Honors Course Archive
Course Archive for Autumn 2022
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 (3)
- Honors Social Sciences (4)
- Honors Interdisciplinary (5)
- HONORS 100/496 (2)
- Honors Electives (9)
- Special Topics (1)
Honors Arts & Humanities (4)
HONORS-prefix courses
HONORS 210 A: New Literacy Studies: The Politics of Translation (A&H, W)
HONORS 210 A: New Literacy Studies: The Politics of Translation (A&H, W)
SLN 16373 (View UW registration info »)
Email: jwils@uw.edu
Credits: 5
Limit: 35 students
HONORS 210 B: American Sabor: Latinos and Latinas in US Popular Music (A&H, DIV, W)
HONORS 210 B: American Sabor: Latinos and Latinas in US Popular Music (A&H, DIV, W)
SLN 16374 (View UW registration info »)
Email: marisolbmd1@yahoo.com
Credits: 5
Limit: 30 students
Latino contributions to popular music in the United States have too often been relegated to the margins of a narrative dominated by African and European Americans-an overly black and white view of our musical history. Latin music is often portrayed as an exotic resource for “American” musicians, as suggested by pianist Jelly Roll Morton’s reference to “the Latin Tinge.” This course turns that phrase and that perspective on its head. “American Sabor” addresses problems of cultural representation that concern an increasingly visible and influential community in the U.S. We will document the roles of U.S. Latino musicians as interpreters of Latin American genres. We will also highlight their roles as innovators within genres normally considered indigenous to the U.S., such as rock and roll, R & B, jazz, country/western, and hip-hop. The course distinguishes regional centers of Latino population and music production-exploring unique histories, artists, and musical styles. At the same time, it draws out broader patterns of boundary crossing, language, social struggle, generational difference, racial/ethnic/class/gender identification, and other factors that shape the experiences of U.S. Latinos everywhere.
HONORS 210 C: Black Sound Studies and the Archive (A&H, DIV, W)
HONORS 210 C: Black Sound Studies and the Archive (A&H, DIV, W)
SLN 16375 (View UW registration info »)
Credits: 5
Limit: 25 students
This course explores Black sound studies and the archive. If official archives and histories have silenced and suppressed Black lives in the transatlantic diaspora, how might we listen for and locate unofficial archives of Black sound where Black people are the makers and shapers of the story? What complex histories, experiences, memories and feelings might such an archive make audible? What might be left unsaid, quiet? What listening practices, what “ethics of care,” might such an archive require? To pursue these questions, we will focus on various facets of Black sound studies, including scholarship on the voice, soundscapes, audio technology, music making, performance repertoires and modes of listening. We will engage with a range of musical genres, including blues, jazz, spirituals, R & B, soul, rock, hip hop, dub and Afro-Cuban music, and read recent works in critical sound studies alongside essays, reviews, poetry, fiction, liner notes and other sonic texts. We will attend to the ways that sound travels and makes place, sounding historical events and social movements. We will account for the ways in which performers, artists, writers, listeners, and critics have pushed against the commodification of Black sound to imagine new politics and listening practices and alternative ways of being and belonging.
HONORS 240 A: Big Books: Anna Karenina (A&H, W)
HONORS 240 A: Big Books: Anna Karenina (A&H, W)
SLN 16384 (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.
Requirements:
There will be one take-home midterm and one take-home final. Honors students should expect their exams to be 3-4 pages longer than those in other undergraduate sections.
Honors Science (3)
HONORS-prefix courses
HONORS 220 A: Storytelling in the Sciences (NSc, W)
HONORS 220 A: Storytelling in the Sciences (NSc, W)
SLN 16376 (View UW registration info »)
Credits: 5
Limit: 28 students
Storytelling is ancient, effective, and satisfying, but using stories to communicate the nuances and ambiguities of science can be a challenge. In this course students will craft presentations that reflect their personal interests in nature and science, and in doing so they will learn how to effectively explain their own work, helping them develop into experts in their field. The class is centered around two presentations of a scientific nature, as well as a mythic storytelling assignment intended to develop storytelling skills. You will work closely in small groups to develop your presentation, delivered on days set aside for this purpose.
HONORS 220 B: Evolution and Human Behavior (NSc, W)
HONORS 220 B: Evolution and Human Behavior (NSc, W)
SLN 16377 (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 16378 (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?
