Liberal Arts Honors

Liberal Arts Honors: LAH

Lower-Division Courses

LAH 102H, 202H, 302H. The Idea of the Liberal Arts.

Restricted to students in the Freshman Honors Program in the College of Liberal Arts. An overview of the liberal arts disciplines. One, two, or three class hours a week for one semester. Additional hours may be required. Offered on the pass/fail basis only.

LAH 103H. The Ideas of Civic Engagement.

Restricted to students in the Liberal Arts Honors Program in the College of Liberal Arts. Introduces Liberal Arts Honors students to the resources of the University, their history, and how to make best use of them. Provides guidance on internships, scholarships, and career paths, encouraging students to prepare for a lifetime of civic engagement and public service. One lecture hour a week for one semester, with additional hours to be arranged Humanities 116 and Liberal Arts Honors 103H may not both be counted. Offered on the pass/fail basis only. Prerequisite: Liberal Arts Honors 102H.

LAH 305. Liberal Arts Freshman Honors Seminar.

Restricted to students in the Freshman Honors Program in the College of Liberal Arts. Intensive small class lecture or seminar course addressing basic issues in various liberal arts disciplines. Lectures, readings, discussions, examinations. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Humanities 305 and Liberal Arts Honors 305 may not both be counted unless the topics vary. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Offered on the letter-grade basis only.

Topic 1: Reacting to the Past. Liberal Arts Honors 305 (Topic 1) and 305 (Topic: Reacting to the Past) may not both be counted. Offered on the letter-grade basis only.

LAH 112H. The Nature of Inquiry.

Designed for students who plan to enter a liberal arts departmental honors program. Introduction to the nature of research in liberal arts disciplines. One and one-half class hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Forty-five semester hours of coursework and consent of the liberal arts honors director.

LAH 316. Studies in the Liberal Arts.

Restricted to Plan I majors in the College of Liberal Arts. Intensive lecture or seminar course addressing topics in various liberal arts disciplines. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Offered on the letter-grade basis only.

LAH 318Q. Supervised Research.

Individual instruction. Prerequisite: Consent of the liberal arts honors program adviser.

Upper-Division Courses

LAH 350. Topics in the Liberal Arts.

Restricted to Plan I majors in the College of Liberal Arts. Intensive lecture course treating topics from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, taught by instructors from various departments. Lectures, readings, discussions, examinations. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and a grade point average of at least 3.50.

