Honors Course Archive
Course Archive for Autumn 2021
Except where noted*, current Interdisciplinary Honors students may self-register using the SLN/MyPlan. If you have any questions regarding what category a course will fulfill, please check your degree audit on MyPlan and/or contact us here.
* 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 (4)
- Honors Science (5)
- Honors Social Sciences (3)
- Honors Interdisciplinary (5)
- HONORS 100/496 (2)
- Honors Electives (9)
- Special Topics (2)
Honors Arts & Humanities (4)
HONORS-prefix courses
HONORS 210 A: Calderwood Seminar in Public Writing: #Black Lives Matter in Historical Context (A&H, DIV, W)
HONORS 210 A: Calderwood Seminar in Public Writing: #Black Lives Matter in Historical Context (A&H, DIV, W)
SLN 16391 (View UW registration info »)
Email: levyl@uw.edu
Credits: 5
Limit: 6 students
HONORS 210 B: Diversity in the Middle Ages (A&H, DIV, W)
HONORS 210 B: Diversity in the Middle Ages (A&H, DIV, W)
SLN 16392 (View UW registration info »)
Email: oehme@uw.edu
Credits: 5
Limit: 30 students
6 seats reserved for incoming Freshmen
HONORS 210 C: Okinawa in the Japanese Literary Imagination (A&H, DIV, W)
HONORS 210 C: Okinawa in the Japanese Literary Imagination (A&H, DIV, W)
SLN 16393 (View UW registration info »)
Credits: 5
Limit: 35 students
This course introduces students to modern prose fiction, poetry, drama, and film that depict Okinawa, Japan’s tropical playground on one hand, and its military colony on the other. While the focus of the class will be on representations of Okinawa in literature and the occasional film we will also pay close attention to the socio-historical context of the works in order to more fully understand them. In addition to introducing students to the variety of literature and film from and about Okinawa, the course will train students to read carefully and critically; to develop the ability to construct sound readings of literary works, and to argue these readings persuasively in English. All course material will be considered historically as well as analytically. No knowledge of Japanese is required; all works are in English translation and films are subtitled.
HONORS 240 A: Russia's Big Books (A&H, W)
HONORS 240 A: Russia's Big Books (A&H, W)
SLN 16402 (View UW registration info »)
Office: A219 Padelford Hall, Box 354335
Phone: 206-543-6848
Email: galya@uw.edu
Credits: 5
Limit: 15 students
Honors students will be expected to engage more throughly (3-4 pages) on exam essay prompts.
The Russia’s Big Books courses study one big/epic novel by the titans of Russian literature per quarter. Includes such novels as Tolstoy’s War and Peace and Anna Karenina, Dostoevsky’s Brothers Karamazov, Goncharov’s Oblomov, Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita, Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago, and Nabokov’s Ada. All readings are in English.
Honors students will complete an extended midterm and complete additional final write-ups/papers. Reflective reports will also be an optional component for Honors students.
Honors Science (5)
HONORS-prefix courses
HONORS 220 A: Storytelling in the Sciences (NSc, W)
HONORS 220 A: Storytelling in the Sciences (NSc, W)
SLN 16394 (View UW registration info »)
Credits: 5
Limit: 28 students
HONORS 220 B: Evolution and Human Behavior (NSc, W)
HONORS 220 B: Evolution and Human Behavior (NSc, W)
SLN 16395 (View UW registration info »)
Office: 205D Burke Museum, Box 351800
Phone: (206) 547-6330
Email: herronjc@uw.edu
Credits: 5
Limit: 25 students
The theory of evolution by natural selection is the underlying theme that unites all fields of biology. In this course we will cover the basic principles of evolution, explore ways in which evolutionary theory can be applied to human biology and behavior, and consider how evolutionary thinking might guide the development of social policy. We will consider questions such as these: Why are women and men different? Which is more egalitarian: monogamy or polygamy? Why do step-parents and step-children often have more conflicted relationships than biological parents and biological children? When do people cooperate, when are they selfish, and why? What can we do to reduce the rate of spousal abuse and homicide?
