents a challenge as a problem in science, as a problem in health policy and patient treatment, and as a problem in understanding deeper human experiences. Pain is a universal experience. While all of us have experienced acute pain following surgery or an injury, not all of us have experienced chronic pain, which is pain that persists after tissue healing has occurred, usually > 3 months after injury. In this seminar course, we will explore pain from multiple perspectives. Some of these include the physiology, pathophysiology and psychology of pain, the epidemiology of and risk factors for pain, the subjective experience of pain. Readings, short lectures, and discussions will address the “sciences” of pain, the expression of pain in literature, philosophic analyses of pain, and social science/anthropologic analyses of pain and its role in different cultures..
Students will be evaluated on the basis of a term paper on a topic of interest to the student (after discussion with one of the instructors), weekly “thought” pieces based upon the week’s reading, and class participation.
We encourage students from any discipline to enroll in the course. It is specifically designed to incorporate multidisciplinary perspectives, and presupposes only a general education and inquisitiveness.
Portfolio Contribution: Term paper and collated weekly writing.
The class will meet for three hours, once per week during the Spring Quarter of 2014. Students will be provided with a reading list for each session; it is our expectation that every student will read some of the suggested materials prior to the class and be able to enter into a discussion of the day’s topic. Lectures by the faculty will be kept to a minimum; the class time will be spent discussing the topic and the readings. We expect each student to turn in at the beginning of each class meeting a 1-2 page brief review of the readings that the student has undertaken for that session. Each student will be required to write a term paper of 10-20 pages length on a topic related to pain of his/her choice. Discussion of the proposed topic with one of the faculty prior to writing is strongly suggested. There will be no final examination. The grade will be based upon class participation (50%) and the term paper (50%).

Honors Social Sciences (3)

Social Science courses may only count for your H-Social Sciences requirement or your Honors Electives requirement.

HONORS-prefix courses

Honors 232 A: Of Pirates and Piracy - From Morgan's Bluff to Redmond? (SSc)

Honors 232 A: Of Pirates and Piracy – From Morgan's Bluff to Redmond? (SSc)

SLN 14700 (View UW registration info »)

Clarke Speed (Anthropology)
Email: landogo@uw.edu

Credits: 5
Limit: 35 students

This course moves jumps into human geography, resource wars, the politics of the small, and the growing crises of globalization. Over the quarter, we plow the underneath of global capitalism via the cultural agency and capacity of other-citizens that engage in piracy in search of profit. Call this the clash of Blackbeard and Gates. Week by week, we will juxtapose the weak and marginal with the most powerful in the status quo. Some will see piracy phenomena as a linear regression of weak states and unincorporated citizens deviating from the the rule of law to make ‘dirty money.’ Here we invert the order of looking to see other-citizen-pirates as shadow entrepreneurs and poachers of a fragile modernity. In this inversion, piracy and poaching are not deviation of the norm but its defining logic. To know and articulate these agents as shadow space-makers, we penetrate into sacred ideologies of the Nation State and the Rule of Law that posit life where there is protected liberty in one’s pursuit of property and profit. For legitimate citizens, the liberty to pursue property and profit insures happiness. These are protected rights. But for most global inhabitants, there are no protections or assurances of profit and property. For this majority of others, life is still defined by the search for continuity of life in the fragile formula of land-as-lineage. As we arrive in the lived underneath of globalization, we find the politics of the small using cultural entrepreneurship to poach on the same system. In these marginal spaces, the cultural hook of piracy is not ‘invisible’ nor is it marginal. Digging deeper, we find the logics of the historically marginal reforming themselves into an emergent political present. In this shadowy space, words like globalization, materials, labor, profit, and infrastructure, find antithesis in the small, traditional, marginal, ordinary, and everyday. Words becomes worlds and worlds are hidden in words. Simply, the capitalization of the center and its status quo have no hegemony without the counter capitalizations of others using counter methods. One is nested in the other. Piracy and poaching are in dialectical tension with labor, material flows, technology, surplus, and power. The world is a very violent place. But such dynamics are not really new at all. Rather, globalization finds historically residuals in city states and state formation from 15,000 BP into the present. Pure irony? As a class following the Honors Portfolio ethos, there are two short concept papers, two rewrites, students presentations and precis, and a final accumulation paper. Evaluation is based on creativity and evolutionary thinking via analyses, technical writing, word work and etymologies, and visual diagrams. As a Socratic intellectual space, there are no right answers. Texts include Stevenson’s fictional Treasure Island (1993), Leeson’s The Invisible Hook (2011), Murphy’s Small Boats, Weak States, and Dirty Money (2010), and John’s Piracy: The Intellectual Property Wars from Gutenberg to Gates (2011).

