Spring 2026 Courses

Section 900: Campus and Community Engagement

Section 916: Global Citizenship

Section 931: Arts and Letters

Section 946: Leadership

Section 961: Research Engagement

Section 976: Professional and Personal Development

As part of the OHC minors and the Honors TRACTS major requirements, students must complete 3 hours of HCEs through HNRS 1010 Honors Core Experiences. HNRS 1010 recognizes co-curricular activities and reflection as part of a unique and valuable honors education, awarding academic credit for the activities that ambitious and active honors students regularly pursue. Students will repeat HNRS 1010 for a maximum of 3 credit hours to complete the HCE requirement. A student may enroll in multiple sections of HNRS 1010 per semester, though the students should be sure they can complete the requirements of the course before enrolling. To complete the HCE requirement, students submit proof of completion and respond to reflection questions via Moodle.

M W, 3:30-5:00 p.m., B0013 Gym Armory

Assistant Professor Oluwagbemiga DadeMatthews

This course provides an in-depth introduction to medical terminology, with a focus on body systems and medical specialties. It provides the student with guided practice and assessment of prefixes, suffixes, word roots, and combining forms of standard medical terminology (or medical nomenclature). Additionally, the student will learn to read and interpret medical case reports. Presentation of medical case reports, problem solving, and written/verbal use of medical terminology will be the key focus of in-person meetings.

Section 050: T Th 12:00-1:30 p.m., 1220 West Laville Hall
Dr. Chaunda Mitchell

Section 051: T Th 3:00-4:30 p.m., 220 French House
Dr. Ashley Tillison

Section 060: T Th 12:00-1:30 p.m., 127 Coates Hall
Associate Professor Touria Khannous

Section 061: T Th 12:00-1:30 p.m., 200 French House
Associate Professor Irina Shport

Section 062: T Th 12:00-1:30 p.m., 221 French House
Instructor Kathryn Barton

Section 900: T Th 12:00-1:30 p.m., 1005 East Laville Hall
Dr. Nikki Godfrey

Section 901: T Th 3:00-4:30 p.m., 218 French House
Dr. Will Puente

August 2025 marked the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a catastrophic storm that claimed the lives of over 1,800 Louisiana residents and displaced more than a million people. HNRS 2000 will explore the history and lasting impact of the disaster, examining the failure of critical flood protection infrastructure, the environmental consequences, and the government’s response. The course will also examine the roles and responsibilities of both citizens and governments in large-scale crises, using Michael Sandel’s Justice as a framework to explore ongoing challenges affecting Louisiana.

T Th 4:30-6:00 p.m., 1005 East Laville Hall

Dr. Taylor Santaloci

Learn how to write about scientific topics through a journalistic lens! This class will help you improve your scientific thinking and communication skills while also learning about Noel Prize winning discoveries.   

The goals of this course are to provide a background to better understand science, to demonstrate how science functions as a way of knowing, and to provide tools to evaluate scientific issues in the media more critically and accurately. Upon completion of the course, students will have an enhanced appreciation for the relevance of science in general everyday life; the beauty of physical sciences, as reflected at the level of the atom to that of the whole universe; and how science interacts with and shapes public policy and affects society at large. This will be accomplished through lectures, readings, movies, and discussions of current, controversial science issues.

M W F 8:30-9:30 a.m., 135 French House

Associate Professor Achim Herrmann

** Requires participation in Naples, Italy Spring Excursion during Spring Break (March 7-15, 2026)**

A physical science course with an immersive Spring Break Excursion to Naples, Italy. This program is for non-science majors. Learn about, and then discover and experience, the powerful geological forces like volcanism and earthquakes that have shaped the Earth and human civilization in a course that includes a required experiential spring trip. Learn about, and then explore how, Earth materials influence art, architecture, and daily life in Southern Italy. Experience the cultural and scientific significance of iconic sites like Mount Vesuvius, Pompeii, and the Bay of Naples through hands-on learning. From ancient ruins to modern museums, you’ll gain a fresh perspective on how humans perceive and interact with the dynamic Earth beneath our feet.

T Th 1:30-3:00 p.m., 1220 West Laville Hall

Professor Mike Kaller

This seminar will introduce how individual and societal values, attitudes, and beliefs affect perception, understanding, and inactions. The goal of this seminar is for students to understand how decisions are made regarding engagement and appreciation of wildlife and fish by individuals and groups and how all people can strive to reinforce positive decisions and reduce negative decisions regarding the environment.

