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Sycamore Summer Seminars

During Sycamore Summer, you will participate in a one-week seminar hosted on Indiana State’s campus, located in Terre Haute, Indiana from July 14 to 20, 2024. Participants select from a variety of seminars conducted under the teaching guidance of the University's dedicated faculty. Apply to Sycamore Summer online today! Space is limited.

Creative Writing

Video: Summer Honors at Indiana State University: Creative Writing

Dr. Amy Ash

English, College of Arts and Sciences

20 capacity

This seminar invites students explore their creative side and to strengthen their critical thinking, analysis, and writing skills in the process. In this course, students will read and discuss a variety of contemporary poems, stories, essays, and plays that exemplify the range and diversity in contemporary creative writing today. They will explore how to write and revise in a variety of genres, forms, and styles as they discover their own voice. They will approach creative writing though a multidisciplinary lens, considering how the written word relates to other artistic fields and disciplines, as well as how it engages with and reflects our world. Students will learn about the literary communities and opportunities that Terre Haute and ISU have to offer and become active in the literary community themselves through a public performance of their work at the end of the week.

Diversity of Food, Music, Dance, Literature, and Language in Latin America and Spain

Video: Summer Honors at Indiana State University: Latin America

Dr. Katherine (Kate) Christie

Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (LLL)

College of Arts and Science

35 capacity

Gain new perspectives as we explore the diverse Spanish-speaking world by examining and analyzing areas such as food, music and dancing, literature, and language. Meet native speakers who will journey with you as you improve your language skills, learn to make a Colombian/Venezuelan staple food, and learn the basic steps of some of the most popular dances of Latin America. Coursework will use authentic children’s books in Spanish and Open Educational Resources (OERs) for the textbook(s). Through individual daily practice and reflection, personal and peer investigation and presentation, and group analyzation we will form a community of learners embarking on a language and cultural learning that will produce tangible memories as part of the coursework. If you’re ready for an intense experience, join us for the journey!

Drugs, Pharmaceuticals, and Medicinals

Video Summer Honors at Indiana State University: Drugs, Pharmaceuticals & Medicinals

Dr. Richard Fitch

Chemistry and Physics, College of Arts and Sciences

15 capacity

What is a drug? Many of us have a vague understanding of this, but not much more. How do drugs work? Where do they come from? What are the benefits and risks of drugs to people and society? How are drugs developed and marketed? What are the differences between legal and illegal drugs? These questions and more will be answered during this ISU Summer Honors course. In the morning seminar, we will discuss natural and man-made drugs, their chemistry, and how they work in people. We will learn about a wide range of drugs, including pain killers, antibiotics, and drugs acting on the brain to relieve depression and anxiety or to help us think more clearly. We will learn about prescription and over-the-counter drugs. As preparation for the above, a foundation of chemical principles will be provided through discussions and presentations focusing on analytical techniques. In the midday laboratory, we will conduct experiments that isolate or synthesize a number of compounds discussed in the seminar, as well as analyze their composition. As part of the laboratory, we will also have a campus field collection trip to collect local plants and extract chemical compounds from them.

Engineering Pack-A-Palooza

Video: Summer Honors at Indiana State University: Engineering: Pack-A-Palooza

Brian M. James

Automotive Engineering Technology Management (AETM) Department

Bailey College of Engineering and Technology

24 capacity

What is packaging? It's the unsung hero that keeps our world moving, protecting everything from your breakfast cereal to the latest tech gadgets. This week, dive into the heart of packaging design and testing, turning your curiosity into real, durable solutions. That is Packaging - a field where creativity meets practicality, and with a 100% career placement for our graduates, it's also your first step towards a thrilling and rewarding career. An exciting future in packaging is waiting for you!

Fundamentals of Aviation

Video: Summer Honors at Indiana State University: Fundamentals of Aviation

Troy Allen

20 capacity

Are you the adventurous type that likes to be challenged? Would you like to work in a dynamic environment. There is something for you in the exciting field of aviation. This course will touch on those opportunities and what it takes to qualify you to work in the aviation industry. This will not just be a “sit in a seat and listen to someone talk to you experience”. You will be immersed in hands-on activities such as piloting an aircraft, flying a drone, go on an aviation field trip and compete against classmates in fun assignments. If you are looking to enjoy this summer experience and learn at the same time then buckle your seat belt and prepare for takeoff…your about to enter the exciting world of aviation.

Genome Science

Video: Summer Honors at Indiana State University: Genome Science">

Rusty Gonser

24 capacity

A complete copy of the entire human genome is contained in each and every cell of your body. Your genome contributes to those similarities, which make you part of the human species, and to those differences, which distinguish you from your neighbor. It is a record of your health, your history, your ancestry, and your identity. Genome studies will result in important breakthroughs that will revolutionize science, medicine, and conservation. Students will learn and perform techniques that are used to generate genomics data by using state-of-the-art genomics equipment. In addition, we will discuss ethical issues related to the responsible use of genomic information.