Honors 232 B: Who should learn what and why: the political & moral context of education & schooling (SSc)

Honors 232 B: Who should learn what and why: the political & moral context of education & schooling (SSc)

SLN 14701 (View UW registration info »)

Roger Soder (Education)
Office: MGH 211, Box 353600
Email: rsoder@uw.edu

Credits: 5
Limit: 30 students

Schooling is a major enculturating function of every society. It is a deeply embedded function in a society, so deeply embedded that it is often difficult to see how schooling works, and it is difficult to identify-let alone address- critical questions about its purpose, design, and functions. As the anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski said, nothing is as difficult to see as the obvious.

Undergraduate students have spent more time in formal schooling agencies than in any other agency in society (other than the family). Familiarity with schooling is often an obstacle to seeing the obvious. Honors students in particular usually have this difficulty. Honors students most likely have done very well in school: they know how to do school, as it were, and they have been rewarded accordingly. But doing well in school is not the same as understanding the social, economic, and political functions of education and schooling.

This course is directed to the developing and deepening of that understanding. We will identify and address some of the major perennial and critical questions of education and schooling, with a focus on the moral and political context out of which those questions have emerged. Our primary learning approach will be through close reading and discussion of classic and current texts plus conversations with selected education scholar/practitioners.

Some of the questions to be addressed:

1. What has been the historical role – and what should be the role- of schools in determining and legitimating the basic question of who gets what, considered within the context of such variables as social class, race, gender, economics, and culture?
2. What is the relationship between a given political regime and schooling in that regime?
3. What are the appropriate roles of higher education? Who determines these roles?
4. What is the appropriate role of the teacher? Given that role, how should teachers be prepared and selected and assessed?
5. Who should determine what is to be taught and how it is to be taught?
6. How should schools be funded (if at all)?
7. How do we know if we have “good” schools?
8. What are some of the factors that limit efforts to change education and schooling?

Requirements: Fourteen short (1-2 pages, single-spaced) summary/analytical papers will be prepared for most of the readings; one longer (9-10 pages, single-spaced) final paper synthesizing and discussing the whole. No formal final exam. Numerical grading on a 4.0 scale. Given that class discussion is very important, consistent attendance is critical.

I’ll be glad to talk further about any aspect of the course. You can reach me, Roger Soder, at rsoder@u.washington.edu.

Honors 232 C: Geographies and Politics of Poverty and Privilege (SSc)

Honors 232 C: Geographies and Politics of Poverty and Privilege (SSc)

SLN 14702 (View UW registration info »)

Victoria Lawson (Geography; Honors Program)
Phone: 206-543-5196
Email: lawson@uw.edu

Credits: 5
Limit: 20 students

Offered jointly with GEOG 495 B.

Students must also register for HONORS 232 CA or CB.

This course introduces students to a range of spatial, material and discursive processes producing poverty and inequality. The course draws on the Relational Poverty Network project led by Vicky Lawson and Sarah Elwood. We will investigate the spaces and practices through which people come to understand class position and through which poverty/inequality become politicized. The course draws on feminist care ethics and postcolonial theory and topics include: relational poverty knowledge; grounded neoliberalisms across the Americas; spatially varied forms of poverty governance; theories of encounter and radical contact; and forms of poverty politics. Students will be involved in grounded engagements with poverty and inequality both through service-learning and other local activities. Students will also learn about inclusive models of learning such as transformative pedagogy and South-North learning. A goal of this class is to move beyond critique towards ethically engaged action.

Student learning goals include:
– Understanding the causes, theoretical argument and implications of geographies and politics of poverty and inequality
– Building comparative analyses across the Americas
– Identifying forms of poverty politics and the kinds of engagements they entail/produce
– Understanding the potentials and pitfalls of care ethical responses to poverty and inequality
– Enacting ethical change around poverty and inequality

Honors Interdisciplinary (4)

Interdisciplinary courses may only count for your Interdisciplinary Honors requirement or your Honors Electives requirement. These courses cannot count for your Honors Science, Honors Humanities/Arts or Honors Social Science requirements, even if they bear the corresponding Areas of Inquiry designation.

HONORS-prefix courses

Honors 345 A: The Triggering Town (C)

Honors 345 A: The Triggering Town (C)

SLN 14705 (View UW registration info »)

Frances McCue (English)
Email: frances@francesmccue.com

Credits: 5
Limit: 22 students

This course satisfies BOTH Honors Interdisciplinary AND UW's Composition requirements.
Invented by the Northwest poet Richard Hugo, “The Triggering Town” was an imaginary method to help poets begin new poems. The poet would imagine a town– one created with real memories of actual towns he/she had been visited or knew as a hometown, and then furnish the place with made-up oddities. Then, the poet would stumble upon a compelling subject, one humming below the surface of the “triggering town.” By following the music of the language, the poet would find the real subject of the emerging draft, and follow it into a new, and surprising, poem.