T Th 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m., 221 French House

Assistant Professor Malinda Sutor

This course is designed to foster a greater connection with the natural world and understanding of the practice of Natural History research and how important it is to understand current environmental issues and how they are intertwined with human communities. Through the course, students will also learn how to participate in citizen science projects and how to create these projects and analyze data from them and how to share the results with the wider community in the form of a website. The course will contain days for discussion of readings, data analysis and preparation of visuals, and time outdoors observing. There will also be field trips to the LSU Natural History Museum and to LSU Libraries Special collections to learn about some of the natural history items in the collection. We will also have visits from groups like Baton Rouge Audubon to learn more about natural observation skills. This course will be service learning with the Baton Rouge chapter of the Louisiana Master Naturalists. Students will participate in workshops and volunteer activities with LMNBR. Credits earned will go towards the Engaged Citizen Honors. The course will also be communication intensive in visual and technological modes. Credits earned will go towards the Communicator Certificate and Medal.

T Th 4:30-6:00 p.m., 220 French House

Professor Craig Harvey

The U.S. healthcare system has undergone significant transformation since its early beginnings. As we approach 2026, healthcare—representing 18% of the nation’s GDP—continues to evolve through innovations such as lean practices and artificial intelligence. This dynamic environment offers wide-ranging opportunities for individuals across many fields. 

This course offers students a comprehensive overview of the healthcare system. Topics include the history of healthcare, the key components that make up the system, the application of lean principles in healthcare, current challenges, healthcare financing, and the role of technology such as electronic medical records (EMRs) and artificial intelligence (AI). The course will also highlight career opportunities within healthcare professions. 

M W 4:30-6:00 p.m., 108 Tureaud Hall

Dr. Abbie Fish

Throughout history, people have been captivated by infectious diseases and their origins. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has heightened curiosity about how these diseases spread and the ways we can prevent and treat them. This course explores the history of some of the world's most devastating epidemics and examines their lasting influence on modern approaches to infectious disease management and treatment.

M W F 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 218 French House

Dr. Michael Dettinger

** Requires participation in Honors in Berlin Spring Excursion during Spring Break (March 6-14, 2026)**

As part of the LSU/Honors in Berlin spring excursion program, this course will introduce students to the surveillance states of Germany during the National Socialist period as well as during the years of former East Germany. Students will more closely examine the concept of these totalitarian (“Big Brother”) societies as they are portrayed in the films The Lives of Others (von Donnersmarck, 2007) and Triumph of the Will (Riefenstahl, 1935). Moreover, students will also analyze multiple scholarly writings on each topic as well as the text 1984 by George Orwell, which represents a fictional interpretation of these surveillance/“Big Brother” states. Students learn about Germany’s history during the Nazi and East German periods, through scholarly articles, texts, and films. After studying the role of totalitarian control and surveillance in Germany, the class will visit Berlin during Spring Break to gain firsthand experiences with the ways the German government implemented total control, as well as how citizens reacted and, in some cases, resisted. Site visits will include: Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, Hohenschönhausen Prison Memorial, the German Historical Museum and DDR Museum, the Topography of Terror, the Berlin Wall, and more. The excursion will provide experiences that deepen students’ understanding of the historical and cultural contexts studied in the course.

M W F 10:30-11:30 a.m., 200 French House

Associate Professor Gibril Cole

The post-World War II period witnessed widespread anti-colonial agitations and calls for the end of European colonial rule in African societies. After a century of European imperial dominance, the de- colonization of Africa became one of the turning points in the history of the post-war world. The struggle for political liberty by the peoples of Africa also inspired the civil rights movement in the United States. By the 1950s, young African leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah in West Africa and Nelson Mandela in South Africa, stood in solidarity with other advocates for civil and political rights, Martin Luther King in the US, and Jawaharhlal Nehru in India. Students in this class will be exposed to developments in this momentous episode in world history, when the peoples of East, West, And South Africa embarked on the quest for freedom and, following that, in the establishment of modern nation-states. Students will critically assess the triumphs and challenges of emergent African nation-states in the post-colonial period. We shall pay close attention to the cultural, economic, social, and political developments in the respective regions of the African continent. The course will give students an opportunity to better obtain a more comprehensive knowledge of African societies.

M W, 5:30-7:00 p.m., 221 French House

Dr. Tim Landry

A study of the life, career, and legacy of Richard Milhous Nixon is as Ronald Reagan described the man himself—complex and fascinating, a worthy pursuit for a university Honors student. You will learn not so much what to think, but how to think. A rigorous university History course will impress upon you that historical figures such as Nixon are much more than “hero” or “villain.” They are incredibly complex human beings and politicians.

