Honor Scholar Program Fall 2026 First-Year Seminars

Fall 2026 First-Year Seminars

Ruin and Re-begetting
HONR 101-1 First Year Seminar with Professor Andrea Sununu
Our study of the imagery of ruin and re-begetting will allow us to explore a triple theme––creation, destruction, and re-creation––and to consider how language conveys the human attempt to counter fragmentation, chaos, or oblivion. Reading works by Plato, Shakespeare, Donne, Woolf, Jones, Kingsolver, and others, we will explore the longing to triumph over transience, destruction, and death. I hope that throughout this semester you will find that words matter––not only in the texts you read, but also in your own writing––and that as you hone an argument and polish your prose, you will take pleasure in your own creations.

Hubris Begets Tyranny: Ancient Mediterranean Lessons in Leadership
HONR 101-2 & 3 First Year Seminar with Professors Pedar Foss & Rebecca Schindler 
The chorus in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, l. 872-81, declares: “ὓβρις φυτεύει τύραννον... “Hubris begets tyranny; hubris, if vainly overstuffed by useless follies…charges up and over the Cliff of Necessity, where it inevitably loses its footing. Nevertheless, I pray that the political struggle that does a city good is never interrupted.” Sophocles wrote that line in 429 BCE, when Athenian democracy was at the height of its imperial power but had just suffered a devastating pandemic—one-third of its citizens perished. The ancient Greek playwright understood that politics are a real contest, but not one improved by reckless arrogance (hubris) on the part of its contestants.
This class explores leadership and power through the lens of Greek and Roman literature, philosophy, and history. What qualities should a good leader possess? What happens when a good leader goes bad? What institutions, structures, laws, and practices help ensure good governance and keep ruinous personal ambition from eroding the commonwealth? Is it better to live in an oligarchy, a democracy, or a tyranny? Can a state maintain Justice and Liberty for its citizens while at the same time ruling an empire? After studying the mythical, historical, and philosophical background to these questions, students will role-play a critical moment: Athens in 403 BC, when democracy itself was on trial; and also examine a case-study of liberty lost: the Roman state from 44 BCE-14 CE, from the assassination of Julius Caesar to the ascension of Emperor Tiberius. 

1980s U.S. Media, Politics, and Culture
HONR 101-4 First Year Seminar with Professor Karin Wimbley
With the help of MTV and cable television, the emergence of hip-hop, and the birth of the supermodel, the 1980s ushered in an epoch of heightened cultural exploration. Wealth, privilege, and fame were glamorized, subcultures were subsumed by the mainstream, and everything was for sale. By looking at a diversity of media (including literature, film, and art) from 1979 to 1989, this discussion-based course investigates the blurring of the lines between high and low art and popular culture, marking an evolution in post-WWII American culture. Special attention will be paid to: Reagan era politics and it’s impact on popular culture; emergence of gender/identity politics and its relationship to cultural production of this era; media and technologies’ impact on culture and knowledge production.

The Cognitive Science of Religion
HONR 101-5 First Year Seminar with Professor Ted Bitner
The course will address some of the fundamental questions about the nature of self, and questions relating to the intersection of psychology and religion. We will investigate why humans seem to need a value system and a system based in symbols in order to make meaning of their environment. What does the area of cognitive psychology have to say about these questions? Readings and writing assignments will explore scientific, philosophical, and religious views as we engage these questions. A major focus will be on a scientific approach to the study of religion. Guest facilitators from these areas will help the learners to orient thinking strategies as well.