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Honors Courses Fall 2026

Sophomore Seminars

Being Human (EXP, non-lab Science)
M/W 2:00pm-3:40pm
Dr. Lina Kuhn and Dr. Jessica Merricks

Are humans really just another type of animal species, and do we think of ourselves that way? This question will form the basis of this honors course, which combines science with fiction in examining the human species and their creative musings more closely. The course moves through several levels of scale: from the microscopic, to the community, to the larger ecosystem, and beyond. We will discuss biological concepts related to these levels, while also exploring the ways in which literature and film reflect and respond to such concepts. In thinking about death and symbiotic relationships as two biological certainties that have influenced authors and directors, we will gain a clearer understanding of Homo sapiens as simultaneously just another animal species, and also unique. We will trace the evolution of these concepts through the past centuries, and end the semester by speculating on possible futures for our species. Probable texts will include: scientific research articles, novels such as Dawn and Annihilation, films such as Interstellar and Get Out, and nonfiction pieces such as Stiff.

War and Conflict in Asian/Asian American Literature and Cinema (EXP-Lit)
T/TH 10:30am-12:10pm
Dr. Dinidu Karunanayake

This course examines sites of war and conflict in Asia through imaginative maps provided by Asian/Asian American writers and filmmakers. Through a study of literary and cultural work, it investigates the intersections of European colonialism, decolonization, and aberrations of new nation formations, and shows how writers and artists make legible experiences that have been rendered illegitimate by imperial and nationalist discourses. The course extends Cathy J. Schlund-Vials’s observation about how writers and artists “reimagine alternative nonhegemonic sites for justice by way of heterotopic negotiations.

Learning Through Games (CIV)
T/TH 12:30am-2:10pm
Dr. Yidi Wu

This course examines genocidal sites in Asia through imaginative maps provided by Asian/Asian American writers and filmmakers. Through a study of literary and cultural work, it investigates the intersections of European colonialism, decolonization, and aberrations of new nation formations, and shows how writers and artists make legible experiences that have been rendered illegitimate by imperial and nationalist discourses. The course extends Cathy J. Schlund-Vials’s observation about how Cambodian American writers and artists “reimagine alternative nonhegemonic sites for justice by way of heterotopic negotiations” in literature, cinema, and popular culture to a range of Asian/Asian American experiences shaped by genocide. Where justice has become illusive for victims and their descendants of Asian genocides, this course shows how literature and cinema articulate alternative platforms for rights, belonging, citizenships, and new emancipatory identity formations.

Class, Status, and Power: Perspectives on Wealth, Poverty, and Inequality in the United States (SOC)
T/TH 2:30pm-4:10pm
Dr. Joel Shelton

This course investigates the interplay of wealth, power, and social status in the United States, with a focus on the concept of class as it has been theorized and studied in the social sciences and humanities. �þ��� are first introduced to understandings of class and class relations that featured in the Greco-Roman world of antiquity. From there, the course examines modern ideas and arguments about class, status, and power that emerged in the context of debates about capitalism, democracy, and freedom in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The work of contemporary theorists that position class dynamics in relation to race and gender is also considered. From this theoretical foundation, students examine current research on class, power, and inequality in the United States.

 

Honors Courses Spring 2026

First-Year Seminars

Cosmopolitanism (CIV)

M/W 2:00pm-3:40pm

Dr. Ketevan Kupatadze

At Elon we capitalize on our desire to educate what we call “global citizens,” yet we have not considered using the phrase “cosmopolitans.” Why? Taking this question as a point of departure, this course invites students to explore the intellectual history of cosmopolitanism and the similarities and differences between being ‘global’ as opposed to ‘cosmopolitan.’ The term comes from Diogenes, the Greek philosopher, who when asked where he came from, replied: “I am a citizen of the world” [kosmopolitês]. The response was intended to mean that he was not bound to the laws of the metropolis to which he had arrived. The course, therefore, will focus on one of the most basic questions with which cosmopolitan discourse has always challenged us: why do we attach ourselves to local and/or national identities? And, based on this attachment, claim or strip away one’s rights, privileges and authority? In this context, the history and the tradition of cosmopolitanism in Latin America will prove to be illuminating, as it is a compilation of cultures highly influenced by Western socio-political, philosophical and literary discourses, but at the same time one that has always had to negotiate its peripheral place vis-à-vis the European center while searching for its own coherent identity.

Spy Stories: Narrative as an Instrument of Surveillance (EXP-Lit)
M/W 2:00pm-3:40pm
Dr. Megan Isaac

This course will examine children’s and young adult literature as a pivot point for cultural, political, and historical identity in the United States. Children and the issues related to them are often the focus of cultural conflicts in the U.S. Members of the class will explore these overt and covert conflicts as they appear in children’s literature. We will investigate how books for children and young readers help shape the values that provide us with a cultural identity and a sense of community. Simultaneously, we will examine the complicated or contentious ideas embedded in books for children and young adults. Beginning with authors from the late 19th century and working our way forward, we will explore ideas of intellectual freedom and censorship, nostalgia and innovation, didacticism and entertainment, and the constant tension between conservative and subversive trends in books for young readers. Our study will center on books (both textual and visual elements) but include a consideration of production, distribution, and merchandizing methods as well. Ultimately, we will work to understand the ways ideas about childhood, story, books, and U.S. cultural identity are produced and contested.

Scientific communication in a post-truth society (non-lab SCI )
T/TH 10:30am-12:10pm
Dr. Jen Uno

Science as a discipline is based on fact but it can also be considered a method for analyzing and collecting data to accept or reject those very facts. Equally important, is the idea that science does not happen in isolation. It is affected by the social and cultural context of researchers and in turn has an impact on society and culture. This course will cover four major scientific topics (vaccines, climate change, evolution, and community dynamics) that are often misunderstood, over simplified and debated. We will explore the history behind each issue and the original scientific theories, ideas and primary literature involved with each topic. Following a careful examination of the science, we will then turn to how society has interpreted and influenced each topic and take a closer look at exactly how, when and why misconceptions developed. We will debate and discuss all sides of the issue and together learn how to use the scientific method as a tool make informed decisions.