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HMN 295 Honors Seminar in the Humanities - A World of Banned Books
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.”
~ Joseph Brodsky
Noble Prize in Literature, 1987
What makes a book dangerous, obscene, or offensive? Can a novel be artistically worthy and morally reprehensible? Who decides? When, if ever, is censorship justifiable?
While the history of banned books is long and storied, a serious truth has remained throughout the centuries and across continents: ideas are dangerous. This course introduces us to those books whose ideas have been classified as so dangerous that they were censored, seized, or burned, and their authors fined, jailed, and in some cases, tortured. We will read works -- spanning several centuries and cultures -- that have been banned, challenged, or otherwise censored for reasons of sexual indecency or religious and political dissension. Incorporating texts from the United States, Europe, China, Japan, and the so called “Axis of Evil,” we will examine different systems of censorship and the sometimes surprising connection between church, monarchy, fascism, and democracy to determine how authors write against or within the modes of repression.
Three credit hours – Fulfills Humanities Elective and Literature Elective
Instructor: Pam Emigh-Murphy Office 5-541 Phone: 292-3378
E-mail: pemighmurphy@monroecc.edu
HMN 295 Honors Seminar in the Humanities - Art, Violence, and Activism
This course will focus on theoretical and cultural intersections between violent acts and representations of violence. Drawing from a variety of contemporary theoretical frameworks that seek to understand both the materiality and constructivity of embodiment in relation to violence and physical suffering, we will then focus on three specific cultural enactments of violence in the United States: racialized violence, gendered/sexualized violence, and state/military violence. We will look at a variety of artistic representations of violence—in literature, theatre, and film, in particular—and think about how these representations glamorize/eroticize violence, arguably desensitizing the viewer to the realities of suffering in others, as well as how these representations raise consciousness in the viewer, arguably reducing that viewer’s capacity to inflict/overlook real-life physical pain.
Three Credits - Fulfills Humanities Elective
Professor: Maria Brandt Office: 5-539 Phone: 292-3394
E-mail: mbrandt@monroecc.edu
HMN 295 Honors Seminar in the Humanities - Female Icons
Medusa, Little Red Riding Hood, The Little Mermaid, Pandora, Eve, Pocahontas, Jane Eyre, Lolita, Mona Lisa, Ophelia, Virginia Woolf, Queen Elizabeth, Marie Antoinette, Madonna, Marilyn Monroe, Rosa Parks, Barbie, Wonder Woman, Lara Croft, Martha Stewart, Oprah.
Most likely you recognize all the names listed above; chances are, you’d recognize their face in a painting or photograph. Why? What gives them their staying power? What accounts for our culture’s celebration or, in other cases, vilification of these women? Further, how do their representations change over time or among different cultures/sub-cultures, and how do these transformations reflect shifts in cultural values and attitudes?
HMN 295 Honors Seminar in the Humanities - Female Icons in Literature and Popular Culture will involve the study of these iconic women to try and answer these questions. The seminar will entail reading, discussion, and analysis of famous women in mythology, biblical history, fairytales and folk tales, classic and contemporary fiction, and 20th century popular culture. A cultural studies approach will be used to analyze these and other icons, and will include a variety of different kinds of texts, including fiction and poetry, artwork, music, film, advertisement.
Please call or stop by my office if you would like more information about this seminar. You can also contact me by e-mail.
Three credits Fulfills Humanities Elective
Professor: Elizabeth Johnston Phone 292-3383 Office 5-543
E-mail ejohnston@monroecc.edu
HMN 295 Honors Seminar in the Humanities - Innovation and Idea: Problem- Solving and the Creative Process
What traits do creative individuals have in common that can teach us about the ways that we can work toward better solutions to problems? What can we learn from artists, scientists, writers, designers, and musicians that can aid us in seeing the world in new ways? How can one tap into the creative potential that exists in all of us?
In our rapidly changing environment the skills needed to succeed are shifting. Recent studies suggest that the traits needed to accommodate this change require non-traditional approaches to problem-solving that stress flexibility, inventiveness and a willingness to see things from different perspectives.
This Honors Seminar in Humanities-Innovation and Idea: Problem-Solving and the Creative Process will explore the process of creative thinking and the ways in which ideas come to life. We will examine the lives and works of creative individuals in a variety of fields and study the process that precedes new discoveries. Art, music, science, poetry, literature, and film will all be part of the discussion. The emphasis will be on demystifying creativity with exercises, readings, structured assignments, hands-on techniques and collaborative activities that will expose students to strategies that will aid in the development of creative approaches to problem solving.
