Honors College Courses

The Honors College is pleased to offer more than 1 course in each of the general education categories.  Please read course titles and descriptions within each category.

ART = Art   HC2010
LIT = Literature   HC2020
WCIV = Western Civilization   HC2040
GP = Global Perspective   HC2050
SS = Social Science    HC2060
FR = Formal Reasoning    HC2070
NSTN = Natural Science & Technology    HC2080

Attributes
DIV = Us Diversity
KA = Knowledge Application
WIG = Writing Intensive in the General Education

Summer I 2026

HC 2020  Wonderland with a Twist
CRN: 32405
Instructor:  Susan Lynne Beckwith
Gen Ed: LIT + WIG
Course Time:  T/TH 1:00 p.m. - 4:20 p.m.
Course Description: 
Why are we so captivated by stories that deceive us? This seminar explores the psychology, structure, and ethics of narrative “twists” in contemporary fiction—beginning with Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. We’ll be literary detectives investigating how writers manipulate reader perception, construct unreliable narrators, and play with genre conventions to reveal deeper truths about identity, authenticity, and power through story-structure and storytelling.

We’ll read novels that hinge on revelation and reversal, from literary thrillers and psychological dramas to metafictional works that turn storytelling itself into a puzzle. The bestselling ‘goodreads’ may include Gone Girl alongside works by Kazuo Ishiguro, Daphne du Maurier, Agatha Christie, and Ian McEwan.

We’ll dive into stories that fool us on purpose—narratives that manipulate perspective, hide secrets in plain sight, and make us question what’s “true.” Through close reading, theoretical reflection, and creative analysis, students will consider what it means to be “fooled” by fiction and why these narrative twists appeal to us as readers and viewers (because, yes, we’ll be having fun watching films that ‘have fun’ with us too!). 

Throughout the semester, we’ll analyze how authors manipulate voice, pacing, and structure to shape reader experience—and why those tricks matter. Students will have the opportunity to try their hand at writing their own short pieces of “twisted” fiction if they like and essays exploring narrative deceit and moral ambiguity. We’re going on a rollercoaster of readings that will have us thinking critically, dishing passionately, and having fun unraveling some of the most artful lies (that we love!) in modern literature.

HC-2050 Social Movements & Sports
CRN: 32406
Instructor: Roberta Michel
Course Time:  M/W 5:30pm - 8:50pm
Course Description: 
Game Changer: Sports as Social Resistance takes students on a global tour of sports as cultural lightning rods and engines of change. From the roar of the soccer pitch to the symbolism behind a raised fist on the Olympic podium, this course explores how economic systems, political ideologies, and cultural identities shape the ways sports are played, celebrated, and protested. With a spotlight on iconic games—like soccer, rugby, baseball, golf, basketball, and American football—students will unpack how these sports have sparked conversations, challenged norms, and influenced societies for over a century.

HC-3900 Research & Scholarship
CRN: 32409
Instructor: Susan Lynne Beckwith
Course Time:  (Online)
Course Description: With the support of an OU faculty member of your choice (your thesis mentor) and the HC 3900 teaching team, you will work to develop the proposal for your final Thesis project.

SUMMER II

HC-2050 Tudor Intruders
CRN: 32410
Instructor: Randall Engle
Gen Ed: GP 
Course Time: M/W  5:30 p.m -8:50 p.m. 
Course Description:  The Tudor sixteenth century is one of the most fascinating yet challenging periods in English history, even as it was England’s most formative. This course will survey the events that brought the Tudors to the throne, and England out of the medieval period and into the early modern world. Such topics as the English Reformation, the Church of England, the development of the nation state, the monarchy, and the blossoming of English literature and music will be explored. Tudor Intruders will be offered as a Summer 2 course, with an optional travel component that invites students to travel to London for 12 days, a vivid travel experience to immerse students in all they have learned.


HC-2050 Gen AI for Global Challenges
CRN: 32408
Instructor: Mohan Tanniru
Gen Ed: GP 
Course Time: T/R 8:30 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. Online/Synchronous
Course Description: 
The class will introduce the students to research on complexity theory and inter-
organizational leadership, as well as frameworks used to design models that address
global challenges. The project will focus on producing a solution for a project they
choose and how it can be sustained through capacity building. In addition, the students
will be paired with students from other countries such as China and India to learn how to
manage global team interactions and manage team projects. The course emphasizes
critical thinking, global understanding, and experiential learning by collaborating with
global teams, with a focus on leadership and strategy. Leadership - Understand
leadership processes through the lens of complexity theory and inter-organizational
dynamics and develop skills in using generative AI tools for in-depth research, research
synthesis, and prompt engineering. Strategy – learn to develop inter-organizational or
global community models that support entrepreneurial thinking in generating innovative
services that support shared goals. The services designed will be relevant for
implementation in the context where the students come from,
 

The Honors College is pleased to offer more than 1 course in each of the general education categories.  Please read course titles and descriptions within each category.

