HONORS PROGRAM
Susan K. Hagen, Director

Birmingham-Southern College offers an Honors Program in general education designed to foster students’ intellectual curiosity, their oral and written communication skills, and their ability to think and study independently. The importance of viewing issues from interdisciplinary perspectives and of integrating, as well as analyzing, knowledge is a special focus in the Program’s courses and requirements. The Program addresses its mission through small, interdisciplinary seminars developed specifically for Honors students and through upper-level courses with an interdisciplinary focus. The Honors Program serves as a complementary approach to fulfilling the College’s Foundations Plan for General Education requirements.

Approximately 25 students are admitted to the program each year. Students may apply after being admitted to Birmingham-Southern College in the spring of their senior year of high school or during the fall as a first-year student at the College. Interested students should contact the Director of the Honors Program.

Honors Program Requirements

The Honors Program component of Honors student’s general education consists of five units of Honors seminars and one unit of independent study, the Honors Project. The specific general education requirements met by Honors courses and those met by regular courses will vary from student to student, depending on which Honors courses the student elects to take. Students may take one Honors interim project which will count toward the five units of Honors seminars. Students who participate in study abroad programs that include interdisciplinary courses may also request to count one such course toward their Honors requirements. Honors students' remaining general education coursework is completed in the regular curriculum of the College. The course descriptions that follow indicate which general education requirement can be met by each Honors seminar. Students may also enroll in Honors courses offered by the Honors Programs in the Birmingham Area Consortium of Higher Education (BACHE). The Honors Project is considered a general education course outside the major and its supporting courses and outside the minor, if one has been declared, unless the faculty allow a particular Project to meet a more specific general education requirement.

Typically, Honors students complete their Honors seminars by the end of the junior year, submit a proposal for the Honors Project to the Honors Committee during the latter half of the junior year, and execute the Honors Project during the senior year. Students wishing to deviate from this progression of coursework must consult with the Director of the Program.

The notation “Honors Program Scholar” is placed on the academic transcripts of students meeting graduation requirements as students in the Honors Program.

Honors Program Courses

Note: First-year students may enroll in 300-level Honors Seminars or above only with the consent of the instructor. Many courses listed below are offered on an alternate year basis.

HON 205 Community: Civil Society Today (1)
An interdisciplinary examination of the recent renewal of interest in the importance of community in the modern world understood as the sphere of a civil society distinct from the market and the state. After a brief look at the historical context of contemporary concerns with community we will take up a number of different questions dealing with the vitality (or lack of vitality) of our communal life today, touching on, among other things, issues relating to family life, the nature of civility, the relation of civil society to the state and the market, the role of public work in the life of a community, and the importance of community in developing the moral character of individuals. This course also includes a service-learning component. (Satisfies Disciplinary Foundations requirement in Philosophy/Religion.)

HON 207 Civil Rights and Justice (1)
A review of the Civil Rights Movement in the South, focusing on the judicial process and the role of the courts, followed by an examination of contemporary issues in housing, education, and employment–issues that reflect the continuing struggle to achieve full civil rights and justice. (Satisfies Disciplinary Foundations requirement in social science.)

HON 218 Contemporary Southern Politics (1)
An in-depth review of the literature on Southern politics as well as an opportunity for students to complete original research. Primary emphasis is placed on contemporary Southern political behavior, including parties and elections, voting behavior, and the politics of race. (Satisfies Disciplinary Foundations requirement in social science.)

HON 220 and 221 International Film I and II (1 each)
A seminar that examines the stylistic development of film, its directors, and cultures. The first term begins with the silent era of the 1920s in Europe to the French New Wave of the early 1960s. The second term begins with a study of film from the second Italian Renaissance and continues with post-New Wave Italian, eastern Europe and German, British, and Third World cinema. (Satisfies Disciplinary Foundations requirement in arts.)

HON 222 Frankenstein Meets Snow White: Cross cultural Studies in Romanticism (1)
A seminar concentrating on the literature and culture (i.e., music, art, science) of Romanticism with special focus on Germany and England. This course employs a seminar format emphasizing class discussion, close readings, and lectures covering interdisciplinary material. It is geared primarily to first year students and is team taught. All texts are in English. (Satisfies Disciplinary Foundations requirement in literature or humanities.)

HON 225 Creativity: Person, Process, Place (1)
A seminar that reviews and critiques current psychological theory and research on the creative process in all fields. Students are given the chance to reflect on their own creative process as well as that of specific scientists and artists in the area. Topics include creative problem solving, cognitive and behavioral traits of creative individuals, the development of creativity in childhood, innovation and creativity in the workplace, and social and physical contexts conducive to creativity. (Satisfies Disciplinary Foundations requirement in social science.)

HON 228 Family: Myth, Metaphor, and Reality (1)
A seminar examining the concept of family–its definition, development, and dynamics. The course explores the stages of development of families, the interrelationships of family members, and the changing definitions and compositions of families through study of psychology, sociology and anthropology, family therapy, law, and literature. (Satisfies Disciplinary Foundations requirement in social science.)

