Spring 2021 Honors Seminars - ** Please note: The delivery mode of courses (hybrid, asynchronous, etc.) will not be listed in descriptions as they ...

Spring 2021 Honors Seminars

** Please note: The delivery mode of courses
(hybrid, asynchronous, etc.) will not be listed in
descriptions as they are subject to change. Please
view the course in iROAR to check the delivery
mode for a particular seminar.

General education requirements courses fulfill
HON 2030   Non-literature credit
HON 2050   One-credit hour seminars; does not fulfill general education area but counts towards credits for
           General Honors (GH) distinction (if taken three times will count towards Group G- “Other” for GH)
HON 2060   Science and Technology in Society (STS) credit
HON 2090   Cross Cultural Awareness (CCA) credit; one-credit seminars in this group do not fulfill general
           education requirements unless taken three times
HON 2100   Non-literature credit
HON 2200   Social Science credit
HON 2210   Literature credit
HON 2230   Communication

HON 2030: Religions, Cults, & Secret Societies
Cults, Secret Societies, and Conspiracy Theories are blamed for unspeakable
actions. We’ll investigate to see if any truth can be found to substantiate these
accusations. If you question the moon landing, Knights Templar; the truth behind
countless ‘assassinations’, QAnon, NXIVM or even what happened at Roswell, this
course is for you.

Meets: TR 9:30-10:45am
Professor: Peter Cohen
Credits: 3
CRN: 10497

HON 2030: Scandals in French History
The historical development of a country is found not only in the positive, but also in
the negative. Often, it is the negative events that have an even larger influence on
history. This course aims to examine “scandals” throughout French history, from a
Medieval serial killer to the Dreyfus Affair of the 19th century to the modern day, in
order to examine how these events shaped the development of France. We will
study these events a means of understanding the development of the French
nation and people, placing these “scandals” not only in their specific historical
contexts, but also examining them from a contemporary point of view in order to
see how changing times and ideologies can alter our perceptions of historical
events. We will also see how “scandal” obviously crosses borders, comparing
events in French history to events in American history.

Meets: MWF 12:20-1:10pm
Professor: Kenneth Widgren
Credits: 3
CRN: 16929

HON 2050: Architects Doing Architectures
What is it that architects actually do? And how do they do it? What motivates
them? What worries them? What challenges does designing today's built
environment pose? This seminar will offer a look into the field of architecture as it
rapidly, and radically, changes.

Meets: W 6:15-7:05pm
Professor: Timothy Brown
Credits: 1
CRN: 15527

HON 2050: Social Entrepreneurship
In this course we will teach students the foundational principals of conventional
entrepreneurship and then move on to explore how difference makers are
changing the world by starting socially conscious companies and organizations
relying on these creative, efficient, and profit seeking principles. Open to all majors
and all years.

Meets: T 6:00-7:00pm
Professor: John Hannon
Credits: 1
CRN: 16850

HON 2060: Info Technology & Prejudice
We think of technology as being neutral, but we have increasingly learned how
racism and other kinds of prejudice have ended up built into data and algorithms
for everything from photography to decisions about who gets released on parole.
This course will examine the history, politics and ethics of how bias gets into
information technology and what we can do about it.

Meets: MWF 1:25-2:15pm
Professor: Pamela Mack
Credits: 1
CRN: 10498

HON 2060: Cars, Tech, & Culture-COVID
The automobile has a deterministic power and culture surrounding it, one that
varies from country to country. We will discuss how the car has transformed
societies by comparing the US car culture with that of other countries. Because of
the era we are in, we will also consider the car as a tool of social distancing in a
world now transformed by a pandemic.

Meets: MWF 10:10-11:00pm
Professor: Alexander Billinis
Credits: 3
CRN: 12813

HON 2060: Debunking Scientific Myths
Did Newton really come up with the theory of gravity because an apple fell on his
head? Did Galileo drop projectiles from the leaning tower of Pisa? We will explore
a multitude of myths, discussing how myths, even when false, can shed light on an
idea, and how they are perpetuated.

