Course schedules for January, Spring, and Summer '22 are now live! That means that we get to take a look at some of the exciting opportunities available to Honors students as registration (Nov. 8 - Nov. 19) approaches.
Note: Current Honors students should already have received an email with upcoming course offerings. If you did not receive the email, check with your Honors advisor.
First-Year Students
- Start adding courses and sections to your plan on Whitworth’s Self-Service platform
- Make sure to add one of the five SC-126H sections.
- Meet with your advisor(s) before your registration date. Bring your tentative schedule and any questions or concerns you have.
- Be ready to register through Self-Service as soon as you’re able!
Courses do fill up, so it’s good to have a backup plan, but don’t worry too much if you don’t get in to a particular class right away–spots will often open up for waitlisted students, and you’ll be able to look at your other options in the meantime. If you’re really worried about making it into a particular class, bring that up with your advisor. They can help you figure out your options and ease some of that anxiety.
Registration can be an exciting time, as you start to visualize and plan out your next semester, but it can be stressful, too, especially for students in demanding programs. Remember that your advisor is there to help you navigate the process–it’s okay if you don’t quite have it all figured out on your own. Other students and professors in your departments are great resources, too, and most of them would be more than happy to help.
Honors Courses
Jan Term 2022
AR 165H History of Artists Books
Dr. Amanda Clark – Library Classroom – M-F 1 PM-4 PM
Students of all levels will study and be exposed to numerous examples of artists’ books — books in art form, or, art in the form of the book — specifically those made by women artists. This course will include traditional classroom-time learning about the history, development, and cultural context of women’s artists’ books. The course will also include lab time, hands-on experiences, guest lectures, and film viewing.
BI 114H Resurrection Science
Dr. Aaron Putzke – ROB 229, M-F 9 AM-12 PM
This course will cover basic topics such as: how the genome (DNA) instructs cells to become a living organism, genome editing (mutations), de-extinction (bringing back extinct species), as well as the critical connection between our DNA and our health. We will also examine the important nature of communicating science in a digital world full of a wide variety of audiences. An important aspect of the course will address the ethical decisions we face regarding the use of genome editing technologies and how they should be regulated. These decisions will be especially examined within the Christian, faith-based framework from which many students on campus come from. However, we will make sure to take time to ensure that non-Christian viewpoints are heard as well.
MA 256H Honors Elementary Probability and Stats
Dr. Martha Gady – HAWT 112, M-F 8:30 AM-11:30 AM
Using explorative data analysis and R to understand data using descriptive statistics, probability, probability distributions, hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, correlation, and regression.
Off-Campus Trips
- SO-200H in Hawaii
- USCS-119H in Hawaii
- SO-343H: Race Across America
(Registration for off-campus trips happens during the spring of the previous year)
Spring Term 2022
AR-499H-1: Senior Exhibition Project
Lance Sinnema – LIED 102, TH 2:20 PM-3:15 PM
Required of all majors in painting/drawing, printmaking, graphic design, and three dimensional ceramics, sculpture, mixed media) art tracks. Students complete and exhibit original artworks. Review by all faculty.
CH-497H-1: Dissemination of Chem Research
Dr. Deanna Ojennus – HAWT 105, MWF 9:05 AM-10:00 AM
Research performed on campus or off-campus will be shared with others. Students are expected to complete a research paper and give a presentation to a conference audience.
CO-150H-03 and -04: Ancient & Modern Worldviews
Belief Inquiry Group
Multiple instructors – WEYR 107, M, W – 9:05-10:00AM
Section 03 Discussion Group: WEYR 102, F 12:50 PM-1:45 PM
Section 04 Discussion Group: WEYR 102, F 2:45 PM-3:40 PM
CO-250H-15H: Worldview & Role of Reason
Belief Inquiry Group
Multiple instructors – M, W, F, 10:25 AM-11:20 AM
Section 15 Discussion Group: DIX 105B, TH 2:20 PM-3:15 PM
COM-126H-1: Writing for Digital Media
Expression Inquiry Group, Written Comm
Dr. Erica Salkin – LIB 209, TTh 2:20 PM-3:40 PM
Students will explore the research and media theory that covers writing for digital media, then apply those concepts to a weekly online multimedia publication.
COM-245H-1: Applied Speech: Forensics/COM-445H-1: Applied Speech: Forensics
Expression Inquiry Group, Oral Comm
Dr. Mike Ingram – ROB 126, TTh 3:50 PM-5:30 PM
A practicum course for students involved in the intercollegiate forensics program. An in-depth course in advanced public speaking and debating that may be repeated for credit.