Applying the lessons of the history you learn here will lead you to becoming a valuable informed and thinking citizen—no matter your political persuasion or philosophy. The critical thinking skills you learn here—objectively examining historical issues, conflicts, and personalities—will be valuable in your future career—be it law, medicine, the arts, or whatever field you choose.

T Th 4:30-6:00 p.m., 221 French House

Dr. Tim Landry

While this course will emphasize the impactful presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson, this is primarily a cradle-to-grave study of the 36th President of the United States and the 20th century world in which he grew up and greatly shaped. One cannot properly understand American history without comprehending Lyndon Johnson’s Texas Hill Country and its history as an American frontier, Lyndon Johnson’s family legacy, and how this shaped him into the man and politician he became. An ongoing theme throughout the semester is the struggle described in the Amazon banner on your textbook, the constant tension in Lyndon Johnson’s life and career “between political expediency and getting things done for the American people.” He was the ultimate politician and the original (and best) practitioner in American political history of the “art of the deal.” Learning about Lyndon Johnson the political dealmaker not only increases our understanding of American History but provides lessons—both dos and don’ts—for your own future careers in politics, law, medicine, or wherever your ambitions take you. This course, like Professor Landry’s course on Richard Nixon, will contain elements of a history graduate school-level seminar, in that you will be expected to read, write, discuss, and contribute original thought to the discussion and not simply regurgitate factual material. However, this course contains more traditional lecture sessions than the Nixon course.

T Th 1:30-3:00 p.m., 218 French House

Associate Dean Granger Babcock

**For LASAL Scholars only**

Students will study the root causes of poverty in Louisiana, and the daily challenges that children who live in poverty face. Students will study the root causes of wetlands loss in coastal Louisiana and the impact of sea-level rise related to climate change. The State of Louisiana is a foundation course for LASAL Scholars.

T Th 1:30-3:30 p.m., 214 Peabody Hall

Associate Professor Joy Blanchard

Study the history of campus free speech and expression. Do students have more rights than professors? How does the 1st Amendment apply to campus today?

T Th 12:00-1:30 p.m., 134 Allen Hall

Senior Instructor Peter Cava

Queerness can serve as a lens through which to theorize social differences—not only sexuality and gender, but also race, nationality, neurocognitive functioning, and class. Moreover, lived experiences of queer sexualities and genders depend on how those social differences intersect with the others. Too rarely does educational curriculum promote empathetic engagement with queer intersections, despite many students and their loved ones embodying them. This course will survey how queerness can shape knowledges and experiences of Blackness, Indigeneity, Israel/Palestine, autism, poverty, and more.

M W F 12:30-1:30 p.m., 135 French House

Associate Professor Kerri Tobin

Homelessness in the United States is a significant social problem, but there are ways we can understand the issue more deeply, and there are approaches that have worked and are working to get individuals and families into permanent housing. In this course, we will explore experiences and public perceptions of homelessness and how policymakers have responded.

Section 065: T Th 9:00-10:30 a.m., 200 French House

Section 066: T Th 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m., 200 French House

Dr. Raquel Robvais

COVID-19 has reminded us of the questions we wrestle with in the care of our health. Does care belong to us, is it bequeathed to us or something we borrow for a bit, only to be taken away? This isn’t anything new or novel, African Americans and other marginalized communities have lived with this uncertainty. The health of black and brown bodies is often negotiated and devalued, taking shape in all sorts of ways: environmental injustices and exclusion of pain medication, artificial intelligence, and the assertion of human differences. This course lays a theoretical foundation for students to understand why we are seeing inequities today. We will examine how social factors such as poverty, community context, work environments, etc. affect our health. A critical observation and sustained examination over the semester will lead us to understand that America’s collision with COVID-19, the disparity in health care, and the denial of health equity is the fulfillment of the omen, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

T Th 1:30-3:00 p.m., 200 French House

Professor Craig Harvey

This course will examine the ethical issues surrounding engineering and technology systems that serve society. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of ethical decision-making when designing and implementing systems that affect people and communities. Case studies, including the Challenger disaster, will be used to highlight real-world ethical challenges and lessons learned. Course format: The Ethics in Engineering course will include case study presentations and discussions, student-led dialogues on ethical issues in technology, and in-class reflective writing exercises. Additionally, students will complete a final paper on ethics that incorporates their personal ethical statement and its application to their future career. Who should take this course? This course is well-suited for students in engineering, science, and mathematics, as well as anyone interested in exploring how ethics shapes our technological world. No technical background is required—students from all academic disciplines are welcome, and diverse perspectives will enrich class discussions.

