Fall 2009 Colloquia

Colloquia can be found under the course number UH 3004H in the course timetable, and each colloquia has a different CRN number. Colloquia offerings usually change every semester.

Nutrition, Brain & Behavior
CRN #95476

The neurochemistry of the brain is not subject to influence by short-term perturbations in diet which had long boon an accepted tenet.  Research has now shown, however, that what is ingested day-to-day can influence brain neurotransmitter levels.  Because all bodily functions are ultimately controlled by the central nervous system, this has important implications in health and disease.  Dietary influences on brain neurotransmitters can affect numerous homeostatic mechanics and bodily functions, including sleep, obesity, depression, and immunity.  The role of brain neurotransmitters in behavior and the influence of diet on these functions will be explored.

• Instructor:  D. Michael Denbow
• Credit: 3 Hours
• Day/Time: T, 3:50-5:20 PM
• Location: HUTCH 310

Back to the top

Biomedical Ethics
CRN #95473

The American health care system is the best that money can buy.  Yet, many ethical questions have arisen because of this superior technology:  Who is in charge of the switches in intensive care?  Should health care be rationed by a priority system?  Will the human genome project help cure genetic diseases or will it become a eugenic screen?  Who are the legal guardians of the children produced by in vivo fertilization procedures?  Should research with fetal cells be sanctioned?  Is there a need for an ethicist in a hospital? Should the U.S. have a national health care system which includes ethical standards?  The course will include readings from the works of Lewis Thomas, Norman Cousins, etc…, plus participation by departmental faculty and local physicians.

• Instructor: Robert Benoit
• Credit: 3 Hours
• Day/Time: W, 4:00-6:00 PM
• Location: MCB 207

Back to the top

Addictions and Relationships
CRN: #95472

Addicts deal with three major types of relationships in their addiction and recovery.  These relationships are: 1) the relationship between the addiction and the addict; 2) the intrapersonal relationship the addict has with self; and 3) the interpersonal relationships between the addict and other people.  Topics will include the similarities between addiction and religion, spirituality, moral development, denial, the cycle of self-destruction, different models of recovery, acceptance of self and by others, friendships and family life before, during and after the addiction, etc. Students will be given readings and participate in exercises to stimulate discussion and help understand the complex life of the addict.  Recovering addicts will be invited to the class to share their experiences.  Students will be given writing assignments to explore each of these major relationships.

• Instructor: Art Buikema
• Credit: 3 Hours
• Day/Time: T, 3:30-5:30 PM
• Location: Hillcrest

Back to the top

Controversial Issues in Science and Society
CRN #95478

This class is designed to help students think critically about various controversial issues that are “in the news” virtually every day but about which there is a general lack in depth if understanding amongst the general population. While all issues discussed in this course have a specific basis, the focus of this Colloquium is on developing reasoned positions at the juxtaposition of the scientific, moral, and ethical issues associated with each topic.  Topics discussed in depth include birth control, abortion, assisted reproductive technologies, stem cell research, cloning, genetic engineering of plants and animals, sexual orientation, and several other topics selected by the students enrolled.  Everything that we do both in and our of class is intended to assist students in formulating reasoned judgments and positions on these topics and on understanding the importance and interrelationship of these issues.  The Colloquium attempts to draw upon the diverse background of the students enrolled to examine all issues from various points of view.

• Instructor: Jim Knight
• Credit: 3 Hours
• Day/Time: F, 12:20-2:15 PM
• Location: LITRV 1800

Back to the top

The Harry Potter Phenomenon
CRN #95475

On July 21, 2007 the seventh and last novel in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series went out in print, with a record breaking 12M copies going to press in the U.S.A. alone. Now seems the perfect moment to assess the popularity of these novels with the generation for whom they were written.  The 9 or 10-year old who first thrilled to Sorcerer’s Stone in 1997 will be a college student awaiting the completion of the series with Deathly Hallows in 2007. The course will attempt to analyze the popularity of the series, examine the way the books revitalized the field of children’s literature, and look at the range of critical response from Harold Bloom’s outrage over the decline of our culture to many pundits’ adoring reception. We’ll ask ourselves that millennial anxieties lurk beneath the surface of the novels, try to account for the surge of fan-fiction (over a hundred thousand submissions on one internet site alone), and read a variety of scholarship on the subject.