HON 230 and 231 Plural America I and II (1 each)
A two term seminar that examines the plurality of the American culture by studying both the history and literature of the major non-Western culture in our country. Students should come away with an appreciation of the achievements and limitations of our Western heritage and a heightened sensitivity to the cultural diversity of the world at large. The first term focuses on Native-American and Chicano history and literature and on the European context of American society. The second term focuses on the Asian-American and African-American experience. (Satisfies Disciplinary Foundations requirement in history, literature, or humanities.)

HON 235 Connections: Music, Mathematics, and Structure (1)
A seminar exploring common themes between mathematics, music and other liberal arts disciplines using the perspective of structure and expression. The composer and the mathematician must both confront the problem of devising or adjusting structures used as vehicles for their ideas. The seminar examines how these problems are solved by considering the nature, function, and purpose of structure in music, mathematics, and a third discipline, and compares these disciplines for differences and elements in common. (Satisfies Disciplinary Foundations requirement in theory of music or in a non-lab science.)

HON 238 Canada: A Profile of its Culture (1)
A seminar that examines Canadian culture as manifested in its geography, history, ethnic make up, arts, with regard to its current political and social issues, and as reflected in its literature. In this course students develop a profile of the mosaic called the Canadian identity. (Satisfies Disciplinary Foundations requirement in humanities.)

HON 240 World Wide Impressionism (1)
A seminar examining impressionism on a world-wide scale in the fields of painting, music, and literature from 1860-1920. The course explores the movement from the French roots to a much broader time and place frame, as a manifestation of the shift from formal style, and as a reflection of changes caused by the Industrial Revolution in societies around the world. (Satisfies Disciplinary Foundations requirement in arts.)

HON 242 Science and Religion: Initiating Dialogue and Understanding (1)
A seminar examining the relationship between natural science and religion. The course explores historical relationships between the two fields of study and considers models and paradigms used in the study of both fields. The course seeks to develop an ongoing dialogue, which addresses how the fields of natural science and religion can be related to each other. Through use of a dialogue/debate format the course will emphasize areas of similarity and how the two fields are not fundamentally irreconcilable, but interact and serve to shape and nourish understanding of each other. (Satisfies Disciplinary Foundations requirement in a non-lab science.) Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent.

HON 300 Service: Motivations and Outcomes (1)
A multi disciplinary examination of the motivations for service and the results of service work. Topics include altruism and prosocial behavior, empathy, moral decision making, cross cultural communication, and service outcomes. Students will be expected to participate in an on going service learning project during the semester. (A Leadership Studies designated course; satisfies Disciplinary Foundations requirement in social science.)

HON 306 Ethics, Public Policy and Public Service (1)
An examination of topics related to the content of public policy and the conduct of public officials in the United States from the perspective of applied ethics. (Satisfies Disciplinary Foundations requirement in social science.)

HON 350 Chaucer (1)
A reading of the Canterbury Tales and other selected major poems of Chaucer in Middle English. (Satisfies Disciplinary Foundations requirement in literature or humanities.)

HON 361 Politics in China and Japan (1)
An examination of the current political systems of the two countries with focuses on political culture, elites and masses, political institutions and processes, current issues, and political change. (Satisfies Disciplinary Foundations requirement in social science.)

HON 387 Western Images of Asia (1)
A multimedia exploration of Western attitudes about the “orient.” By reading scholarly and fictional texts and carefully viewing the visual arts, this class analyzes the development of Western attitudes toward the “east,” beginning with important medieval explorers and concluding with our present concern with the Japanese. (Satisfies Disciplinary Foundations requirement in history or humanities.)

HON 388 Remembering World War II (A): The War in Asia and the Pacific (1)
A seminar on how World War II in Asia and the Pacific is remembered in several countries, including China, Japan, Korea, and the United States. Using a variety of literary (novels, poetry, and memoirs), artistic (film and painting), and architectural (monuments, memorials, and museums) evidence, we explore the legacy and memories of World War II in these various countries, consider some of the many issues related to self representation and historical memory, and examine how different cultures with widely divergent pasts and traditions come to shape memory and guilt. (Satisfies Disciplinary Foundations requirement in history or humanities.)

HON 389 Remembering World War II (B): The War in Europe and the Holocaust (1)
A seminar on how World War II in Europe and the Holocaust are remembered in several countries. Using a variety of literary (novels, poetry and memoirs), artistic (film and painting), and architectural (monuments, memorials, and museums) evidence, we explore the legacy and memories of World War II in these various countries, consider some of the many issues related to self representation and historical memory, and examine how different cultures with widely divergent pasts and traditions come to shape memory and guilt. Countries to be studied are chosen from among the following: Germany, France, Poland, Russia/Soviet Union, and the United States. (Satisfies Disciplinary Foundations requirement in history or humanities.)

HON 493 Honors Project (½)
An independent study in general education in preparation or completion of the Honors Project. All Honors Projects require approval by the Honors Committee. Typically taken fall and spring of the senior year, HON 493 may be repeated.

For admission requirements or additional information, interested students should contact either of the offices below: