The following 298H seminars are 3 credit hour classes. They are open to all University Honors Program students. Enrollment in these courses will generally follow regular University enrollment procedures and occur on a first-come, first-served basis in accordance with your assigned priority registration times, unless otherwise noted.
Each course may meet additional degree requirements, such as ACE or college required hours. Specifics are noted with each course. If you think a course may be eligible to count towards hours in your major, please check with your major advisor about this possibility.
If this is your final semester and you have an unmet 298H or ACE need AND you have difficulties getting into a course section that meets those needs, contact Dr. Tamy Burnett ASAP.
Previous semesters' courses
Fall 2025
UHON 298H
Wilderness in the 21st Century
Dr. Gwendwr Meredith and Dr. John Carroll
MWF 9:30-10:20 │Knoll
ACE 6
The purpose of this course is to provide a background and history on the concept of “wilderness” and how a planet with 10 billion people might require us to reevaluate our views. Historically, university courses on wilderness focus on philosophical, theological, historical, or scientific/conservation perspectives. Instead, in this course, we will explore how wilderness is defined by societies over time, but with an emphasis on practical considerations in defining wilderness, particularly in areas where human presence and behaviors will erode those places on the planet that represent our current vision of wilderness. The Okavango Delta (rural Botswana) will be used as a case study for the course as it represents one of the great defined wildernesses of the world. It also encompasses the conundrum of the 21st century, in which some of the long-standing views of what constitutes wilderness might need to be reexamined.
UHON 298H
How to Build a Starship
Nate Pindell
TR 2:00-3:15 | Oldfather
ACE 4
The Earth has been called the cradle of humanity. The only home that humankind has ever known. But are there circumstances that would force humankind to look to the stars as a last resort in the face of extinction? Could humanity become a multi-planet species? What are the current plans for such events? Now more than ever it is important to understand how science and STEM are used to make informed decisions in day-to-day operations and prepare for the future. This course is designed to be a “survey of STEM” in which individuals that may be unfamiliar with many topics in STEM can gain knowledge of the scientific method and the diversity of the disciplines. The course is also trans-disciplinary in nature. The intersection of STEM and non-STEM fields. How is art used in science? What is the science of art? These questions, and more, will be discussed at length in “How to Build a Starship.”
UHON 298H
Bioethics and the Law
Dr. Joann Ross
MW 3:30-4:45 | Knoll
ACE 5 and ACE 8
This course will focus on the fascinating cross-disciplinary domain where law, ethics, and science intersect. We will examine the nature of bioethics and its relationship to the law, key controversies that have driven the history of this field, and the range of applicable law (state, federal, and international). Much of bioethics focuses on an individual patient’s or research subject’s experience with health care (e.g., access to health care, physician-assisted suicide, reproductive technologies). But a growing and increasingly vital component of bioethics focuses on public health issues that are concerned with the health of populations or communities. While the class will revolve primarily around the experience of individuals, occasionally we will give attention to public health bioethics. We will examine where the line should be drawn between the state’s ability to protect public health and an individual’s liberty to act (and create risks) as they please.
UHON 298H
Art Against the Odds: Creativity in Troubled Times
Sandra Williams
TR 12:30-1:45 | Richards
ACE 7
This class explores the value of the arts by inviting students to study art and creativity by learning about art created during times of duress and outside of traditionally-valued artistic avenues and by considering the significance of cultural preservation. Creativity is a necessary component to survival. Traditional education emphasizes the Western canon, old masters, and somewhat dense, difficult to understand, and, at times, alienates contemporary work, ignoring investigation of creativity and art making that resides outside of the traditional gallery-to-museum pipeline. For example, folk art is an overlooked and excluded field in higher education pedagogy. However, folk art is often incredibly relevant for how people live; its influence has incredible reach into cultural context and expressions, and it is often used as a social and political critique method. Similarly, creative mediums of self-expression like body art or drag performance are excluded from academic inquiries into art making. Yet, like folk art artifacts, they can communicate beliefs, values, and histories and provide society with tools for coping with problems. We will explore a range of arts created in troubled times as means of resistance and survival.
UHON 298H
From the Lab to the Page: Writing as a Scientist
Dr. Karin Van Dijk
MW 11:30-12:20 R 12:30-3:30 | Beadle
ACE 1
Limited to BIOC majors -- this is a 3-credit lecture and lab course designed to increase proficiency of sophomore-level biochemistry students in hypothesis-driven experimental design, basic biochemistry techniques, data collection and analyses, data presentation, and various types of scientific writing and presentation. The overarching scientific theme is antibiotic resistance and novel approaches to combat infectious disease. Students can expect the lecture component of the class to follow a discussion-based format with in-class problem solving and writing activities included (i.e. not a traditional lecture class). Some of the discussions and analyses will be centered on reading materials that range in difficulty from science journalism to technical articles from high-impact journals. One of the signature assignments will be the synthesis of a scientific review paper written in stages in an iterative process throughout the semester.