My goal is to help students learn selection thinking; that is, to help them learn to reason like evolutionary biologists. I hope to help students pose questions, formulate hypotheses, design experiments, and critically evaluate the quality of evidence. After taking this course, students will be able to:
- Apply evolutionary theory to human interactions, especially those involving social conflict, and make predictions about how the divergent interests of the parties involved will affect their behavior.
- Design observational studies and experiments to test these predictions. *Interpret and critically evaluate graphs and tables showing data on behavioral patterns in humans and animals.
- Provide evolutionary interpretations of various human social institutions, such as laws, wills, and social policies.
HONORS 220 C: Evolution and Human Behavior (NSc, W)
HONORS 220 C: Evolution and Human Behavior (NSc, W)
SLN 16396 (View UW registration info »)
Office: 205D Burke Museum, Box 351800
Phone: (206) 547-6330
Email: herronjc@uw.edu
Credits: 5
Limit: 25 students
The theory of evolution by natural selection is the underlying theme that unites all fields of biology. In this course we will cover the basic principles of evolution, explore ways in which evolutionary theory can be applied to human biology and behavior, and consider how evolutionary thinking might guide the development of social policy. We will consider questions such as these: Why are women and men different? Which is more egalitarian: monogamy or polygamy? Why do step-parents and step-children often have more conflicted relationships than biological parents and biological children? When do people cooperate, when are they selfish, and why? What can we do to reduce the rate of spousal abuse and homicide?
My goal is to help students learn selection thinking; that is, to help them learn to reason like evolutionary biologists. I hope to help students pose questions, formulate hypotheses, design experiments, and critically evaluate the quality of evidence. After taking this course, students will be able to:
- Apply evolutionary theory to human interactions, especially those involving social conflict, and make predictions about how the divergent interests of the parties involved will affect their behavior.
- Design observational studies and experiments to test these predictions. *Interpret and critically evaluate graphs and tables showing data on behavioral patterns in humans and animals.
- Provide evolutionary interpretations of various human social institutions, such as laws, wills, and social policies.
HONORS 220 D: Science and Engineering for Social Justice (NSc, DIV, W)
HONORS 220 D: Science and Engineering for Social Justice (NSc, DIV, W)
SLN 16397 (View UW registration info »)
Phone: 206-685-9283
Email: dgh5@uw.edu
Credits: 5
Limit: 35 students
In this course, we will explore social justice in a science and engineering context, with a focus on DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion). We will discover why scientists and engineers must practice inclusive design and think broadly about the impact of their work on diverse populations, including ethical implications, potential inequities in access, and bias against underrepresented people.
We emphasize what students can do to advocate for and represent diverse peoples, and to promote social justice through science and engineering practice. Throughout the course, we explore these inter-related questions:
- How do our cultural ideas about race, gender, disability and sexuality influence science and engineering knowledge and practice?
- On the other hand, how does our science and engineering practice influence our cultural ideas about race, gender, disability and sexuality?
- How can we use science and engineering to promote social justice for all people?
Through a social justice lens, we will explore the ethical implications involved in how technologies impact underrepresented people with specific focus on race, gender, sexuality, and disability. Topics include:
- Current innovations and emerging technologies, such as: artificial intelligence, CRISPR genome editing, and DNA forensics;
- Processes involved in a variety of engineering disciplines, such as: sustainable technology, energy production and storage, hazardous waste disposal, and pharmaceutical and vaccine development;
- Interdisciplinary methodologies to work towards eliminating inequities, bias, and barriers, such as: inclusive design (e.g., curb cuts to allow wheelchair access on sidewalks and representative standards in transit, automotive, airline, and medical contexts); and increasing access to healthcare, technology, participation in government and elections, and infrastructure (clean water, energy, sanitation, and transportation).
HONORS 220 E: The Robots are Coming! Or are They? A Deep Dive into Advances in Artificial Intelligence (NSc, W)
HONORS 220 E: The Robots are Coming! Or are They? A Deep Dive into Advances in Artificial Intelligence (NSc, W)
SLN 23102 (View UW registration info »)
Email: rrfree@uw.edu
Credits: 5
Limit: 25 students
The course will involve wide ranging readings on the impact of automation/robots in our economy, and the effects, good and bad, on our economy. We will explore the question of whether machine thought will advance to the critical point of machines being able to design and build the next generation of “machine thinkers”. Most importantly, we need to address the question of whether there is anything about being a human that ultimately a (very advanced) machine cannot do much better.
