Honors Courses (Fall 2010)

FALL 2010 COURSES                                                                     

PFORZHEIMERHONORSCOLLEGE, PLEASANTVILLE CAMPUS

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 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 course carries Honors 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.

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

Prerequisite: None

Honors LAW 101, 3 credits, CRN 70007

Fulfills: Inquiry and Exploration for Dyson students; required course for Lubin students

Day: M, W 8:30 – 10:00 am, 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.

ECO 222    ECONOMIC HISTORY OF THE U.S., 3 credits, CRN 73266

Fulfills: AOK 2 

Day: M 10:10 – 11:05 am, W 10:10 – 12:10 am, Joseph Morreale (Dr. Morreale is former Provost of Pace University)

Course description: How did the US develop from colony to super power? What were the economic and political forces that led to the rise of the U.S.? In all of this, great leaders emerged in the economic and political arenas (e.g., Alexander Hamilton, F.D.R., Andrew Carnegie and J.D. Rockefeller). What was the interplay between ethics, law, and economics in their leadership styles and decisions, and how did these factors effect U.S. economic history? 

Learning Community description: In a perfect world, Law and Ethics would coincide. Economics would play a decisive role in tandem with the legal and the ethical. Sometimes, however, what is legal may not be ethical and what is ethical may not be legal. What is economically advantageous may not be legal or ethical. This learning community addresses the relationship between law, ethics, and economics. Against a background of facts and history, the course raises the questions: Is it right? Is it legal? How do economic factors influence both the ethical and legal? 

LEARNING COMMUNITY: THE PERSON, 6 credits total

Prerequisite: None

PHI 110    INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY, 3 credits, CRN 71909

Fulfills: AOK 2 or 5

Day: T 2:30-3:25 pm, R 2:30-4:30 pm, Lawrence Hundersmarck

Course description: An examination of some of the major philosophical problems, and an introduction to some of the great figures in the history of philosophy. The course focuses 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 111    INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY, 3 credits, CRN 71912

Fulfills: AOK 5

Day: M, T, R  1:25-2:20 pm, Robert Keegan.

Course description: An introduction to the science and profession of psychology including coverage of 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.

NEW   LEARNING COMMUNITY:  INT 197 TOPIC:   BAROQUE BRAVURA (1600-1700): PAINTING LESSONS FROM THE MASTERS,3 credits, CRN 73268

Prerequisite: None

(This course includes elements of ART 211 BAROQUE ART and ART 145 PAINTING I)

Fulfills: AOK 4

Day: M 2:30-5:35, Kate Marohn (Studio Art) and Kim de Beaumont   (Art History)

Course description: This course combines a study of the history of 17th-century European painting with work in the art studio where students learn to paint in the manner of the Baroque artists they have studied. Students are exposed to the appreciation and practice of great paintings.

CIS 101   INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING, 3 credits, CRN 71905

Prerequisite: None

Fulfills: Foundation requirement

Day:   R 9:05-11:05 and one hour online, Susan Merritt (Dr. Merritt is the former Dean of the Seidenburg School of Computer Science and Information Systems.)

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

CIS 102W  WEB DESIGN FOR NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, 3 credits, CRN 73269

Prerequisites: None

Fulfills: AOK 1

Day: M 3:35-5:35 and one hour online, Jonathan Hill

Course description: This is a discipline-based course that offers an exciting and new learning experience for students in implementing and enhancing actual Web Sites that benefit local non-profit agencies. The students are introduced in class to the methods of designing Web Sites in a non-profit paradigm and are involved in developing, implementing, and enhancing sites in the field, working in teams that include clientele of the agencies.

COM 214   INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS, credits, CRN 73109

Prerequisite: None

Fulfills: Inquiry and Exploration

Day: T 9:05-12:10, Diane Cypkin

Course description: Have you ever wondered why some relationships work while others do not?  It is all about communication. This course examines how “good” communication can easily connect us to one another. Current theories and scholarship in this field are analyzed. Incorporating experiential learning, students participate in “real world” investigations and observe the “techniques” of others. Communication and social relationships (dating and marriage), as well as communication and professional relationships (workplace connections) receive special attention. This course provides students with the knowledge needed to make all their relationships successful ones.