ART = Art   HC2010
LIT = Literature   HC2020
WCIV = Western Civilization   HC2040
GP = Global Perspective   HC2050
SS = Social Science    HC2060
FR = Formal Reasoning    HC2070
NSTN = Natural Science & Technology    HC2080

Attributes
DIV = Us Diversity
KA = Knowledge Application
WIG = Writing Intensive in the General Education

Fall 2026

HC1000 Making Discoveries
CRN:  43581 M/W  3:00 p.m. - 4:47 p.m
CRN:  43582 T/R 10:00 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.
Instructor:  Dr. Graeme Harper, Dean of The Honors College
Gen Ed:  Art or WCIV
Course Days/Time:  MW 3:00 p.m. - 4:47 p.m.  or TR 10:00 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.
Course Description:  
HC 1000 is a 4 credit freshmen course exploring the exciting and significant nature of human discovery, whether in the sciences, the arts or the community, whether by individuals or by groups. It is also a course in which you can explore your own ambitions; that is, your own potential personal and professional discoveries. We will look at things that have been (and are) discovered in and around a university (like this one!). In addition to exploring a range of university disciplines and subjects, Making Discoveries will examine the wider world, to industry and the professions, and to the community for models of the opportunities that the world offers. The course will encourage and develop your critical thinking, as well as your creative engagement. It will look at what we can do individually as well as what we can do in teams or groups, as a leader and as a participant.

ART 
HC- 2010 Hallelujah! The Music of Handel
CRN 45242
Instructor:  Randy Engle
Gen Ed: Art
Course Days/Time:  M/W/F 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Course Description:  
"Hallelujah!  The Music of Handel."  The music of most Baroque composers fell out of fashion soon after their deaths; but Handel remained continuously—and in England, increasingly—popular throughout the centuries.  What about his music is so universally appealing and enduring?  This course will explore all things Handelian (his story, his music, his context) and then focus specifically on his magnum opus Messiah.  The course will include lectures, short papers, class presentations, and attendance at a live performance of Messiah and a post-concert reception with the artists.

HC -2010  Art of Sketch Comedy Writing
CRN: 45243
Instructor: Shaun Moore
Gen Ed:  Art
Course Days/Time:  T/R 1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.
Course Description:  
This course introduces students to the art of sketch comedy writing, blending creative practice with analysis of comedic traditions. Students will read and watch classic and contemporary sketches, then create their own short comedic pieces. Emphasis will be on developing comedic premises, understanding structure, and experimenting with styles such as parody, satire, absurdism, and blackouts. Writers table workshops provide a supportive environment where students learn to generate, pitch, outline, revise, and critique original sketch ideas, focusing on elements such as premise, game, structure, character, and relationship. Students will finish with a portfolio of original sketches, sharpening their creativity, humor, and communication skills.

HC - 2010 Streaming the World: Global Pop
CRN: 45244
Instructor: Susan Lynne Beckwith
Gen Ed: ART
Course Days/Time:  T/R  1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.
Course Description:  
How did a Korean TV show about deadly games, an Indian musical about love and rebellion, and a British baking competition all find fans across the planet?

This Honors seminar dives into the colorful world of global pop culture — exploring how television, film, music, and social media shape our understanding of culture, community, and identity across borders. Students will analyze global hits from K-Dramas and Squid Game to RRR, from Crash Landing on You to Black Panther, discovering how entertainment becomes a conversation about politics, values, and globalization itself.

Through clips, readings, and discussions, we’ll explore how different societies use popular culture to express national identity, challenge stereotypes, and bridge cultural divides. From K-Pop fandoms and Nollywood storytelling to the global reach of anime and streaming platforms like Netflix, this class asks: What does the world watch — and what does that say about us? As a class, we’ll search the socials to see what we might like to screen together as it tiks, toks, and trends around the globe!

Along the way, we’ll reflect on how global media industries shape economies, identity, and cross-cultural understanding — and how digital communities (from TikTok to fanfiction) are creating a new kind of global citizenship.

Literature 
HC - 2020  JR Tolkein - Lord of the Rings
CRN: 45246
Instructor: Randy Engle
Gen Ed: LIT + WIGE
Course Days/Time:  T/R  10:00 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.
Course Description:  
“Not all those who wander are lost.”  This course will wander through the rich writings of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, one of the most influential and widely read authors of the Twentieth Century.  Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, a sequel to his children’s book The Hobbit, is estimated to have sold over 150 million copies since its publication in 1954.  This course will explore the reasons for LOTR’s astounding success through exploration of Tolkien’s style, themes, analogy, story, and characters.  Students will respond to weekly questions and participate in group discussion which may involve opinions or observations about aspects of the readings, speculation about Tolkien’s motivation, questions about the story, and so forth.

HC 2020 Where the Wild Things Live
CRN: 45246
Instructor:  Roberta Michel
Gen Ed:  Literature + Writing Intensive
Course Days/Time:  TR 3:00 p.m. - 4:47 p.m.
Course Description: 
This course explores contemporary prose from the late 20th and early 21st centuries that examines the evolving relationship between humans and the natural world. Through close reading, critical discussion, and reflective writing, students will engage with texts that illuminate ecological awareness, environmental ethics, and personal encounters with nature. As part of our experiential learning approach, we will incorporate OU’s outdoor classrooms into our coursework, using these spaces to deepen our understanding of the literature and foster direct engagement with the natural environment.

