Honors Courses (Fall 2012)

Honors courses are designed to be innovative and challenging. They may be interdisciplinary, focus on great works and ideas, cover issues of current interest, or present a topic in depth with a faculty member who has expertise in that subject. Honors courses are open only to students in the Pforzheimer Honors College. Students who are not in the Honors College may be permitted to register for an Honors College course with written permission from the Director of the Honors College, contingent upon the student’s GPA and space available in the course. Each Honors College course carries Honors College credit which will appear on the student’s transcript and will count toward completing the requirements of the Honors College. For additional information, contact Dr. Janetta Rebold Benton, Director, Pforzheimer Honors College, Mortola Library, third floor, Pleasantville campus, at (914) 773-3848 or JBenton@pace.edu.

LEARNING COMMUNITY: THE PERSON, 7 credits total

Prerequisite: None

PHI 110   INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY, 3 credits, crn 71511

Fulfills: AOK 2 or 5
Day: T 2:30-3:25pm, R 2:30-4:30pm, Lawrence Hundersmarck

Course description: This course offers an examination of some of the major philosophical problems and an introduction to some of the great figures in the history of philosophy. Focus is on questions concerning the sources of knowledge, the meaning of moral and other value judgments, the nature of the human mind, the justifications for political authority, and the intellectual presuppositions of religious belief.

PSY 112   INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY, 4 credits, crn 72646

Fulfills: AOK 5
Day: M 1:25-3:25pm, T and R 1:25-2:20pm, Robert Keegan.

Course description: This course provides an introduction to the science and profession of psychology, including research, human development, personality testing and assessment, abnormal psychology, treatment of psychopathology, health and wellness, social cognition, and social influence.

Learning Community description: This course examines the most influential ideas regarding what it means to be human that have emerged from the traditions of religion, psychology, and philosophy.

LEARNING COMMUNITY: MANAGING LEGAL AND ETHICAL BUSINESS CHALLENGES, 6 credits total

Prerequisite: None

Honors LAW 101, 3 credits, crn 70017

Fulfills: Inquiry and Exploration; Lubin core
Day: M 10:10am-12:10pm, W 11:15am-12:10pm, Peter M. Edelstein

Course description: You cannot succeed unless you know the rules. This course introduces the basics of law that affect all careers. Coverage of topics is very broad and immediately relevant. Subjects include contracts, torts, crimes, and more.

PHI 121  ETHICS IN THE WORKPLACE, 3 credits, crn 72569

Not open to students who have taken PHI 115, except by permission of the Department

Fulfills: AOK 5
Day: M 9:05-10:00am, W 9:05-11:05am, LenMitchell

Course description: This course offers a survey of some of the key issues that face corporate stakeholders--from shareholders to the general public. Two classical theories of ethics, Utilitarianism and Deontological ethical theory, and the relationship between justice and the market system are studied. The following are examined: ethical issues involving the relationship between the employee and the company, such as whistle-blowing; discrimination; affirmative action; sexual harassment; issues involving the consumer and employee protection, such as product and occupational safety; and finally issues involving the relationship between the corporation and society, such as corporate responsibility.

Learning Community description: This courseconsiders how the classical tradition in philosophical ethics and Anglo-American common law have developed to address business issues, and whether our legal system now fosters a marketplace, as well as a workplace, that is both legal and ethical. Students apply principles of ethics and law to aspects of contemporary commerce. 

LEARNING COMMUNITY: INT 197 N   TOPIC: BAROQUE BRAVURA (1600-1700): PAINTING LESSONS FROM THE MASTERS, 3 credits total, crn 73352

Prerequisite: None
Fulfills: AOK 4
Day: W 1:25-4:25pm, Kim de Beaumont (Art History), Kate Marohn (Studio Art)

Course description: This course combines the study of the history of 17^th-century European painting (ART 211 BAROQUE ART) with work in the studio (ART 145  PAINTING I) where students learn to paint in the manner of the Baroque artists they are studying.  Students have an opportunity to explore, in their own painting, the effects of color, light, and atmosphere using the techniques of masters such as Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Rubens, Velasquez, and others.

LEARNING COMMUNITY: INT 198G TOPIC: NATURE EXPOSED: EXPLORING NATURE THROUGH THE LENS, 3 credits total, crn _____

Prerequisite: None
Fulfills: AOK 4
M 9:05-12:10pm, Angelo Spillo (Director of Pace’s Environmental Center), Carla Shapiro (Photography)

Course description: This course combines elements of ART 153 INTRODUCTION TO PHOTOGRAPHY and ENV 130 NATURALISTS. Students are challenged to investigate nature beyond the surface in order to understand how natural systems work in harmony. Students record their interpretations through the lens of a camera, creating a convergence of nature and photographic technology. Field study combined with essays and other readings expose students to the beautiful simplicities as well as the intricacies of the plant and animal world. Correlations are made between human impact and current environmental issues. Students must have use of a 35-MM film camera with manual focus and manual exposure.

LEARNING COMMUNITY:  BUILDING AND SUSTAINING BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH COMMUNICATION, 6 credits total

ENG 201  WRITING IN THE DISCIPLINES, 3 credits, crn  72497                                                                                      

Prerequisite: ENG 120 and sophomore standing
Fee: $20
Fulfills: Foundation requirement
Day:  M 11:15am-12:10pm, W10:10am-12:10pm,Linda Anstendig,

Course description:  This course focuses on writing effective essays and research papers in disciplinary modes and in students’ fields of interest. Included are interviews, analysis of journal articles, and appropriate documentation style formats. Students work collaboratively, approaching issues from the perspective of their chosen majors.