Honors Seminar in Elementary Education

Video: Summer Honors at Indiana State University: Elementary Education

Melissa Nail

Teaching and Learning

Bayh College of Education

12 capacity

Participants will work with local elementary students in a summer program offered in the local Terre Haute Children’s Museum. Elementary Education Seminar participants will EXPERIENCE teaching from DAY ONE! They will work with children, assist the teacher, and teach small groups of learners. They will MAKE a DIFFERENCE with young children and will LEARN about the teaching profession.

Introduction to Social Work

Video: Summer Honors at Indiana State University: Creative Writing

JoEllen Henson

Department of Social Work, College of Health and Human Services

40 Capacity

This course will provide an overview of the Social Work profession. There will be an opportunity for students to learn through classroom and agency-based experiences about the role of a social worker, various community social service agencies, and how social workers respond to complex human concerns. This course is open to any high school students who are interested in working in a helping profession.

Introduction to the Law

Video: Summer Honors at Indiana State University: Introduction to the Law

Levi Allen

An important condition for a robust democracy is the rule of law, meaning that everyone is subjected to the same laws and that those laws are equally applied. In “Introduction to the Law,” we will further explore the law, how it is applied, and how it affects our daily lives. Students will review famous cases in the United States, draft their own case briefs, and finally, participate in a mock trial. (Please note: This seminar is not just reserved for those who are interested in one day being a lawyer, but anyone who is broadly interested in democracy, politics, and the law).

Making History: Adventures in Archives, Museums, and Films

Summer Honors at Indiana State University: Making History

Dr. Steven Stofferahn

15 capacity

History is who we are. But how do we make meaningful sense of the past, and how do we share important stories with the world? Students will find out by exploring Terre Haute’s wicked past as America’s “Sin City,” the life and legacy of union leader and Socialist Presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs, and the harrowing experiences and inspirational outreach of Holocaust survivor Eva Kor. In addition to digging into these topics through primary sources, documentary films, recent scholarship, exhibitions, and interviews with authors, filmmakers, and museum directors, seminar participants will also get hands-on archival experience by collaboratively researching real historical sources at the ISU Library’s Special Collections. Family and friends visiting the class on Saturday morning will be treated to the discoveries we make about these fascinating artifacts, many of them over 700 years old!

Mobile Forensics: Learning How to be a Student High Tech Crime Unit Investigator

Video: Summer Honors at Indiana State University: Cyber Criminology

Jason E James

School of Criminology and Security Studies, College of Arts and Sciences

25 capacity

Do you like learning hands-on? Do you want to learn how to become a student mobile forensic investigator and work on real world cases while in school? No doubt that mobile devices have become part of our lives and have revolutionized the way we do most of our activities. As a result, a mobile device is now a huge repository that holds sensitive and personal information about its owner. With the increasing prevalence of mobile phones in people's daily lives and in crime, data acquired from phones has become an invaluable source of evidence for investigations relating to criminal, civil, and even high-profile cases. It is rare to conduct a digital forensic investigation that does not include a phone. This course will begin your journey to learning mobile forensics and becoming a student investigator in Indiana State University’s High Tech Crime Unit. In this hands-on seminar, you will learn with actual mobile devices such as iPhones and Samsung Galaxies and how investigators take a seized mobile device and follow the process, they use in the High-tech Crime Unit Laboratory and find digital evidence used to prove guilt or innocence in a crime. Your week will be filled with a working in a real High Tech Crime Unit Cyber lab, working with student investigators on how to collect digital evidence, how to preserve it and then transporting the devices back to the lab and using technology to analyze them.

Practical Persuasion: Exploring Choices

Video: Summer Honors at Indiana State University: Practical Persuasion: Exploring Choices

Dr. Natasha A. Rascon

Department of Communication

College of Arts & Sciences

40 capacity

Did you buy a Stanley cup? Do you think Lebron James is the GOAT? Did you attend a Taylor Swift or Beyoncé concert? Why or why not? If you are interested in learning about the persuasive strategies behind these decisions, take this seminar. If you like music, sports, video streaming, social media, or personal branding, you will enjoy this seminar. We will critically analyze messaging across various social media platforms, in popular television shows and films, in advertisements, and through your personal brand! We will collaborate to create content that applies persuasion skills to address a current topic of persuasion that our group will select. Come collaborate, learn, apply, and grow through this seminar.

Preparing for Paris 2024: Training for the Olympic Games

Video: Summer Honors at Indiana State University: Preparing for Paris 2024: Training for the Olympics

Rebecca Stewart & Kristi Adams

Kinesiology, Recreation and Sport; College of Health and Human Services

30 capacity

The 2024 Summer Olympics are right around the corner! Prepare your mind with knowledge of past and present Olympic Games. Learn what it takes to train like an Olympic athlete by participating in various sport activities throughout the week. During the week you will learn about controversies, nutrition, history, benefits of hosting an Olympic Games and so much more! You don’t want to miss out on this interactive experience!