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
in small classes. 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.
Read here how our instructors make the sections of HON 1010 they teach unique.
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 2024 HON 4950 seminars and Spring 2025 HON 4960 seminars:
HON 4950-001 | Eugenics Past and Present
Dr. Kim Nielsen
CRN 41670 | MW 2:30 pm - 3:50 pm | 3 credit hours | Bowman-Oddy Laboratories 2047
This course provides a historical overview of the ideologies, implementation, and
global spread of eugenics, primarily focusing on the United States but also including
non-U.S. perspectives. We conclude by raising contemporary questions about eugenics,
relating the past to the present. Students are required to engage with course materials
and stay up to date with readings and assignments.
HON 4950-002 | Economics of Crime
Dr. Larry Cook
CRN 64279 | TR 5:30 pm - 6:50 pm | 3 credit hours | University Hall 4170
Study of crime as an economic activity; costs of crime to the community; economic
approach to crime reduction.
HON 4950-003 | Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Medieval Spain
Dr. Kristen Geaman
CRN 64283 | MW 4:00 pm - 5:20 pm | 3 credit hours | Bowman-Oddy Laboratories 2047
Discover the history and culture of medieval Spain through an in-depth look at the
encounters (both positive and negative) of Muslims, Christians, and Jews. Learn about
the influential role of our namesake city, Toledo, Spain, in the formation of Spanish
culture and language. See how the Middle Ages were not so dark after all!
HON 4950-004 | Sports, Politics and Policy
Dr. Jami Taylor
CRN 57431 | TR 11:10 am - 12:30 pm | 3 credit hours | Snyder Memorial 3066
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 4960-001 | Nineteenth-Century Latinx Literature
Dr. Ayendy Jose Bonifacio Peralta
CRN 20039 | MW 12:55 pm - 2:15 pm | 3 credit hours | Memorial Field House 1050
This course explores the rich literary and cultural production of Latino communities
in the 19th century United States. We will delve into foundational concepts in Latinx
studies, examining literature and cultural expressions from writers living in the
U.S. during and after the Latin-American wars for independence. Topics include exile,
race, gender, and colonial legacies, with a focus on the Southwest and Caribbean and
their ties to Spanish colonization and U.S. imperialism. Through primary sources and
scholarly sources, we will analyze themes such as bilingualism, identity formation,
and the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality. The course emphasizes critical
thinking and writing about various Latinx experiences, including Indigenous and Afro-Latinx
perspectives, while exploring concepts of community, aesthetics, and decoloniality.
HON 4960-002 | Africa Since 1800
Dr. Shingi Mavima
CRN 25876 | TR 2:30 pm - 3:50 pm | 3 credit hours | Gillham Hall 2300
The course focuses on important political and socio-cultural dynamics across the African
continent, beginning with the period immediately preceding the colonization of the
continent/immediately following the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Subjects include the
Scramble for Africa, African resistance and nationalism, and independent African political,
cultural, and economic systems.
HON 4960-003 | Science and Society
Dr. Madeline Muntersbjorn
CRN 27500 | TR 12:55 pm - 2:15 pm | 3 credit hours | Memorial Field House 2620
Science and technology have an extraordinary influence on society. But what is science?
Can we use science to develop technology that will nurture human communities rather
than hasten our demise? Whether a particular scientific practice benefits society
is not, itself, a scientific question. Ethical, political, and historical considerations
surround experimental standards and sustainable development. Students in this course
consider challenging contemporary issues surrounding climate change, health care,
agriculture, and urban development. Questions raised include, how do theoretical sciences
inform actual practices? Is anyone a detached observer? What roles should science
play in our future lives?
HON 4960-004 | Gender Beyond the Binary
Dr. Sharon Barnes
CRN 22396 | T 4:00 pm - 6:45 pm | 3 credit hours | University Hall 4280
This course is a multi-disciplinary, intersectional exploration of the experience of and analytical thought about gender that challenges long-held binary, biologically-based notions of what gender is and how it works. The course will pay special attention to contemporary theory and experience of gender as a spectrum, but will also attend to historical challenges to the gender binary as well as binary gender's role in colonial and sex/gender oppression.