MSU Denver Honors Program

Time/Date: M/W: 2:00pm – 3:15pm

Instructor: Dr. Richard Kessel

Credits: 3

Description: This course teaches students how to design and deliver effective, ethical presentations. The ability to adapt to different audiences and contexts – such as professional or public situations – is emphasized. The course provides instruction on and practice of organization, delivery and performance, technology, and research skills. Students also learn effective listening techniques and critical thinking skills. The course empowers students to become successful professional presenters and public speakers.

Note: Credit will be granted for only one prefix: COMM or HON.
Sections of this course may be offered in-person, in hybrid format, or online.

General Studies: Oral Communication

Cross Listed Course(s): COMM 1010

Time/Date: M/W: 12:30pm – 1:45pm

Instructor: TBA

Credits: 3

Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in the Honors Program or Permission from the Honors Director

Description: This is a course for students in the Honors Program and addresses the process of writing extended essays supported by research. The course includes an introduction to research methods, practice in critical reading, thinking, and writing across the disciplines, integration of source material, and the conventions of MLA and APA styles of documentation. Students can expect to do a series of shorter writing and research assignments leading to the longer, documented paper and will write reflectively on their writing process.

General Studies: Written Communication

Time/Date: T/R: 8:00am – 9:15am

Instructor: Marci Steiner

Credits: 3

Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in the Honors Program or Permission from the Honors Director

Description: This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the fundamental concepts of human nutrition, including digestion, absorption, metabolism, and the function of nutrients as they relate to human health and disease.

Note: B- or better required for Honors credit.

General Studies: Natural and Physical Sciences

Time/Date: T/R: 12:30pm – 1:45pm

Instructor: Dr. Sean Petranovich

Credits: 3

Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in the Honors Program or Permission from the Honors Director

Description:

Date/Time: T/R: 8:00am – 10:45am

Instructor: Dr. Doug Petcoff & Dr. Rebecca Ferrell

Credits: 3

Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in the Honors Program or Permission from the Honors Director

Description: In this course students learn about the initial discoveries that sparked new scientific fields and about the subsequent revolutions caused by such discoveries. By examining the role of the scientific method in the production of knowledge, students improve their own scientific literacy and learn to critically examine historical scientific experiments. Students investigate the methodologies used, the theories and hypotheses tested, and manipulate original data created in selected experiments. Course discussions also examine the complex relationship between science and world views.

Note: B- or better required for Honors credit.

General Studies: Natural and
Physical Sciences

Date/Time: 9:30am – 10:45am

Instructor: Dr. Rich Wagner & Dr. Jessica Weiss

Credits: 3

Prerequisite(s): C or better in ENG 1020 or ENG 1021, Enrollment in the Honors Program or Permission from the Honors Director.

Prerequisite(s) or Corequisite(s): ENG 1020 or ENG 1021

Description: This variable topics course provides students with the opportunity to examine historical and/or contemporary issues from interdisciplinary perspectives. Course activities include relevant readings from a variety of perspectives and disciplines, discussions encouraging synthesis and analysis of conflicting or competing views, and written assignments. B- or better required for Honors credit.

Date/Time: 11:00am – 12:15pm

Instructor: Dr. Ting Jiang

Credits: 3

Description: This course critically reviews Asian American history and examines its relevance to contemporary issues in the U.S. It employs an interdisciplinary approach to examine the intersectionality of power, race, class, gender, and internal marginalization in shaping Asian American experiences. Topics include: racial formation of Asian American ethnic identities; historical roots of discrimination and anti-Asian violence (with special topics on Asian American women and Asian Americans in Colorado); negotiation of Asian American identities and culturally distinctive coping strategies; the myth and consequences of “Model Minority”; the relevance of the “Sojourner Hypothesis” in the 21st century; and generations of Asian American social movements aiming at achieving equality and justice for all.

Date/Time: TBA

Credits: 3

Description: This course teaches students how to design and deliver effective, ethical presentations. The ability to adapt to different audiences and contexts – such as professional or public situations – is emphasized. The course provides instruction on and practice of organization, delivery and performance, technology, and research skills. Students also learn effective listening techniques and critical thinking skills. The course empowers students to become successful professional presenters and public speakers.

Note: Credit will be granted for only one prefix: COMM or HON.
Sections of this course may be offered in-person, in hybrid format, or online.

