Upper-Level Courses
Summer 1 2009 - Upper-Level BHP and Single-Discipline Honors Course Offerings
BHP 231 Honors Seminar: Natural Adventures: Journeys in American Ecology and History
3 credits
Human history is shaped by the natural environment and the natural environment is, in turn, altered by human history. This semester, we will explore how these two seemingly disparate factors influence each other in the United States (and the world) using questions and approaches from both historiography and science. We will contemplate questions such as: What is nature? (Who gets to decide throughout history?) What is the relationship of humans to nature, and how has the answer changed over time? What roles have science and technology played in this process? How do answers to these questions fit into American history?
Instructors: Dr. Brooke Hunter and Dr. Laura Hyatt
Period: Tues./Thurs. 9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon
Substitution: Science Core OR History Major/Minor
Fall 2009 - Upper-Level BHP and Single-Discipline Honors Course Offerings
BHP-206 Honors Seminar: Politics and Literary Form: Global Digital Postmodernity
3 credits
Literary texts are studied in the context of selected political periods and ideologies. In this iteration of the course, students will examine the ways in which digital postmodernity has altered pre-digital literary forms and spawned emerging genres not possible in the preceding ages of oral and print literature. Students will be asked to explore and exploit the latest communication technologies and effectively make use of Rider's extensive online resources. Student projects and presentations will be digital in form.
Instructors: Dr. Barry Janes and Prof. Timothy McGee
Period: J (M/W 2:50-4:20)
Substitution: Social Science Core OR Literature Core
BHP-211 Honors Seminar: Theories of Justice and the American Common Law
3 credits
This course will examine some of the ‘perennial’ theories of justice, both classical and modern, that have left their marks on the evolution of the Western concepts of justice. Among these will be the conservative tradition (starting with the Protagoras), the ‘natural rights’ tradition (starting with the Roman jurists), Utilitarianism (David Hume and Jeremy Bentham), and the theory of distributive justice (John Rawls). The practical implications of such theories will be explored through the analysis of their application by American courts in their published opinions. In addition to studying actual cases, students will adjudicate theoretical cases, both hypothetical and taken from contemporary realities.
Instructors: Dr. James Castagnera and Dr. Jonathan Mendilow
Period: TH (6:00-9:00 p.m.)
Substitution: Social Science Core OR American Studies Major/Minor OR Law and Justice Minor
BHP-309 Honors Seminar: Genetic Engineering and the Philosophy of Science
3 credits
This interdisciplinary course in molecular biology and philosophy will integrate the basics of molecular biology with the philosophy of science. It will explore the nature of the relationships between atoms, molecules, DNA, proteins, cells and genetic engineering. Molecular biology will be used as the content to explore such philosophic questions as: What is the nature of scientific methodology? What is the nature of scientific observation and explanation? What is the nature of scientific laws and theories? It will also discuss the scientific and ethical implications of genetic engineering. No prior background in genetics or cell biology is required.
Instructors: Dr. Kelly Bidle and other professor to be announced
Period: W (6:30-9:30 p.m.) (WCC)
Substitution: Science Core OR Philosophy Core
BHP-322 Honors Seminar: The Guilty and the Innocent: Assessing Blame and Assigning Punishment in Literature and Law
3 credits
Through the study of social theory and research, legal cases, fiction, non-fiction, film, and poetry, this course will examine theories of criminal motivation and behavior, determination of blame, and assignment of appropriate punishment. Changes in legal and cultural understandings of individual and social responsibility for criminality, the nature, purpose, and effects of punishment, and the impact of race, class and gender on defining crime and determining guilt or innocence will be explored.
Instructors: Dr. Ava Baron and Dr. Anne Salvatore
Period: D (T/TH 9:45-11:15)
Substitution: Literature Core OR Social Science Core OR Sociology Major OR Law and Justice Minor
Spring 2010 - Upper-Level BHP and Single-Discipline Honors Course Offerings
BHP-232 Honors Seminar: Issues at the New Jersey Shoreline: Science and Politics
3 credits
This course is designed to acquaint the student with the scientific basis for evaluation of coastal problems and the political realities of funding and policy, focusing on the New Jersey Shoreline. Course topics will include consideration of waste disposal in ocean systems, depletion of ocean resources, physical and biological ramifications of human activities on the environment, and the political problems in dealing with mitigation of environmental stresses.
Instructors: Dr. Ben Dworkin and Dr. Paul Jivoff
Period: TH (2:20-5:20)
Substitution: Science Core OR Social Science Core
BHP-307 Honors Seminar: The Presence of Mind: Human Creativity and Artificial Intelligence
3 credits
What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)? In what ways can computers “think”? How is their “thinking” similar to and different from that of humans? Through readings, lectures, discussions, and creative projects, students will investigate evidence of intelligence in various disciplines including music composition, art, and human and non-human systems. We will examine predictions for AI that date back to the 1930s and ponder likely developments in this area in the 21st century. No prior experience with computers or music is required.
Instructors: Dr. William Amadio and Dr. Joel Phillips
Period: G (M/W 1:10-2:40)
Substitution: Fine Arts Core
BHP-312 Honors Seminar: Musical Expression and Political Culture
3 credits
This interdisciplinary course examines the relationships between political culture (e.g., enlightened reform, revolution, or reaction) and musical discourse in selected periods and movements (e.g., Viennese classicism, romanticism, and expressionism). Major emphasis will be placed upon how composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mahler and Schoenberg exploited and developed musical forms, and chose and set texts to respond to the imperatives of their political and cultural environments. Students will come to understand how these composers were instrumental in shaping and organizing the sensibilities and tastes of their own and future generations, including our own.
Instructors: Prof. Lindsey Christiansen and Dr. Barry Seldes
Period: W (6:30-9:30 p.m.) (WCC)
Substitution: Fine Arts Core OR Social Science Core
BHP-315 Honors Seminar: 20th Century European Ideologies
3 credits
This course covers the origins and development of 20th-century European ideologies in a comparative perspective. Topics include the condition of European political culture at the turn of both centuries (i.e., 1900 and 2000), methods of spreading Nationalism and national culture, the First World War and the emergence of Fascism and Communism, the origins and consequences of the Socialist and Capitalist systems, and the ideology of Conservatism/Liberalism. We will also reflect upon the condition of European political culture in our day.
Instructors: Dr. Barbara Franz and Dr. Lucien Frary
Period: K (T/TH 3:30-5:00)
Substitution: Social Science Core OR History Major/Minor