Honors Social Sciences (4)
HONORS-prefix courses
HONORS 230 A: Leadership, Democracy, and a More Thoughtful Public (SSc, W)
HONORS 230 A: Leadership, Democracy, and a More Thoughtful Public (SSc, W)
SLN 16380 (View UW registration info »)
Credits: 5
Limit: 30 students
We will consider the following six interrelated propositions, and we will consider the implications of these propositions for the conduct of good (i.e., ethical and effective) leadership.
1. Leadership involves at its base the creation of a persuaded audience; but beyond that, leadership involves creating and sustaining a more thoughtful public, a public capable of rising above itself.
2. A more thoughtful public must not only be created and sustained, but, given that things inevitably fall apart, must be recovered and reconstituted.
3. Good leadership involves ethical and effective information seeking. A leader must have knowledge of what must be done, knowledge of what it takes to persuade others of what must be done (and, in persuading, helping to create a more thoughtful public), and knowledge of how an audience/public will respond. Only with a thorough understanding of the principles, strategies, and costs of information seeking will one be able to engage in ethical and effective leadership.
4. Leadership always has a political context; leadership in a democracy is necessarily different than leadership in other kinds of political regimes.
5. Leadership always involves assumptions (tacit and acknowledged) about human nature.
6. In a free political regime, assuming free and fair elections, we get the kinds of leaders we deserve and we must consider how to behave in ways to deserve the kinds of leaders we say we want.
Sources of texts will include Tocqueville, Orwell, Machiavelli, Bacon, Dostoevsky, and Sophocles, as well as contemporary authors. Method of instruction: close reading of texts, coupled with fifteen 1-2 page single-spaced papers on texts, plus a longer (approximately 6,500 words) synthesis paper; small and large group discussions with each other, two lectures, and two visiting scholars/practitioners. Throughout the quarter, we will make theoretical and practical applications of key concepts to consideration of the critical issues of climate change and climate change communication.
Professor Soder is glad to talk with you further about any aspect of the course, please reach him via email: rsoder@uw.edu
HONORS 230 B: Safety-Net Hospitals in the US: Past, Present, and Future (SSc, DIV, W)
HONORS 230 B: Safety-Net Hospitals in the US: Past, Present, and Future (SSc, DIV, W)
SLN 16381 (View UW registration info »)
Email: mbann@uw.edu
Credits: 5
Limit: 35 students
HONORS 230 C: How to Write the History of the Aztecs (SSc, DIV, W)
HONORS 230 C: How to Write the History of the Aztecs (SSc, DIV, W)
SLN 16382 (View UW registration info »)
Credits: 5
Limit: 10 students
This course examines the challenges historians face when writing the history of the Aztecs (Mexica), a people whose codices, or written pictorial records of their past, were largely destroyed by the Spanish after colonization in 1521. In asking how historians investigate and interpret the histories of populations when traditional forms of primary source evidence are unavailable, we will complicate our thinking about how historical knowledge is produced. In the process, we will also examine the broader history of the Aztec Empire and the Spanish colonial society that formed in its aftermath. Particular attention will be paid to notions of religion, cosmology, and daily life among the Aztecs.
HONORS 230 D: Parks in Progress or Peril? An exploration of the mission, values, and future of the US National Park System (SSc, W)
HONORS 230 D: Parks in Progress or Peril? An exploration of the mission, values, and future of the US National Park System (SSc, W)
SLN 16383 (View UW registration info »)
Office: 211 Mary Gates Hall, Box 352800
Phone: 221-6074
Email: aleym@uw.edu
Office: MGH 211, Box 352800
Phone: 205 543-7444
Email: laurah13@uw.edu
Credits: 5
Limit: 10 students
Field Study dates:
9/16-9/18: Mount Rainier National Park
9/30-10/2: Olympic National Park
10/14-10/16: North Cascades National Park
$500 course fee to cover all travel, lodging, food, park entrance expenses for field study component.
No Freshmen
Students will participate in field study trips to Mount Rainier National Park, Olympic National Park and North Cascades National Park as well as National Parks sites in the Seattle metropolitan area. No camping or backpacking experience is required, but an open mind and a sense of adventure are! Students should be comfortable hiking moderately strenuous trails during the field trips, camping in remote locations, and traveling and lodging in primitive and close quarters.