T Th 1:30-3:00 p.m., 221 French House

Instructor Jennifer Cramer

Explore methods, theory, ethics, and practice of doing oral history with Louisiana Veterans. Examine cultural, institutional, and relational dimensions of military and veteran history and culture through the study of war literature, history, and individual experiences. Create primary documents to be archived jointly at the T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History at LSU Libraries and the Library of Congress Veterans History Project experiences.

T Th 3:00-4:30 p.m., 204 Coates Hall

Instructor Daniel Felty

This honors seminar explores the philosophical and theological dimensions of good and evil, particularly in relation to the existence of God. The course begins with an introduction to basic metaethics, addressing questions about the nature of moral truth and the foundation of ethical judgments. Students will then examine moral theories concerning God, exploring how metaethical theories relate to theism. Finally, the seminar delves into the problem of evil and criticisms of theism from a moral perspective. The seminar encourages critical thinking and rigorous development of personal perspectives on these complex issues.

Wed 3:30-6:30 p.m., 200 French House

Professor Wayne Parent

While the early 20th century was marked by a great migration of African Americans away from the American South, the last 50 years have been defined by a dramatic reversal of that trend. Atlanta and other parts of the south have become black migration magnets and centers of social, cultural and economic black prosperity. What is so attractive about these places? Why Atlanta? Why Dallas? Why Houston? Why Charlotte? What other places or types of places in the south are changing or are likely to change in this way? This course will examine those trends and the impacts on black politics and the politics of the south as a whole.

T Th 9:00-10:30 a.m., 135 French House

Professor Darius Spieth

This colloquium gives students an opportunity to explore in-depth the life and work of Pablo Picasso, arguably the most important visual artist of the twentieth century. We will study Picasso in the broader framework of the evolution of modern art and relate key events in his artistic career to currents in twentieth-century history, politics, and social developments. Attention will be given to the influences of non-Western cultures on Picasso, particularly African art and its colonial context. Guest lectures and museum visits will supplement and enrich class activities.

T Th 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m., 127 Coates Hall

Assistant Professor William Ma

This course has two goals. One is to provide a broad survey of propaganda art in China throughout the twentieth century. It examines a variety of visual arts, from prints to posters to comic books to plays and operas, this section of the course aims to look at the intersection of the arts in context – in specific historical and political moments. One period will serve as the focus, thanks to a collection of more than 80 propaganda posters in the collection of the Hill Memorial Library. Collected by the late Professor of Geology at LSU Judith Schiebout during her visit to China in the early 1980s, the posters cover a wide range of topics from public health to elementary education to sports and leisure to the promotion of science and industry. The period when Dr. Schiebout visited China was at the beginning of the country’s economic reform after decades of strict Communist control and isolationism, and the posters reflect these changes. In the second half of the course, students will study, research, and produce several thematic essays for an online exhibition. Students will also use other materials from the Hill Memorial Library collection from twentieth-century China such as artist book by Xu Bing, Chinese and Hong Kong comic books, and Professor Richard Doubleday collection of twentieth-century Contemporary Chinese posters to supplement their understand of Chinese visual culture in the past several decades. Themes explored in the online exhibition will be dependent on what students would bring to the table based on their research and analysis of the prints. They include but not limited to the changing representation of women, images of urbanism in post-reform economy, the meaning of public and public space, representation of ethnic minorities, technology of printmaking, shifting view of childhood, the appropriation of “tradition” and the “past,” etc. There is no prerequisite for this course, though a reading knowledge of Chinese is helpful.

Tue 4:30-7:30 p.m., 135 French House

Dr. Gwendolyn Murray

This course will provide an overview of modern Brazilian cinema the period of democratization of the 1980s to the new wave of contemporary Brazilian cinema (retomada) of the 1990s to the present. The course will analyze selected films as art and cultural production as well as their representational properties that speak to the sociopolitical context in which they were produced. Films selected for this course are all oriented around the central themes of poverty, race, violence, and gender, and where possible, the intersection thereof.

M W F 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 127 Coates Hall

Associate Professor Touria Khannous

Students will gain not only an expanded knowledge of a broad range of films from around the globe but also an increased understanding of films’ aesthetic approaches to the theme of the body. Main topics are gendered bodies, digital bodies, bodies and trauma, bodies of the disappeared, black bodies, disabled bodies etc. Students will read essays on the screened films as well as theoretical essays which serve to familiarize them with key theoretical concepts in film studies.