In this class, we’ll read and write poems that begin with particular places and then move on to other subjects. Students will each write (and revise) four poems and one midterm literary analysis paper, and they will also work in a team to create a written project on a the work of a poet whom they choose.

Honors 391 B: HIV/AIDS: Issues & Challenges (A&H / SSc / NSc)

Honors 391 B: HIV/AIDS: Issues & Challenges (A&H / SSc / NSc)

SLN 14706 (View UW registration info »)

Dan Montano (Family & Child Nursing)
Phone: 206.616.0709
Email: montano@uw.edu
Danuta Kasprzyk (Family & Child Nursing)
Phone: 206-524-9314
Email: kasprzyk@uw.edu

Credits: 5
Limit: 25 students

As part of course requirements, students will present a current event based on each day’s readings or lectures, to be turned in twice weekly by midnight the day before each class period. Link to current event story can be emailed to professors, or turned in as a hard or scanned copy each class period.

Students will be required to write a 15 page research paper. Students will choose a developing country and describe an in-country plan to hit the US Obama Administration goal of ZERO HIV infections (an AIDS-free generation) in their chosen country. Students will describe the in-country AIDS epidemic in terms of its epidemiology (disease transmission and spread), including risk behaviors, and access to treatment. Students will then describe how to reach a goal of zero transmissions within the country by the end of this decade (2019). Students will make evidence-based recommendations targeting the AIDS epidemic for their chosen country and describe whether or how these recommendations will serve to achieve zero HIV transmissions. Papers will be due last week of class (week of June 7, 2013).

At the end of this course, students will be able to:
– Summarize the history of the AIDS epidemic
– Explain how the human-immunodeficiency virus enters the body and attacks the immune system
– Describe clinical symptoms and manifestations of HIV and AIDS, outline disease stages and describe disease progression, including acquisition of opportunistic illnesses
– Compare the treatment policies and options for HIV and AIDS disease between developed and developing countries
– Summarize issues related to effective treatment of HIV in both developed and developing countries
– Describe the factors associated with differing nations’ patterns of HIV spread
– Discuss transmission patterns in relation to risk behaviors, describing sexual, drug and maternal-child transmission of HIV
– Recognize the differing patterns in the national and international spread of HIV and AIDS and explain how risk behaviors and risk factors vary around the world
– Distinguish the differential risk patterns of the spread of HIV in different countries around the world, and describe how these patterns create different AIDS epidemics
– Identify how biological and behavioral co-factors, including other sexually transmitted diseases, play a role in the world-wide spread of HIV
– Discuss effective medical/clinical, vaccine and behavioral HIV prevention strategies
– Summarize the psycho-social, medical, and economic impact of HIV or AIDS on individuals, families, communities and nations
– Delineate how a chosen country can hit the WHO UNAIDS goal of an “AIDS-free generation”
– Respond to individuals with HIV who present in class as a panel

Honors 392 A: Plato's Timaeus: Physics for the Sake of the Self (SSc / NSc)

Honors 392 A: Plato's Timaeus: Physics for the Sake of the Self (SSc / NSc)

SLN 14707 (View UW registration info »)

Charles Ives (Education)
Email: cfives@uw.edu

Credits: 5
Limit: 30 students

This course is roughly two things. First, it is a study of interdisciplinarity via Plato’s most influential and challenging dialogue, the Timaeus, a work which acts, I think, as the finest extant example of the “business as usual” medley of research projects that typify Platonic as well as pre-Platonic intellectualism. Within this study, our primary aim will be to demarcate disparate disciplines such as theology, history, rhetoric, mathematics, astronomy, psychology, medicine, and botany while at the same time making sure not to unravel them from the controlling context into which they are woven, the study of kosmos, or what arguably amounts to, a cosmology or even physics of the self. Second, this course is a study in how to read and write about books. Thus, our additional aim will be to read the text in a systematic fashion conducive to representing our reading in writing. Simply stated, we will pay close attention to the goals expressed in the text, the means by which these goals are achieved, and the motivating factors that give rise to these means and goals. In a similar fashion, we will construct accounts of each discipline by establishing the discipline’s definitive task as well as its accompanying methodology and motivating problems. More precisely, throughout the course of the quarter, each student will be required first to develop an account of cosmology, and really of the Timaeus as a whole, and then to offer accounts of two disciplines by situating them within the cosmological context. Accordingly, our greatest and most comprehensive aim will be to develop an increased sensitivity to the importance of seeing the big picture.