ENG 120   CRITICAL WRITING, 4 credits, CRN 70951

Prerequisite: None

Fee: $20

Fulfills: Foundation requirement

Day:   T, R 11:15-1:15 pm, Zachery Snider

Course description: This course emphasizes the development of argument and analysis as students work with a variety of literary and nonfiction texts. Students learn more 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.

ENG 201   WRITING IN THE DISCIPLINES, 3 credits, CRN 70955

Prerequisite: ENG 120 and upper sophomore standing (completion of 45 college credits)

Fee: $20

Fulfills: Foundation requirement for students in their second semester sophomore or junior year.

Day:   W 9:05-12:10, Linda Anstendig

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

HIS 264    HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY, 1900-PRESENT, 3 credits, CRN 73102

Prerequisite: None

Fulfills: AOK 2

Day: R 1:25-4:30 pm, Durahn Taylor

Course description: This course traces the development of the presidency of the United States, from the era of William McKinley to that of Barack Obama. In addition to analyzing leadership roles and achievements, this course addresses how the presidential office has been shaped by a number of factors. These include: the personal strengths and weaknesses of each president, the public’s changing expectation of what the president’s role should be, the economic, military, and cultural development of the nation itself over the decades, and the impact of international events on the life of the nation.

HW 297A    YOGA, PILATES, AND YOUR BODY, 3 credits, CRN 73196

Prerequisite: None

Fulfills: Inquiry and Exploration

Day:   M 9:05-12:10, Laurice Nemetz

Course description: To fully explore health and wellness concepts, this course has both experiential and lecture components. In the studio, students experiment with several forms of exercise, including yoga and Pilates, and learn therapeutic movement concepts from the field of dance/movement therapy. In the classroom, the history, benefits, and contraindications of these disciplines are explored. Students study basic anatomy and its relationship to movement. Video footage of the history and practice of the forms of exercise studied is included.

NEW    PSY 230   LEADING EDGE PSYCHOLOGY: READINGS IN PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, 3 credits, CRN 73371

Prerequisites: None

Fulfills: AOK 5

Day: T 12:20-1:15, R 11:15-1:15 pm, Ross Robak (Dr. Robak is Chair of the Psychology Department)

Course Description: Contemporary psychology emphasizes the positive and creative aspects of human nature and seeks to answer many age-old questions about human nature. This course explores the latest research and its applications in practice. Topics covered include: happiness and its contagious nature, loneliness, the causes of   “good and evil” behaviors, the importance of non-verbal clues to understanding others, irrational decision making, and new models of psychological needs. Although this course is grounded in scientific psychology, it integrates study in neuroscience, media and persuasion, and behavioral economics. The course is structured around reading and reporting of recent cutting-edge books and articles in these fields.  The readings are broad-based and a specific background in psychology is not required.

SOC 209    RACE RELATIONS, 3 credits, CRN 73279

Prerequisites:  None

Fulfills: AOK 5, Writing Enhanced

Evening: T 6:00-8:45 pm, Marie Werner

Course description:   This course analyzes the social, political, economic, and cultural construction of racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Individual and institutionalized patterns of prejudice and discrimination are addressed and attempts to redress inequities in a variety of systems are discussed. The general manner by which race, ethnicity, gender, and class interact and play out in relationships within families and between individuals is explored. Special attention is given to a select number of key "minority" groups in the United States.

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

Prerequisite: First-year student

Required of all first-year students

Day: F   10:10-12:10 pm, Christopher Walther, Charlene Hoegler, Daniel Botting

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 Honors, a student may select a topic for guided research that is not included in the usual course offerings. The student meets regularly with the professor to review progress. To receive Honors 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 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 credit, an additional paper (10-20 pages), project, or presentation is required. Written approval of the appropriate professor and the Director of Honors are necessary. Depending upon the number of credits completed prior to entering the Honors College, Honors students are limited to either one or two Honors options; other Honors course requirements must be completed in Honors courses.

The Business Honors 495 course for seniors may also count as an Honors College course if you present the results of your research at the Honors Independent Research Conference.