A series of seminar courses of an interdisciplinary nature is open to qualified undergraduates. Most of these seminars are team-taught by faculty representing diverse academic disciplines. Students interested in admission to any one of these seminars should consult the coordinator.
Interdisciplinary Honors (HON)
HON 131. Approaches to Human Experience I. (3 h)
An inquiry into the nature and interrelationships of several approaches to man's experience, represented by the work of three such minds as Leonardo da Vinci, Dante, Klee, Lorenz, Confucius, Dostoevsky, Descartes, Goya, Mozart, Jefferson, and Bohr. Seminar discussion based on primary and secondary sources, including musical works and paintings. Written reports and a term paper required. Offered in alternate years.
HON 132. Approaches to Human Experience II. (3 h)
An inquiry into the nature and interrelationships of several approaches to man?s experience, represented by the work of three such minds as Leonardo da Vinci, Dante, Klee, Lorenz, Confucius, Dostoevsky, Descartes, Goya, Mozart, Jefferson, and Bohr. Seminar discussion based on primary and secondary sources, including musical works and paintings. Written reports and a term paper required. Offered in alternate years.
HON 133. Approaches to Human Experience II. (3 h)
A parallel course to HON 131 and 132, concentrating on the work of a different set of figures such as Einstein, Galileo, Keynes, Pascal, Camus, Picasso, Ibsen, Stravinsky, Sophocles, and Bach. Offered in alternate years.
HON 134. Approaches to Human Experience II. (3 h)
A parallel course to HON 131 and 132, concentrating on the work of a different set of figures such as Einstein, Galileo, Keynes, Pascal, Camus, Picasso, Ibsen, Stravinsky, Sophocles, and Bach. Offered in alternate years.
HON 236. The Force of Impressionism. (3 h)
Impressionism and its impact on modern painting and literature, with attention to origins and theories of style. Painters to include Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Cezanne. Writers to include Baudelaire, Flaubert, Mallarme, James, Pound, Joyce, and Woolf.
HON 237. The Scientific Outlook. (3 h)
An exploration of the origins and development of the scientific method and some of its contemporary applications in the natural and social sciences and the humanities.
HON 238. Romanticism. (3 h)
Romanticism as a recurrent characteristic of mind and art and as a specific historical movement in Europe and America in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Emphasis on primary materials in philosophy, literature, music, and painting.
HON 240. Adventures in Self-Understanding. (3 h)
Examination and discussion of significant accounts of the quest for understanding of the self, in differing historical periods, cultural contexts, and genres. Among figures who may be discussed are Augustine, Dante, Gandhi, Montaigne, Descartes, Pascal, and selected modern writers.
HON 241. The Tragic View. (3 h)
The theory of tragedy in ancient and modern times; the expression of the tragic in literature, art, music, theatre, and film.
HON 242. The Comic View. (3 h)
The theory of comedy in ancient and modern times; the expression of the comic in literature, art, music, theatre, and film.
HON 247. The Mythic View. (3 h)
The nature of myth through creation and hero myths; the uses to which myths have been put in different historical periods; various modern explanations of myth (literary, religious, anthropological, psychoanalytic, social, and historical).
HON 248. The Ironic View. (3 h)
An investigation of the ironic view of life in literature, art, history, theater, and film.
HON 257. Images of Aging in Humanities. (3 h)
Multidisciplinary presentation and discussion of portrayals of aging in selected materials from several of the liberal arts: philosophical and religious perspectives; selections from literature and the visual arts; historical development of perceptions of aging; imaging of aging in contemporary culture.
HON 258. Venice in Art and Literature. (3 h)
An exploration of what Venice has meant to nonnative artists and writers, and what they have made of it. Artists and writers include Byron, Turner, Ruskin, Henry James, Sargent, Whistler, Proust, Mann, and others.
HON 260. Rethinking Space, Place, and Gender in the City. (3 h)
Explores the intersection of feminist theory, feminist geography, urban design, and anthropology, with the goal of developing strategies for activating spaces that serve all citizens.
HON 265. Humanity and Nature. (3 h)
A multidisciplinary exploration of relations of human beings to nature, and of scientific, economic, and political factors in current environmental concerns. Selected religious, classical, and philosophical texts; works of visual art; selected discussions of ecology and human responsibility. Also listed as HMN 365.
HON 281. Directed Study. (3 h)
Readings on an interdisciplinary topic approved by the Committee on Honors; presentation of a major research or interpretive paper based on these readings, under the direction of a faculty member; an oral examination on the topic, administered by the faculty supervisor and the Committee on Honors. Eligible students who wish to take this course must submit a written request to the Committee on Honors by the end of the junior year. Not open to candidates for departmental honors.
HON 285. Performance Art and Theory. (3 h)
Introduction to the theory of performance art and its practice, with attention to its interdisciplinary underpinnings in art, music, dance, and theatre. Student performances required.
HON 310. The Medieval World: Special Topics. (3 h)
A team-taught interdisciplinary course spanning the Middle Ages (500-1500) which considers artistic and/or literary representations and texts in the context of political, historical, or religious culture of the medieval period in Western and non-Western areas of the world. The specific content is determined by the individual instructors.
HON 365. Literature, Song, and Folklore in Scotland, Ireland, and Appalachia. (3 h)
A study of the diaspora of Scottish and Irish literature, song, and folklore to the Appalachian region of the United States from the 17th Century to the Present.
HON 390. Postmodern Thought and Expression. (3 h)
An exploration of postmodern philosophy, literature, and art, beginning with Nietzsche, Foucault, and Derrida, and extending into experiments in literature and art of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
HON 393. American Foundations I. (3 h)
Interdisciplinary study of American art, music, literature, and social history with particular reference to the art collection at Reynolda House Museum of American Art. Lecture and discussion. Also listed as ART 331, HST 349, and MUS 307. Offered at Reynolda House in summer only. English majors may receive credit for ENG 302. Major credit in any department dependent upon staffing by that department.
HON 394. American Foundations II. (3 h)
Interdisciplinary study of American art, music, literature, and social history with particular reference to the art collection and/or exhibitions at Reynolda House Museum of American Art. Lecture and discussion. Also listed as ART 331, HST 349, and MUS 307. English majors may recieve credit for ENG 302. Major credit in any department dependent upon staffing by that department.