Section 061: T Th 1:30-3:00 p.m., B0035 Allen Hall

Section 062: T Th 9:00-10:30 a.m., B0035 Allen Hall

Instructor Henry Goldkamp

Handspringing across a grand, circus-worthy expanse of clown-centric disciplines—stand-up, performance arts, film, television, fiction, poetry, paintings, and theater—we will ultimately seek the answer to the question: Is the clown an integral part of the human condition? Beginning with a swift history of clown—and quickly dispelling all pejorative connotations that only recently have begun to cling to its polka-dot coat—we will survey the various ways that failure provides a universal springboard for the some of the most fruitful, dynamic artworks ever created. This honors class is designed for the material, cross-genre thinker who would like to learn erudite theories and concepts as they pertain to a whoopie cushion, squirting flower, or banana peel. We will study the gag as cultural artifact, the semiotics of clown makeup and costume, as well as investigate and analyze the manner in which clown is represented by famous and lesser-known works of literature, cinema, and pop culture.

T Th 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m., 103 Coates Hall

Professor Blake Howe

Steel pannists in Trinidad. Bagpipers in Bulgaria. Turntablists in the Bronx. In this course, we study people who have made music in a variety of different traditions, from the global to the local, the remote to the familiar, the past to the present. As we explore the variety of roles played by musicians in historically and geographically diverse societies, we’ll become more aware of the various social relationships upon which all forms of music-making (or musicking) depend. No musical experience required.

Section 900: T Th 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m., 129A MDA Building

Section 901: T Th 3:00-4:30 p.m., 135 MDA Building

Instructor Brett Duggan

In this course, students will learn, practice, and analyze the transferable skills learned from improvising theatre, including gaining a broader understanding of Improvisation in theater history, modern culture, and the business world. By studying and applying the principles of spontaneous problem-solving, listening, and teamwork, students will gain a strong foundation in how this artform can improve one's work and social life. The various improv tools and step-by-step techniques will help students overcome self-consciousness while discovering how to analyze outcomes in a proactive and impersonal way. Lessons will be experiential, and as the course continues, the complexity of the experiments will deepen. The student will read and compare renowned improv practitioners' and teachers' writings in conjunction with the classwork. Improv is a truly an art-form and a way into experiencing Theater and Performance without a dictator of the script.

Students will be asked to research a specific theatrical genre (for example, Chekhovian Magical Realism, Southern Gothic, or Brechtian) then analyze it. Assigned class teams will be asked to present their findings to the class in presentation and incorporate this research into practical application through Performance.

Section 902: T Th 9:00-10:30 a.m., 1005 East Laville Hall

Section 903: T Th 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m., 1005 East Laville Hall

Professional-in-Residence Jennifer Lau

This course explores music in society and its cultural relevance and is designed to increase the students’ appreciation of music as well as enhance their listening skills. We will use classical music as a starting point for developing listening skills by examining Western classical art music of the Medieval Period to the 21st century. Students are introduced to various periods, styles, and composers of music from various cultures and times. By placing individual pieces, techniques, and composers into context, we can observe how individuals innovate or disrupt the norm to create lasting change. There are many different kinds of music, and all music has value. You’ll have several opportunities to apply your new knowledge and analysis skills to your favorite kinds of music. This course will also provide an introduction to the fundamentals of music and musical notation.

Mon 3:30-6:30 p.m., 1005 East Laville Hall

Instructor DJ Sparr

In the Music Composition for Non-Majors course, students will explore methods for crafting musical works, utilizing composition to learn the fundamentals of music. This process follows a "discover, drill, create" technique, where students uncover musical concepts with guidance from the teacher, practice through improvisational exercises using those concepts, and finally, compose original pieces employing these newfound skills. There will also be study of important historical pieces in many genres. You will write a paper and do a presentation on one of these pieces. Each class will commence with a listening and discussion session centered around significant classical or art music pieces, incorporating the study and critique of compositions from both historical and contemporary periods. In addition to weekly composing assignments, students will undertake a "final composition project" and be required to write a paper and deliver a presentation on a historically significant piece of "art music.” Upon completing the Creative Music Composition course, students will gain enhanced knowledge and skills in music composition, a deeper understanding of music history, and proficiency in collaboration, presentation, critical thinking, & discussion.

Section 905: Wed 3:00-6:00 p.m., 1005 East Laville Hall

Section 906: Wed 6:00-9:00 p.m., 1005 East Laville Hall

Instructor DJ Sparr

In Songwriting, students will learn methods to craft their own songs (lyrics, melody, and chords). The course presents songs from the past and present for analysis. Students engage in weekly “roundtable” discussions workshopping their songs. There are no required pre-requisites for the course. A typical class will start with group singing and musical exercises such as solfeggio (aural skills) while talking about musical fundamentals. From there, we will present and discuss “hit” songs where we will analyze lyrics, chord progressions, and historical/social context. Class then becomes either group work on your own songs or the performances of your own songs.