CS-378H-1: How to Make Darn-Near Anything
Dr. Pete Tucker – JOHN 308, T 6:30 PM-9:30 PM
Have you ever had a great idea for a product? Have you ever wanted to be part of a startup technology? Students in this course learn the steps and skills needed to design, build, and market a new product based on their own interests. Topics include programming skills, user experience design, testing, marketing, and product promotion.
EL-110H-1: Religion in the Digital Era
Expression Inquiry Group, Written Comm
Dr. Jake Andrews – HAWT 105, MWF 9:05 AM-10:00 AM
In this Writing I honors course, we’ll analyze what it means for religions as old as the written word to interact with an ever-connected, always-on society. Some have said our current moment relies on an “attention-based economy.” That means religious practices and ideas might compete more with Twitter or Netflix or TikTok than they do with other, different religious customs and thoughts. We’re going to try and find ways to discuss these big ideas while developing our skills as writers and communicators.
EL 330H: History of the Book in America before 1900
Dr. Bert Emerson – WEST 100, TTH 2:20 PM-3:40 PM
In this course, we take up the history of the book in colonial America and the United States before 1900. We start with an expansive notion of the history of the book (commensurate with the concerns above), pushing the boundaries of the published codex and into the broadest possible sense of material texts intended for communication. We start with some foundational readings that think through the intersections of the history of the book and broader intersections of media, its circulations, and its representation of images and ideas. We then take up the book in a specific context in three general units: colonial America, the early Republic, and the age of the Industrial book. Each of these windows into history provide a distinctive take on the social and technological issues of their respective moments. Like W.H. Auden’s take that each word, when considered closely reveals a little lyric about itself, I take the book – in the most expansive of senses – to be a coalitional nexus of human intentions. Interdisciplinary in all of its permutations, this course provides a distinctive angle on literary and cultural history.
HN-200H-1: Honors Seminar I
Dr. Bert Emerson – DIX 106, M 1:55 PM-2:50 PM
This honors seminar will enable students to develop career and academic goals and lay out a path for achieving these goals. Students will interview two mentors in their chosen field, complete an aspiration application (for a graduate program, scholarship or fellowship), and create a professional online portfolio.
If you have a time conflict, contact Dr. Emerson about a potential independent study version.
HN-300H-1: Seminar II: Community Project
Dr. Bob Francis – WEYR 204, W 4:05 PM-5:00 PM
Required seminar project course for all pre-2020 upper-division honors students. Students will learn about collecting data and researching to solve complex problems on campus and in the Spokane community.
If you have a time conflict, contact Dr. Emerson about a potential independent study version.
HS-365WH-1: Evidence Based Health Science
Dr. Matt Silvers – Section 1: WEST 246, MWF 9:05 AM-10:00 AM
Dr. Matt Silvers – Section 2: WEST 246, MWF 10:25 AM-11:20 AM
Dr. Matt Silvers – Section 3: ROB 120, MWF 11:45 AM-12:40 PM
An exploration of research methods, critical appraisal, and the use of evidence to guide practice in a variety of health-related fields. Students will learn to formulate a clear clinical question based on personal area of interest, conduct a relevant literature review, and be able to synthesize the evidence to determine best practice.
PH-255H-1: Faith, Philosophy, and Science
Dr. Nate King – HAWT 101, MWF 1:55 PM-2:50 PM
Are science and religion in conflict? Or is there concord between them? What is the difference between science and non-science, and why does it matter? Does contemporary science rely on philosophical assumptions? If so, what are these assumptions, and in which worldviews can they find a home? What might the history of science teach us about the relationship between science and theology? Do contemporary scientific theories (e.g., evolution) make it irrational to believe in God? Do religious miracle claims conflict with science? Should belief in God be explained away as a trick of the brain? What challenges might contemporary science pose for atheism scientific naturalism? And, how might learning about the structure of scientific theories inform Christian approaches to the problem of religious doubt? The answers to these questions are central to understanding and operating within contemporary Western culture. This course is devoted to addressing them.
PH-319H-1: Ethics Bowl
Dr. Keith Wyma – TBA
This course constitutes the research and practice leading up to the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl, Northwest Regional, in November. It also includes the competition. As a team, students analyze, present on, and argue complex ethical cases. Course can be taken repeatedly for credit.
PY-499H-1: Advanced Senior Thesis
Dr. Patricia Bruininks – DIX 104, W 11:45 AM-12:40 PM
Students will refine their original senior research project for publication in a professional journal or presentation at a regional or national professional conference.