HC- 2020 Francophone Literature
CRN: 45247
Instructor:  Bernadette Donohue
Gen Ed: Literature + Writing Intensive
Course Days/Time:  TR 10:00 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.
Course Description:
 The French language is spoken in over 100 countries globally, and Francophone literature has had a serious influence on television and films, even if it’s not always realized by the public.   While it is well known that the Three Musketeers is the invention of Alexandre Dumas, many other films and TV shows based on Francophone works are far less recognized. Did you know that one episode of Veggie Tales was a reincarnation of the French classic Madame Bovary?  This class will examine literary works from Africa, Canada and of course France, and how they are portrayed on screen.  We will examine a variety of literary works including mainstream classics like Les Misérables by Victor Hugo and modern tales like Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.  And no Francophone literature class would be complete without contributions from our neighbors to the north!  Francophone writers from Quebec and elsewhere will be examined along with screen adaptations.  

HC- 2020  Doyle Today: Fanning Sherlock
CRN: 45258
Instructor:  Susan Lynne Beckwith
Gen Ed: Literature + Writing Intensive
Course Days/Time:  M/W/F 10:47 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.
Course Description:  
From Victorian fog to TikTok fandoms, Sherlock Holmes never disappears—he just reinvents himself. This Honors seminar explores how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic detective has been reimagined across time, culture, and media. From traditional adaptations to creative transformations like Enola Holmes, Lady Sherlock, and the BBC’s Sherlock, we’ll trace how each version reshapes the detective story to reflect shifting cultural values around identity, class, and place.

We’ll explore how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic detective has been endlessly reimagined, reinterpreted, and reinvented—from Victorian London to the modern world of streaming television and fandom culture with logic, deduction, and observation—evolves through modern reinterpretations and fanfiction. How do newer works challenge or uphold the Holmesian archetype? What does the “detective” reveal about the societies that create and consume these stories?

We’ll pair Doyle’s original short stories with modern literary and media adaptations, including film, television, and fanfiction, to analyze how form, character, and narrative evolve across genres, how narrative puzzles become metaphors for human curiosity, social justice, and the search for truth. Along the way, we’ll consider how readers and fans co-create meaning through transformative works, digital fanning, and community storytelling.

By Fanning & Finding Sherlock, from Doyle to today with diverse detectives, we’ll explore how literature continually remakes itself—solving mysteries not only of crime, but of culture, creativity, and identity – and having a lot of fun along the way.

Western Civilization
HC - 2040  Archaeology of Israel
CRN: 45259
Instructor:  Michael Pytlik
Gen Ed: WCIV 
Course Days/Time:   TR 1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.
Course Description:  
Ancient cultures found in the ancient Near East with an emphasis on ancient Israel, the history of archaeological research in Israel and the Levant.  We will learn key concepts and methods of archaeology, study how the historical periods developed, and examine how culture changed in the periods.  An anthropological problem in the course is the development of the ethnic identities (Israelites, Canaanites, Philistines and Egyptians) and the problems inherent in that research. Students will gain some experience in how archaeologists date materials, historical trends and various cultures important to western civilization.

 
HC - 2040  September 11th, 2001
CRN: 45260
Instructor:  Steffan Puwal
Gen Ed: WCIV 
Course Days/Time:   M/W/F  1:20 p.m. - 2:27 p.m.
Course Description:  
This western civilization course will focus on the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.  Students will learn of events leading up to the attacks, events of the day, and the months that followed.  Particular attention will be paid to the response of local first responders, NORAD, the Federal Aviation Administration, NATO allies, and the national government.  The ensuing anthrax attacks will also be discussed.  Students will learn of first hand accounts through our text and through documentary film.


HC - 2040  Matilda Matters
CRN: 45261
Instructor:  Randy Engle
Gen Ed: WCIV 
Course Days/Time:   T/R  1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.
Course Description:  
This course surveys the life and context of an amazing woman, Matilda Wilson, and uses Meadow Brook Hall, Matilda’s beloved home on OU’s campus, as its classroom.  The course will review the industrial revolution, the rise of the Detroit auto empire, the Dodge Brothers, the roaring 20s, and the home and art collection of Matilda––all in addition to understanding the formation and goals of graduate education.  The class will comprise classroom lectures, and out-of-classroom tours of Meadow Brook Hall, Oakland University archives, the Dodge art collection, and other surprises related to Matilda.  Taken together, we’ll discover that, indeed, Matilda’s life and legacy matters!

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE 
HC2050  Chinese Characters
CRN: 45262
Instructor:  Jinhan Yu
Gen Ed:  GP 
Course Days/Time: M/W  8:00 a.m. - 9:47 a.m.
Course Description:   
The course will introduce and analyze Chinese mythical animals, like Dragons, snakes and foxes, and supernatural creatures, like ghost and immortal, from the late Zhou through the Qing Dynasties (almost 3000 years) in English translation. We will read the basic corpus of classical Chinese mythology and its later evolution in various genres of narrative and drama in pre-modern China. The term ‘mythology’ is broadly defined here by the Chinese term Shenhua, however, there is no Chinese corresponding term to the word ‘supernatural’, in this course, we refer to the literature of extradentary and the strange.

