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Birmingham-Southern College Catalog 2017-2018
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ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
issues in the documentary tradition, including the problem of objectivity, the relationship
between the documentary image and reality, and the mixing of fiction and nonfiction
modes. The goals of this course are to introduce students to the important historical
trends and concepts and to help develop the critical and analytical skills needed to
understand the structure, style, and rhetorical strategies of documentary film. A
Leadership Studies designated course. Prerequisite: Harrison Honors Program.
HON 280 The Economics of Poverty (1)
An investigation of the tools and methods economists use to analyze the causes and
effects of poverty and discrimination. The course examines economic theories and
relevant empirical findings, analyzes poverty-related data and measurements of poverty
and discrimination, and examines the effectiveness of public policies aimed at reducing
poverty.
A service-learning integrated course.
Prerequisite: Harrison Honors Program.
HON 282 Disputers of the Dao: Major Texts in the Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist
Traditions in East Asia (1)
The historical development of the major philosophical and religious traditions of East
Asia (Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism) taught through the reading of a selection of
their fundamental texts. The focus will be the texts, the major doctrines and schools of
these traditions, and the patterns of their historical development in China, India, Japan,
and Korea. Prerequisite: Harrison Honors Program.
HON 284 Psychology of Mass Media (1)
A seminar examining the intersection between mass media and human psychology. The
course explores how children, adolescents, and adults process and respond to mass media
with emphasis on cognitive, social, behavioral, and personality theories. Topics include
the impact of media on identity development; the ways that media representations of
gender, race, and class affect our social and cognitive constructions of groups; the
influences of media exposure on human behavior; and the role of the active audience in
media consumption and creation. This course will highlight the interaction between the
media and audience, focusing not only on how mass media shapes human psychology,
but also how the psychology of the audience shapes media. Prerequisite: Harrison Honors
Program.
HON 285 Why People Believe Weird Things (1)
An interdisciplinary examination of how we come to believe a range of extraordinary
(“weird”) and rather ordinary claims about human behavior. Students will learn how to
use the philosophy and methods of science to address the question of how we know what
is and is not so, tackling a host of odd, paranormal, and popular (but erroneous) claims
along the way. The aim is to show why these principles are so powerful, how anyone can
put them to use, and why they are good “whys” to begin with. We will examine how a
variety of cognitive, social, emotional, and motivational biases and heuristics often are at
work as we form and maintain beliefs about human behavior. Students may not earn
credit for both PY 250 and HON 285. An hour and a half per week laboratory is required.
Prerequisite: Harrison Honors Program.