General honors (GH) classes

Previously Offered general honors (GH) classes

General Honors (GH) courses are the heart of the University Honors Program curriculum and feature small class sizes, dedicated faculty members, interdisciplinary perspectives, active learning and an exciting array of topics. These classes can be accessed by searching under University Honors in the catalog. The following is an example of a General Honors (GH) course that has been offered in the past. This course may or may not be offered again.

GH301: climate and evolution

     
 

course description

This course examines the relationship between human evolution and climatic transitions.  A basic observation to work from in this course is that nothing on the planet, whether it is organic or atmospheric, is static.  Students will learn the basic principles behind how to interpret long and short term changes in the climate and in human behaviors and biology.  Traditionally, humans are understood to interact with their environments differently than other species.  With culture and technology to alter their environment, humans can be argued to have stepped outside the evolutionary constraints all other species experience.  This course questions that interpretation by placing the climate as a factor that has been a continual shaping, if not driving, factor in the evolution of Homo sapiens.  This tension between what has been molding human development will serve as a recurring question we can apply to each phase of human development.

InstructorS: Dr. SHAWN PHILLIPS & dR. gREG bIERLY