newnot yet updated for spring 2010 (posted 3 Aug 2009)

 

It is not so very important for a person to learn facts. For that he does not really need a college. He can learn them from books. The value of an education in a liberal arts college is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think something that cannot be learned from textbooks.

(Albert Einstein, 1921, in response to Thomas Edison’s opinion that a college education is useless)

 

Without education we are in a horrible and deadly danger of taking educated people seriously.

(G. K. Chesterton)

 

In much wisdom is much vexation, and those who increase knowledge increase in sorrow.

(Ecclesiastes 1.18)

 

Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

(Anonymous)

 

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.

(William Butler Yeats)

 

You must unlearn what you have learned.

(Yoda [Star Wars V: Empire Strikes Back])

 

The unexamined life is not worth living.

(Socrates [Plato, Apology, 38a])

 

Schedule
 
Evaluation
 
Resources
 
Westminster's Honors page
 
Na home

 

Westminster College 

Westminster homepage

 HON 201: Honors Seminar

Spring Semester • 2010 

 

 Welcome!

Welcome to the Honors Seminar, a course required of sophomore Honors Scholars in the All-College Honors Program!

 

Fulfilling two semester hours, the Honors Seminar is a gateway course to the research component of the Honors Program. More specifically, the Honors Seminar aims

• to provide a sense of community among Honors Scholars;
• to provide the opportunity for senior and junior Honors Scholars to mentor sophomores;
• to cultivate active engagement in co-curricular lectures on campus and through leading discussions; and
• to promote participation in the honor society Omicron Kappa Sigma through coordinating co-curricular events, planning student meetings, and organizing and presenting Honors forums.

Like other components of the Honors Program, the Honors Seminar demands self-motivation and active contribution to group activities, especially class discussions.

 Requirements and evaluation for the course

Evaluation

For my criteria for evaluation of assignments go to Evaluation and read the information carefully.

NB: If you have any questions regarding any assignment, please 1) ask in class for the benefit of others or 2) make an appointment to see me.

Assigned readings

Assigned readings should be completed before the classes for which they are assigned. Occasionally I may assign additional readings, but these will ordinarily be short. You must come to class ready to engage in discussion and peer critique. The primary focus of the course will be on discussing the assigned readings in class regarding issues of research goals and methods.

Critique exercxises

You will submit 2 critique exercises:

1)

a critique paper (2–3 pages) on the movie The Last Samurai (2003) consisting of your critical reflection on the movie with special consideration of (1) the theme of cross-cultural experience and (2) the assumptions and implications the movie suggests, both explicitly and implicitly (e.g., how does the movie engage the history of "Western" films dealing with different cultures);

2)

a reflection paper (2–3 pages) responding to a review of The Last Samurai.

Incorporate, as much as possible, your reflections on liberal arts education and on themes from Honors Inquiry. Follow the guidelines for Written assignments.

Participation

 You are expected to participate actively (1) in class discussions as well as (2) in planning and attending co-curricular activities for the larger campus (including leading discussions). Your engagement in the class and in the activities will constitute the major part of your final participation evaluation.

Grades

Grades will be assigned as fairly as possible. See my Evaluation page under Grades for more information. The final grade for the course will consist of the following:

•

 participation

60%

NB: participation is a significant part of this course.

See my Evaluation page under Participation for more information and instructions.
• 2 critique exercises

40%

NB: If you have any questions about how you're doing in the course, please make an appointment to see me.

 Required books
•

Booth, Wayne C., Joseph M. Williams, and Gregory G. Colomb. The Craft of Research. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008.
• Bloom, Allan. The Closing of the American Mind. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987.

 Recommended books (* = highly recommended)
  Anderson, Walter Truet. Reality Isn't What It Used to Be: Theatrical Politics, Ready-to-Wear Religion, Global Myths, Primitive Chic, and Other Wonders of the Postmodern World. San Francisco: HarperOne, 1992.
* Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. 3rd ed. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 1996.
  Levitt, Steven D. and Stephen J. Dubner. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006.
 

Naugle, David K. Worldview: The History of a Concept. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2002.
*

Percy, Walker. Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book. New York: Picador, 1983.
 

_______. Signposts in a Strange Land. New York: Picador, 1991.

*

Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1979. (See my Resources page under Miscellaneous for the first edition of Strunk.)