Honors 394 B: Borderlands of Civilizations (A&H / SSc)

Honors 394 B: Borderlands of Civilizations (A&H / SSc)

SLN 14709 (View UW registration info »)

Tony Lucero (International Studies, Comparative History of Ideas)
Phone: 206 616-1643
Email: jal26@uw.edu

Credits: 5
Limit: 15 students

Offered jointly with JSIS A 492 A
“Western Civilization” is an inherently relational term. In order to understand what it stands for, one must also understand what it stands against (“the non-western” and the “uncivilized”). This course is concerned centrally with the question of alterity, the historical construction of “the Other” a process that has been central to the formation of national states, empires, and the more ambiguously defined collectivity known as “Western Civilization.” This seminar provides a critical survey of key “border-making” events and forces in the Atlantic World. Not strictly a history course, it puts critical theory in dialogue with historical events as an interdisciplinary exploration of some of the critical borderlands of the modern world. Briefly, the course will explore the workings of religion, race, gender, empire and nation in the construction of modernity. Some of the topics covered include the Re-Conquest in Iberia, Conquest in the Americas, state-making and revolution in the Atlantic World.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this course, students should be able to

· understand the multiple and shifting boundaries of political belonging, within and between national states;
· have fluency in key concepts in Western political theories and post-colonial critiques;
· have a strong grasp of key historiographical and theoretical debates on the construction of empires and nations;
· be able to identify and critique the arguments embedded in historical narratives and theoretical frameworks.

HONORS 100/496 (2)

HONORS 100 must be taken the first autumn quarter you are admitted to Interdisciplinary Honors. Students may register for HONORS 496 after completing at least 6 of 9 Honors core courses and 1 of 2 Experiential Learning activities. See our requirements page for more details.

Honors Electives (16)

Any course without the “HONORS” prefix may only count for your Honors Electives requirement. You will earn Areas of Inquiry credit as indicated in the parentheses after each course title.

Other Honors courses (without HONORS-prefix)

ARCH 352 C: History of Modern Architecture (A&H)

ARCH 352 C: History of Modern Architecture (A&H)

SLN 10361 (View UW registration info »)

Jeffrey Ochsner (Architecture)
Email: jochsner@uw.edu

Credits: 5
Limit: 20 students

Students must also register for ARCH 352 CA, Honors lab.

ADD CODE REQUIRED FOR BOTH LAB AND LECTURE. Available in MGH 211 beginning February 11.

Architecture 352 presents a survey of architecture from 1750 to the present (primarily, but not exclusively, in Europe and North America). Emphasis is placed on the development of the architecture of this period including significant buildings and projects, important theories and critical writings.

Architecture 352 is the third course in the architecture 350-351-352 series. Knowledge of material covered in Architecture 350 and Architecture 351 is expected of those enrolled in Architecture 352. Like other courses in the 350 series, Arch 352 is offered as a series of lectures illustrated with slides. The Honors Section will also include a weekly discussion session focused on additional readings (including primary texts and articles of scholarly research) that address relevant events, practitioners, movements, influences, or broad cultural factors that influenced modern architecture from 1750 to the present. The principal objective in the Honors Section is to serve as an enrichment for the course lectures, exploring (in greater depth) issues that have been raised during the lecture sessions. The readings and assignments are designed to facilitate discussion and an in depth, critical inquiry of architecture, history and theory from 1750 to 2000. Architecture is seen not only as built form but also as consisting of the social practices and cultural discourse that it embodies. The aim of the Honors Section is to develop a deeper understanding of the past by incorporating a diversity of viewpoints.

Resources for the course include two texts that are available at the University Bookstore: Trachtenberg and Hyman, Architecture from Prehistory to Post-Modernism/The Western Tradition (New York, 2002); and William J.R. Curtis, Modern Architecture Since 1900 3rd Edition (New York and London, 1996).

A complete course guide (slide list) for all lectures may be purchased in a single bound booklet at the University Bookstore (available by the first day of class). A web site will also be accessible to those enrolled in the course.

The Honors Section will have a selection of focused readings that will enhance the content of the lectures, but address topics in greater depth. These readings will be available on e-reserves. Course requirements for students in the Honors Section will include an in-class midterm, a final exam, and regular written assignments based on the additional readings.

ART 339 A: Honors Photography (A&H)

ART 339 A: Honors Photography (A&H)

SLN 10466 (View UW registration info »)

Gregory Schaffer (Art)
Email: NULL

Credits: 5
Limit: 20 students

ADD CODE REQUIRED. Available in MGH 211 beginning February 11.
Introduces a range of theories, ideas, techniques, and processes of still photography in a fine art context. Assignments emphasize photography’ s creative potential.

