HON-153 |
Philosophy of Humor |
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This course examines the basic theories of humor, including incongruity, superiority, and release theory. It covers | |||
the main proponents of these theories, from the German rationalists like Wollf and Kant, to the British empiricists | |||
like Hutcheson, to more and recent theories by Bergson and Freud and contemporary cognitive science. Students | |||
will examine the critical role humor plays in society and related issues in ethics and political philosophy; the | |||
nature of humor in general; and the relationship between humor and other human activities that make use of a | |||
unique relationship to language, ambiguities, or paradox, such as poetry, song, and philosophy. The course will | |||
connect to larger issues in the humanities such as the nature of language, temporality, truth, the mind, and | |||
representation as well as ethics and political philosophy. This course may be used to fulfill a general education | |||
requirement in English or philosophy or an Honors Program requirement under " Rhetoric " or " Dialectic." |
3.00 |
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HON-200 |
Latin Foundations |
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It may be used to fulfill a General Education requirement or an Honors Program requirement under " Grammar." |
3.00 |
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HON-201 |
Medieval Life and Thought |
The Middle Ages describe the approximately thousand-year span in western culture between what is called Antiquity and Modernity. The fall of the old Roman Empire to Germanic invaders marks its beginning. The crisis in western culture due to the Renaissance and the religious turmoil of the sixteenth century marks its end. The intervening centuries gave rise to a rich culture that this course seeks to describe and have you experience in various ways. The experience will be mostly through the writings of some extraordinary medieval men and women. They are voices speaking to us from the past, inviting us into their world and sensitizing us to view, perhaps from new angles, features of our own world that seem to echo theirs. Besides literature, our course will utilize film and music to draw you into the spirit of the Middle Ages.( Please note that this course may be taken for English, Religious Studies, or Philosophy credit. It may be used to fulfill a General Education requirement or an Honors Program requirement under " Grammar.") It may be taken for English, Religious Studies, or Philosophy credit. It may be used to fulfill a General Education requirement or an Honors Program requirement under |
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" Grammar " or " Rhetoric " or " Dialectic." |
3.00 |
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HON-202 |
Politics & Literature in the Modern Era |
It may be taken for English or History credit. It may be used to fulfill a General Education requirement or an |
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Honors Program requirement under " Rhetoric " or " Grammar." |
3.00 |
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HON-203 |
Historical Fiction |
This course explores historical fiction as a literary genre that engages readers through imaginative representations of the past. Students will read exemplary works of historical fiction to analyze their literary |
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qualities and their use of historical content and context. |
3.00 |
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HON-210 |
Brave New Words: the Rhetoric of Social |
This course explores and analyzes moments of persuasion critical to the advance of a variety of social justice movements, both historical and contemporary. Through the foundational lens of Aristotle ' s Rhetoric, students will study and analyze documents, speeches, and protest-actions of such movements as the English Civil War, the American Revolution, American Abolition, American and British Suffrage, the Civil Rights movement, the gay rights movement, the # metoo movement, Black Lives Matter, and contemporary political debate. Students will craft their own persuasive arguments regarding the future of rhetorical strategies in social justice movements, with particular focus on the impact of social media and advances in AI technology. Students will investigate and answer the question: how can we, as a society, move towards greater social justice through rhetorical actions in |
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ethically-sound ways? |
3.00 |
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