The goal to explore the vast resources of the internet, and the ideas presented in our entertainment media and contrast and compare these results with academic research on the same subjects. Is the hype real, or is it simply a product of our culture’s current obsession with what is trending?
This is a course for students who have always been fascinated with the rapid advance in technology, and find themselves wondering if the ever increasing pace of technological advancement is necessarily always a good thing.
Honors Social Sciences (3)
HONORS-prefix courses
HONORS 230 B: The Record of Us All: The Past, Present and Future of the Human Record (SSc, W)
HONORS 230 B: The Record of Us All: The Past, Present and Future of the Human Record (SSc, W)
SLN 16399 (View UW registration info »)
Credits: 5
Limit: 25 students
Every day – for that matter, potentially for every minute or second of every day – we interact with a widening variety of information objects, from the trivial to the profound. All of those form part of the human record, the record of who we are as individuals and who we are as a society. That record goes back thousands of years and is our only way of knowing, understanding and remembering days and people gone by, and in turn is the only way we and our world will be known and remembered. This course will explore that record in its various forms, how it got that way, what makes it work, what is and might be happening to it, and what that might mean going forward. Students will know more about the various types of records: public, private and published, the life cycle of information, including specific examples and the questions they raise, the importance of social context and roles, power and work, as well as the institutions that work to create, organize, preserve and provide access. Finally, we’ll look at the future of an increasingly documented world and its implications.
HONORS 230 C: Play and Material Cultures (SSc, W)
HONORS 230 C: Play and Material Cultures (SSc, W)
SLN 16400 (View UW registration info »)
Email: jreylee@uw.edu
Credits: 5
Limit: 30 students
General introductions to material cultures studies, toy studies, board game studies as sister disciplines all engaged in the social life of objects.
HONORS 230 D: History of the Social Sciences (SSc, W)
HONORS 230 D: History of the Social Sciences (SSc, W)
SLN 16401 (View UW registration info »)
Credits: 5
Limit: 35 students
This course explores the history of the social sciences from their advent in the nineteenth century until today, with a focus on the twentieth century. Social sciences examined include economics, psychology, history, sociology, anthropology, and others.
Honors Interdisciplinary (5)
HONORS-prefix courses
HONORS 345 A: Calderwood in Public Writing: Writing, Resistance, and the Prison State (C, DIV)
HONORS 345 A: Calderwood in Public Writing: Writing, Resistance, and the Prison State (C, DIV)
SLN 16405 (View UW registration info »)
Email: bgg213@uw.edu
Credits: 5
Limit: 12 students
How did America’s carceral institutions come to house over two million unwilling residents? What precipitated prisons’ central role in our society?
Prison have been a fixture among state institutions throughout recorded human history. However, the form of the prison and the justifications for its existence have evolved markedly over the centuries and millennia. So too has the scale of carceral institutions and their relative importance to states’ penal systems.
In this course, we will examine the rise of modern prisons as a historical problem through the writings of Michel Foucault. We will read firsthand accounts of lived experiences of incarceration from ancient Christians in the Roman Empire to Algerian Muslims under French colonial rule. We will interrogate how states have used prisons to marginalize minorities, control restive populations and delegitimize political activists. We will analyze prisoners’ memoirs, personal letters, political treatise and poems as sites of resistance to state power. Central to this course is developing students’ public writing skills. We will use these skills to document prisoners’ lives, translate academic articles about prisons into intelligible prose and advocate for prison reform (or abolition).
