Honors Program

Melissa Reddish

Assistant Professor of English
410-334-2859
mreddish@worwic.edu

Department:
Arts and Humanities

Building:
Brunkhorst Hall

Room Number:
BH 333

Course Description:
This course is designed to help students develop critical thinking and writing skills by focusing on the creation, analysis and evaluation of arguments. Students study the content and structure of arguments, the Toulmin model of argument and motivational appeals, and critically analyze the arguments of classical and modern writers. Students holistically apply these rhetorical principles to the creation of their own argumentative essays and to classroom debates and discussions. Independent research is required. This course is one of two core courses in the honors program and is required for honors program graduates. Hours: 39 lecture. Prerequisites: Honors program eligibility and ENG 101 with a grade of "B" or better or permission of the instructor. Usually offered in the fall and spring.

What Makes This an Honors Course?
Honors, students examine rhetoric in its myriad forms in order to understand how words and even images gain the power of persuasion. They analyze rhetoric through the lens of Aristotle, Toulmin, and Rogers. They explore oratory in the form of famous and contemporary speeches, written rhetoric in the form of articles and opinion editorials, and visual rhetoric in the form of advertisements, political cartoons, photojournalism, and documentaries. They also investigate the different contexts for rhetoric, exploring how politics can complicate our notions of persuasion and how logical fallacies can arise from imprecision. Like any Honors class, students must sift through disparate and often conflicting viewpoints, many of which have merit. Students then practice the art of persuasion in their own writing and speaking through reflective journals, a nonfiction presentation, a documentary film essay, a discussion leader project, a researched argument essay, and a formal class-wide debate. Besides a focus on rhetoric, our goal as instructors is to facilitate a genuine exchange of ideas in a safe academic space and to foster more active, concerned citizenship in the process. We too engage in a deep examination of our own viewpoints and the rhetoric we find most appealing, further dismantling and re-shaping our worldviews in the process. We often learn something new about the subjects our students are most passionate about as well. Understanding how words gain their power, through different modes and contexts, is at its core the goal of Critical Thinking and Writing.

Upul Senaratne

Assistant Professor of Physical Science
410-572-8729
usenaratne@worwic.edu

Department:
Mathematics and Science

Building:
Henson Hall

Room Number:
HH 103F

Course Description:
This course offers an introduction to Earth and Space Science. The focus is on the physical characteristics of the Earth and its place in the solar system. The laboratory component is intended to develop skills of data acquisition, observation, interpretation and understanding of Earth system processes and features. In addition, students conduct research in order to discuss and critically evaluate plausible arguments of various contemporary topics in Earth Science. This course meets the requirements of GEO 101. Hours: 39 lecture and 26 laboratory. Prerequisite: Honors program eligibility. MTH 092 with a grade of “C” or better or an acceptable mathematics placement test score. Laboratory fee: $30. Usually offered in the fall.

What Makes This an Honors Course?
Earth and Space Science, Honors, aims to give students a more challenging, a more in-depth, and a more conceptual understanding of Earth and Space Science, with a focus on astronomy, geology, oceanography, and meteorology. Students will be responsible for independent research, experimentation, and collaborative learning. They will examine processes that spark interest and curiosity as well as processes that affect all life forms, travelling from the center of the third rock from the Sun to the edge of the universe. Students will explore independent and collaborative research topics, including the impact of fracking on earthquakes, global climate change, and extraterrestrial life forms through the lens of popular media with an unbiased approach. In the end, students will more fully understand both the processes of the earth and their own place in the universe.

Dr. Patricia Riley

Human Services Department Head and Associate Professor of Social Science
410-334-2885
priley@worwic.edu

Department:
Human Services

Building:
Brunkhorst Hall

Room Number:
BH 333

Course Description:
This course stresses the study of man in his social relationships. Topics include the patterns of culture, population, social institutions (familial, educational, religious, economic and political) and social change. This course provides students with opportunities to participate in class research projects and to serve in a community social service agency. This course meets the requirements of SOC 101. Hours: 39 lecture. Usually offered in the spring.

What Makes This an Honors Course?
Honors allows students the opportunity to deeply engage on topics of deviance, education, religion, social class, global inequity, race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, population and health, and other issues that directly impact our daily lives. Besides learning the historical roots of sociological theory, students apply research and discussion strategies to gain insight into current events that often trouble us as a society. The course is designed to be highly interactive, incorporating shared learning experiences through a variety of active experiments and exercises to uncover social patterns of behavior.