America’s National Park system, the first of its kind in the world, has been called, “the best idea America ever had”, a sentiment echoed repeatedly since it was first uttered by James Bryce in 1912. This course will examine the history of this unique idea, as well as the mission and values behind it. What do national parks mean to people? To the flora and fauna within? And what does it mean for a country to set aside the space for nearly 400 natural, cultural, and recreational sites and attempt to leave them “unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations”? We will think critically together about what public these public lands were initially imagined for and how has that mission evolved over time? How is this idea progressing? How might it be in peril? The mission behind this unique system provides an excellent framework for discussing America’s history, environmental ethics, political values, and much more.
This course will take students on an exciting weekend field trips to the three “wilderness jewels” of Washington state’s National Parks: Mount Rainier NP, Olympic NP, and North Cascades NP in September and October as well as in class time in Autumn Quarter. By examining the Park Service’s goals of enjoyment (recreation), education (in both history and culture, and nature and science), and inspiration, students will answer for themselves some important questions: Why does this system exist and what is its purpose in our culture? How have current political, economic and environmental pressures challenged the mission and values of the park system? Does this system, given these challenges, effectively accomplish its own goals and are those goals still relevant in America today? If so, why? If not, how might they be adjusted to become culturally viable?
Through a combination of our immersed field study to three major national parks, site visits to local cultural and historical national parks, readings, and expert speakers, students will not only introduce themselves to these diverse and unique places in our country, but also gain a greater understanding of the purpose of such a system and look critically at the cultural and environmental issues impacting the National Parks today.
Honors Interdisciplinary (5)
HONORS-prefix courses
HONORS 345 A: Oral History: Immigrants from the Middle East (C, DIV)
HONORS 345 A: Oral History: Immigrants from the Middle East (C, DIV)
SLN 16387 (View UW registration info »)
Credits: 5
Limit: 23 students
HONORS 391 A: The Art of Understanding the Cosmos (A&H / SSc / NSc, W)
HONORS 391 A: The Art of Understanding the Cosmos (A&H / SSc / NSc, W)
SLN 23625 (View UW registration info »)
Email: kc314@uw.edu
Credits: 5
Limit: 28 students
Playwrights, poets, philosophers, filmmakers, sculptors and novelists all use the cosmos as their inspiration and subject matter; scientists themselves have worked in all of these genres in their efforts to communicate with the general public, and also with each other. The class will explore each of these forms, focusing on ideas from physics, math, evolutionary biology and computer science. Students will write reflections based on readings and viewings for each class; they will produce a final project to be presented to their fellow students: a short story, play, extended essay, visual art project, poem. The scientific content must be accurate and deepen our understanding of the subject matter, providing original insights. Students will be encouraged to work in groups and to lead class discussions.
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 23452 (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 16388 (View UW registration info »)
Email: afriz@uw.edu
Credits: 5
Limit: 35 students
What does it mean to be healthy? Why are some practices today considered to be healthy but were considered unhealthy in the past? What counts as an illness or disease, and why? Rather than a static quality one possesses or lacks, “health” is a practice, socially constructed and enacted via subtle rhetorical actions and social performances, informed by intersections of privilege and power. This course will take as our starting point how language and argument shape our understanding of health, how health is understood in relation to wellness, illness, and disability, and how the meaning of health has become a site of argument and controversy. Students will explore the role of language and culture in the creation of diagnoses, definitions and classifications of diseases, and treatment; our complex lived experiences with illness (physical and mental); the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, and disability in experiences of illness and healing; and the role of activism and advocacy in healthcare. The course does not assume any background in science or medicine, but rather studies the political, ethical, and humanities-based aspects of medicine. One of our recurrent topics, in fact, will be to consider how non-experts interact with medicine and its technical vocabularies. Although the primary objective of the course is to understand the rhetorical and cultural dimensions of health and medicine, a secondary objective is for students to become more savvy patients and, for any students who hope to wield the stethoscope one day, more insightful and compassionate health care providers.