The course is designed to not only familiarize students with the fundamental myths with defined traditional Chinese civilization but to explore the cultural functions of the myth and the supernatural such as to define national, local, and ethnic identities, legitimize political authority, explain anomalous events, identify foreign peoples, express philosophical and religious ideals, and constitute a non-orthodox discourse of the self. 

HC-2050  Game Changers: Sports as Social Resistance
CRN: 45263
Instructor:  Roberta Michel
Gen Ed: GP
Course Days/Time:  T/R  1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.
Course Description: 
Game Changer: Sports as Social Resistance takes students on a global tour of sports as cultural lightning rods and engines of change. From the roar of the soccer pitch to the symbolism behind a raised fist on the Olympic podium, this course explores how economic systems, political ideologies, and cultural identities shape the ways sports are played, celebrated, and protested. With a spotlight on iconic games—like soccer, rugby, baseball, golf, basketball, and American football—students will unpack how these sports have sparked conversations, challenged norms, and influenced societies for over a century.


HC-2050  Global Business Communication
CRN: 45264
Instructor:  Michelle Plattenberger
Gen Ed: GP
Course Days/Time:  M/W  7:30 p.m. - 9:17 p.m.
Course Description: 
Business Communications and Cultural Strategies in Japanese Contexts:  This course explores professional communication strategies with a focus on Japanese cultural contexts, integrating cultural insights and practical applications.  Students will develop skills in workplace communication, presentation techniques, professional writing, and public communications, while cultivating cross-cultural dialogue, teamwork, and professional adaptability.  The course emphasizes experiential learning through case studies, industry visits, and interactive workshops, preparing students to communicate effectively and respectfully in international business environments.

SOCIAL SCIENCE
HC-2060  Generative AI: Ethics/Politics
CRN: 45265
Instructor:  Fritz McDonald
Gen Ed:  SS
Course Days/Time:  T/R  10:00 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.
Course Description:  
In this class, we will explore the ethical and political dimension of generative artificial intelligence (for example, ChatGPT, DALL-E, Gemini, and Claude). We will consider issues like AI-human relationships, the environmental impact of AI, AI bias against underrepresented groups, and law and copyright violations. We will consider the potential for political solutions to concerns about AI.

FORMAL REASONING
HC-2070  If the Grid Goes Down
CRN: 45266
Instructor:  Doris Plantus
Gen Ed:  FR
Course Days/Time:  M/W  8:00 a.m. - 9:47 a.m.
Course Description:  
This course explores 21 st century reliance on technology for nearly every aspect of life, and poses the
question of how people would function without it. We will include such platforms as social media, online
courses, written correspondence, as well as traditional record keeping, photography, and others. We
will discuss how previous generations lived without text messaging, google maps, and the full expanse of
the internet for searching out information of numerous categories. Students will consider alternate
sources of data, such as libraries and public information agencies, and learn how to request information
using pen and paper, or typewriters. We will gain a sober and robust appreciation for creating a “Plan B”
in the event of the unthinkable loss—however temporary or far reaching—of modern technology.

 
NATURAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
 HC-2080  Natural Disasters
CRN: 45267
Instructor: Steffan Puwal
Gen Ed: NSTD
Course Days/Time:  TR  10:00 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.
Course Description:  
Our planet can be a dangerous place!  This earth science course will cover the physical dangers and natural hazards of the solid earth (earthquakes, volcanoes, and landslides), the hydrosphere (floods and tsunami), space (meteors and comets), climate change, and the atmosphere (hurricanes and tornadoes).  Students will become trained weather spotters through the National Weather Service's SKYWARN program.  Lectures will be supplemented with lab activities and films about natural disasters.

HC-3900 Research and Scholarship
CRN:  45269
Instructor: Susan Lynne Beckwith
Course Day/Time: Online (1 credit)
Course Description: With the support of an OU faculty member of your choice (your thesis mentor) and the HC 3900 teaching team, you will work to develop the proposal for your final Thesis project.

The Honors College is pleased to offer more than 1 course in each of the general education categories.  Please read course titles and descriptions within each category.

ART = Art   HC2010
LIT = Literature   HC2020
WCIV = Western Civilization   HC2040
GP = Global Perspective   HC2050
SS = Social Science    HC2060
FR = Formal Reasoning    HC2070
NSTN = Natural Science & Technology    HC2080

Attributes
DIV = Us Diversity
KA = Knowledge Application
WIG = Writing Intensive in the General Education

Winter 2027

ART 
HC 2010 Art of Crime
CRN:  14854
Instructor: Susan Lynne Beckwith
Gen Ed:  ART 
Course Days/Time: M/W/F 9:20 a.m. - 10:27 a.m.
Course Description:  
What do stolen masterpieces reveal about the value—and vulnerability—of art? This Honors seminar investigates the fascinating world of art crimes—both real and imagined—to uncover what happens when creativity meets criminality, and what this can reveal to us about the works themselves. From infamous heists like the theft of the Mona Lisa (yep, that actually happened!) and The Gardner Museum robbery (they went big – 13 artworks, including masterpieces by Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Degas!) to fictional tales such as The Goldfinch, we’ll explore how art’s cultural power makes it both irresistible and endangered.

