E-HONORS

Frostburg State University's Honors Program Newsletter

December 2003: Volume 2
Issue 3

North East NCHC Conference Proposals Sought Theme is "Exploring Our Common Humanity"
The 2004 North East NCHC Conference will be held from April 1 to April 4 in Hartford, Connecticut. Special activities have been planned for the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, the Mark Twain Center, and the Wadsworth Athenaeum Museum of Art, which is America's oldest public art museum. Proposals for presentations and posters are invited in the following four strands. The deadline for submissions using the Internet or paper copy is December 15, 2003.

• The Business of Being Human.
  Presentations will consider the relationship between business and human values. Possible topics include business ethics, profits vs. human needs, student research and analysis of specific business practices, and the place of business study in Honors.
  
  
• Science, Technology and Human Exploration.
  This strand will include presentations relating to the ways in which science and technology reflect and reshape human experience. Possible topics include reflection on scientific research as a mode of human exploration, the relationship between technology and human values, student scientific research, or scientific ideas in the works of Twain and other writers.
  
  
• Law and the Idea of Humanity.
  Possible topics would explore how social and legal definitions are dependent on our ideas about race, gender, age, sexual orientation, class, wealth, nationality, political views, religion, etc. Topics could range from Amistad to Iraq and Homeland Security, from euthanasia and affirmative action to the place for diversity in Honors.
  
  
• Exploring Human Identity.
  Possible topics could explore how a poet or a film analyzes humanity, how certain terms, stereotypes, or even languages define human identities, how human identity is portrayed in the visual arts, and how human identity is linked to nature, violence, cultural values, religious views, etc.

The conference registration fee is $130, which includes four meals and all activities. Conference information and proposals forms are available at www.oswego.edu/nenchc. FSU faculty and students should submit their proposals to HPAG, c/o Maureen Connelly by Friday, December 11, 2003. Funding for faculty and students submitting proposals is possible.

6-Credit Combined IDIS 491 and ENGL 312 on GENOCIDE Proposed for Fall 2004 Are You Interested?
The course is an interdisciplinary, writing intensive, 6-credit investigation of genocide in the twentieth century incorporating historical antecedents and consequences; political, social, and cultural causes and effects; literary responses; ethical and theological and philosophic implications, and an inquiry into meaning. Special attention will be paid to the Holocaust. Students will receive credit for IDIS 491 and ENGL 312.

The instructor, Dr. Keith Schlegel, offered a similar 6-credit course on the Holocaust 10 years ago. Students in that 6-credit experience saw it as the pinnacle of their educational experience at Frostburg State. We expect that the 6-credit Genocide course will be similarly moving and intellectually inspiring.

Interested? Please let us know by January 5, 2004. Email mconnelly@frostburg.edu.

Snow Tubing at the Wisp
The Honors Students Association is sponsoring a Snow Tubing Party for Thursday, February 5. Snow tubers will leave FSU at 3 pm, from the parking lot by the Fuller House. A $10 deposit is required by Tuesday January 27 to reserve your space. The deposit will be returned to those who participate in the activity. HSA will pay the snow tubing fee for Honors Program students.

Any questions? Email Holly Mariano at hmariano0@frostburg.edu. Give your $10 deposit to Mrs. Stott at the Honors Program Center. Warm clothing should be worn. Loose clothing, such as scarves, is not permitted and hard shell boots and ski boots are not allowed.

Honors Seminars Offered Over Intersession
Two Honors Seminars will be offered for the 2004 Intersession semester. Both courses are listed under IDIS 491.

• My Car, My Home, and My Job: Driving More, Enjoying it Less is being taught by Dr. Hank Bullamore (GEOG) Monday through Friday from 12:00 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. This seminar explores current issues in North American metropolitan areas. Emphasis will be placed on emerging life styles for American families. Public and private decisions about land use patterns and social/economic diversity will be discussed. Contemporary trends such as increasing auto travel, constant levels of racial/ethnic segregation, and growing interest in "smart growth" are considered. Activities include student discussions of assigned readings and oral and written reports. The seminar is co-listed as GEOG 490.
  
  
• Dr. Wakefield (EDUC) will be teaching Power and Control in American Education online. The topics covered include power at the local, state, and national level and court involvement with schools. The majority of the course will be conducted online, and Blackboard will be used to access reading materials and quizzes. There will be at least one required face-to-face meeting with the instructor. This meeting will be scheduled for early December.

Intersession courses begin on Monday, January 5 and end on Friday, January 23.

Dig a Castle in Belgium
Eastern Illinois University Honors Program, in partnership with the University of Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium, is now accepting applications for the fifth season of its Summer Archaeology Program. The dates for the program are July 3-31. The program centers on the excavation of medieval Walhain Castle. Honors students will receive Honors credit in either History or Earth Sciences. The course is open to all Honors students in good standing. There are no prerequisites and no previous background in archaeology is required. The cost of the program, which includes tuition and fees, board and lodging but not overseas airfare- is estimated at around $4000.

For more information, please contact Dr. Maureen Connelly.

Space in Honors Classes for Spring 2003 Remain
Contrary to rumor, not all Honors Program classes are closed. Space still remains in:
ECON212.001 Honors: Principles of Micro-Economics
TR 9:30-10:45 a.m.

ENGL111.001 Honors: Freshmen Composition
TR 11:00-12:15 p.m.

ENGL250.101 Honors: Comparative Literature
M 6:00-8:40 p.m.

MATH219.001 Honors: Elements of Applied Probability and Statistics
TR 3:30-4:45 p.m.

CHEM113.001 Honors: Modern Chemistry and Society
MWF 10:00-10:50 a.m.
.002 R 2:00-4:50 p.m. (this is the lab)

Students who are registered for CHEM113.001 must also register for the lab section of this course.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS From Maureen, Judy, Andrea and Jacqie