Honors Seminar
Spring Semester • 2010
NB: under construction (posted 29 Aug)
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])
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Honors Seminar |
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Spring Semester • 2010 |
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Welcome! |
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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
Like other components of the Honors Program, the Honors Seminar demands self-motivation and active contribution to group activities, especially class discussions. |
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Requirements and evaluation for the course |
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Evaluation |
For my criteria for evaluation of assignments go to Evaluation and read the information carefully.
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Assigned readings |
Assigned readings should be completed before the classes for which they are assigned—use your best judgment to divide the readings evenly for each week. 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 or research goals and methods. |
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Critique exercxises |
You will submit 2 critique exercises:
Incorporate, as much as possible, your reflections on liberal arts education and on themes from Honors Inquiry. Follow the guidelines for Written assignments. |
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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. | ||||||||
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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:
NB: If you have any questions about how you're doing in the course, please make an appointment to see me. |
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Required books |
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Booth, Wayne C., Joseph M. Williams, and Gregory G. Colomb. The Craft of Research. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008. |
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Recommended books (* = highly recommended) |
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| 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. | |
| * | Bloom, Allan. The Closing of the American Mind. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987. |
| * | 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. | |
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Naugle, David K. Worldview: The History of a Concept. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2002. |
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Percy, Walker. Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book. New York: Picador, 1983. |
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_______. Signposts in a Strange Land. New York: Picador, 1991. |
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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.) |
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Resources to consider |
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See my Resources page for McGill, AV & Web resources. |
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R-drive: for helpful materials, check not only the course folder. |
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Keeping in touch |
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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! |
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C o
u r s e S c h e d u l e |
T / R 00:00–00:00 McGill Boardroom |
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• = required > = recommended bold = primary focus text for presentation & class discussion highlight = R-drive file (only on campus & Internet Explorer)
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red bold = important deadline
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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) >Do you know how to think? (a self-exam) |
•Introduction to Honors Seminar |
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Week 2
Month ? ? |
•Booth, The Craft of Research |
•Research as a lifestyle |
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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 |
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Week 3
Month ? ? |
•Booth, The Craft of Research •Qs to Ask & Propaganda Alert (NB: helpful for writing research paper) |
•Guest faculty |
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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 writing research paper) |
•Guest faculty |
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Week 5
Month ? ? |
•Movie: The Last Samurai •Qs to Ask & Propaganda Alert (NB: helpful for 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"? |
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Week 6
Month ? ? |
•Critical review of The Last Samurai (TBA) •Qs to Ask & Propaganda Alert (NB: helpful for 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"? |
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Week 7
Month ? ?
Month ?–? (break?) |
•Booth, The Craft of Research |
•Junior mentors |
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Week 8
Month ? ? |
•Booth, The Craft of Research |
•Senior mentors |
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Week 9
Month ? ? |
•Booth, The Craft of Research |
•Guest faculty |
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Week 10
Month ? ? |
•Booth, The Craft of Research |
•Guest faculty |
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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 writing research paper) |
•Research and critical interpretation |
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Week 12
Month ? ? |
•Booth, The Craft of Research |
•Research skills and methods |
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Week 13
Month ? ? |
•Booth, The Craft of Research |
•Research skills and methods |
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Week 14
Month ? ? |
•Booth, The Craft of Research |
•Research skills and methods |
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Month ? ? |
Reading Day |
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Final week
Month ? ? |
•Booth, The Craft of Research |
•Final class: 00:00–00:00
•Final thoughts •Quo vadis? |
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Have a great summer! |
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