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Honors Courses
Fall 2013Honors Paris in the Age of Impressionism (ARTH 1400) What comes to mind when you hear the word "Paris?" The Eiffel Tower, perhaps, or cafes and cabarets like the Moulin Rouge? Maybe you imagine grand boulevards lined with trees and clogged with traffic, or tiny cobblestone streets where mom and pop shops and artisanal workshops are the rule. And then there are the Parisians themselves--workers, families, students, fashionistas and artists--who give the city its human character. This Paris, the one most of us imagine today, was born in the mid-19th century, during the era of Impressionist painting. In this seminar we'll study how the Impressionists represented the city, from its streets with their stately monuments to its glittering nightlife to its impoverished underbelly. We'll also read poems and a novel written by contemporaries of the artists, in order to further explore how creative intellectuals envisioned the 'city of light.' No prior knowledge of French art, literature or language is required, and everyone is welcome! Honors Intercultural Communication (COM 2929 Section 002) Intercultural Communication is a very unique class. There are no textbooks. It is an applied class in which students engage with each other, a culturally diverse group of classmates, to learn about individuals and their experience with culture and communication here in the US and around the world. The class is based on the notion that to understand people and culture one must start by getting to know the person. As such the class requirements are almost exclusively relational in nature. You will be engaging in and writing about out-of-class “dates” with classmates from other cultures and will be participating in several class activities and trips (including two all day Saturday trips) to spend some time together building friendships. In the past these relationship-building class activities have included picnics, canoeing, swimming, camping, roller-skating, competitions, and dining out, amongst others. Students leave this class with an immensely personal understanding of humans and how culture affects their lives and views. They also often leave the class with lifelong friends, friends from various cultures both within the US and around the globe. Intercultural Communication fulfills the Cultural Diversity in the United States requirement of UMD’s Liberal Education Program requirements. It is a four-credit class that begins the first week of Fall semester, like all others, but lasts only six weeks instead of sixteen. The class is time intensive early but complete before midterm exams are scheduled for most other classes. Student demand for this class is extremely high. It usually fills up within minutes of its registration opening. But UMD freshman Honors students have priority registration and immediate access to 15 seats in this class.
Honors Encountering Death and Grief (HLTH 3341) Health 3341, Encountering Death and Grief is not just a course, it is an experience! We will explore a topic that is often off limits. We will go on field trips including a crematorium, a funeral home from prep area to burial, and a hospice. We will learn about death traditions in several cultures from a Native American pipe carrier, a rabbi, a Muslin cleric, an Hmong elder. We will meet with survivors who have lost loved ones to murder, accident, and suicide. We will watch some amazing films. Be brave and join me.
Courses for Spring 2014 will be posted by Fall 2013. Click here for information on University Honors Contract Courses
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University of Minnesota Campuses