BIOC 442 AC: Honors Biochemistry (NSc)

BIOC 442 AC: Honors Biochemistry (NSc)

SLN 11125 (View UW registration info »)

David Kimelman (Biochemistry, Biology)
Office: J-533 Health Sciences, Box 357350
Phone: 206 543-5730
Email: kimelman@uw.edu

Credits: 4
Limit: 24 students

Contact Lani Stone (stone@chem.washington.edu, 206.543.9343) for add codes.
Students must also register for Bioc 442 A lecture (SLN 11122). See Time Schedule for course information.
Biochemistry and molecular biology (with quiz sections) for undergraduate students in molecular and cellular biology, for biochemistry majors, and graduate students in other science departments. Prerequisite: either 2.2 in BIOC 406 or 2.2 in BIOC 441.

CHEM 165 A: Honors General Chemistry (NSc)

CHEM 165 A: Honors General Chemistry (NSc)

SLN 11958 (View UW registration info »)

James Mayer (Chemistry)
Office: 304D CHB, Box 351700
Phone: 206 543-2083
Email: mayer@chem.washington.edu

Credits: 5
Limit: 72 students

Add codes available through Chemistry dept, BAG 303.
Prerequisite: 2.2 in Honors CHEM 155.
Students must also sign up for Section AA, AB, or AC. See time schedule for course information.
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: 162, 165 (5 credits); 165, 312 (5 credits).

CHEM 337 A: Honors Organic Chemistry (NSc)

CHEM 337 A: Honors Organic Chemistry (NSc)

SLN 12046 (View UW registration info »)

Dustin Maly (Chemistry)
Office: CHB 404K, Box 351700
Phone: 206 543-1653
Email: maly@chem.washington.edu

Credits: 4
Limit: 50 students

Add codes available through Chemistry dept.
Prerequisite: 2.2 in Honors CHEM 336.
For chemistry majors and otherwise qualified students planning three or more quarters of organic chemistry. Structure, nomenclature, reactions, and synthesis of organic compounds. Theory and mechanism of organic reactions. Studies of biomolecules. Includes 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 course groups: CHEM 239, CHEM 337.

CSE 142: Computer Programming I (NSc)

CSE 142: Computer Programming I (NSc)

SLN ?

Stuart Reges (Computer Science & Engineering)
Office: Allen Center, Room 552, Box 352350
Phone: 206-685-9138
Email: reges@uw.edu

Credits: 4

To earn Honors credit for this course, students must take:
– CSE 142 A or B and accompanying section of your choice
– and CSE 390 H (SLN 12634)
– and CSE 390 HA (SLN 12635, Wed 4:30-5:50pm)

See Time Schedule for more: http://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/SPR2014/cse.html#cse390

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.

CSE 143: Computer Programming II (NSc)

CSE 143: Computer Programming II (NSc)

SLN ?

Hélène Martin (Computer Science & Engineering)
Email: ln@cs.washington.edu

Credits: 5

To earn Honors credit for this course, students must take:
– CSE 143 A or B and accompanying section of your choice
– and CSE 390 H (SLN 12634)
– and CSE 390 HB (SLN 12636, Tu 3:30-5:20pm) or CSE 390 HC (SLN 20762, Wed 5-7pm)

See Time Schedule for more: http://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/SPR2014/cse.html#cse390

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.

INFO 101 AG: Social Networking (SSc / NSc)

INFO 101 AG: Social Networking (SSc / NSc)

SLN 20614 (View UW registration info »)

Bob Boiko (iSchool)
Phone: 206 616-4030
Email: bboiko@uw.edu

Credits: 5
Limit: 10 students

ADD CODE REQUIRED FOR BOTH LAB AND LECTURE. Available in MGH 211 beginning February 11.

If enrollment <6 on 3/28/14, will transition to formalized ad hoc Honors course. See an Honors adviser for more information.

Explores today’s most popular social networks, gaming applications, and messaging applications. Examines technologies, social implications, and information structure. Focuses on logic, databases, networked delivery, identity, access privacy, ecommerce, organization, and retrieval.

JSIS 202 AI: Cultural Interactions (SSc)

JSIS 202 AI: Cultural Interactions (SSc)

SLN 15402 (View UW registration info »)

Cabeiri Robinson (International Studies)
Office: 429 Thomson Hall, Box 353650
Phone: (206) 543-1693
Email: cdr33@uw.edu

Credits: 5
Limit: 20 students

Students must also register for SIS 202 A lecture. See Time Schedule for course information.

ADD CODE REQUIRED. Available in MGH 211 as of Feb. 10.

