Spring 2020 HNRS Courses
HNRS 1035 Sec. 01
Science for CitizensWhat is science? What do scientists do? Why does so much of science seem controversial these days? How much of your behavior is in your genes? (And what exactly is a gene?) Are there really genes for infidelity? aggression? novelty seeking? How do we choose our mates? Do human genes continue to...
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Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 1035 Sec. 02
Ennvironments in PerilBroad patterns of biodiversity (biomes), from rainforests to deserts to tundra, are products of geography, climate, and evolutionary history. These properties affect each biome’s history of human exploitation and their threats in the 21st century. We will explore Earth’s biomes and their threats, focusing on North America and the New... Read More...
Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2013 Sec. 01
Post-Colonial AfricaThe post-World War II period witnessed widespread anti-colonial agitations and calls for the end of European colonial rule in African societies. After a century of European imperial dominance, the decolonization of Africa became one of the turning points in the history of the post-war world. The struggle for political liberty... Read More...
Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2013 Sec. 02
German Surveillance States: Nazi Germany & East Germany in Film & LiteratureNOTE: Enrollment in this course requires participation in the LSU/Honors Spring Break in Berlin excursion.
As part of the LSU/Honors Spring Break in Berlin program, this course will introduce students to the surveillance states of Germany during the National Socialist period as... Read More...
Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2013 Sec. 03
Great Britain, 1900-1945From the Golden Age of Queen Victoria’s reign to victory over Germany in 1918 and 1945, the British experienced periods of great success. They also experienced the devastation of war and the misery of the Great Depression.
Our discussions will range from the lifestyles of the aristocracy to working conditions... Read More...
Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2013 Sec. 04
The State of LouisianaNOTE: This course is reserved for students participating the LASAL Scholars Program.
The State of Louisiana is a foundation course for LASAL Scholars; it provides an introduction to the greatest challenges facing our state. Students will study the root causes of poverty in Louisiana, and the daily challenges that children who live in poverty... Read More...
Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2020 Sec. 01
Media Manipulation: Frauds, Hoaxes, and FakesThis course looks at how social media, digital technology, a resurgent populism and severe polarization in American life have created an environment for manipulators to infiltrate the nation’s information flow and influence public opinion.
During the semester we will examine government and media investigations begun in 2017 of the manipulation... Read More...
Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2020 Sec. 02
LGBTQ Activism and Social MovementsThis course will critically examine historical and contemporary LGBTQ activism in the United States. We will study moments when LGBTQ-identified people banded together, challenged systems, and demanded change. There is no uniform approach or goal of LGBTQ organizing, and we will study the multiple ways that people have mobilized in...
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Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2020 Sec. 03
Homelessness in Our CommunityHomelessness in the United States is a significant social problem, but there are ways we can understand the issue more deeply, and there are approaches that have worked and are working to get individuals and families into permanent housing. In this course, we will explore experiences and public perceptions of...
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Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2020 Sec. 04
Magic, Religion, & American CultureWhat do Harry Potter, sports fandom, mind-body medicine, taking college exams, prosperity gospel, Star Wars, New Age spirituality, Game of Thrones, and the ways in which we think about contemporary political figures have in common? They each represent major features in America's magical landscape, which extends into nearly every aspect... Read More...
Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2021 Sec. 01
Film MusicThis course explores the history of film music, beginning with music for silent films and concluding with a unit on current practices. Topics include film music during the “Golden Age” of Hollywood; music for cartoons and animated film; jazz, rock, and compilation scores; and modernist techniques.
No knowledge of music... Read More...
Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2021 Sec. 02
PicassoThis colloquium gives students an opportunity to explore in-depth the life and work of Pablo Picasso, arguably the most important visual artist of the twentieth century. We will study Picasso in the broader framework of the evolution of modern art, and relate key events in his artistic career to currents...
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Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2021 Sec. 03
History of Buddhist ArtThis course explores the artistic traditions associated with the Buddhist faith from its origin in India to a global religion. Spanning from the beginning of Buddhism until the present, the course will examine representations of Buddhism in a variety of media from Asia to the United States. With emphases on... Read More...
Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2021 Sec. 04
Words and MusicAn exploration of the many ways in which text and sound can combine to create music—songs, sonic art, romantic and modern balladry, poetry slams. We’ll study how language and music converge and diverge, unite and conflict. We’ll compose our own songs and hear them performed to foster an appreciation of... Read More...
Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2021 Sec. 05
The Films of Alfred HitchcockEnjoy the many varieties of murder—political, personal, serial—in about two dozen of the greatest films by Sir Alfred Hitchcock, “the Shakespeare of cinema,” and the undisputed Master of Suspense. We will do close readings of such masterpieces as The 39 Steps, Rear Window, North by Northwest, and Psycho, and we’ll... Read More...
Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2021 Sec. 06
South African Art: Culture, Apartheid, and Social ChangeThis course provides an in-depth look at art, literature, history, and visual culture in South Africa in the 20th and 21st centuries. Apartheid, Afrikaans for “separateness,” was an oppressive system of legalized segregation and racial discrimination that impacted everyday life in South Africa most directly from 1948 to 1994. Since... Read More...
Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2030 Sec. 01
Civil War Memory: What Americans Have Thought and Think about the Civil WarThrough lectures, readings, movies, and discussion, this course will explore how contrasting and contested memories of the Civil War emerged—among whites in the North, whites in the South, and African Americans. It will then explore manifestations of those memories in various novels and movies as well as in movements and... Read More...
Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2030 Sec. 02
Shakespeare and the OtherPlays in which non-European characters figure prominently will be the focus of study and discussion in an exploration of Shakespeare’s dramatization of issues that today we call multicultural or multiethnic. What are the distinctive features of these plays? What theatrical contexts can we identify for the conflicts in which these...
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Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2030 Sec. 03
Dante's Divine ComedyStudents will study the entirety of Dante’s Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatory, Paradise), a work of great scope that aims to provide a complete picture of the reality of the cosmos and of human virtues and vices. One of the great masterpieces of world literature, Dante’s poem is a compendium of... Read More...
Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2030 Sec. 04
HeresyThis course will explore the development of Christian beliefs through examining the process of debate and disagreement from the origins of the movement through the Reformation. We will consider the intertwined nature of heresy and orthodoxy, as well as the role of religious and secular authority. Questions we will keep... Read More...
Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2030 Sec. 05
African-American Drama, 1950-PresentIn this course, we will read and analyze the work of seven African-American writers who redefined the canon of American Drama over the past 60 years. Special attention will be given to how these writers respond to the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements in the 60’s and 70’s, as... Read More...
Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2033 Sec. 01
Voting in America: The Perils and the Promise for Minorities and MillennialsNothing is more precious in our democracy than the right to vote. The ideal of one-person, one-vote is at the heart of our principles, but it never has been easy to achieve. We will study the struggle for voting rights in the 1960s & examine what happened in recent elections....
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Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2033 Sec. 02
Inequality: The Politics of CapitalismInequality is more important now than ever. Relentless inequality synchronizes with hyper globalization, a growing number of precarious workers, the creation of burnout society, the deepening of identity politics, the rise of demagogic nationalism, and democratic backsliding. The crux of what’s going on in the world today lies in global... Read More...
Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2033 Sec. 03
Populism Unleashed: Democracy in Action or Decline?Populism is on the rise across the globe, including here in the United States. What explain this rise of populism? What are its consequences? What, if any, risk does it pose to the health of democracies?
In this course, we will examine past and present examples of populist leaders and... Read More...
Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2033 Sec. 04
Magic and TechnologyHow can we understand recent and future technological developments that promise to change the very nature of what it means to be human? As Arthur C. Clarke once wrote, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” With a special emphasis on Artificial Intelligence as a theme, this course will... Read More...
Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2402 Sec. 01
Classical Civilization in the Mediterranean WorldExploring the themes of JOURNEY and RETURN in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, HNRS 2402 will feature Homer’s Odyssey, the plays of Sophocles and Euripides, the histories of Herodotus and Thucydides, the philosophy of Plato, and Virgil’s Aeneid.
... Read More...Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2402 Sec. 02
Classical Civilization in the Mediterranean WorldExploring the themes of JOURNEY and RETURN in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, HNRS 2402 will feature Homer’s Odyssey, the plays of Sophocles and Euripides, the histories of Herodotus and Thucydides, the philosophy of Plato, and Virgil’s Aeneid.
... Read More...Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 2406 Sec. 01
European Civilization from 1400 to 1789HNRS 2406 is an interdisciplinary course that explores European conceptions of the individual and the world during the eventful period between the Renaissance and the French Revolution. The course will expand and deepen the knowledge students have acquired in HNRS 2000, Critical Analysis, by uncovering the historical and philosophical “back... Read More...
Fulfills General Education:
HNRS 3035 Sec. 01
Personalized Medicine – Health & Technology in the 21st CenturyA survey course of the current state of the art of personalized diagnostics and medicine with a focus on cancer biology, treatment, and progression. Students will be surveyed on numerous aspects of technology, biology, and human health related to biosensing, microtechnology, disease heterogeneity, and ethics. Students will also participate in... Read More...