We’ll study paintings, films, and literary works that turn art theft into a lens for examining history, aesthetics, and ethics alongside the works of art themselves. Together, we’ll ask: What makes art “priceless”? Why do we steal, forge, and obsess over it? How do artists and writers use crime narratives to comment on authenticity, value, and desire? We’ll also consider creativity and innovation – in the works themselves and in the criminal minds (real and fictional) that endeavor to obtain them. In short, what is the appeal of these works.

We’ll frame (<< see what I did there??) our visual analyses with philosophical perspectives on beauty and ownership as we look at real world works and art crimes in cinema and visual media that allow us to consider artistic, historical, and cultural perspectives.

This case (oops! I mean course!) blends art history, literature, and ethics—and we’ll all be the  ‘detectives’ in ‘The Art of Crime’ as we trace, track down, and discover works of beauty, truth, and imagination.  

HC-2010  Ethos of Protest Art
CRN: 14855
Instructor: Roberta Michel
Gen Ed: ART 
Course Days/Time:  T/R  3:00 p.m. - 4:47 p.m.
Course Description: 
This course dives deep into the moral, cultural, and emotional core of artistic resistance. It’s not just about what protest art looks like—it’s about why it exists, how it speaks truth to power, and what it demands of its audience. This interdisciplinary course explores the ethical spirit (“ethos”) behind protest art across time and cultures. Students will examine how artists use visual, performative, and digital mediums to challenge injustice, amplify marginalized voices, and provoke societal change.

HC 2010 Everyday Universal Design
CRN: 14856
Instructor:  Christina Moore
Gen Ed:  ART 
Course Days/Time:  M  5:30 p.m. - 8:50 p.m.
Course Description: 
Universal Design began in architecture, gained traction in education, and now informs everything from product development to digital policy. This course introduces students to the evolving concept of Universal Design, learning how inclusive design benefits everyone. Students will analyze the environments they move through every day—campus buildings, transportation systems, websites, and classrooms—and explore how design decisions enable or exclude. Drawing from disability studies, design justice, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL), students will complete fieldwork-based design audits and propose creative but practical interventions that center human variation.
Highlights of the course include case studies of inclusive design in technology, education, and public spaces; guest speakers from accessibility and design fields; and a final creative proposal in which students reimagine a product, service, or space they use every day. By the end of the course, students will have developed critical awareness of design in daily life, gained hands-on experience with accessibility audits, and learned how to translate inclusive principles into actionable solutions.

LITERATURE
HC 2020  Think Like a Leader, Act Like a Leader
CRN: 14857
Instructor:  Robin Michel
Gen Ed:    LIT 
Course Days/Time:  TR  1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.
Course Description:  
This literature-based, writing-intensive course explores the societal and cultural forces that shape individual and collective decision-making. Through the study of fiction and nonfiction texts, students will examine how values, judgment, persistence, and problem-solving manifest across various institutions and social contexts. Central questions include: How do leaders make choices? What influences personal and ethical discernment? Students will critically analyze literary portrayals of decision-making and reflect on their own processes, gaining tools to enhance clarity, purpose, and resilience in their choices.
In addition to reading and discussion, students will produce well-organized essays that engage rhetorical strategies tailored to specific audiences, purposes, and contexts. Active participation, thoughtful dialogue, and experiential learning will be essential components of the course, providing a platform for intellectual growth and future decision-making.


HC 2020  Film and the Law
CRN: 14858
Instructor:  Julie Granthen
Gen Ed:    LIT 
Course Days/Time:  T/TH 3:00 p.m. - 4:47 p.m.
Course Description:  
In the United States today, do films accurately portray the practice of law?  One often finds the character of lawyers to be misrepresented in films.  Yet, we can take note of the power of films in the field of law.  U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor recounts seeing the film 12 Angry Men while in College and she decided to attend law school as a result of seeing this film.

In this class, we will review legal themed films and ask these questions.  Are legal films accurate or is the purpose of the plot to entertain film goers?  Do lawyers in all films have flawed characters or all they all heroes?  We will begin by focusing on films about justice including but not limited to 12 Angry Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Verdict.

Then, we will view some class legal films such as Judgment at Nuremberg, Anatomy of a Murder (based on a Michigan novel), Inherit the Wind, Gideon’s Trumpet, and Witness for the Prosecution.  Next, we will see the Socratic Method personified in The Paper Chase.  We’ll end the class with recent legal thrillers such as Presumed Innocent, The Firm, and the Client.