T Th 12:00-1:30 p.m., 203 French House

Dr. Joseph Givens

This course examines post-war American art through the lens of subculture analysis. By exploring underground and alternative groups not as fringe curiosities, but rich communities of artistic innovation, subversion, and identity formation. This course will explore modern and contemporary art that has emerged from outside the traditional art historical canon. The course lectures and readings will examine the historical contexts, counter-cultural influences, and artistic inspirations of Surrealism, Fantastic Realism, Visionary Art, Psychedelic Art, Underground Comix, “Lowbrow” Art, Pop Surrealism, Street Art, and other outsider art movements.

T Th 9:00-10:30 a.m., 220 French House

Assistant Professor Alex Orwin

T Th 12:00-1:30 p.m., B0001 Allen Hall

Professor: Mark Wagner

Students will study the text of the Arabian Nights, its role in medieval Islamic society, its literary techniques, and its influence on Middle Eastern and Western literatures.

T Th 1:30-3:00 p.m., 113 Acadian Hall

Instructor Herman Kelly

This course will survey the development of The Civil Rights Movement in America and its impact on present day society. In recent years people have developed an interest in The Civil Rights Movement. Many of the icons have left the scene and it is necessary to maintain the legacy. Between 1953 and 1968 there was an intense effort, employing a set of methods, aimed at a set of goals, and involving a wide array of groups, and charismatic leaders. This movement began with the bus boycott in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (McMickle: 238). This community was active in the Civil Rights era, and therefore this experience is important for students to understand and articulate the importance of this narrative called The History of The Civil Rights Movement. We will discuss and explore the Rhetorical Traditions of this movement and the persons and events that led to this historical movement in this country.

T Th 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m., 218 French House

Associate Professor William Mari

Spend the semester looking at broadcasts, films, flyers and other persuasive artifacts from the conflict, and do a field trip to see more of all these up close. No prior history courses needed—we’ll be reading three books on the role of propaganda during WWI, how Germany and the Axis used it in the leadup to and during WWII, and how the Allies responded at a moment when the free world didn’t look like it would win. But it did, and we’ll see how that happened.

T Th 3:30-5:00 p.m., 127 Coates Hall

Senior Instructor Christina Rothenbeck

This course examines how literature shapes the ways we understand America as a country and as an ideal. The ultimate goal of the course is to show the current time as a continuation of ongoing conversations about what America is, can be, and should be, and how literature and other art forms shape and often interrogate that understanding.

T Th 12:00-1:30 p.m., 132 Allen Hall

Professor Josh Grimm

American horror films have long reflected the fears that haunt U.S. society, making them a valuable means of understanding our past, our future, and ourselves. Through lectures, group-led discussions, and selected readings, we’ll explore horror classics and past anxieties while also using modern horror films to answer the elusive, important question: What are we afraid of today?

T Th 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m., 135 French House

Dr. Jack Stetter

T Th 12:00-1:30 p.m., 218 French House

Dr. Will Puente

Step into the shoes of an appellate lawyer. Moot Court gives you the chance to argue complex legal issues, present before a panel of judges, and improve your critical thinking and communication skills. In this course, you’ll brief cases, argue tough legal questions, and learn to think and speak like an appellate attorney. Learn to brief and argue cases, experience authentic appellate advocacy, and gain skills for law school and beyond.

Wed 3:30-6:30 p.m., Location TBA

Professor John Nauright

This course is an examination of sport in the international context from the beginnings of modern sport in the late nineteenth century to the present day with particular focus on the emergence of the international sports industry and transformations from local to global support for clubs, athletes and events. Focus will be given to international organizations such as the International Olympic Committee and FIFA, major international sports leagues, the globalization of sport and sporting goods production and consumption and to American sporting organizations operating internationally and international sporting organizations in the American sports environment. Particular attention will also be paid to the post-COVID explosion of interest in women’s elite sports internationally.

T Th 3:00-4:30 p.m., 324 Hodges Hall

Dr. Nancy Laguna-Luque

Introduction to scholarly writing and research in the social sciences. This course is designed to develop and improve students’ scholarly reading, writing, presentational, and research skills. In this seminar students will conduct research in multiple ethnic heritage and racial identities depending on their interests. Students will explore the cultural practices and social experiences that have given shape to the identity of the other person in our country.