Dr. Amy Oneal-Self

Associate Professor of English
410-334-2832
aoneal-self@worwic.edu

Department:
Arts and Humanities

Building:
Brunkhorst Hall

Room Number:
BH 333

Course Description:
This course is an introduction to the theories of oral communication, focusing on pragmatic approaches to presentational styles and organizational skills. Students integrate a common theme into their speeches for the public speaking component of this course. They demonstrate their ability to critically think and listen through their analysis of speeches in both the classroom and the public arena. This course meets the requirements of COM 101. Hours: 39 lecture. Prerequisite: Honors program eligibility. Usually offered in the fall. (3.0 Credits)

What Makes This an Honors Course?
In addition to covering general public speaking topics, students in the Honors section of Introduction to Public Speaking thematically link their informative and persuasive speeches and present their findings at an Honors Symposium. Furthermore, Honors COM 101 students gain additional experience analyzing speeches. Students analyze their own speeches, their peers’ speeches, and speeches in the public domain. Students complete a manuscript project that encourages them to explore their creative side by researching a current or historical event and writing a speech that could have or should have been presented by a participant at that event. The final assignment in the course, the speech analysis project, allows Honors students to demonstrate their knowledge of public speaking through an in-depth analysis of a speech of their choice.

Adam Tavel

Professor of English
410-334-2866
atavel@worwic.edu

Department:
Arts and Humanities

Building:
Brunkhorst Hall

Room Number:
BH 333

Course Description:
This course presents the major themes, styles and subject matter of art and architecture from prehistory to the present, focusing on Western civilization. The artworks of each culture and historical period are examined in the context of the dominant thoughts, ideas and customs of the time. Additionally, students gain a heightened understanding of aesthetic evaluation by learning how symbolism, allusion and intertextuality play significant roles in the visual arts. This course frequently utilizes an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates geography, anthropology and literary analysis. Not only do students gain a deeper understanding of the major epochs of human expression, they develop the necessary skills to thoughtfully discuss, explicate and comprehend painting, sculpture and other forms of visual media. Hours: 39 lecture and 1 field trip. Materials fee: $40. Usually offered in the spring.

What Makes This an Honors Course?
Honors invites students to take a dynamic, interdisciplinary approach to the study of human expression. Although there is no way to avoid memorizing important artists, dates, and periods in any art history course, this Honors experience encourages students to express their own point of view in a series of online journals, their own creativity in a kinesthetic map project, and their own voice in an interactive oral presentation. Coupled with our annual field trip the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., this Honors course makes the past come alive, fosters community with its small class size, and helps us to examine our own historical moment by paying particular attention to themes of power, identity, gender, race, faith, wealth, irony, consciousness, nationhood, and nature.

Daniel Pavese

Instructor of History
410-572-8763
dpavese@worwic.edu

Department:
Human Services

Building:
Brunkhorst Hall

Room Number:
BH 333

Course Description:
This course covers major world civilizations from the Renaissance to the present, focusing on the political, social, economic and intellectual issues. This course provides students with an opportunity to use evidence to construct and evaluate plausible arguments, analyze points of view, context and bias, interpret primary source documents and assess issues of change and continuity over time. This course meets the requirements of HIS 151. Hours: 39 lecture. Prerequisite: Honors program eligibility. Usually offered in the spring.

What Makes This an Honors Course?
Honors approaches the time period with a major theme each semester. For example, past themes have included The American Indian Wars, World War I, World War II, Comparisons of Political Ideologies, etc. Students complete several discussions, a presentation, and a book review based on the theme during the semester. Unlike some traditional classrooms, this course is student-centered and student-focused. There is very little lecturing during the semester; instead, students are encouraged to conduct research outside of class and then discuss what they’ve discovered in a seminar-style classroom. This allows the students to collaboratively construct their own knowledge rather than act as passive receptacles.

Allison Collins

Instructor of Biological Science
410-572-8758
acollins@worwic.edu

Department:
Mathematics and Science

Building:
Henson Hall

Room Number:
HH 103A

Course Description:
This course explores and applies the methods of modern science in the context of the cultural issues that define the present day workings and future of human beings. It focuses on modern science as a powerful and often controlling societal force, as seen through its influence in politics, business, health, industry and technology. The primary focus of this course is the seminar discussion of readings and theory. To support the connection between theory and practice, a portion of the course each week is devoted to experimentation and data analysis. This course is one of two core courses in the honors program and is required for honors program graduates. Hours: 39 lecture and 1 field trip. Prerequisites: Honors program eligibility and MTH 092 or an acceptable mathematics placement test score. Materials fee: $40. Usually offered in the spring.

What Makes This an Honors Course?
What is the process that goes on in a scientist’s mind as they try to understand how life, the universe and everything works (apologies to Douglas Adams)? What is the link between creative and critical thinking in solving problems? What is the role of mathematics and metaphor in science? Can you guess already that asking questions will be an important part of this class?

In this honors class, we will explore together the history and foundation of science as well as the interaction of scientific literacy with social and ethical issues. We will be doing this by reading the scientists’ own words in classical original source references, including Aristotle and Einstein. Then by discussing, reflecting, and writing about the ideas and the scientific process, each student will develop their own critical thinking skills. This approach will involve independent study and inter-dependent exploration.

Within this framework, students will also explore topics of personal interest to share with the class. In addition to oral presentations, students will conduct peer-reviews of scientific analysis essays. In this way, beyond the original reading list, together we can explore life on all scales, from the Higgs particle to the edge of the universe, and from the perspective of multiple scientific disciplines.

Are you ready to challenge yourself to think deeply about the study of life and take a journey together? Welcome to IDS 200H.