When a film is based on a novel, should the film be true to the novel or can the film’s director take liberties? Could the audience be disappointed if the film fails to follow the plot of the book as well as the rule of law?   Or is the film’s goal simply to entertain the audience and to not be concerned with pesky rules of evidences, or the common law?


HC 2020 Priest. Spy. Assassin
CRN: 14859
Instructor:  Randy Engle
Gen Ed:   LIT 
Course Days/Time:  TR 10:00 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.
Course Description:  
How could a Lutheran priest justify murder––so much so that he would even be part of the (unsuccessful) Valkyrie plot to assassinate Hitler?  This course reviews the writing and complex life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer:  priest, spy, assassin and, finally, execution victim.  The course will situate Bonhoeffer in his historical context through engagement with primary sources, and help students understand the predominant concerns and animating center of Bonhoeffer’s life and work.  Further, students will be able to gauge the impact of events in Nazi Germany on Bonhoeffer’s thought and writing.  The class will also review two film adaptations of this intriguing figure of the 20th century and visit the Holocaust Museum in Farmington Hills.

HC 2020  World Within Worlds
CRN: 14860
Instructor:  Susan Lynne Beckwith
Gen Ed:   LIT 
Course Days/Time:  M/W/F  10:40 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.
Course Description:  
Ursula K. Le Guin is one of the most visionary voices in modern literature, crafting speculative worlds that probe timeless questions about power, identity, freedom, and the human condition. In this course, we’ll journey through fantasy novels and science fiction stories that play with the ideas of ‘utopia’ and ‘dystopia’—including connections to contemporary works like Severance and Andor: A Star Wars Story, which have been compared to her writings.

How do writers like Le Guin use imagination and worldbuilding as a mode of inquiry into what it means to be human—into social structures, ethics, and our relationship with the environment? We’ll situate Le Guin alongside other masters of speculative and philosophical fiction—from Octavia Butler and Ray Bradbury to Margaret Atwood and Jorge Luis Borges—to explore how storytelling expands both our ethical and imaginative capacities (while also entertaining us!).

Le Guin’s expansive vision of life makes her an ideal guide for interdisciplinary thinking. Students from all majors will find themselves ‘at home’ in the ‘new worlds’ we explore—and create! As we connect Le Guin’s works to contemporary social and environmental issues, we’ll celebrate her enduring belief that literature not only mirrors reality, but remakes it. Along the way, we’ll do some worldbuilding of our own, having fun building our own worlds with what we would like to see in ours! 

WESTERN CIVILIZATION
HC 2040  Kings and Things
CRN: 14861
Instructor:  Randy Engle
Gen Ed:   WCIV
Course Days/Time:  MWF 12:00 p.m. - 1:07 p.m.
Course Description:  
The class will meet in the library of Meadowbrook Hall. Two sessions each week will be lecture-based, walking the students through English history and royalty. The third session (“Fun Friday”) will be an out-of-classroom experience: different tours of Meadowbrook, a visit to the Dodge graves, and so forth. A no-cost Reader, developed by the Professor, guides the course. Weekly quizzes, midterm, final, and a class project will assess students’ work.

HC2040 Historical Dracula
CRN: 14862
Instructor:  Doris Plantus
Ged Ed: WCIV 
Course Days/Time: M/W/F  8:00 a.m. - 9:07 a.m.
Course Description:  
This course explores the historical Wallachian Prince, Vlad Drăculea, or more commonly, Vlad Țepeș
(Impaler), who fought against the Otoman Turks of the 15th century in present day Romania, achieving
heroic status for his patriotic resistance in eastern Europe, while earning a reputation for brutality. We
will address the Western appropriation of this national hero to the character of Dracula, iconic vampire
of the eponymous Bram Stoker classic and Nosferatul of German cinema, to reflect historical events of
European culture, and how the character of Vlad the Impaler has evolved over time in Western
Civilization, thus, separating the historical Vlad from legend and myth.

HC 2040 AI: Utopia or Apocalypse?
CRN: 14863
Instructor:  Susan Lynne Beckwith
Gen Ed:   WCIV
Course Days/Time:  T/R  1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.
Course Description:
From Plato’s ideal Republic to The Matrix, Western thinkers and artists have long imagined how civilization might perfect—or destroy—itself. This Honors seminar explores Western civilization’s obsession with the future: the promise of utopia, the peril of apocalypse, and the moral quandaries of artificial intelligence.

We’ll examine how literature, film, and philosophy from the Enlightenment to today imagine the fate of humanity in an age of reason, machines, and moral ambiguity. Readings and screenings will include Brave New World, 1984, Ex Machina, and Black Mirror, alongside philosophical works by Descartes, Rousseau, and Harari.

We'll consider how Western ideals—rationality, freedom, progress—shape both utopian dreams and dystopian fears. How does the modern imagination reflect our cultural anxiety about control, technology, and the future of the human soul? Through fun discussions, critical analysis, and creative speculation, we’ll chart how the West’s future visions reveal its deepest values—and its greatest doubts and how these align with your goals and lived experience of the world today as we chart our course into an exciting new world!