T Th 4:30-6:00 p.m., 116 Stubbs Hall

Associate Professor Wonik Kim

We are increasingly living in a faster and smaller world. Globalization has radically changed our daily life for better or worse, so we must understand the nature of this gigantic transformation of social structures and cultural zones. Focusing on the politics of globalization, we will consider answers to critical questions:

• What is the essence of globalization?
• Are we converging into a world society?
• Is the nation-state becoming obsolete?
• How serious is the globalization backlash?
• Why populism everywhere?
• Are globalization and democracy contradictory with each other?
• How has globalization caused climate change?
• Are we all deranged?
• If globalization is transformative, what will be and should be a new world?
• What does it mean to be a citizen of the world? What is global justice?

Tue 4:30-7:30 p.m., 218 Stubbs Hall

Professor Wesley Shrum

How can we understand recent and future technological developments that promise to change the very nature of what it means to be human? The entities created by Artificial Intelligence may be compared and contrasted with the ways that humans have conceptualized unseen but often influential entities such as gods and ghosts, androids and cyborgs. Course topics include shamanism, the technologies of consciousness, witchcraft, magical beings, and the afterlife.

Section 062: T Th 12:00-1:30 p.m., B0051 Allen Hall
Assistant Professor Emily Davis

Section 903: T Th 12:00-1:30 p.m., 135 French House
Dr. Gabrielle Stanton Ray

Section 904: T Th 12:00-1:30 p.m., 113 Acadian Hall
Dr. Allen Ray

What makes a good leader? What inspires supreme political ambition? And what allows certain leaders to gain widespread adoration and tremendous power? (Is it their rhetoric? Their rizz? Or something else?) Find out with thinkers like Xenophon, Machiavelli, Shakespeare, and more!

Section 063: T Th 3:00-4:30 p.m., 1005 East Laville Hall
Instructor Lara Kees

Section 900: T Th 3:00-4:30 p.m., 113 Acadian Hall
Dr. Asher Gelzer-Govatos

Section 901: T Th 3:00-4:30 p.m., 135 French House
Dr. Gabrielle Stanton Ray

Section 902: T Th 3:00-4:30 p.m., 218 French House
Dr. Allen Ray

Stand at the edge of the abyss-in good company. Explore how works from the Book of Job, Shakespeare, Nietzsche, Hardy, and more have wrestled with despair, doubt, and the search for meaning.

M W F 10:30-11:30 a.m., 221 French House

Professor Cecil Eubanks and Associate Professor Michael Henderson

An immutable facet of human existence seems to be the desire for metaphysical solace, or a sense of being beyond oneself, in short, of transcendence. We call it by many names, construct myths about it, tell stories of its power and presence, and construct symbols that evoke it. Equally inevitable, it appears, is that this desire includes a sense of the good, the ethical, which beckons us to a standard of conduct, both individual and social. As we construct our social institutions, we are motivated to shape them in a fashion that respects and resembles those ethical codes. Thus, our politics is shaped by a sense of transcendence, (a God, the Gods, the Good, or Justice are just some of the names we give it), and we are in this fashion the creators and possessors of a political theology.

Section 090: T Th 3:00-4:30 p.m., 221 French House
Professor Vince LiCata

Section 905: T Th 3:00-4:30 p.m., 220 French House
Associate Dean Drew Lamonica Arms

An experiment in connecting themes of self-discovery across transformative texts. How do you make sense of the world and your place in it? Explore two of the most important books in English literature; the book voted “the best science book ever” by the Royal Institution of Great Britain, and the award-winning memoir of a still active scientist. Who will you identify with?  

Section 906: M W F 10:30-11:30 a.m., 218 French House

Section 907: M W F 1:30-2:30 p.m., 218 French House

Dr. Asher Gelzer-Govatos

Humans seem hard-wired to look for beauty in the world, and to produce it in works of art. But sometimes the search for the beautiful gets weird, and people end up obsessing over the potential for perfection. Why would a man sell his soul to keep his youthful good looks? Why would a young woman read so many horror stories that she begins to see all of life as one? We'll explore these cases of obsession and many more as we read works by authors like Euripides, Oscar Wilde, and Jane Austen, and think about the power of art forms like visual art, music, literature, and film.

T Th 12:00-1:30 p.m., 220 French House

Dr. Jack Stetter

A course in aesthetics and the philosophy of art, with a focus on the philosophy of film and the notion of “fantasy.” Includes a healthy dose of the classics, like Eisenstein, Chaplin, Hitchcock, Bergman, and Kubrick, in addition to reading texts on the nature of images, film, and technology. Get to think and discuss cinema/images more critically!