Three Credits Fulfills Humanities Elective
Professor: Karen Sardisco Office: 12-233D Phone: 292-3102
E-mail: ksardisco@monroecc.edu
HMN 295 – Honors in the Humanities – The Literature and Culture of Witchcraft
“The situation demands that we ask not why the inquisitors were obsessed with destroying witchcraft, but rather why they were so obsessed with creating it.”
Marvin Harris
Cows, Pigs, War, and Witches
In this course we will study witchcraft from an historical perspective which incorporates a variety of responses to “witch fears” that come from society and are expressed in literature and culture. We begin our exploration with the Druids, and then proceed from the time of the Ancient Greeks to the Middle Ages. Later we will concentrate on the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in both Europe and America and finally end with a discussion of contemporary witchcraft in the form of McCarthyism, AIDS, and Wicca. This schedule will provide a framework for understanding of all individuals and groups who are marginalized and punished for their differences by society.
Three Credits - Fulfills Humanities Elective
Professor: Lynn Bartholome Office: 5-543 Phone: 292-3276
E-mail: lbartholome@monroecc.edu
IDC 195 Honors Seminar in Critical Analysis - Science, Pseudoscience, and Religion
In this section of honors critical thinking we work collaboratively to learn the skills of argument analysis and evaluation, and apply them to the problem of defining and distinguishing science from pseudoscience and religion. The course has three modules. In Module One, we study logic and argument, learn how inductive and deductive arguments work, and the standards of good arguments. These studies prepare us for Module Two, in which we study the difficulty of distinguishing science from pseudoscience, the characteristics of disciplines known as pseudosciences, and some intellectual and social problems associated with disputes about science and pseudoscience. In Module Three, we take up the relation of science to philosophy and religion, particularly debates about the compatibility of religion and science.
Three Credits - Fulfills Humanities Elective
Professor: Robert Muhlnickel Office 5-553 Phone: 292-3243
E-mail: rmuhlnickel@monroecc.edu
IDC 195 Honors Seminar in Critical Analysis - Sustainability
How will your life change when gas reaches $15.00 a gallon?
The Promises:
This course provides you the opportunity to learn the skills necessary to make reasoned judgments about real world issues. You will have the opportunity to develop a deep understanding of knowledge, argumentation, and inductive and deductive reasoning. In addition, you will have the opportunity to understand the scientific method and be able to identify when this method is used with integrity and when it is not. Finally, you will have the opportunity to apply these reasoning methods individually and with a number of your classmates to some of the controversial issues raised in Kunstler’s The Long Emergency.
Together, and in response to Kunstler’s challenges, we will shape the future. Be about it!
Three Credits - Fulfills Humanities Elective
Professor: Elizabeth Laidlaw Office: 5-522 Phone: 292-3368
E-mail: elaidlaw@monroecc.edu
IDC 195 Honors Seminar in Critical Analysis
| American Values |
Cultural Views of Religion |
| Capitalism and Consumerism |
Human Rights |
| Propaganda |
Conspiracy Theories |
| Global Warming |
Terrorism |
This is a selection of topics students of IDC 195 - Honors Seminar in Critical Analysis chose to dissect in the past.
Yes, we said, "chose." Our mission is to learn the philosophical skill of argument analysis and apply it to timely issues.
You and your classmates will choose the issues for our examination. We will explore these issues through reading, writing, presenting and conversing. Yes, there will be an exam or two, but the meat of our work involves concise analysis of issues of concern to you. Basically, we are looking to save the world.
In Professor Laidlaw’s class, the journey will begin with the writings of Daniel Quinn who compels us to read between the lines . . . or better yet, to ignore the lines altogether. We will then disprove (or provide evidence for) James Kunstler’s proposition that our oil-based economy will collapse within thirty years.
In Professor Hachee’s class, the journey will include a semester-long exploration of what makes a theory a “conspiracy theory.” We’ll learn about the difference between good and bad reasoning by familiarizing ourselves with the writings, films, arguments and fallacies surrounding this most famous “conspiracy theory” in the United States’ history: the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
We look forward to taking the journey with you.