Modern political and economic systems are founded and maintained by combinations of subtle workings of ideas and overt violence. This course examines how the systems of meaning and social organization we call ‘culture(s)’ organize the experiences, ideologies, and institutions of power which we call ‘politics’ at the local, national, and international level. This course introduces a critical approach to understanding the relationship between culture and politics by examining the problem of political violence and armed conflict and its relationship to society and culture in the post-WWII world. The questions this course will address include: In what ways are strategies of power produced through forms of knowledge that are culturally organized? How does power become internalized and personalized so that people actively reproduce it? What does it mean for a society to become ‘militarized’? What are ‘cultures of terror’ and what does it mean to rule by fear rather than by consent or coercion? How is torture and the violent inscription of the body a ‘modern’ political practice? How do cultural expectations shape international recognition of conflicts as ‘war’, ‘civil insurgency’, or ‘terrorism’ and of impacted people and populations as ‘victims’, ‘refugees’, ‘perpetrators’ or ‘terrorists’? What is the distinction between modern and postmodern warfare and how do their political economies differ? How do post-cold war peace-making paradigms of accountability and reconciliation rely on the transformative possibilities of political culture? We adopt an ethnographic perspective to examine the these questions through the examination of processes of political violence and armed conflict in the daily lives of ordinary people, drawing on case studies from the US, South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

Student learning goals
• Learn the terms, concepts, and theories of culturally informed studies of international political culture.
• Understand cultural explanations about the problem of contemporary political violence.
• Develop the ability to use ethnographic and anthropological information and ideas to explain contemporary political and social problems.
• Develop and improve the ability to synthesize and analyze different ideas and theories about contemporary political and social problems.

Class assignments and grading
There will be seven weekly response papers, a 5-6 page analytic essay using course readings, discussions and writing workshops in sections, current events quizzes, and a short answer and essay final exam on lecture and reading materials in which students will have the opportunity to demonstrate their mastery of key concepts.

The final grade will reflect students’ full participation in this course weighted as follows: response papers 30%, essay paper 20%, section participation 20%; quizes 10%; final exam 20%. Weekly response papers: 30% Essay Paper: 20% Section Participation: 20% Quizes 10% Final Exam: 20%

LAW E533: Rights in America: Equality, Liberty, and Democracy

LAW E533: Rights in America: Equality, Liberty, and Democracy

SLN 15799 (View UW registration info »)

Walter J. Walsh (School of Law)
Phone: (206) 616-7101
Email: wawa@uw.edu

Credits: 4
Limit: 5 students

To request a space in this course, complete this registration interest survey: http://tinyurl.com/mvrttdl

Do NOT contact instructors regarding space in these courses.

NOTE: this course counts towards your Additional Any Honors requirements, and, as a professional course, does NOT award Areas of Knowledge credit.

See link below for day/time information.

Deep historical exploration of a jurisprudentially revolutionary constitutional conflict that pits courts, local government, and the U.S. Congress in passionate struggles over gay and lesbian antidiscrimination rights; the freedoms of speech and religion; and African-American political equality in the nation’s capital. Interdisciplinary graduate and advanced undergraduate students welcome. No prerequisites.

More, including days & times, at: http://www.law.washington.edu/CourseCatalog/Course.aspx?YR=2013&ID=E533

LAW E572: Race And The Law

LAW E572: Race And The Law

SLN 15818 (View UW registration info »)

Kimberly Ambrose (School of Law)
Phone: (206) 685-6806
Email: kambrose@uw.edu

Credits: 4
Limit: 5 students

To request a space in this course, complete this registration interest survey: http://tinyurl.com/mvrttdl

Do NOT contact instructors regarding space in these courses.

NOTE: this course counts towards your Additional Any Honors requirements, and, as a professional course, does NOT award Areas of Knowledge credit.

See link below for day & time information.

Course evaluates the legal regulation of race in the US. It addresses the racial and legal history of major groups in the US including African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latino/as, Native Americans, and Whites and examines the nexus between law and the construction of race as a concept and locus of identity.

More, including days & times, at: http://www.law.washington.edu/CourseCatalog/Course.aspx?YR=2013&ID=E572

MATH 126 C: Honors Calculus with Analytic Geometry III (NSc)

MATH 126 C: Honors Calculus with Analytic Geometry III (NSc)

SLN 16285 (View UW registration info »)

Credits: 5
Limit: 50 students

Add codes are available from Math Department.
Students must have completed Honors Math 125.
Students must register for section CA or CB. Check Time Schedule for section information.
Third quarter in calculus sequence. Introduction to Taylor polynomials and Taylor series, vector geometry in three dimensions,introduction to multivariable differential calculus, double integrals in Cartesian and polar coordinates.

MATH 136 A: Accelerated Honors Calculus (NSc)

MATH 136 A: Accelerated Honors Calculus (NSc)

SLN 16309 (View UW registration info »)

Credits: 5
Limit: 40 students

Add code available from Math Department only.
Students must have completed Honors MATH 135.
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.

MATH 336 A: Honors Accelerated Advanced Calculus (NSc)

MATH 336 A: Honors Accelerated Advanced Calculus (NSc)

SLN 16362 (View UW registration info »)

Credits: 5
Limit: 30 students

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.