HONORS 394 B: Are Do-gooders doing good? Critical Perspectives on Community Engagement and Civic Leadership (A&H / SSc, DIV, W)
HONORS 394 B: Are Do-gooders doing good? Critical Perspectives on Community Engagement and Civic Leadership (A&H / SSc, DIV, W)
SLN 16389 (View UW registration info »)
Office: MGH 171, Box 352803
Phone: 206.616.0784
Email: purschk@uw.edu
Credits: 5
Limit: 35 students
What does it mean to help people and give back? How do models of helping need to change in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and reckoning with the legacy of racism in the United States? Can we genuinely help one another–across the lines that divide us? This course is for those that want to engage in critical reflection about what it means to “do good” and engage with multiple models of civic engagement that support strong communities. We will wrestle with the legacy of existing modes of service, volunteerism, and community engagement–while also searching for our own ways to “do good” through civic leadership, advocacy, public service, and/or interpersonal relationships. Through varied texts and a variety of disciplines, we’ll examine representations of social issues and volunteerism in popular media.
The course has a required community-engaged learning component; students are encouraged to utilize current volunteer or internship commitments toward this requirement, though individualized support will be offered to those looking to begin (or add) a new community-based commitment. Students will draw on their current and previous work in community as well as practice deep critical reflection on course texts to examine the ethics of community-based work, their own social positions and relative cultural wealth, and develop an asset-based frame of reference for entering community.
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 11421 (View UW registration info »)
Credits:
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 12461 (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 12585 (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 122: Introduction to Computer Programming II (NSc)
CSE 122: Introduction to Computer Programming II (NSc)
SLN 13373 (View UW registration info »)
Credits: 4+1
Limit: 20 students
To earn Honors credit, students must register for:
1. CSE 122 lecture A or B
2. corresponding CSE 122 section
3. CSE 390 H
AND
4. the corresponding CSE 390 HA section
NOTE: CSE 390 MUST be taken concurrently with CSE 122 to have it count toward an Honors core requirement. You cannot take the two courses in separate quarters.
Computer programming for students with some previous programming experience. Emphasizes program design, style, and decomposition. Uses data structures (e.g., lists, dictionaries, sets) to solve computational problems motivated by modern societal and scientific needs. Introduces data abstraction and interface versus implementation. Recommended: CSE 121 or completion of Paul G. Allen School’s Guided Self-Placement.
ENGL 182 K: Composition: Multimodal (C)
ENGL 182 K: Composition: Multimodal (C)
SLN 14780 (View UW registration info »)
Credits: 5
Limit: 23 students
Cannot be taken if student has already received a grade of 2.0 or higher in ENGL 109/110, 111, 121, 131, or 182
Priority I Registration for Freshmen and Sophomores only. Email uwhonors@uw.edu for add code
Instructor: MiSun Bishop, English
English 182 focuses on teaching strategies and skills for effective writing and argument that are required of traditional academic genres, such as the research essay, while also expanding the skills for composing in multimodal genres that our increasingly digital and media saturated world demands.
Section K is an Honors discussion driven class with minimal lecturing and grounded in a disability studies analytic. Students will reflect on their own growth as scholars and their learning process as an evolving product. Honors students will write longer reflective papers with emphasis on metacognitive critical takeaways.
LAW 100 H: Introduction to American Law (SSc)
LAW 100 H: Introduction to American Law (SSc)
SLN 17289 (View UW registration info »)
Credits: 5
Limit: 24 students
Add code required to register. Email uwhonors@uw.edu for add code.
Students must register for the Honors section of this course in order to receive Honors Additional Any credit.
Examines the structure of the American legal system and how laws are made. Surveys key doctrinal areas of the law learning fundamental legal concepts, and explore how the law functions and evolves over time, including legal issues and decision-making related to statutory or common law.
MATH 134 A: Accelerated Honors Calculus (NSc)
MATH 134 A: Accelerated Honors Calculus (NSc)
SLN 18239 (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 18321 (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 B: Honors Physics Mechanics (NSc)
PHYS 141 B: Honors Physics Mechanics (NSc)
SLN 20521 (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 (1)
HONORS-prefix courses
HONORS 397 A: Peer Educator Seminar (SSc)
HONORS 397 A: Peer Educator Seminar (SSc)
SLN 16390 (View UW registration info »)
Email: fredjn@uw.edu
Credits: 2
Limit: 25 students