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
HC 2050  Global Story of Chocolate: From Ritual to Retail
CRN: 14864
Instructor: Robin Michel
Gen Ed:   GP
Course Days/Time:  T  5:30 p.m. - 8:50 p.m.
Course Description:  
This course explores chocolate as a global commodity shaped by history, culture, economics, and politics. This course introduces students to the worldwide production, distribution, and consumption of chocolate, tracing its journey from sacred ritual in ancient societies to a modern mass-market product. Students examine how economic systems, national cultures, socio-demographic factors, environmental conditions, and political orientations influence both the production of chocolate and the ways it is used and valued across societies.

By integrating historical, social, and cultural perspectives, the course highlights chocolate’s enduring impact on communities and global trade over thousands of years. Through discussions, case studies, and guided tastings of chocolate products from diverse global settings, students will analyze how political, environmental, and social structures shape consumer preferences, ethical debates, and purchasing behaviors in different regions of the world.

HC 2050  Enlightenment & Disney
CRN: 14865
Instructor:  Bernadette Donohue
Gen Ed:   GP
Course Days/Time:  TR 1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.
Course Description:  
From the influence of Enlightenment thinkers on American politics to Disney’s remakes of classic French tales, this course will examine how French politics, culture and even cuisine has influenced our everyday life.  We will look at how French writers like de Tocqueville, Montesquieu & others influenced American politics, as well as how the French innovations in art and literature, the cinema, fashion, and cuisine have all influenced thought & trends in the U.S.  The goal of the course is to introduce students to French history and culture, and to examine how it has shaped our American history and culture. In the end, students will compete in a bracket-style debate to argue for France’s greatest contribution to the world.


HC 2050  Chinese Characters
CRN: 14866
Instructor:  Chi Chun Lai
Gen Ed:   GP
Course Days/Time:  TR 10:00 a.m. - 11:47 a.m.
Course Description:  
Ever wondered how Chinese characters came to be—or what stories they tell? Unlocking Chinese Characters is a creative journey into the art, history, and imagination behind one of the world’s oldest writing systems. No Chinese background is needed—if you can doodle, you can write Chinese! Through drawing, storytelling, and cultural exploration, students will learn how ancient people turned pictures into words and how those words reveal deep links between language, culture, and creativity.



SOCIAL SCIENCE
HC 2060  American Mosaic:  Identity and Social Change
CRN: 14867
Instructor:  Roberta Michel
Gen Ed:   SS
Course Days/Time:  R  5:30 p.m. - 8:50 p.m.
Course Description:  
Students will demonstrate familiarity with examples of the cultural/artistic production of authors during the American Realism period of literature. Students  will develop an understanding of the history, strengths, and the challenges these authors experienced while examining the cultural, and social contexts in which they were produced.

Formal Reasoning
HC 2070  Dad-gebra
CRN: 14868
Instructor:  Joseph Grzywacz
Gen Ed:  FR
Course Days/Time:   M/W 3:00 p.m. - 4:47 p.m.
Course Description: 
Have you ever run into a problem that just seems to be out of your reach? No matter what you try - Google, YouTube, even a book (scary, I know) - the solution escapes you. Where, or to whom, rather, do you turn? Look to your trusty dad, who has a wealth of life experience and an approximate knowledge of many obscure things. In this course, let me help you tackle the everyday questions you might turn to a dad to solve.


HC 2070 Improving Life with Tech
CRN 14869
Instructor:  Shaun Moore
Ged Ed:  FR
Course Days/Time:  TR  1:00 p.m. - 2:47 p.m.
Course Description:
This course helps students build healthier, more intentional relationships with technology. Through hands-on exploration of digital organization, collaborative tools, and creative technologies, students will develop strategies to use technology for success in academics, careers, and daily life. Topics include managing email and files, digital citizenship, online collaboration, personal branding, and emerging technologies. Students will create a Personal Tech Playbook, a customized portfolio of systems and strategies designed to improve productivity, collaboration, and creativity in the digital age.

Natural Science & Technology
HC 2080  Star Constellations
CRN: 14870
Instructor: Doris Plantus 
Gen Ed:  NST 
Course Days/Time:  M/W/F  9:20 a.m. - 10:27 a.m.
Course Description: 
This course combines the astronomical constellations in the sky recognized as 88 divisions of the
celestial sphere, deriving from asterisms, or star patterns used for navigation, with the mythology
that defined them. We will use Greek, Persian, and Norse variations that identify asterisms,
constellations and the stories they have immortalized to explore the way ancient people
understood navigation and cosmology. In addition, we will learn elementary approaches to
stargazing, along with simple homemade instruments that will teach us to find our way across the
night sky. Students will be making simple star maps based on their observations. No prior
background in astronomy is necessary.

HC3900 Research and Scholarship
CRN: 14873
Instructor:  Susan Lynne  Beckwith
Course Time:  (Online)
Course Description: With the support of an OU faculty member of your choice (your thesis mentor) and the HC 3900 teaching team, you will work to develop the proposal for your final Thesis project.