• Instructor: Peter Graham
• Credit: 3 Hours
• Day/Time: M, 3:00-5:00 PM
• Location: MCB 201

or offered as CRN #95480:

• Instructor: Kathryn Graham
• Credit: 3 Hours
• Day/Time: T, 2:00-4:00 PM
• Location: HILL 132

Back to the top

Jason and the Voyage of the Argo
CRN #97253

The saga of Jason and the Argonauts fascinated the ancient Greeks and Romans, a fascination that has endured to the present day in film, art, and literature.  The principal source for the epic poem is Apollonius of Rhodes’ Argonautika, written in Alexandria, Egypt in the third century BC.  The story line is well known:  Jason, a young prince of Iolchos, Thessaly, dispossessed of his kingdom, is sent by King Pelias on an daunting journey to recover the Golden Fleece in the distant land of Colchis (modern Georgia in the Black Sea).

In this honors colloquium, the students will read the Argonautika (in translation) and discuss the principal themes that have captivated modern scholars, e.g., a youth’s coming of age; alienation and separation; barbarism versus civilization; what makes a hero, a hero (in contrast to the Homeric epics); the psychopathology of sexual passion; the role of women in myth and Greek society; and the geographical landscape of myth and the nature of the gods; and the brilliant poetic milieu of the Ptolemaic court in Alexandria.  We will explore the literary antecedents of the Argonautika, notably the Iliad and the Odyssey and Euripides Medea, and trace the legacy of this epic poem up to the present day, including two full-length films on the voyage (1963, 2000).

• Instructor: G. R. Bugh
• Credit: 3 Hours
• Day/Time: MW, 4:00-6:00 PM
• Location: HILL 132

Back to the top

Omniology: An Integrated Approach to the Study of Everything
CRN #97254

In this colloquium, we will examine the fundamental basis of ‘reality,’ in all of its manifested forms, whether or not experienced by humans.  We will explore what there is to know; what it is we are capable of knowing; what makes such knowing possible (theoretically, technologically, anatomically, physiologically, etc.) … and … perhaps more interestingly, we will identify what it is we are not capable of knowing: why we can never know these things, and what this inability means in terms of how we perceive the world around us in all of its various forms.  These include physical, chemical, political, social, economic, religious, cultural, and other manifestations of “reality”  -- all of which, as we shall see, derive from a common set of fundamental attributes … denominators that are ‘common’ to all realizable forms of energy, and hence, form the basis for a 'Unified Theory of Everything."  Having discovered this, we will be able to explain the essence of everything … or, at least, know what to look for in seeking meaningful knowledge. 

Indeed, the search for knowledge, and through it, truth, is among the strongest of all human drives.  As a part of this search, we constantly seek common denominators … basic attributes that can help us, in some generic sense, gain further insights into the fundamental nature of our universe, and how it becomes manifest in our daily experiences.  As we shall learn, the quest for such knowledge … the journey … may be an end in itself for – given our own anatomic, physiologic, technologic, analytic, sociologic, political, and other constraints and limitations – the ultimate objective may very well be unattainable.  That having been said, however, our continuing efforts to improve life on this planet is an attainable goal … so, to that end, we strive to learn more, to understand more, to accomplish more, and to keep expanding the envelope of our abilities and understanding.