HONORS 392 A: Political Ecology of Death in the Anthropocene (SSc / NSc, W)
HONORS 392 A: Political Ecology of Death in the Anthropocene (SSc / NSc, W)
SLN 16406 (View UW registration info »)
Office: 33 Gowen, Box 353530
Phone: (206) 685-3694
Email: litfin@uw.edu
Credits: 5
Limit: 5 students
HONORS 393 A: Rhetoric of Health and Medicine (A&H / NSc, W)
HONORS 393 A: Rhetoric of Health and Medicine (A&H / NSc, W)
SLN 16407 (View UW registration info »)
Email: afriz@uw.edu
Credits: 5
Limit: 35 students
HONORS 394 A: Women in Greek and Roman Antiquity (A&H / SSc, DIV, W)
HONORS 394 A: Women in Greek and Roman Antiquity (A&H / SSc, DIV, W)
SLN 16408 (View UW registration info »)
Office: Denny 262 B, Box 353110
Phone: 206- 543-2266
Email: cconnors@uw.edu
Credits: 5
Limit: 35 students
HONORS 394 B: Music and Community Artivism (A&H / SSc, DIV, W)
HONORS 394 B: Music and Community Artivism (A&H / SSc, DIV, W)
SLN 16409 (View UW registration info »)
Email: marisolbmd1@yahoo.com
Credits: 5
Limit: 35 students
This course will focus on music as a community-building practice. Through readings, listening, discussion, and music-making we will consider questions about the social functions of music-making, explore the corresponding aesthetics and skills, and make case studies of activist uses of music historically and in the present. We will have presentations by people from local community music groups, and students will visit community sites to observe and participate.
You must attend at least 5 events at community arts sites off-campus (a list of community arts groups for ideas will be provided).
HONORS 100/496 (2)
Honors Electives (9)
Other Honors courses (without HONORS-prefix)
BIOC 450 A: Honors Biochemistry (NSc)
BIOC 450 A: Honors Biochemistry (NSc)
SLN 11477 (View UW registration info »)
Credits: 4
Limit: 25 students
PREREQ: 3.5 BIOL/CHEM GPA.
CONTACT ADVISERS@CHEM.WASHINGTON.EDU
TO ENROLL
For Biochemistry majors and molecular and cell biology majors. Core concepts in biochemistry, including protein structure, compartmentalization of reactions, thermodynamics and kinetics in a biological context, energy production, and regulation of metabolic pathways. HONORS BIOC covers the same topics as BIOC 440, but emphasizes group exercises and analysis of primary literature.
CHEM 145 A: Honors General Chemistry (NSc)
CHEM 145 A: Honors General Chemistry (NSc)
SLN 12481 (View UW registration info »)
Credits: 5
Limit: 96 students
Students must also register for CHEM 145 AA, AB, AC, or AD.
To register, students must contact Chemistry Adviser at advisers@chem.washington.edu
$75 course fee
CHEM 145 and CHEM 155 cover material in CHEM 142, CHEM 152, and CHEM 162. Includes laboratory. No more than the number of credits indicated can be counted toward graduation from the following course groups: CHEM 142, CHEM145 (5 credits); CHEM 145, CHEM 155, CHEM 162 (10 credits).
CHEM 335 A: Honors Organic Chemistry (NSc)
CHEM 335 A: Honors Organic Chemistry (NSc)
SLN 12605 (View UW registration info »)
Credits: 4
Limit: 70 students
To register, students must contact Chemistry Adviser at advisers@chem.washington.edu
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. No organic laboratory accompanies this course. No more than 5 credits can be counted toward graduation from the following course group: CHEM 221, CHEM 223, CHEM 237, CHEM 335.
CSE 142: Computer Programming I (NSc)
CSE 142: Computer Programming I (NSc)
SLN 13428 (View UW registration info »)
Credits: 4+1
Limit: 20 students
To earn Honors credit, students must register for:
1. CSE 142 lecture A or B
2. corresponding CSE 142 section
3. CSE 390 H
AND
4. the corresponding CSE 390 HA section
NOTE: CSE 390 MUST be taken concurrently with CSE 142 to have it count toward an Honors core requirement. You cannot take the two courses in separate quarters.
See CSE Time Schedule (https://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/AUT2020/cse.html) for course days, times and SLNs for both CSE 142 and CSE 390.
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 13429 (View UW registration info »)
Credits: 5+1
Limit: 20 students
To earn Honors credit, students must register for:
1. CSE 143 lecture A, D, or X
2. corresponding CSE 143 quiz section
3. CSE 390 H
AND
4. corresponding CSE 390 HB section
NOTE: CSE 390 MUST be taken concurrently with CSE 142 to have it count toward an Honors core requirement. You cannot take the two courses in separate quarters.
See CSE Time Schedule (https://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/AUT2020/cse.html) for course days, times and SLNs for both CSE 143 and CSE 390.