General Studies: Oral Communication

Cross Listed Course(s): COMM 1010

Date/Time: TBA

Credits: 3

Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in the Honors Program or Permission from the Honors Director

Description: This is a course for students in the Honors Program and addresses the process of writing extended essays supported by research. The course includes an introduction to research methods, practice in critical reading, thinking, and writing across the disciplines, integration of source material, and the conventions of MLA and APA styles of documentation. Students can expect to do a series of shorter writing and research assignments leading to the longer, documented paper and will write reflectively on their writing process.

General Studies: Written Communication

Date/Time: TBA

Credits: 3

Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in the Honors Program or Permission from the Honors Director

Prerequisite(s) or Corequisite(s): ENG 1020 or ENG 1021

Description: In the Modern Period, Critical Theory emerges as a decidedly multidisciplinary field that challenges the foundations of the existing social order through in-depth analysis of capitalism, culture, power, the family, and the individual. This course provides an overview of the development of the field of Critical Theory and examines some of its major currents. Topics may include: Psychoanalytic Criticism, Marxist Criticism, Discourse Theory, Feminist Criticism/Gender Studies/Queer Theory, Deconstruction, Race Theory, Postmodernism, New Historicism, Cultural Studies, Narratology, and Digital Media Studies.

Note: B- or better required for Honors credit.

General Studies: Arts and Humanities

Online Hybrid Course

Date/Time: Thursday, 2:00 – 4:50 PM
The class will have eight synchronous (online) meetings on the following dates: 1/19, 2/2, 2/16, 3/2, 3/16, 4/6, 4/20, 5/4.

Credits: TBA

Instructor: Dr. Philip E. Bernhardt

Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in the Honors Program or Permission from the Honors Director

Prerequisite(s) or Corequisite(s): ENG 1020 or ENG 1021

Students will have opportunities to synthesize the knowledge, skills, and theoretical constructs learned throughout their undergraduate studies. Students will design an action research project relevant to their field of study, discipline, and/or profession. The course requires students to identify applicable research topics, formulate research questions, analyze the quality and credibility of research, synthesize research to develop and organize a literature review, select appropriate research designs and methods, and develop a research proposal aligned with the elements and requirements outlined by MSU Denver’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) process and Human Subjects Protection Program. Students will have the opportunity to present and discuss their research proposals to demonstrate developed expertise.

This course satisfies the Senior Experience graduation requirement and counts towards the advanced writing portion of the honors core.

Time/Date: TBA

Instructor: Dr. Pamela L. Troyer

Credits: 3

Description: In The Better Angels of Our Nature:  Why Violence Has Declined, acclaimed social psychologist Steven Pinker argues that over human history societies have become less violent.  He illustrates his arguments with biological and neurological evidence and also considers the way cultures have discussed violence in ancient epics, mythologies, and literature.  In this course we will consider narratives, both orally told and written, through which communities have examined the consequences of violence and redefined heroic codes. We will draw on such sources as the ancient Greek epic Iliad, the medieval Viking Njal’s Saga, contemporary political movements, and more. Some of the topics, such as the Chinese Monkey King, and the graphic novel American Born Chinese show us how we also use humor to consider the effects of violence.

Time/Date: TBA

Instructor: Kamran Sahami

Credits: 3

Description: This seminar-type course examines the current state of scientific thought on the question of alien life and civilizations most often attributed to physicist Enrico Fermi. In 1950 Fermi initiated a series of informal discussions among his Los Alamos colleagues as to the ubiquity of extra-terrestrial life and the probabilities of contact with alien civilizations. He famously asked “Where are they?” citing the lack of any physical evidence for extra-terrestrial life, and hence the scientific paradox which still carries his name. This class will delve into the history of this question, which predates Fermi by millennia, looking at the myriad of proposed solutions to the paradox. The very nature of the question cast an incredibly wide, interdisciplinary net, encompassing the fields of physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology (chemical, organismic ang evolutionary), geology, meteorology, sociology, anthropology, communications theory, and philosophy to list a few. The course will survey the contributions of these fields to the question, drawing often on primary sources, but concentrate more on critical thinking and communication skills, than on disciplinary knowledge. If you have any questions or concerns email Dr. Sahami at [email protected]