SC-126H-8: Table Top Games
Dr. Erica Salkin and Dr. Dawn Keig – HAWT 107, W 11:45 AM-12:40 PM
From checkers to Monopoly to Go to Catan to Magic, tabletop games have graced family tables all over the world. Winning them requires strategy, skill … and a little luck. In this section, you’ll explore connections between interdisciplinary ideas through the lens of the multifaceted world of tabletop games and game creation.
SC-126H-9: Vocation & Excellence
Dr. Bert Emerson and Dr. Aaron Putzke – WEYR 203, T 2:20 PM-3:15 PM
This section is intended help students prepare for next steps in their academic and vocational journeys. This course provides structured time and practical assignments that enable students to build a strong foundation for pursuing the loftiest pf goals. Guided by life-design principles that have emerged from Stanford’s Design Lab, we complete numerous tasks and activities that engage our worldviews, the values of interdisciplinarity in the context of a liberal arts education, and what those mean for our potential vocational avenues. We likewise begin developing networks beyond our immediate community and seeking viable ways to maximize our educational experiences.
SC-126H-12: Justice & Labor Systems
Dr. Katherine Karr-Cornejo – HAWT 102, W 11:45 AM-12:40 PM
The topic of this section is justice and labor systems. What makes a labor system unjust? Why do societies allow forced labor? How do systems and the perceptions of them change over time? Over the course of our class sessions and through the class assignments, we will explore different forms of forced labor systems from varying disciplinary perspectives with an emphasis justice as a lens to interpret these systems.
SC-126H-17: How to Tell Darn-Near Any Story
Dr. Pete Tucker and Dr. Jessica Clements – LIB 235, M 12:50 PM-2:50 PM
Meet the liberal art of coding. In this “lite” mashup of Pete Tucker’s “How to Create Darn-near Anything” and Jess Clements’s “Digital Storytelling,” you will explore how computer science and writing studies come together, how coding fits in the broader idea of the liberal arts—for creative expression, cultural criticism, and civic awareness. No previous coding or storytelling knowledge required!
SC-126H-18: Design Thinking and DND5E
Dr. Thom Caraway – HAWT 105, MWF 10:25 AM-11:20 AM
We’ll explore the concepts of design thinking and interdisciplinary learning using the table-top RPG Dungeons and Dragons as our course content. Students will participate in one or more multi-session campaigns, and discover how our core concepts apply to everything from character creation to adventure style.
WL-498H-1: World Languages Capstone
Dr. Bendi Schrambach – WEST 252, W 11:45 AM-12:40 PM
Course is designed to assist majors in the process of discerning their future careers and vocations. Students will refine research and writing skills in the target language, prepare job search materials in English and the target language, explore their own cultural awareness and competencies, and take part in panel discussions with members of the community whose daily jobs involve the use of a second language. Class culminates in presentation of electronic portfolio.
General Honors Credit Opportunities
HN 386H – Honors Reading Course
Reading courses supplement a simultaneous (or recently taken) course which need not be an Honors offering. A faculty member and student agree to an appropriate number of texts (books, articles, online resources) for the number of credits offered. Public Presentation required.
HN 390H – Honors Internship
Honors internships should include interdisciplinary readings and research that accompany the internship; a journal/blog for the internship; interviews with those at the internship site; a presentation for the internship site and/or department; a research paper that integrates reading and the internship experience.
HN391H / HN 491H – Independent Research / Creative Projects
Supervised by a faculty mentor, students design their own research or creative projects. Faculty may also invite students to participate in research or creative projects. Students should produce one or more of the following in response to the project: a researched paper; a journal/blog detailing the learning process in the project; a poster presentation; or a formal presentation for the department or for a regional conference.
HN395H / HN 495H – Honors Teaching Assistantship
Honors teaching assistantships can happen in any course. They are the same as regular teaching assistantships with the following exceptions: the supervising faculty member and the teaching assistant will meet regularly to discuss pedagogy in the discipline (and what’s happening in the classroom at hand); the supervising faculty member and the teaching assistant will meet to discuss the assistant’s career goals. A short reflection paper or annotated bibliography is required at the end of the term.
Any Step-Up Course in the Master of Business Administration Program
Speak with a Business advisor for details
Make a course eligible for Honors Credits:
Are you taking a great course that fits with the interdisciplinary, problem- solving values of the Honors Program? Many can be set up to be taken for Honors credits—you’ll only need to work with the Professor and an Honors Advisor to make sure it integrates (1) a high-impact practice and (2) a public-facing component.