• Instructor: D Schneck
• Credit: 3 Hours
• Day/Time: W, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM
• Location: HILL 132

Back to the top

The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living
CRN #95479

The purpose of the colloquium is to prepare you for your senior year.  If you plan to apply for a national scholarship, graduate school, law or medical school, or you seek a great job, this colloquium will help prepare you for an extraordinary opportunity.  PLEASE NOTE:  there will be considerable writing and reflection.  Plan to spend several hours a week on the assignments.  Also, we will seek to create a perfect personal statement and curriculum vita—so be prepared for many drafts.  An additional goal is to work on your personal writing style.  Practice interviews will also be conducted.
The limit of 15 students requires a selection process. Students interested in this class should send a CV and a letter of interest to Michelle Wooddell at mwooddel@vt.edu.

• Instructor: Jack Dudley
• Credit: 3 Hours
• Day/Time: W, 4:00-5:50 PM
• Location: M CAMPBELL104

Back to the top

Selfishness
CRN #95471

Beginning in the 1980’s, both conceptual and personal concern for such ideas as self identification, self awareness and self-esteem became popular. In these three decades the political and social culture of American society underwent significant change. Careerism, conservative political ideology, and even religious practice centered on the individual. Some people argue that the current emphasis on the individual has replaced significant beliefs concerning collective American life. This colloquium examines some of the major issues facing American society today and how the concept of self has played a significant role in creating policies to deal with these issues. Discussions will center around the long term health of American society given changing practices in environmental control, health delivery, race and ethnic relations, church/state relations, corporate life, the management of wealth, and other major problems confronting American society. Members of the colloquium will be expected to produce a research paper on a topic of their choice relating the concept of self to such issues.

• Instructor: Jack Dudley
• Credit: 3 Hours
• Day/Time: T, 4:00-5:50 PM
• Location: M CAMPBELL 104

Back to the top

Communication to Connection – Designing a Corporate Communication Strategy for University Honors
CRN #97260

Be part of an interdisciplinary team charged with designing a web-based electronic communications strategy for University Honors. We will take the project from concept towards implementation by researching the needs and interests of Honors students, alumni and staff, researching feasible technological and personal solutions, creating proposals for various elements, and possibly implementing worthy designs. Tentative elements for incorporation include an alumni database, student forums and/or wikis, blogs, podcasting, and video or video blogging. We may use VT’s Scholar software as a basic platform or incorporate other products as well.

We are looking for highly motivated students with interests and experience in web design, communications, marketing, data project management or systems design. Students interested in the class should send a CV and a letter of interest to Michael Blackwell at 114 Hillcrest Hall.

• Instructor: Michael Blackwell
• Credit: 3 Honors
• Day/Time: R, 3:00-5:00 PM
• Location: HILL 132

Back to the top

Music & Film
CRN #95474

How do movie audiences know that the pretty girl shouldn't go down the basement stairs where the axe murderer is waiting for her? Because the music tells them there's danger. This course examines the ways in which music and images interact in film (and occasionally in television), beginning with scores for the "silents" of 1903-1928, moving through the "Studio Years" in Hollywood, and concluding with examinations of avant-garde experiments in sound-and-picture combinations as well as foreign and domestic films of the 1990s and 2000s. Come prepared to read about music and film, to watch movies of all kinds, and to present on music and film yourself in class!

• Instructor: Michael Saffle
• Credit: 3 Hours
• Day/Time: T, 3:00-4:50 PM
• Location: MCB 307

Back to the top

Communicating Science to Others
CRN #97685

This course is restricted to students who have previously enrolled in the honors colloquium “Bringing Science to Life for Everyone.” Experienced students will assist new students in expanding on-going science exhibit proposals and developing new interactive exhibit proposals that communicate to people of all ages. We will continue to work with the Science Museum of Western Virginia located in Roanoke, Virginia embracing their three major focus themes: Healthy Bodies, Healthy Earth and How It Works. To add, you must contact Ms. Wooddell at mwooddel@vt.edu

• Instructors: Provost Mark McNamee and Dr. Art Buikema
• Credit: 3 Hours
• Day/Time: R, 3:50-5:20 PM
• Location: HILL 143

Back to the Top