Honors Seminars - Fall 2007
HONS 182 15 “Neuroethics” TR 1:10-2:25 519 Wilson
Professor Jeff Schall, Department of Psychology
As the discoveries made in neuroscience laboratories are being applied in legal, business and educational domains, unprecedented ethical questions are surfacing. Issues include physical
enhancement of performance and personality, brain-reading for diagnosis or conviction, brain interventions for educational or legal reasons. For example, some have sought to use information about the neural basis of decision making through neuro-marketing. Consequently, neuro-ethics has become a popular and important topic; indeed, The President's Council on Bioethics has devoted attention to these questions. This course will consist of directed readings and group discussions.
CPLE: Science in Society AXLE: Perspectives
HONS 183 33 “Emotion” TR 2:35-3:50 519 Wilson
Professor Jo-Anne Bachorowski, Department of Psychology
Emotional responses shape most every aspect of human behavior, including moment-to-moment processes such as attention and perception, but also “big picture” behaviors and decisions, such as romantic attachments and career choices. In this seminar, we will study and evaluate the key theoretical perspectives on emotional processes in light of the available empirical evidence. Although the selection of specific topics will be shaped partly by student interests, we will begin by considering whether emotions are “natural kinds” and the implications of that issue for a scientific understanding of emotion. Attention will also be given to measurement, function, evolution, biological underpinnings, development, culture, and psychopathology.
CPLE: Social Sciences AXLE: Social and Behavioral Sciences
HONS 184 20 “High Points of American Thought” TR 11:00-12:15 132 Furman
Professor John Lachs, Department of Philosophy
This seminar will explore some neglected treasures of American philosophy, including Ralph Waldo Emerson's notion of self-reliance, John Dewey's pragmatism, C.S. Peirce's philosophy of science, William James' essays on the moral life and Josiah Royce's ideas concerning loyalty. We will aim for vigorous class discussions. Students will have a choice about how to satisfy the writing requirement.
CPLE: Humanities AXLE: History and Culture of the U.S.
HONS 185 07 “Attention” TR 11:00-12:15 519 Wilson
Professor Gordon Logan, Department of Psychology
This course is intended to provide a survey of experimental psychology from the perspective of research on the phenomena of attention. Attention is a central concept in all domains of psychology, including cognition, neuroscience, emotion, development, psychopathology, social and individual differences, so a survey of research on attention is also a survey of psychology as a whole. The course will survey these topics in a series of classroom discussions and laboratory exercises. Students will read original papers on attentional phenomena and participate in laboratory demonstrations of those phenomena.
CPLE: Basic Science AXLE: Mathematics & Natural Science
HONS 186 01 “Understanding Other Cultures” TR 9:35-10:50 106 Furman
Professor Jose Medina , Department of Philosophy
What are the problems and obstacles that we face in understanding other cultures? In our multicultural society and in the globalized world of the 21st century it has become crucial to determine how different cultures can understand each other and engage in a dialogue that makes possible not only their peaceful coexistence, but also their rich life in common. In this seminar
we will study the conditions of possibility of the dialogue between cultures, and we will examine how to identify and repair possible distortions in the understanding of one culture from the perspective of another. We will read philosophers and social scientists with conflicting views about the best way to achieve mutual understanding between cultures. We will pay particular attention to the debate between
CPLE: Humanities AXLE: International Cultures
HONS 186 04 “Transpacific Cyberpunk” MW 2:35-3:50 305 Buttrick
Professor Gerald Figal , Department of History
This honors course treats American-Asian (particularly Japanese) connections in the realm of cyberpunk literature, film, and anime from the 1980s to the present. Students study the general theory, culture, technology, and aesthetics that inform this artistic movement in addition to reading and viewing representative specimens of it. Novels and essays by American and Japanese writers in the cyberpunk tradition are paired with live-action films and anime, all of which have developed the genre into forms of speculative fiction and philosophical inquiry that challenge received notions of human identity, consciousness, body, and being. Outside screenings on Monday evenings 6-8PM during the last half of the semester are required. In addition to active participation in seminar discussion, graded work is comprised of short response writings, mid-length essays, and a final project.
CPLE: Science and Society AXLE: International Cultures