MAR 250   PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING, 3 credits, crn 72496

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing
Fulfills:  Inquiry and Exploration; Lubin core
Day: M 9:05-11:05am, W 9:05-10:10am, Karen Berger

Course description:  Through an introduction to the complex and dynamic field of marketing and its systems, this course examines marketing's place in the firm and in society. Considered and analyzed are marketing research and strategies for product development, pricing, physical distribution, and promotion, including personal selling, advertising, sales promotion, and public relations.

Learning Community description:  Communication skills are essential to creating customer relationships and value. Using case studies, students analyze current marketing practices and related issues. Students learn how to develop a marketing plan using research and writing skills and undertake other forms of business communication.

CIS 101   INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING, 3 credits, crn 71845

Prerequisite: None
Fulfills: Foundation requirement
Day:  M 10:10am-12:10pm, and one hour online, Sylvester Tuohy  

Course description:  This course provides guided, hands-on exercises with a variety of computer-based tools through two hours of structured computer lab. Students are introduced to new technologies and complete web-based projects in problem solving, programming, and spreadsheets. The lecture, discussion, and online component of this course promote understanding of the fundamental principles of information technology, preparing students for the systems and tools of the future.

CIS 102Q   PROBLEM SOLVING USING LEGO ROBOTICS, 3 credits, crn 71093

Prerequisite: None
Fulfills: AOK 1
Day:  R 1:25-3:25 pm, and one hour online,  professor  to be announced

Course description: This course introduces students to basic problem solving and project management techniques which can be applied to building, programming, and managing the creation of robots using the LEGO Mindstorms Robotics system. Students spend a significant amount of time outside the classroom in activities designed to share the robotics skills they have learned with younger students to excite them about studying science and technology.

CRJ 305  CRIMINAL LAW,3 credits, crn 73531

Prerequisite: None
Fulfills: Inquiry and Exploration
Day:  W 9:05-11:50am, MaryEllen Martirano

Course description:This course provides an introduction to American criminal law through discussion of statutory law, common law, and case law regarding criminal behavior. The first part of the course covers general principles that apply to all criminal law including the nature, origins, structure, and purposes of criminal law, constitutional limits, principles of liability, the doctrines of complicity and inchoate crimes, and the defenses of justification and excuse. The second part of the course covers elements of major crimes against persons, property, public order, morals, and crimes against the state. 

ENG 120   CRITICAL WRITING, 4 credits, crn 70788

Prerequisite: None
Fee: $20
Fulfills: Foundation requirement
Day: T, R  9:05-11:05am, Maude Meisel

Course description: This course emphasizes the development of argument and analysis as students work with a variety of literary and nonfiction texts. Students learn advanced research skills including methods of documentation, the use of library and internet resources, and the integration of primary and secondary sources into their own essays.

HIS131   THE ASIAN WORLD: AN HISTORICAL SURVEY, 3 credits, crn 73509

Prerequisite: None
Fulfills: AOK 3
Evening: W 6:00-8:45pm, Ron Frank

Course description: This course offers a survey of Asian history with emphasis on the traditional Asian world order and modern transformations of Asian societies under the impact of Western cultures.

NEW COURSE!  NUR  273A   PERSPECTIVES ON PREMATURE BIRTH, 3 credits,  crn  73539

Prerequisite: None
Fulfills:Inquiry and exploration
Day:  M 4:35-7:30pm, Nancy Fazio

Course Description:This coursefocuses on the theoretical foundations for a holistic approach to risk assessment and health promotion for the individual, family, and community who are at-risk for a preterm birth.  Emphasis is on assessment of the at-risk family, and the detection and prevention of preterm birth, and the antepartal, intrapartal, and postpartal woman who is delivering a preterm infant.  Focus is placed on public awareness strategies that can be used to reduce the incidence, and increase the awareness, of preterm birth including community educational programs and innovative local service programs. 

NEW COURSE!  PSY  276  THE PSYCHOLOGY OF INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS,  3 credits, crn 73543

Prerequisite: None
Fulfills: Inquiry and Exploration
Day:  T 11:15am-12:10pm, R 11:15am-1:15pm, Ross Robak

Course description: This course examines the most recent important empirical research in the field of personal relationships, focusing on what Psychology has learned about a very important part of everyday human functioning. A number of different topics are addressed, including: (1) identifying the goals and subject matter of the most recent psychological findings in the field; (2) reviewing and critically examining theoretical perspectives and (most importantly) empirical findings in specific areas including marriage, happiness, and fulfillment in relationships; (3) examining how these theories and findings can be applied to everyday life.

UNV 101   FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR: INTRODUCTION TO UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY, 1 credit, 3 sections, crn 70834, 71088, 71315

Prerequisite: First-year student
Required of all first-year students
Day: F 10:10am-12:10pm, Christopher Walther, Charlene Hoegler, Joseph Pastore

HONORS INDEPENDENT RESEARCH COURSES, 3 credits

Prerequisite: Junior or Senior standing, 3.3 GPA minimum

With the written approval of the appropriate professor, the department chairperson, and the Director of the Honors College, a student may select a topic that is not included in the usual course offerings for guided research. The student meets regularly with the professor to review progress. To receive Honors College credit, the results of this independent research must be presented at the Honors Independent Research Conference, held every year at the end of April or beginning of May.

Students may have their papers published in Transactions, the scholarly journal of the Dyson Society of Fellows, and also made available through Pace University’s Digital Commons.

HONORS OPTIONS COURSES, 3 credits

Prerequisite: None

The Honors Option is designed for Honors-level work in a non-Honors course. To receive Honors College credit, an additional paper (10-20 pages), project, or presentation is required. Written approval from the appropriate professor and the Director of the Honors College are necessary. Honors students are limited to two Honors Options; other Honors course requirements must be completed in Honors courses.