Course Descriptions

Honors Program Course Descriptions

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(Enter Datatel Course Numbers with the dash. i.e. ENGL-100; use commas to separate multiple Course Numbers)

HONR-502 - PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE COLLOQUIUM  3 credits
The science colloquium will focus on historical trends in science, great thinkers in the world of science, and science and technology in the modern age. Supplementary sources such as The Ascent of Man, Connections, Carl Sagan, and Nova may be used. An integral component of this colloquium will be logic, critical thinking, analytical thinking, and data collection and analysis. Students will be encouraged to become involved in their own original research projects. Three lecture hours. PREREQUISITE: Acceptance into Honors program.
HONR-503 - LIBRARY RESEARCH COLLOQUIUM  3 credits
Honors students will explore print, non-print, and electronic sources while seeking the best information on selected topics. Information literacy, evaluation skills, and research methods are covered. The organization of information, and discovering what is (and is not) found in libraries is addressed. Team and individual projects include treasure hunts, journals, oral presentation, and written assignments. Curiosity, persistence, and a sense of humor are prerequisites. Three lecture hours. PREREQUISITE: Acceptance into Honors program. Offered Spring and Fall Semesters
HONR-504 - HUMANITIES COLLOQUIUM: ARTS IN ACTION  3 credits
The Arts in Action colloquium is designed to illustrate to the student how the arts contribute actively to our daily lives, how they give us a sense of our past, how they provide us with an enlightened sense of self, and how they enable us to understand the ongoing complexities of the human condition. This colloquium may focus on such areas as theater, music, dance, painting, and sculpture. Three lecture hours. PREREQUISITE: Acceptance into Honors program.
HONR-505 - THE WEST IN THE 20TH CENTURY  3 credits
After a brief review of the West in the 19th century, the course will examine some factors that shaped the 20th century. Industrialization and technology, the emergence of mass society and culture, warfare and the modern nation state, and the western world after World War II will be the primary areas of analysis in a seminar format. This is a course to be taken for Honors. It is open to all in the Honors program and by permission for those students with a B average or better. Three lecture hours. PREREQUISITE: Acceptance into Honors program. All enrollees must have taken one of the following: HIST-100, HIST-200, HIST-110, or HIST-210.
HONR-506 - SOCIAL SCIENCE COLLOQUIUM: AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES  3 credits
This is an interdisciplinary social science course with a historical and biographical focus. "Modern" is defined as circa 1815 to the present. We will study the famous, infamous, and obscure. Women and men from the American experience will play a central role, but not to the exclusion of pivotal figures from around the globe. Political matters often dominate, yet social, intellectual and cultural aspects-both elite and popular-will also receive due attention. Three lecture hours. PREREQUISITE: Acceptance into Honors program.
HONR-507 - FROM SIDE STREETS TO SKYSCRAPERS - LITERATURE AND THE CITY  3 credits
From the world of subways and skyscrapers, opportunities and outcasts, bright lights and dark alleys, come the varied voices of city literature. This honors course will examine images of the city in a variety of literary works, including poetry, short fiction, novels, and plays. We will explore concepts including the ways in which the city setting serves as a metaphor for its inhabitants, their struggles, and their successes. We will also explore how literature of the city, both past and present, confronts the unique experiences of, for example, the homeless, the unemployed, women, immigrants, and African-Americans. Students will be encouraged to participate in class discussions and will be required to write a variety of short responses and analytical essays on reading selections. As a final project for the course, students will write and present to the class a personal narrative about some aspect of a city that is significant in their lives, preferably Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee, Worcester, Westfield, or some other area city that gives it its unique character and that connects to their own lives. Three lecture hours. PREREQUISITE: Acceptance into Honors program. ENGL-100.
HONR-508 - HUMANITIES COLLOQUIUM: THE COMIC SPIRIT  3 credits
The Comic Spirit: Perspectives on Humor and Laughter, an Honors program seminar, offers students a broad-based inquiry into the related concepts of comedy, humor, and laughter. It approaches these subjects from a mostly literary (and mostly Western) perspective with close study of comic drama and fiction, but the course will also consider film and television, cartoons, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and the physiology of laughter. The goal of the course is to help students reach fuller and more complete answers to the questions: What is humor? What makes people laugh? What makes something funny? Who decides? Three lecture hours. PREREQUISITE: Admission into Honors program, ENGL-100, ENGL-200.
HONR-509 - ENTREPRENEURSHIP: CONCEPT TO COMMERCIALIZATION  3 credits
This honors course provides direct theoretical and practical expertise in invention, innovation and entrepreneurship. It will utilize the E -Team concept to promote, enhance and support innovation through the use of guest speakers, workshops, lectures, field trips, laboratory experiments, professional advice and group dynamics. E -Teams will be comprised of students from a variety of disciplines that include business and technology. Student projects, centered on real-life designs and ideas will be discussed and evaluated by the E -teams. Emphasis is given to the students' creativity and ingenuity culminating in a marketable innovation. Areas of special interest are; safety, adaptive (universal) design, comprehensive application, flexibility and environmental impact. Visits to various area businesses may also be a part of this course. Three lecture hours. PREREQUISITES: Admission to Honors Program, ENGL-100, ENGL-200
HONR-510 - THE CONGO: IMAGES/REALITIES  3 credits
This course offers an in-depth look at the Congo. Using an interdisciplinary approach, students will learn about its history, politics and culture from early colonialism to the present. In addition, students will conduct independent research, synthesizing information from works of diction, journals and documentary sources. One of the goals is to enhance understanding of this important country. Three lecture hours. PREREQUISITE: ENGL-100 and admission into the Honors Program.
HONR-512 - APPLICATIONS IN NANOSCIENCE  3 credits
The focus of this course is to provide a basic overview and survey of Nanoscience and Technology for the community college student. It examines the science behind what nanotechnology is, where it comes from, how it is used and what outcomes may be anticipated by its development. There are two tracks that will be followed; first how nano devices are created and second, how they are used. This new technology has opened the door to new vistas for many careers in studies such as medicine, manufacturing, engineering and agriculture. The class will include research application case studies and discussion sessions in group formats and power point presentations. PREREQUISITE: Completion of ALGB-097 or higher level mathematics, ENGL-100 and Honors Program admission or permission of instructor.