Topic 1: Defense Policy. Articulation of national security strategy through decisions about Department of Defense organization and resources. Overview of military terms and organizing principles with an emphasis on policy, personnel, acquisition, budget, intelligence, and leadership. Only one of the following may be counted: Government 360N (Topic: Defense Policy), Liberal Arts Honors 350 (Topic: Defense Policy), 350 (Topic 1), Public Affairs 325 (Topic: Defense Policy).
Topic 2: Our Lives In Fiction. Examines the hypothesis that human beings have and continue to create and recreate themselves through the telling of stories. Explores the concept that stories help define what is significant, what is praiseworthy, and what it is we should value and why. Only one of the following may be counted: Core Texts and Ideas 345 (Topic: Our Lives in Fiction), Liberal Arts Honors 350 (Topic: Our Lives in Fiction), 350 (Topic 2).
Topic 3: Technical Change and Financial Crisis. Explores the economics of the business firm, the management of technical change, and the interaction between technology and finance in the writings of major twentieth century economists. Emphasis on attempting to understand the social and income-distributional consequences of technical change, the potential for system instability, and the dilemmas of public policy in this area. Liberal Arts Honors 350 (Topic: Technical Change and Financial Crisis) and 350 (Topic 3) may not both be counted.
Topic 4: Literature of World War I. Same as Humanities 350 (Topic 10). Selected readings from autobiographies, poetry, fiction, and memoirs, primarily about the Western Front, by German, British, and American authors; a short history of World War I; readings of a central book of literary analysis; exploration of the nature of war, the experience of combatants, and the legacy of the war itself and its unique literature. Only one of the following may be counted: Humanities 350 (Topic: Literature of the Great War), 350 (Topic 10), Liberal Arts Honors 350 (Topic: Literature of the Great War), 350 (Topic 4).
Topic 5: Modern Masters of the Novel. An examination of a range of subjects and styles that distinguish the capacity of the novel to reflect private lives and public moments. Focuses on nineteenth and twentieth century British and American novelists such as George Eliot, Philip Roth, Ford Maddox Ford, and Graham Greene. Only one of the following may be counted: Humanities 350 (Topic: Novels of Distinction), Liberal Arts Honors 350 (Topic: Novels of Distinction), 350 (Topic 5).
Topic 6: Documentary Film and Inquiry. Examines how narrative accounts such as documentary film, biography, or other non-fiction work impact the interpretation of significant events. A component of the class includes individual or collaborative research on a chosen topic and presentation of a life history project via a narrative description, video, photography, or other medium. Only one of the following may be counted: Educational Psychology 369K (Topic: Life History and Documentary Approaches to Inquiry), Liberal Arts Honors 350 (Topic: Life History and Documentary Approaches to Inquiry), 350 (Topic 6).
Topic 7: Power and Belief in Early Modern Europe. The historical and cultural processes that lead people to change the way they look at the world, and also brought some early modern Europeans to argue for religious toleration - first as a practical matter, and eventually as a matter of principle. Only one of the following may be counted: History 350L (Topic: Spinoza's World), Liberal Arts Honors 350 (Topic: Spinoza's World), 350 (Topic 7).
Topic 8: The Decolonization of the British Empire. Explores the era of decolonization of the British empire after World War II. Only one of the following may be counted: History 350L (Topic: Decolonization of British Empire), 350L (Topic 69), Liberal Arts Honors 350 (Topic: Decolonization of British Empire), 350 (Topic 8).
Topic 9: Getting it in Writing. An exploration of nonfiction writing and the process of translating facts, ideas, and experiences into words. Liberal Arts Honors 350 (Topic: Getting it in Writing) and 350 (Topic 9) may not both be counted.
Topic 10: In Search of Meaning. Restricted to Plan I majors in the College of Liberal Arts. The concepts will include: monotheism, the nature and personality of this god, the soul, chosen people, linear time, history as divine classroom, original sin, heaven, hell, salvation, etc. Establish how and when these and a host of other features came into existence and created Judeo-Christian reality, and contrast the reality created therein with other realities--Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Islam. Only one of the following may be counted: Humanities 350 (Topic: In Search of Meaning), 350 (Topic: The Quest for Meaning), 350 (Topic 6), Liberal Arts Honors 350 (Topic: In Search of Meaning), 350 (Topic 10). Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and a University grade point average of at least 3.50.
Topic 11: Rhetoric of Great Speeches. Exploration of the nature and history of rhetoric and analysis of some of the great speeches of the Western tradition. Liberal Arts Honors 350 (Topic: Rhetoric of Great Speeches) and 350 (Topic 11) may not both be counted.
Topic 12: Technologies of the Book. Examines the technologies that enabled the book and explores its impact on society, with particular attention paid to the printed book that has flourished since the mid-fifteenth century. Explores the technologies of production and manufacture, and those that enabled the creation of texts by authors and their distribution and reception, and considers the future of the book in today's society. Only one of the following may be counted: Information Studies 350E (Topic: Technologies of the Book), Liberal Arts Honors 350 (Topic: Technologies of the Book), 350 (Topic 12).
Topic 13: Writing Nonfiction. Restricted to Plan I majors in the College of Liberal Arts. The craft of writing profiles, narratives, and essays. Concentration on the fundamental components of nonfiction: beginnings, organization, character development, narrative flow, and conclusions. Only one of the following may be counted: Liberal Arts Honors 350 (Topic: Writing Nonfiction), 350 (Topic 13), Tutorial Course 325 (Topic: Writing Nonfiction).
Topic 14: Money In American Politics. Restricted to Plan I majors in the College of Liberal Arts. Explores the nature and consequences of money in American politics. Only one of the following may be counted: Government 379S (Topic: Money in Politics), Humanities 350 (Topic: Money in Politics), Liberal Arts Honors 350 (Topic: Money in Politics), 350 (Topic 14).
Topic 15: History at Play. Restricted to Plan I majors in the College of Liberal Arts. Explores the great religious, political, and cultural debates that occurred around two historic events: England's break with the Catholic Church in 1536 and India gaining independence from Britain in 1947. Liberal Arts Honors 350 (Topic: History at Play II) and 350 (Topic 15) may not both be counted.
Topic 16: Psychology and Religion in Modern American Culture. Explores the historical, religious, and psychotherapeutic manifestations of the "search for meaning" in modern American culture. Examines theology, psychological theory, literature, music, politics, and art. Only one of the following may be counted: Jewish Studies 364 (Topic: Psychology and Religion in Modern American Culture), Liberal Arts Honors 350 (Topic: Psychology and Religion in Modern American Culture), and 350 (Topic 16).