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.
ENGL 182 K: Honors Multimodal Composition (C)
ENGL 182 K: Honors Multimodal Composition (C)
SLN 14767 (View UW registration info »)
Credits: 5
Limit: 23 students
This course will fulfill one Honors "Additional Any" course requirement and the UW Composition requirement
Incoming Freshmen Only, seats will be distributed throughout summer
Cannot be taken if student has already received a grade of 2.0 or higher in ENGL 109/110, 111, 121, 131, or 182
Contact Nadra (fredjn@uw.edu) if not able to register automatically.
Multimodal: Study and practice of strategies/skills for effective writing/argument in various situations, disciplines, genres
Explicit focus on how multimodal elements of writing–words, images, sound, design, etc.– work together to produce meaning. Additional course information coming soon!
MATH 134 A: Accelerated Honors Calculus (NSc)
MATH 134 A: Accelerated Honors Calculus (NSc)
SLN 18072 (View UW registration info »)
Credits: 5
Limit: 40 students
HTTPS://MATH.WASHINGTON.EDU/
REGISTRATION-INFORMATION#MATH134
Covers the material of MATH 124, MATH 125, MATH 126; MATH 307, MATH 308. First year of a two-year accelerated sequence. May receive advanced placement (AP) credit for MATH 124 after taking MATH 134. For students with above average preparation, interest, and ability in mathematics.
MATH 334 A: Honors Accelerated Advanced Calculus (NSc)
MATH 334 A: Honors Accelerated Advanced Calculus (NSc)
SLN 18152 (View UW registration info »)
Credits: 5
Limit: 45 students
Please contact advising@math.washington.edu if you have questions about this course.
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 MATH 300, MATH 309, MATH 324, MATH 327, MATH 328, and MATH 427. Second year of an accelerated two-year sequence; prepares students for senior-level mathematics courses.
PHYS 141 A: Honors Mechanics (NSc)
PHYS 141 A: Honors Mechanics (NSc)
SLN 20394 (View UW registration info »)
Credits: 5
Limit: 44 students
Addresses same material as PHYS 121 in more depth and with additional topics such as current research and cross-disciplinary applications. For students with strong calculus preparation. Maximum 5 credits allowed for any combination of PHYS 114, PHYS 117, PHYS 121, and PHYS 141.
Special Topics (2)
HONORS-prefix courses
HONORS 397 A: Peer Educator Seminar (SSc)
HONORS 397 A: Peer Educator Seminar (SSc)
SLN 16410 (View UW registration info »)
Email: fredjn@uw.edu
Credits: 2
Limit: 25 students
HONORS 397 B: Human/Transhuman/Posthuman (SSc, W)
HONORS 397 B: Human/Transhuman/Posthuman (SSc, W)
SLN 23103 (View UW registration info »)
Email: jwhelan@uw.edu
Credits: 2, c/nc
Limit: 15 students
This course is as a continuation of Honors 394: “The Disenchantment of the West: From Shakespeare to the Coen Brothers” but can be taken without Honors 394 as a prerequisite. If the “Disenchantment” course seeks to provide the broad sweep of thinking and creative imagination that has shaped the social imaginary of the West over the last several centuries, the “Human” course seeks to drill down into the thought and imagination of the post-World War II era to the present. The themes developed in this course build on themes developed in “Disenchantment” but are concerned to explore in greater detail changing ideas about human identity as well as changing ideas about humanity as a species. The themes for each week are listed below. The course will give students the opportunity to engage with the work of a wide variety of thinkers and artists so that they might become acquainted with the dynamic cultural landscape that is profoundly changing our ideas of the human. The instructor will provide background information and resources to acquaint students with the different perspectives they will encounter, but the main goal of the course will be to provide an opportunity for lively discussion around a topic that is of central concern for all thoughtful human beings: What do you think it means to be human? This is a profoundly important question for students engaged in business, engineering, computer science, and the natural sciences to consider since the work they will be doing in their disciplines will have enormous consequences in shaping the answer to this question.
The class will meet twice a week for 90-minute sessions. This is a credit/no credit class that will require modest level of reading and a final “reflection” paper to provide students with the opportunity to integrate themes developed in the class with concerns relevant to them.