Section 060: T Th 10:30-12:00 p.m., B0055 Allen Hall
Associate Professor Sherri Johnson

Section 061: T Th 10:30-12:00 p.m., 113 Allen Hall
Assistant Professor Richard Godden

This class will explore how medieval people understood themselves, the world around them, and other-worldly things. HNRS 2404 will consider judgment and salvation, sex and gender, monstrosity, travel and pilgrimage, chivalry and war, authority and dissent, and the birth of the University. Our readings will feature Augustine’s Confessions, The Song of Roland, Dante, Chaucer, the Arabian Nights, love lyrics and comic tales, travel narratives from Europe and the Middle East, and Christine de Pizan.

Wed 3:30-6:30 p.m., 220 French House

Professor Kevin Cope

Nothing is more peculiar or diverse than the “modern,” twenty- first century world that we inhabit.  Who can explain a time, a place, and a culture in which one can pursue almost any goal or career, whether riding a spacecraft to the moon, baking artisanal bread, singing about love in cocktail lounges, or discovering the secrets of subatomic particles?  Where did this strangely wonderful and astoundingly varied world come from?  What ideas, habits, customs, or quirks sustain it? HNRS 2406 opens the exciting process of answering these questions as it looks at the long era that created modernity and that fancied everything from amoebas to fireworks to considerations of reincarnation.  This lively course surveys the rich, complicated, and entertaining transition from the medieval to a self-consciously modern world, beginning with the invention of the printing press (and the first mass-media period) and proceeding through a delightfully meandering course to the French and American revolutions.  Most of the free, online texts studied in the course come from English-language literature and philosophy, but these readings will open windows to the full spectrum of European cultural and artistic activity during the Renaissance and Enlightenment.  Students will enjoy gaining an understanding of the social and intellectual foundations of many of the great debates of our time.

Section 060: 10:30-12:00 p.m., 1220 West Laville Hall
Associate Professor Leonard Ray

Section 061: 10:30-12:00 p.m., 113 Acadian Hall
Boyd Professor Suzanne Marchand

This course introduces students to some of the most fascinating and provocative figures, texts, and works of art created between about 1800 and the present. Topics include Romantic literature, fin de siècle psychological realism, fascist architecture, and postwar attempts to grapple with the horrors of the World Wars. Readings include works by Mary Shelley, Karl Marx, Henrik Ibsen, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Friedrich Nietzsche, John Maynard Keynes, Benito Mussolini, and Hannah Arendt. Course assignments include weekly quizzes, two take-home midterm exams, a final exam, and one creative assignment.

T TH 9:00-10:30 a.m., 221 French House

Professor John Church

In the Law of Wine course students will discover:

• How wine became a valuable commodity and an important cultural resource in Europe
• Why the wine market in the US was altered by Prohibition
• How a single event in 1976 created a "New World" of wine production
• Why champagne only comes from Champagne, France
• How international negotiations, litigations, and treaties only partially resolve the conflict between the Old World and New World of Wine
• Using the wine market as a vehicle, students will compare the development of a wine culture in Europe and the U.S.
• The development of the European wine market including the establishment of Geographic Indicators as a marketing tool; the political, social, and economic impacts of Prohibition in the US; post- Prohibition regulation of alcohol and the growth of the US wine industry; and the policy and regulation of competition in the alcohol industry
• How competition between the Old World and New World of wine production revolves around the labeling schemes

Wed 3:00-6:00 p.m., 203 French House

Dr. Alvera McMillan

Explore Louisiana’s rural culture through fieldwork, seminars, and service-learning. Engage in asset-driven community engagement through communication, collaboration, and nature place-based learning. Explore interdisciplinary connections within rural communities. Enhance skills in research and communication with real-world application. Engage in service learning, demonstrating collaboration and leadership. Reflect on personal and collective connections to people, cultures, and the natural world.

T Th 9:00-10:30 a.m., 134 Allen Hall

Professor Dominique Homberger

This course guides participants from an understanding of the evolutionary and cultural history of the human species and its effects on the ecology of this Earth to a deeper understanding of the ethical and social dimensions of human actions. Required readings from books and articles from primary and secondary literature describe, critically analyze, and examine the interactive effects among the current environmental conditions, humans, animals, and plants from the perspective of scientists (e.g., ecologists, biologists, sociologists, and psychologists) and ethicists. News items are provided to illustrate current issues that emerge during class discussions. Students are expected to have read and digested the assigned readings before class, be ready to contribute to the class discussions, and take notes.