LAH 358Q. Supervised Research.

Individual instruction. May be repeated for credit, but no more than six semester hours may be counted toward College Honors. Prerequisite: A University grade point average of at least 3.50 and consent of the liberal arts honors program adviser.

LAH 364H. The Enlightenment.

Restricted to Plan I majors in the College of Liberal Arts. Examination of the European Enlightenment, an intellectual movement centered in eighteenth-century France and England that cut across all disciplines and arts and that looked back to the Renaissance and forward to the modern world. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and a grade point average of at least 3.50.

LAH 365H. Great Books in Political Philosophy.

Restricted to Plan I majors in the College of Liberal Arts. An investigation of what it means to think "philosophically" about politics and morals, by reading and interpreting primary sources of political philosophy from more than twenty centuries. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and a grade point average of at least 3.50.

LAH 368H. Literature of the Hispanic World.

Restricted to Plan I majors in the College of Liberal Arts. An examination of the literature and culture of Spain and Spanish America, from the Middle Ages to the present. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and a grade point average of at least 3.50.

LAH 369H. Comparative Legal Systems.

Restricted to Plan I majors in the College of Liberal Arts. A comparison of legal traditions from Europe, English common law, and Asia. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and a grade point average of at least 3.50.

LAH 370H. The Birth of the Modern World, 1400-1700.

Restricted to Plan I majors in the College of Liberal Arts. An interdisciplinary course on European culture during the age of the Renaissance and Reformation. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and a grade point average of at least 3.50.

LAH 371H. Classics of Greek Philosophy.

Restricted to Plan I majors in the College of Liberal Arts. A close reading of major works in the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, supported by background reading in the history and literature of ancient Greece. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and a grade point average of at least 3.50.

LAH 373H. Literature of the Western World: Continuities.

Restricted to Plan I majors in the College of Liberal Arts. Tradition and innovation of form and thought in literature from Homer to the twentieth century. Three lecture hours and one discussion hour a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and a grade point average of at least 3.50.

LAH 376H. The Rise of Modern America.

Restricted to Plan I majors in the College of Liberal Arts. The end of Reconstruction (1877) to the end of the war in Vietnam (1975)--industrialization, urbanization, immigration, nuclear energy, and global reach. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and a grade point average of at least 3.50.

LAH 377H. Ideas of the Twentieth Century.

Restricted to Plan I majors in the College of Liberal Arts. Central philosophical controversies of the twentieth century: ethics, politics, comparative religions, science and human nature. Three lecture hours and one discussion hour a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and a grade point average of at least 3.50.

LAH 378H. The Natural Sciences in the Liberal Arts Context.

Restricted to Plan I majors in the College of Liberal Arts. An attempt to understand contemporary developments in science by focusing on the history and philosophy of science. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and a grade point average of at least 3.50.

LAH 379H. Classical Asian Civilizations.

Restricted to Plan I majors in the College of Liberal Arts. An examination of the contributions of India and China to intellectual history. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and a grade point average of at least 3.50.

LAH 679T. Honors Thesis.

Restricted to Plan I majors in the College of Liberal Arts. Supervised research, reading, and writing of a substantial paper on an interdepartmental subject. Conference course for two semesters. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: For Liberal Arts Honors 679TA, upper-division standing, a grade point average of at least 3.50, and written consent of the director of the Liberal Arts Honors Program; for 679TB, Liberal Arts Honors 679TA.