Meets: MWF 1:25-2:15pm
Professor: Neil Calkin
Credits: 3
CRN: 14891

HON 2060: Pseudoscience in Food & Drugs
The combination of access to information and the decline in science education and critical thinking ability
have given rise to a fear of science and mistrust of scientists. Because of the lack of understanding of
science, charlatans like Dr. Oz are able to exploit the public’s fears for their own financial gain. A few
examples of what this exploitation has led to: cancer patients refusing chemotherapy treatments in favor of
questionable “natural” therapies; a subset of people have tried to “cure” their autistic children by giving
them bleach enemas; and an increase in the production and marketing of dietary supplements promising
to cure everything from obesity to cancer. Because of ignorance, people can be the victims of scams and in
the case of fad diets and supplements, can be harmed. In addition to the decline of science education,
critical thinking, and difficulty identifying reliable sources of information, public attitude towards science
and scientists is negative. Scientists are harassed on a regular basis and are accused of being paid to do
the bidding of large companies like Monsanto. Additionally, these celebrities and charlatans mislead the
public by saying science is wrong and that they are the only ones that are trustworthy. This leads to
fearmongering and a belief in conspiracy theories. The proposed course will look at and investigate claims
made by dietary supplement makers, cosmetics companies and food manufacturers and using basic
science and the scientific literature evaluate the claims and how true they are or likely are not.

Meets: MWF 10:10-11:00pm
Professor: Elliot Ennis
Credits: 3
CRN: 20558

HON 2060: STEM Policy in Education
This course will introduce students to the various facets of education policy that
influence and interact with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(STEM) courses and future career paths such as funding, ethics, social media, and
diversity and inclusion.

Meets: TR 4:00-5:15pm
Professor: Cazembe Kennedy
Credits: 3
CRN: 20563

HON 2060: Insect Biodiversity
Students will learn about the diversity of insects and their impacts on humans and
our world. We will study interesting phenomena, like bioluminescence, and cross-
curricular applications, like biogeography, using discussions of primary literature,
written assignments, projects, and quizzes.

Meets: TR 9:30-10:45am
Professor: Suellen Pometto
Credits: 3
CRN: 20565

HON 2060: The Science of Ethics
How is ethical knowledge like and unlike "scientific" knowledge of the world
around us? Are ethical judgments responses to ethical facts out there in the world,
or merely records of our own biases and preferences? In this course we'll consider
how knowledge of the natural world around us ("scientific" knowledge) is like and
unlike ethical knowledge. We'll also look at the ways that science can change or
improve ethical knowledge, and the ways that ethics can improve and expand
scientific knowledge. This course will examine these interrelated questions by
focusing on the nature of ethical knowledge. How is ethical knowledge like and
unlike other knowledge, including knowledge of the natural world (i.e. scientific
knowledge)? How, if at all, can knowledge of the natural world contribute to ethics?
How can ethics contribute to knowledge of the natural world?

Meets: T 5:00-7:45pm
Professor: Charles Starkey
Credits: 3
CRN: 20831

HON 2090: Diplomacy in Crisis
Though America is in possession of unparalleled military and economic power it
cannot solve these problems alone. It needs alliances and cooperation of other
powers. Diplomacy is crucial for the security of the United States and it seems to
be in crisis and not sufficiently effective. How are the current developments
affecting America’s global position? If diplomacy doesn’t work shall we be tempted
to resort to use of military power or withdraw to isolation or maybe combine the
two? Let us try to find the answers. A combination of lectures and seminar format
will ensure active participation of students and will help hone their research,
writing and presentation skills along with critical analysis, creative thinking, and
tolerance for different approaches and views. This is a class where students can
satisfy their intellectual curiosity while having fun.

Meets: R 3:30-6:15pm
Professor: Vladimir Matic
Credits: 3
CRN: 13361

HON 2090: French Discussion Group
This course is open exclusively to Honors students enrolled in FREN 2020 and
above and will take the place of an honors contract you would otherwise have in
your French class. Together we will explore and discuss a wide range of subjects
concerning French culture, history, art and literature as a way to enrich your
understanding of France and the Francophone world. Class will consist primarily
of group discussion (mainly in French, but in English when appropriate), allowing
you to practice speaking beyond the normal classroom setting and thus developing
your linguistic competencies even further. Short supplemental readings will also
help you to improve your vocabulary and reading skills.

Meets: M 10:10-11:00am
Professor: Kenneth Widgren
Credits: 1
CRN: 13872

HON 2090: Spanish Conversation
HON 2090 is a one-hour course open exclusively to Honors students in SPAN 2010
and above. This course will take the place of an honors contract you would
otherwise have in your Spanish class. Together we will analyze short stories,
current events, short films and other authentic texts from the Spanish-speaking
world. Class will consist primarily of group discussion in Spanish, allowing you to
practice your speaking, think critically, expand your cultural knowledge, and
explore your interests.