Three credits Fulfills Humanities Elective
Professor: Elizabeth Laidlaw
Phone 292-3368 Office 5-522
E-mail elaidlaw@monroecc.edu |
Professor: Matthew Hachee
Phone 292-3274 Office 5-553
E-mail mhachee@monroecc.edu |
IDC 295 The City
This multi-disciplinary course will explore the unique cultural, political, socio-economic and environmental facets of urban areas. Using Rochester as a concrete example, but abstracting to all urban centers, the course will explore the history of the rise of cities, sociological and educational issues of wealth distribution and race, the role of cities as incubators of the arts, literature with an urban theme, and the unique environmental conditions created by cities. The course will integrate field trips to local cultural institutions and various other excursions, including an urban nature walk. The course will be taught by a team of faculty representing a wide variety of academic disciplines.
Three Credits Fulfills Social Science or General Elective
Professor: Tokeya Graham Phone 262-1548 Office 4224 (DCC)
E-mail tgraham@monroecc.edu
SCI 295 Honors Seminar in the Natural Sciences - The Science and Ethics of Stem Cell Research
Stem cell research is one of the most important and exciting fields of current biological research. But the use of stem cells created from human embryos raises a number of ethical issues, many of which are unique to stem cells. This course will explore some of those ethical issues, but to understand these issues, the course will also help students understand the science behind the research. This course is, then, designed for non-science majors so that can intelligently assess the debates about his new line of research. By the end of the course, students should be able to
- Obtain accurate and up-to-date information on stem cell research
- Recognize and understand the different perspectives that many people hold about stem cell research
- Develop skills for critically evaluating media and Internet information on stem cell research
- Develop decision making skills needed to integrate scientific information with an understanding of the ethical, legal, and social implications that emerge from stem cell technology
Three Credits Fulfills Natural Science Elective
Professor: Judy Kaufman Office: 8-226 Phone: 292-2730
E-mail: jkaufman@monroecc.edu
SCI 295 Honors Seminar in the Natural Sciences - Biodiversity and Conservation
This course will cover topics related to the concept of biodiversity. What is it? Why is it important? How should biodiversity and natural ecosystems be conserved? Some of the topics that will be covered in the course include methods to assess biodiversity, placing value on biodiversity and ecosystem services, and methods used in studying and conserving sustainable ecosystems. Relationships between biodiversity and selected environmental issues, such as global climate change and acid deposition, will be discussed. Examples of biodiversity and conservation will include those from local (Monroe County), regional (Great Lakes region) and global ecosystems.
Conservation of biodiversity will be a major theme of the course. Students will examine conservation of biodiversity through the writings of Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold, and E. O. Wilson. The works of other prominent scientists will also be discussed. Students completing this course will be able to explain the science behind biodiversity and conservation. Additionally, students will gain experience in assessing environmental and sustainability issues as they relate to biodiversity and conservation.
Three credits Fulfills Natural Science Elective
Professor: Timothy Tatakis Office: 8-222 Phone: 292-2332
E-mail: ttatakis@monroecc.edu
SBS 295 Honors Seminar in the Social Sciences - Psychology of Religion
The SBS 295 - Honors Seminar in the Social Sciences - Psychology of Religion is an introduction to how humans give religious/mystical meaning to their lives. We will explore how personal religious experiences and practices may differ from specific formal religious creeds and rituals. In turn, we will examine how to celebrate our own beliefs while respecting those of others.
My goal is to explore how and why humans in all cultures construct a religious understanding of the world that, although potentially informed by science, yet transcends it. No one faith tradition is emphasized. The religions discussed will ultimately reflect the interests and experiences of the class. I present the course from the point of view that although there are many possible paths to achieve and express the mystical or transcendent, there is, ultimately, only one truth. Some questions that will be addressed are:
What is the relationship between biology, psychology, and spirituality? What is transcendence? What is the relation between transcendence and participation in a religion? How do religious ritual and dogma assist both the individual and the group to learn to "dance with their demons"? What is the common boundary between religion and spirituality and psychotherapy? How does religion inform and influence the way individuals confront pain, death, loss, peace, happiness, justice, and sharing? How does nature, and a scientific understanding of nature, relate to spiritual experience?
Please feel free to seek me out if you have any additional questions.
Three credits Fulfills Social Schience Elective
Professor: Charles Clarke Phone 292-3345 Office 5-404
E-mail cclarke@monroecc.edu |
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