The following 298H seminars are 3 credit hour classes. ACE credit is noted by each course. Enrollment in these courses will 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 For example: if there is a study abroad component, you will need to apply through MyWorld.
Summer 2020
Interdisciplinary
Exploring Environmental Research in Nebraska
Course description ►
| No.: **** | Section 801 | June 8 – Aug 13 Online + Zoom Th 10:00am-12:00pm |
| Online | Dr. Philip Barutha | No ACE |
Have you ever wondered what a "bomb cyclone" is? Or what the environmental, social, and economic impacts of such an event might be? This type of event happened right outside our back door here in Nebraska and has impacted over 75% of counties in Nebraska. Commonly referred to as the floods of 2019, heavy rainfall and rapid snowmelt caused catastrophic flooding across the Missouri River Basin. The current estimated cost of damage is over $1B.
This short summer course is an opportunity for you to be involved in assessing and communicating impacts to the State and people of Nebraska through multidisciplinary research. How will you do this?
As part of a multidisciplinary team, you will do the following:
- Participate in information sessions to gain knowledge about the floods and their impacts
- Undergo training to ensure you are equipped with the knowledge necessary to collect data
- Conduct virtual interviews with impacted communities to collect data
- Share your findings
Are you ready to tackle this challenge?
Interdisciplinary
Saving the World: Global Leadership in a Time of Pandemics
Course description ►
| No.: **** | Section 501 | July 13 – August 13 Online + Zoom MWF 1:00-2:30pm |
| Online | Lead Instructor: Dr. Patrice McMahon |
ACE 6 or 9 |
At the moment, two competing narratives are gaining currency, one in which the lesson is that countries ought to come together to better defeat COVID-19. The other is that countries need to stand apart to better protect themselves from this deadly virus. Deciding on which "course" a country takes requires: an understanding of biological threats, an awareness of their impact on a community, and a sense of what has happened in the past and how countries might come together.
This interdisciplinary class will use theories and frameworks from international relations and readings from anthropology and public health to discuss what pandemics are, how countries have responded in the past, and why countries come together to collaborate. This Honors seminar will involve faculty from UNMC and UNL, community leaders from across Nebraska, and conversations with people from around the world to discuss COVID-19 and provide a global perspective on current pandemic responses.
Faculty Include:
- Lead Instructor: Dr. Patrice McMahon, Professor of Political Science & Director of the University Honors Program, UNL
- Azar M. Abadi, Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Environmental, Agricultural, and Occupational Health, UNMC College of Public Health
- Jesse E. Bell, Claire M. Hubbard Professor of Health and Environment in the Department of Environmental, Agricultural, and Occupational Health, UNMC College of Public Health
- Jessica Tschirren, Assistant Dean for Students, UNMC College of Public Health
- Regina Werum, Professor of Sociology, UNL
This course is open to any student in the University of Nebraska System. Contact the UNL Honors Office at uhon-office@unl.edu to enroll. Non-UNL students will first need to apply as intercampus students: http://go.unl.edu/applyintercampus
Fall 2020
Interdisciplinary
Conflict Cuisine®
Course description ►
| No.: **** | Section 950 | TWR 6:00-8:45pm Aug 25 - Sept 17 And Sundays, 4:00-6:45pm Aug 29 & Sept 20 |
| Knoll 257 | Professor Johanna Mendelson Forman | Open to all UNL students. Contact the Honors Office to enroll. |
The history of cuisine is the history of immigration. Certainly, this is true in the city of Lincoln, Nebraska. The diversity of Lincoln's population reflects its status as a city that has helped resettle more refugees per capita than any other city in the United States. What is even more remarkable is the way the diverse cuisines of those who have settled in Lincoln have created an international food scene that has made the city a place where you can trace the history of global conflicts through the diversity of restaurants that offer a wide range of ethnic dishes prepared by refugee chefs. These individuals are using their skills to share the flavors of home while also earning a living.
Dr. Johanna Mendelson Forman created Conflict Cuisine® in 2014 at the American University in Washington, D.C. to help students of international relations learn more about the impact that post-Cold War conflicts had on the culinary renaissance of Washington, D.C. Diaspora chefs and their restaurants replaced the steakhouses and seafood restaurants that had made our nation's capital such an ordinary place when it came to getting decent food.
During the fall semester in 2020 Mendelson Forman plans to bring her course and methodology for teaching about war and peace around the dinner table to Lincoln. Over a four-week time period student will participate in an intensive study of food security, conflict, and state fragility, and do so through the stories of individuals living in Lincoln who use their food as a way of telling a story about the past. Students will participate in class discussions and watch demonstrations of how cuisines are prepared. Course assignments will include field work in Lincoln to explore the diverse population of immigrants who now call Lincoln home. Students will taste refugee cuisines, learn about the ingredients that define different national dishes, and most important, gain a better understanding of the nexus between food as a mechanism for preserving and sustaining one's culture.
Food is a lens through which students can learn about the geopolitical circumstances which brought so many newcomers to Lincoln. From the Viet Nam war, to the conflicts that developed at the end of the Cold War, to the more recent events in the Middle East, and the ongoing northern migration from Central America, each wave of immigration has carried with it other tangible pieces of the culture left behind, most often in the form of food. Studying the food ways of the city's refugees and immigrants affords an opportunity to bring the stories and foods to the classroom. Meeting refugees and learning about their journey to Lincoln can provide a deeper understanding about the geopolitical events and trends. Combining local food experiences of some of these "conflict cuisines" that are now a part of Lincoln's history.
Lincoln is the perfect urban laboratory for this type of course. In connection with the university's international studies program Conflict Cuisine® will become a learning tool for those in the community to join with those on campus to share a unique part of the region's history, and also the story of immigration and conflict in the late 20th and early 21st century.