OCEAN 482 A: The Changing Arctic (NSc)

OCEAN 482 A: The Changing Arctic (NSc)

SLN 17478 (View UW registration info »)

Jody Deming (Astrobiology, Oceanography)
Office: 370 Marine Sciences Bldg
Phone: 206 543-0845,
Email: jdeming@uw.edu
Rebecca Woodgate (Oceanography; Applied Physics Laboratory – Polar Science Center)
Office: Henderson Hall, 1013 N. E. 40th St. Seattle, WA, Box 355640
Phone: 206 221-3268
Email: woodgate@apl.washington.edu

Credits: 3
Limit: 5 students

Recommended preparation: OCEAN 200 or 210; and BIOL 180, 200, or 220. Interested students without those courses should email the instructor to discuss preparation.

ADD CODE REQUIRED. Available in MGH 211.

Investigates the interacting physical, chemical, and biological components of the Arctic ocean-ice-atmosphere system, including the most recent advances and considering the impacts of Arctic Change on Arctic and global climate, marine organisms and ecosystems, native communities, and future exploitation of an ice-free summer ocean.

PHYS 123 B: Waves (NSc)

PHYS 123 B: Waves (NSc)

SLN 18231 (View UW registration info »)

Leslie Rosenberg (Physics, Astronomy)
Office: C503 Physics-Astronomy Building, Box 351560
Phone: 206 221-5856
Email: ljrosenberg@phys.washington.edu

Credits: 5
Limit: 66 students

Students must have completed Honors PHYS 122.
Students must register for section & lab. Check Time Schedule for section information.
Electromagnetic waves, 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. Prerequisite: MATH 126, MATH 129, or MATH 134, any of which may be taken concurrently; PHYS 122.

Study Abroad (3)

The Study Abroad category consists of variable-credit courses that may span multiple quarters and do not fit clearly within other categories. Consult each program’s study abroad page to learn more about the credits you will receive upon completion.

HONORS-prefix courses

Honors 397 B: Amsterdam Prep Seminar (SSc)

Honors 397 B: Amsterdam Prep Seminar (SSc)

SLN 14711 (View UW registration info »)

Steve Herbert (Geography; Law, Societies and Justice Program)
Email: skherb@uw.edu

Credits: 2
Limit: 20 students

For SUM 2014 Honors in Amsterdam participants only.

Honors 397 C: Rome/Venice Prep Seminar (SSc)

Honors 397 C: Rome/Venice Prep Seminar (SSc)

SLN 14712 (View UW registration info »)

Resat Kasaba (International Studies)
Office: 322 Thomson, Box 353650
Phone: 543-6890
Email: kasaba@uw.edu
Kathie Friedman (International Studies)
Phone: 206 543-1709
Email: friedman@uw.edu
Lauren Easterling (International Programs & Exchanges)
Office: 459 Schmitz Hall, Box 355815
Phone: 206 543-1489
Email: laurenee@uw.edu

Credits: 2
Limit: 25 students

For SUM 2014 Honors in Rome/Venice participants only.

Honors 397 D: Oxford Prep Seminar (SSc)

Honors 397 D: Oxford Prep Seminar (SSc)

SLN 14713 (View UW registration info »)

Rob Corser (Architecture)
Office: 208 Gould, Box 355720
Phone: 206 685-2992
Email: corser@uw.edu
Ann Huppert (Architecture; Art History)
Office: 208N Gould Hall, Box 355720
Phone: 206 685-8455
Email: ahuppert@uw.edu

Credits: 2
Limit: 25 students

For SUM 2014 Honors in Oxford participants only.

Special Topics (4)

Special Topics courses are between one and three credits and do not fulfill Interdisciplinary Honors requirements. They will award non-Honors UW elective credit and a great experience.

HONORS-prefix courses

Honors 397 A: Community Leadership through Peer Education: Honors 100 Peer Educator Prep Seminar (SSc)

Honors 397 A: Community Leadership through Peer Education: Honors 100 Peer Educator Prep Seminar (SSc)

SLN 14710 (View UW registration info »)

Brook Kelly (Honors Program; Advisor)
Office: MGH 211, Box 352800
Phone: 206.221.6131
Email: bbkelly@uw.edu
Aley Mills Willis (Honors Program; Advisor)
Office: 211 Mary Gates Hall, Box 352800
Phone: 221-6074
Email: aleym@uw.edu
Laura Harrington (Office of the Youth Protection Coordinator)
Office: MGH 211, Box 352800
Phone: 205 543-7444
Email: laurah13@uw.edu

Credits: 2, c/nc
Limit: 25 students

For AUT 2014 Honors 100 Peer Educators only.