HC2010 Sacred Spaces
Instructor: Randall Engle
Gen Ed:  Art + DIV

Course Description:  “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us,” so said Winston Churchill.  This is perhaps most true for sacred spaces—be it a Chapel or Cathedral, a Synagogue or a Shrine, a Temple or a Teepee.  Each week, this class will study a different religious tradition, and then visit a representative sacred space of that faith in order to understand how theology informs architecture (and vice versa).  The on-sight tours will reveal vividly how each representative faith is expressed through space, symbol, and stone while introducing students to some of Detroit’s architectural masterpieces.  Individual presentations of sacred spaces not explored as a class will conclude the semester.

HC2020: Turtle Talk
Instructor:  Susan Lynne Beckwith
Gen Ed:  LIT or NSTD + WIG

Course Description:  In this class, we will explore novels, such as Kingsolver’s Flight Behavior, where Monarch Butterflies become the main character in a story of conservation, climate change, and conversions faced by the humans who inhabit those pages. We’ll go to Galápagos, where Vonnegut merges global financial crisis and fertility to explore the ferocity of evolution and the survival of the fittest–with flippers! From Richard Powers, physicist turned fiction writer, we’ll hear the tale the trees tell in Overstory.
     And as we read the stories, we will also explore the science behind these novels, the creatures who are characters, the planet that is protagonist. We’ll adventure into the intersections between the Arts and Sciences. We’ll also consider indigenous and native peoples’ relationships with the land and their stories of animals.  And as we listen to the turtles talk and what the trees tell us, we may even discover some interesting stories about ourselves….

HC 2050  Mirror into Montreal & Quebec
Instructor:  Roberta Michel
Gen Ed: GP + KA + WIG

Course Description: The Province of Quebec’s citizens are divided by different histories, sources of pride and grievances. Young people experience Quebec differently than seniors, who lived through decades of religious and linguistic conflict.  Québécois living in the regions often see Montreal as a foreign metropolis.  Quebec is increasingly the story of immigrants, the distinctly labeled Allophones, who think it is time for old-stock Francos and Anglos to get over their long-lost wars of conquest to deal with the urgent problems of the 21st century.  Quebec Province Literary Geography will explore the things that make Quebec so fascinating, frustrating, and different.
     Through examining stories (fiction and nonfiction) from Montreal and Quebec, students will explore the events and role that English and French-Canadian identity plays as a narrator into people’s lives.  In one portion of the course, lectures and readings will provide the backdrop that will enable the students to understand and analyze the cultural, socio demographic, and political development of Montreal and Quebec.  The other portion of this course, about 7 days, is designed to provide a vivid travel experience that immerses the students in the culture of Montreal and Quebec and encourages analysis of its unique development.  Journaling and daily explorations as well as a term based project will guide this understanding and analysis.

HC-2050 Tudors of England
Instructor: Randall Engle
Gen Ed: GP or WCIV

Course Description:  This course will survey the events that brought the Tudors to the throne, and England out of the medieval period and into the early modern world.  Such topics as the English Reformation, the Church of England, the development of the nation state, the monarchy, and the blossoming of English literature and music will be explored. 
   The course will clarify the important ways in which England responded to changing ideas about religion, government, economics and society—and help students understand the interplay between these entities.  Students will gain a better understanding of some of the conflicts that engaged people's’ minds and souls during this turbulent era, examine how England’s modern political system is based in Tudor models, and how the Elizabethan religious settlement shaped current religion and the state church.
   The first half of the course, on-line lectures and readings, will provide historical background of the Tudor monarchy that enables the students to understand and analyze the cultural development of England.  The second portion of this course, about two weeks in England, is designed to provide a vivid travel experience that immerses the students in English culture and encourages analysis of England’s cultural development.  Journaling and daily meetings will guide this understanding and analysis.
   In London, the students and professor will be housed in flats provided by Anglo-Education.  Each single room is air-conditioned, and has an en suite private bath.  Full English breakfasts are included, but students will be responsible for other meals in London.  With central London as home base, the class will be within walking distance from tube stations and thus in close proximity to all things Tudor:  St. James Palace, Lambeth Palace, Westminster, and Whitehall. 

HC2050  Fictional Food
Instructor:  Doris Plantus
Gen Ed:  LIT + WIG

Course Description:  Literature records some of the most interesting scenes involving meals. This course studies how food functions in stories, revealing things about the characters, their times, places, and cultures by the things they eat. We will situate food in the literature and explore the meaning of meals by studying basic or exotic ingredients, settings for consumption, attitudes towards food, and how some foods become iconic or establish lasting traditions. Food in general, and meals in particular, all tell stories when we prepare and eat them.


HC2070 Dad Math: Math for Real Life
Instructor:  Joseph Grzywacz
Ged Ed:  FR

Course Description: Have you ever run into a problem that just seems to be out of your reach? No matter what you try - Google, YouTube, even a book (scary, I know) - the solution escapes you. Where, or to whom, rather, do you turn? Look to your trusty dad, who has a wealth of life experience and an approximate knowledge of many obscure things. In this course, let me help you tackle the everyday questions you might turn to a dad to solve.