Fall 2013 Course OfferingsHNRS A192 HONORS SEMINAR: ENDURING BOOKSHonors seminar focusing on the directed reading of a single book of enduring significance. Section 601 Cadillac Desert Students will use the case study presented in the nonfiction work "Cadillac Desert" to discuss issues related to the development and usage of natural resources. A number of perspectives can be applied —philosophical, historical, economic, and political— yielding assessments that may or may not be congruent. The critical thinking, communication, and assessment skills developed in this class should be helpful for analyzing any resource development issue.
This Honors Seminar uses readings and guest lectures to explore how climate change is modeled for the future and how past climate is studied. Students learn the arguments for and against climate change through the book and supplemental readings. Explore the arguments pro and con, and formulate your own conclusions based on the facts.
Class participants will explore Bob Dylan's creativity, influence and influences, and relevance using the singer-songwriter's own prize winning memoir "Chronicles" as a central text. Films, recordings, and supplemental readings will augment Dylan's book and guide us in our explorations of one of the most influential artists of our times.
While Anchorage is a large urban center, scholars often do not examine it through that lens. In this course students will read The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces by William Whyte along with several supplemental articles that will allow students to better understand how individuals negotiate their way through urban spaces and why differences in how individuals see "place" matter. This course will be taught from an interdisciplinary perspective drawing on theories and readings from urban planning, environmental psychology, public health, as well as anthropology. In addition to the course readings, students will learn the participatory research methodology of "mental mapping" and work with the faculty member on a research project to create a large collection of Anchorage mental maps. Registration limited to students admitted to the University Honors College, and to students who have permission to register from the University Honors College. HNRS A292 HONORS SEMINAR IN SOCIAL SCIENCEExamines selected topics from a social science perspective. Exposes students to a broad range of social issues, and helps them to develop skills to examine and evaluate their world. Emphasizes research findings and skills, including the collection and analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data. Students will gain considerable experience communicating both orally and in writing.
Students will explore the varying perspectives, definitions and understandings of the concepts of race and ethnicity across different social science disciplines;how ideas about race and ethnicity have shaped contemporary society and cultures; and ways to talk about these sometimes contentious concepts. Students will also explore the development of their own identity in terms of race, ethnicity and culture.
Work and identity in the western world have been shaped by a myriad of social and economic forces. In this class, students will investigate varying perspectives on the concepts of work and identity; explore the development of their own identity and career plans; and gain a basic understanding of social science research methods. Registration limited to students admitted to the University Honors College, and to students who have permission to register from the University Honors College. HNRS A310 COMMUNITY SERVICE: THEORY AND PRACTICEThis course explores questions of service, community, and self, and includes guided volunteer service with a cultural organization, social service organization, or government agency.
Sophomore or junior standing. Registration open to students admitted to University Honors College, to students who have permission to register from the University Honors College, and to students working on the Certificate in Civic Engagement. HNRS A392 HONORS THESIS SEMINARThis course is an in-depth application of discipline researchskills to a particular problem in concert with development of understanding theresearch problems addressed and research methods used by different disciplines.
Registration limited to students admitted to the University Honors College, and to students who have permission to register from the University Honors College. HNRS A495 HONORS INTERNSHIPApplying interdisciplinary knowledge and skills to a student internship project, through a variety of governmental and private settings both within and outside of Alaska.
Permission from the University Honors College and approval by a faculty member acting as the internship advisor. HNRS A499 HONORS THESISThe focus of this arranged course is to articulate a researchable idea or develop a creative idea to fruition as appropriate to the student's discipline. Students design and undertake a method of information gathering or creative presentation or performance that sheds light on the articulated idea. Finally, students report findings and draw valid conclusions based on new research or demonstrate these findings through creative presentation.
Senior standing. Permission from the University Honors College and approval by a faculty member acting as a thesis advisor. CPLX A200 INTRODUCTION TO COMPLEXITYAn introduction to the science of complexity, currently used to predict system behavior in the physical, life, and social sciences.
Prerequisites: MATH A107 or MATH A172
Spring 2013 Course OfferingsHNRS A192 HONORS SEMINAR: ENDURING BOOKSHonors seminar focusing on the directed reading of a single bookof enduring significance.
This Honors seminar uses The Soul of a New Machine (Kidder) and Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynmana!-Adventures of a Curious Character (Feynman) as points of departure to explore the impact of technology on society and society on technology. Ubiquitous can be defined as the awareness of absence more than presences. Using texts, other media and hands-on explorations, class members will investigate and discover how technology shapes our daily lives and defines our collective experience.
While Anchorage is a large urban center, scholars often do not examine it through that lens. In this course students will read The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces by William Whyte along with several supplemental articles that will allow students to better understand how individuals negotiate their way through urban spaces and why differences in how individuals see "place" matter. This course will be taught from an interdisciplinary perspective drawing on theories and readings from urban planning, environmental psychology, public health, as well as anthropology. In addition to the course readings, students will learn the participatory research methodology of "mental mapping" and work with the faculty member on a research project to create a large collection of Anchorage mental maps. Registration limited to students admitted to the University Honors College, and to students who have permission to register from the University Honors College.
HNRS A292 HONORS SEMINAR IN SOCIAL SCIENCEExamines selected topics from a social science perspective. Exposes students to a broad range of social issues, and helps them to developskills to examine and evaluate their world. Emphasizes research findings andskills, including the collection and analysis of both quantitative andqualitative data. Students will gain considerable experience communicating bothorally and in writing. Section 001 Evolution of Childhood Raising children takes a village, and the context of that village has changed dramatically in the last three generations. In this class, students will use Urie Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems framework to critically examine how definitions of childhood, relationships between children and adults (parents, teachers, community members), and the role of children in society have shifted and remained constant over time and across regions.
Work and identity in the western world have been shaped by a myriad of social and economic forces. In this class, students will investigate varying perspectives on the concepts of work and identity; explore the development of their own identity and career plans; and gain a basic understanding of social science research methods. Registration limited to students admitted to the University Honors College, and to students who have permission to register from the University Honors College. HNRS A310 COMMUNITY SERVICE: THEORY AND PRACTICEThis course explores questions of service, community, and self, and includes guided volunteer service with a cultural organization, social service organization, or government agency.
Sophomore or junior standing. Registration open to students admitted to University Honors College, to students who have permission to register from the University Honors College, and to students working on the Certificate in Civic Engagement. HNRS A392 HONORS THESIS SEMINARThis course is an in-depth application of discipline researchskills to a particular problem in concert with development of understanding theresearch problems addressed and research methods used by different disciplines.
Registration limited to students admitted to the University Honors College, and to students who have permission to register from the University Honors College. HNRS A495 HONORS INTERNSHIPApplying interdisciplinary knowledge and skills to a student internship project, through a variety of governmental and private settings both within and outside of Alaska.
Permission from the University Honors College and approval by a faculty member acting as the internship advisor. HNRS A499 HONORS THESISThe focus of this arranged course is to articulate a researchable idea or develop a creative idea to fruition as appropriate to the student's discipline. Students design and undertake a method of information gathering or creative presentation or performance that sheds light on the articulated idea. Finally, students report findings and draw valid conclusions based on new research or demonstrate these findings through creative presentation.
Senior standing. Permission from the University Honors College and approval by afaculty member acting as a thesis advisor.
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2013 Courses
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