Meets: TBA
Professor: Ellory Schmucker
Credits: 1
CRN: 14907

HON 2100: Experiencing the Arts
What is Art? What is Beauty? What makes great art or music move us? Focusing
on music, but incorporating the visual, dramatic, and design arts, the class will
react to the arts through the lens of aesthetics. A major component of the course
will be developing critical thinking skills, attending (virtually during evening lab)
artistic events and reacting to them. The course fulfills a non-literature humanities
requirement.

Includes HON 2101: Experiencing the Arts Laboratory
- Meets: T 7:30-9:30pm, CRN: 14795

Meets: MW 11:15am-12:05pm
Professor: Mark Spede
Credits: 3
CRN: 14794

HON 2200: Film and Empire
We live in a world shaped by empire. Colonial empires in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries brought millions of people into contact through conquest,
migration, enslavement, subjugation and opportunity. They drew and redrew
national boundaries around the globe and molded aspects of everyday life such as
the languages people speak, the foods people eat and the games people play.
Some of the most enduring images of empire in the popular imagination have
come from films. Films have recreated the environment and compelling issues
that people living in different parts of empires faced at various points in their
histories. This course explores the varied depictions of empire in cinema, ranging
from the films produced in the Golden Age of Hollywood that celebrated and
glorified empire to 21st century films that have taken a more critical perspective on
the imperial past. Our focus will be on films depicting the British Empire, including
films produced in the United States, Europe and the former colonial world.

Meets: TR 11:00am-12:15pm
Professor: Michael Silvestri
Credits: 3
CRN: 10690

HON 2210: Imagination Rules
American “grandmasters” of science fiction & fantasy challenge our perceptions of
the world by encouraging a sense of wonder (which social practices grounded in
scientific empiricism often diminish). Drawing on varied religious visions, Norton,
Bradbury, Le Guin, Asimov, Wolfe, Willis, Butler, and others claim humanity excels
only by imagination.

Meets: TR 11:00am-12:15pm
Professor: Brett Patterson
Credits: 3
CRN: 10503

HON 2210: Reading Rape & White Supremacy
This course entails the interdisciplinary study of sexual violence and white
supremacy. Materials under examination span a range of fields/disciplines:
feminist theory, critical race studies, black women’s literature, and our own
Clemson historical archive. The primary objective of this course is for students to
learn how to ask their own engaging questions of the theoretical essays, novels,
and archival materials at the center of the course. Second, students will learn to
use critical analysis to answer the questions that they are posing. Finally, students
will complete a creative research project at the end of the term to implement
research skills gained throughout.

Meets: MW 4:00-5:15pm
Professor: Maya Hislop
Credits: 3
CRN: 12189

HON 2210: Investigating Beauty
We describe paintings, sunsets, songs, and people as beautiful, but what do we mean by
beauty? Why do we disagree about what should be considered beautiful and why is beauty
sometimes seen as dangerous? In this seminar, we investigate human experiences with
beauty. Readings in philosophy and literature from around the world will help us examine
beauty's relationship to topics including love, comedy, justice, gender, art, cognition, and
place. To gain historical perspectives, we will discuss Plato's Symposium and Ovid's
Metamorphoses as well as works by William Shakespeare and the Persian poet Hafez. We'll
also read more recent authors such as Emily Dickinson and Derek Walcott and end the
semester with Claudia Rankine's play The Provenance of Beauty: A South Bronx Travelogue.
Taking a cue from Rankine's observations of South Bronx, we will visit Clemson's
Experimental Forest to reflect on our own relationships with beauty.

Meets: MWF 2:30-3:20pm
Professor: Ingrid Pierce
Credits: 3
CRN: 12975

HON 2210: Building Imaginary Worlds
Worldbuilding—the act of creating and populating a complex, fully realized fictional
world—is at the heart of science fiction and fantasy. In this course, we will map the
physical, political, historical, and socioeconomic landscapes of multiple imaginary
worlds. In so doing, we will not only examine how authors construct their fictional
worlds, but we will also explore how and why these imaginary worlds both
emulate and deviate from the world we inhabit. In addition to completing several
short essays on assigned topics, students will complete a semester-long project in
which in they build an imaginary world of their own.

Meets: R 5:00-7:45pm
Professor: April Pelt
Credits: 3
CRN: 13360

HON 2230: A Good Person Speaking Well
Want to speak masterfully? Many of our world's great orators were classically
trained, using educational models from the Greeks and Romans. You don’t need to
be a great speaker to take this class, because you will learn how to speak well
using a blend of ancient speaking practices and contemporary research on
speaking effectiveness.

Meets: TR 9:30-10:45am
Professor: Elizabeth Gilmore
Credits: 3
CRN: 10786