Honors 397 E: Buddhist Biology: ancient Eastern wisdom meets modern Western science (SSc)

Honors 397 E: Buddhist Biology: ancient Eastern wisdom meets modern Western science (SSc)

SLN 20734 (View UW registration info »)

David Barash (Psychology)
Office: 311 Guthrie, Box 351525
Phone: (206) 543-8784
Email: dpbarash@uw.edu

Credits: 1, c/nc
Limit: 15 students

NOTE: This course does NOT fulfill Interdisciplinary Honors requirements for 2010 or later students. ALL INTERDISC HONORS REQUIREMENTS MUST BE MET WITH 5 CR CLASSES. It will only award non-Honors UW elective credit and a great experience.

For pre-2010 College Honors students, this course can fulfill your Honors Seminar requirement.

We’ll all read a book, titled – not coincidentally, Buddhist Biology – recently written by David Barash and just published by Oxford University Press. Each week, we’ll discuss material covered in various chapters, leading (one might hope) to a deeper understanding of Buddhism and of biology, and of the convergences between the two. A deep knowledge of neither Buddhism nor biology is required, since the book itself is intended for a general non-specialist audience. What is necessary, however, is interest and a willingness to talk about the important and stimulating ideas in question. No written papers or exams will be involved; this will simply be an opportunity to agree, disagree, point out weaknesses or strengths in the book, and possibly expand your understanding.

Honors 397 F: Global Leadership in Action: Waseda Seminar (SSc)

Honors 397 F: Global Leadership in Action: Waseda Seminar (SSc)

SLN 20912 (View UW registration info »)

Juliana Villegas (Honors Program; English)
Phone: 206-595-7000
Email: villegas@uw.edu
Eric Liu (Law)
Email: epliu@msn.com
Ed Taylor (Educational Leadership & Policy Studies, Undergraduate Academic Affairs)
Office: 220 Mary Gates Hall, Box 352800
Phone: 206 616-7175
Email: edtaylor@uw.edu
Peter Moran (International Programs and Exchanges)
Office: Gerberding 134B, Box 355815
Phone: 206 685-4233
Email: pkmoran@uw.edu

Credits: 2
Limit: 7 students

Restricted to students in the GLP Waseda Program.
This project based seminar is the culminating seminar in this year’s GLP Waseda curriculum. Following the courses “Leadership Towards a Caring Community–Omoiyari no aru kokusai shakai ni mukete no ridashippu” and “Leadership and Culture”, “Global Leadership in Action” is grounded in community based learning. Students will work together in a service based leadership project based in urban Seattle. This seminar is restricted to current students in the Honors GLP Waseda Japan Exchange.

Honors 398 A: The Healing Power of Poetry (A&H)

Honors 398 A: The Healing Power of Poetry (A&H)

SLN 14714 (View UW registration info »)

Arthur Ginsberg (Classics)
Office: Classics, Box 353110
Phone: 2063694836
Email: arthurginsberg@msn.com

Credits: 2, c/nc
Limit: 15 students

NOTE: This course does NOT fulfill Interdisciplinary Honors requirements for 2010 or later students. ALL INTERDISC HONORS REQUIREMENTS MUST BE MET WITH 5 CR CLASSES. It will only award non-Honors UW elective credit and a great experience.

For pre-2010 College Honors students, this course can fulfill your Honors Seminar requirement.

This honors seminar seeks to explore the interface between poetry and the healing arts and science. In an age when technology dominates our daily experience, the emotional parameters of illness are often overlooked. The human brain has not changed in the last ten thousand years in its need for expression surrounding fear and grief. We will discuss the limbic system and correlates of functional MRI in understanding patterns of brain activation.

Students will start by acquiring basic poetic craft and techniques to bring music and emotion into language. The history of poetry in medicine will be examined: its value in retrospective reflection, as a tool for teaching compassion to medical students, and as a vehicle for expression in mentally and physically afflicted patients. Renowned physician-poets will be discussed and each student will participate in vocalization of a selection of their poems. Examples of cross cultural traditions of poetry will be briefly reviewed. The format of the class will be in a round table, workshop tradition with constructive, collegial critique. Each student will be required to generate “in-class” writing as well as writing assignments, and to create 3 poems; the first about personal experience of illness or injury, the second about an illness suffered by a friend or loved one that has affected the student’s life, the third about environmental or societal illness. An editor, co-editor and graphic design artist will be chosen by the class to produce a 30 page book of poetry for publication by the University by the end of the seminar.

A group reading at the University Bookstore or Seattle venue, in which all students must participate, will be graded as the final examination.

My role will be as its facilitator and guide to provoke thought, to generate innovative poems, and to open minds and hearts to the possibilities of poetry for self exploration in the realm of illness, death and healing.