Courses

Fall Semester information

200A: Honor Scholar Reading Course:The Art of Losing by Alice Zeniter

This course explores memory, exile, and identity through Alice Zeniter's The Art of Losing, a novel that follows a family's journey across generations from Algeria to France. Through the lens of Francophone literature and cultural narratives, students will examine how colonial legacies, migration, and historical silence shape personal and collective memory. Discussions will focus on how the novel engages with broader questions of belonging, loss, and the ways in which the past continues to shape the present.

200B: Honor Scholar Reading Course:Ours to Explore: Privilege, Power and the Paradox of Voluntourism by Pippa Biddle

Voluntourism, the practice of blending travel with volunteer work, often in low--or medium-income countries, has sparked considerable debate about whether it benefits or harms the communities receiving assistance. This course will explore the dangers and the advantages of voluntourism and volunteerism. We will clarify the differences between voluntourism and volunteerism, and investigate the ethics associated with voluntourism. To better understand the origins of voluntourism, we will examine the history of inequalities, particularly in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Following this, we will explore the growth of the volunteer industry and its objectives, and discuss the ethical concerns related to voluntourism. One crucial question we aim to answer is: How can we transform good intentions into actions that create meaningful change?

200C: Honor Scholar Reading Course:How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart by Nicholas Carr

In an era defined by unprecedented connectivity, we often assume that more information equates to greater understanding. Yet, Nicholas Carr's "Superbloom" challenges this prevailing narrative, arguing that the relentless surge of digital communication breeds confusion, erodes empathy, and amplifies our worst instincts. This honors course will engage in a critical exploration of Carr's thesis, examining the psychological and societal consequences of our hyper-connected world.

200D: Honor Scholar Reading Course:Seeing like a State by James Scott

Why do well-intentioned, well-funded, mega plans to improve the human condition go wrong? In this modern classic work in Political Science, James Scott draws on cases as varied as forestry, taxation, census and city planning to make an argument for the value of multiple perspectives. As we read and discuss the book, we will turn to contemporary debates and policies about improving 'government efficiency' and see how we can apply the book's insights to projects that aim to solve complex issues such as immigration, currency management, and corruption.