 Resources to consider

 

See my Resources page for McGill, AV & Web resources.

 

R-drive: for helpful materials, check not only the course folder.

 Keeping in touch

During the semester check your e-mail regularly for the latest messages from me regarding course matters (e.g., changes in the syllabus). Also visit this page for updates to the syllabus, as well as my homepage for other information and resources related to the course. I will make myself available outside the class time and the office hours. I'll be more than glad to help you out when you're stuck while doing an assignment. Or if you have any questions, concerns, complaints, and even compliments, I will do my best to take the time to listen and offer my response. Please feel free to make an appointment any time about any course matters. Keep in mind that I'm here to help you learn. So, again, welcome to the Honors Seminar!

C o u r s e   S c h e d u l e

T / R 18:30–20:00          McGill Boardroom


Date


Assignments

• = required

> = recommended

bold = primary focus text for presentation & class discussion

 


Class / topics

red bold = important deadline

 

Week 1

 

Month ? ?

•Course syllabus (including Evaluation link; review requirements, expectations & criteria for grading—ask Qs, if you have any)

•Copy all relevant course webpages to your hard disk or diskette

•Fisher: Effective Learning (also in Inquiry 111)

>How to Ace College

>Tips for writing papers

>Do you know how to think? (a self-exam)

•Introduction to Honors Seminar

Week 2

 

Month ? ?

•Booth, The Craft of Research

•Research as a lifestyle

Month ? ?

Movie night with the Nas 7:48-ish

directions on the R-drive (view in MS Word: in menu, click View>Print Layout) or click here

Week 3

 

Month ? ?

•Booth, The Craft of Research

•Qs to Ask & Propaganda Alert (NB: helpful for reading texts & writing research paper)

•Guest faculty / Research and critical interpretation

Week 4

 

Month ? ?

•Booth, The Craft of Research

•Miner: Body Ritual Among the Nacirema

•Bohannan: Shakespeare in the Bush

•Rachels: The Challenge of Cultural Relativism

•Qs to Ask & Propaganda Alert (NB: helpful for reading texts & writing research paper)

>Weep: Higher Education Among the Nacirema

•Research and critical interpretation

Week 5

 

Month ? ?

•Movie: The Last Samurai

•Qs to Ask & Propaganda Alert (NB: helpful for reading texts & writing research paper)

•The Last Samurai critique paper due Month ? (R-drive; file name = "last name critique.doc"; see example of file name on R-drive)

 

•How should we read a "text"?

Week 6

 

Month ? ?

•Critical review of The Last Samurai (TBA)

•Qs to Ask & Propaganda Alert (NB: helpful for reading texts & writing research paper)

•The Last Samurai reflection paper due Month ? (R-drive; file name = "last name reflection.doc"; see example of file name on R-drive)

 

•How else can we read a "text"?

Week 7

 

Month ? ?

 

Month ?–? (break?)

•Booth, The Craft of Research

>Tips for writing papers

•Junior mentors

Week 8

 

Month ? ?

•Booth, The Craft of Research

•Senior mentors

Week 9

 

Month ? ?

•Booth, The Craft of Research

•Guest faculty

Week 10

 

Month ? ?

•Booth, The Craft of Research

•Guest faculty

Week 11

 

Month ? ?

•John J. Donohue III and Steven D. Levitt, "The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime"

(cf. "Further Evidence that Legalized Abortion Lowered Crime: A Reply to Joyce" & Freakonomics, chap. 4: "Where Have All the Criminals Gone")

vs.

•John D. Mueller, "Dismal Science"

•Qs to Ask & Propaganda Alert (NB: helpful for reading texts & writing research paper)

•Research and critical interpretation

Week 12

 

Month ? ?

•Booth, The Craft of Research

•Research skills and methods

Week 13

 

Month ? ?

•Booth, The Craft of Research

 

•Movie critique: The Island of Dr. Moreau (tentative)

•Research skills and methods

Week 14

 

Month ? ?

•Booth, The Craft of Research

•Research skills and methods

Month ? ?

Reading Day

Final week

 

Month ? ?

 •Booth, The Craft of Research

•Final class: 00:00–00:00

 

•Final thoughts

•Quo vadis?

Have a great summer!

 

Schedule
 
Evaluation
 
Resources
 
Westminster's Honors page
 
Na home