Course Offerings
Honors core classes provide our high-ability students a common liberal arts experience,
bringing together a multitude of majors and perspectives to share meaningful ideas.
Taught by dynamic faculty, our "HON" courses emphasize discussion and collaboration
to analyze and solve real-life problems. These classes are also designed to satisfy
core requirements and move students closer to graduation while polishing professional
skills.
Our "HON" courses interface seamlessly with an enhanced major experience in any program
of study on campus - a major experience that connects students with faculty mentors
as well as research opportunities and internships in their field. For instructions on searching for Honors sections of classes by term, click here.
Honors Course Descriptions
Read below descriptions of each of our core courses and click here for a list of Fall 2024 HON 4950 seminars and Spring 2025 HON 4960 seminars.
HON 1010: Ideas & Society
Core Humanities
Through a process of critical examination, analytical thought, and intellectual exchange, students engage in study of ideas in society during different time periods and across different cultural contexts as well as intellectual disciplines. Drawing upon primary and secondary sources using multiple humanities discourses, students analyze and evaluate and respond to diverse populations and perspectives. From this synthesis, students gain ability to apply understanding of ideas in contemporary society as well as ideas in their fields of study.
HON 1020: Innovation & Society
Core Humanities
In this interdisciplinary course, students will analyze and critique various processes
of innovation in society with an emphasis on its impact on human society. Students
will gain the ability to evaluate course concepts against competing approaches and
solutions in society, as well as in their own fields of study.
HON 1010 is not a pre-requisite for HON 1020.
HON 2010: Multicultural Toledo
Core Social Science & Multicultural U.S. Diversity
Multicultural Toledo is an interdisciplinary investigation into the multicultural, historical, and socio-economic development of the greater Toledo area and the ways that different community groups respond to, and shape, this transformation. Topics may include: ethnicity, race, gender, gender orientation, socioeconomic class, religion, national origin, dis/ability, and age within the Toledo community. The course features multiple site visits to community organizations.
HON 2020: Multicultural Literatures - North American Experience
Core Multicultural U.S. Diversity & humanities & WAC
This reading, writing, and discussion course examines selected literatures of the North American experience: for example, texts by African American, Arab American, Asian American, Hispanic, or Native American authors. Through fiction, non-fiction, drama, and poetry from multiple American cultures, students will gain a greater awareness of the diverse cultural practices, beliefs, and societal contributions of North Americans. Topics may include race, ethnicity, identity, gender, and class.
HON 2030: Multicultural Literatures - Non-European World
Core Multicultural Non-Western Diversity & humanities & WAC
This reading, writing, and discussion course examines selected non-European literatures. Through fiction, history, current commentaries, and other documents created by the people living in the locales examined, students will gain an awareness of diverse world cultures, their histories, current situations, practices, beliefs, and global significance in the world. The course may contain segments on selections from China and Japan, India, Southeast Asia, Africa, Central America, South America, and/or Polynesia.
HON 3010: Community Engagement
This research intensive, interdisciplinary course is designed to provide students
with experience in effective community engagement through work on a local issue or
problem in a mentored, multidisciplinary team. Class will focus on developing practical
skills, identifying best practices, and exploring potential solutions for complex
problems. The course culminates in a grant proposal that can be adopted or adapted
by our community partners. Class time consists of short instructional presentations,
group work, and class discussions.
Students must take an HON multicultural course (i.e., HON 2010, HON 2020, or HON 2030)
as a pre-requisite before being able to register for HON 3010.
HON 4950/4960: Honors Seminars
These interdisciplinary seminars are organized around a variety of subjects and intellectual
concerns.
A unique slate of Honors seminars is offered each Fall and Spring, with occasional
offerings during intersession terms. The content of these courses is quite often interdisciplinary
and is shaped by the research interests of the specialists from fields across campus
who teach them.
See below for a list of Fall 2025 HON 4950 seminars and Spring 2026 HON 4960 seminars:
HON 4950-001 | Dimensions of Sustainability
Dr. David Krantz
CRN 46768 | MW 2:30 p.m. - 3:50 p.m. | 3 credit hours | Bowman-Oddy Laboratories 1014
"Dimensions of Sustainability" investigates the interactions of human activities with
the natural function of the physical and biological systems of Earth. Readings and
discussions will evaluate individual issues associated with sustainability, and the
ethical responsibility to future generations for stewardship of the global ecosystem
and human social structure.
HON 4950-002 | U.S. Disability History
Dr. Kim Nielsen
CRN 46798 | MW 9:35 a.m. - 10:55 a.m. | 3 credit hours | Memorial Field House 1220
This course provides a historical overview of the lived experiences of people defined
as disabled and changing historical definitions of disability in the region that became
the United States of America. We will consider how major historical forces such as
capitalism, industrialization, colonialism, and democratic ideals have impacted and
been shaped by people with disabilities.
HON 4950-003 | Folklore
Dr. Daniel Compora
CRN 46799 | MW 11:10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | 3 credit hours | Memorial Field House 1100
A survey of the field of folklore with an emphasis on folk narrative, folk music,
and material culture in America.
HON 4950-004 | Sports, Politics, and Policy
Dr. Jami Taylor
CRN 46803 | TR 2:30 p.m. - 3:50 p.m. | 3 credit hours | Gillham Hall 2300
This course explores the intersection of sports with politics and policymaking. Topics
covered include sports and nationalism, sports and international diplomacy, globalization
and sports, economic development and sport stadiums, antitrust law, Title IX and women's
athletics, and athletes and political advocacy.
HON 4950-005 | American Foreign Policy
Dr. Michael Voss
CRN 46837 | TR 9:35 a.m. - 10:55 a.m. | 3 credit hours | Memorial Field House 2240
An examination of the American foreign policy-making process as well as an analysis of the major problems facing the United States in its interaction with the international environment.
HON 4960-001 | Art and Disease
Dr. Mysoon Rizk
CRN 16550 | R 1:30 p.m. - 4:10 p.m. | 3 credit hours | Center for Visual Arts 0090
This WAC course considers how objects of material culture (film, photography, painting,
sculpture, et cetera) have intersected with disease while studying disease-related texts and histories
of contagion (e.g., AIDS). Web-assisted course.
HON 4960-002 | Hitler and Nazi Germany
Dr. Barry Jackisch
CRN 16551 | MW 12:55 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | 3 credit hours | Health and Human Services 2303
This course will examine one of the darkest chapters in human history. Adolf Hitler
and his Nazi party created a terrible, inhumane dictatorship that eventually led to
the deaths of millions of people. There are many popular myths, misperceptions, and
misunderstandings about Hitler as an individual and this era in its entirety. This
course is designed to uncover the real origins of the Hitler movement, its seizure
of power, its relationship with the German people, and its central role in unleashing
the horrors of the Holocaust and World War Two. We will study this period with a variety
of primary and secondary sources and media to gain a better understanding of the Third
Reich and its place in modern history.
HON 4960-003 | Presidency
Dr. Jeffrey Broxmeyer
CRN 16553 | MW 2:30 p.m. - 3:50 p.m. | 3 credit hours | Snyder Memorial 3066
Presidents enjoy special prominence in the American political system. However, they
are strongly influenced by their interactions with other political institutions, such
as Congress, courts, the bureaucracy, and political parties. This course examines
the presidency’s original design and how the office has developed over time. We also
investigate contemporary cases and controversies in presidential power.
HON 4960-004 | Law, Policy, and the Politics of Sexuality
Dr. Jami Taylor
CRN 16555 | TR 11:10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | 3 credit hours | Gillham Hall 5100
This course explores the public policies that affect the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender communities in the United States and in other countries. It examines the
factors that affect policymaking in this area.
HON 4960-005 | American Economic History
Dr. Oleg Smirnov
CRN 16646 | MW 9:35 a.m. - 10:55 a.m. | 3 credit hours | University Hall 4150
Exploration of economic growth in America from pre-Columbian times to the present day. Analysis of economic institutions, technological change, industrialization, and standards of living.