Fredonia Foundations Honors-Only Sections
The following courses are restricted to students admitted to the Fredonia Honors Program.
EDU 226: Earth as a System (Section HR)
- Fredonia Foundations: ’23: Natural Science & Scientific Reasoning; Global Perspectives
- FF ’17: Natural Sciences; Global Perspectives & Diversity Dr. Michael Jabot
- Face-to-Face: T, 8:00-10:20 a.m. (CRN: 33903); 26 seats
- Thompson E114
Course description: In today's world, with increasing global population, shifting climate and a growing demand for raw materials and energy, a basic understanding of the Earth as a system is more important than ever. Earth as a System (ESS) aims to illustrate the interconnectedness and complexities of the planet's principal subsystems of hydrologic, atmospheric, biologic and geologic processes and their impact on shaping the planet and the lives of humans.
Class materials: This course is OER (no purchase required).
Assignments: data jam; country profile; NASA data contributions, open science
ENGL 131: Word and Image (Section HR)
- Fredonia Foundations: ''23 & '17: The Arts; Creativity & Innovation
- Dr. Susan Spangler
- Face-to-face: 11:00 a.m.-12:20 p.m.; (CRN: 35958); 26 seats
- Video Introduction
- Fenton 176
Course description: This course explores memoirs and autobiographies in the medium of sequential art narratives. After reading and analyzing models of graphic memoirs and storytelling elements, students will produce their own nonfiction narratives in a visual medium, choosing from a variety of illustration techniques to produce their artwork. No visual arts/new media experience needed.
Class materials: McCloud, Scott. Making Comics. Harper Collins, 2011.
Assignments: annotations on 5 graphic memoirs; your own graphic memoir or book proposal; writer’s reflection
ENGL 227: Stage/Screen (Section HR)
- Fredonia Foundations '23 & '17: Humanities; Creativity & Innovation
- Film Studies
- Dr. Shannon McRae
- Face-to-face: Tues., 3:00-5:50 p.m.; Thurs., 3:00-3:50 p.m.; (CRN: 36120); 26 seats
- This course is 4 credits.
Course description: This course explores cinema that is fantastic, surreal, and sometimes disturbing. In it, we discover how film, as a technology and an art, allows filmmakers to explore dimensions of human experience, consciousness, and imagination beyond the limits of the everyday and the ordinary.
Class materials: Required readings, provided on FREDLearn
Assignments: Short responses; analytical essay; final multimedia project
MUS 115: Music Appreciation (Section HR)
- Fredonia Foundations ’23 & ’17: Arts; Critical Thinking &Reason/Analysis
- International Studies
- Dr. Tiffany Nicely
- Face-to-Face: MWF 11:00 - 11:50 a.m. (CRN: 35313); 50 seats
- Music majors only
Course description: In an effort to understand the big question — “Why does music exist?” — we explore historical musical trends in terms of who made music, what they made, why they made it, how it was made, and whom it was made for. Further, we question the existence of a defined canon of music and musicians, casting our net of musical exploration wider than the typical cast of composers, styles, and genres.
Class materials: The Enjoyment of Music, 14th edition, by Forney / Dell’Antonio / Machlis, W.W. Norton, ISBN: 9780393543025
Assignments: weekly reading and listening assignments; unit quizzes; 10-minute presentation; final 5-page concert report
THEA 133: Introduction to Acting (Section HR)
- Fredonia Foundations ’23 & ’17: Oral Communication
- Mr. Paul Mockovak
- Face-to-Face: MW 11:00 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. (CRN: 35918); Seats: 18
- Rockefeller Arts Center 276
Course description: Basic craft skills of acting with emphasis on improvisation, character study, analysis, and scene work. Students will create their own scenes with structured guidelines to demonstrate understanding of craft, culminating in a final performance project.
Class materials: No textbook is required.
Assignments: 4- 5 creative/performance projects with associated research & analysis, self-assessments, and text memorization
WGST 201: Topics in Gender Studies (Section HR)
- Fredonia Foundations ’23 & ’17: Social Sciences; Creativity & Innovation
- Leadership Global Perspectives
- Women’s & Gender Studies minor
- Ethnic & Gender Studies major
- Professor Mathew Hall
- Video Introduction
100% ONLINE/Asynchronous (CRN: 35908); Seats: 25
Course description: This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to major topics and concepts in the study of gender, sexuality, and related systems of oppression (race, ethnicity, class, ability, national affiliation, etc.) from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. The course explores four broad themes that group together key concepts within the field of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies: feminism; the social construction of gender, institutions, and intersectionality.
Class materials:
- Fahs, Breanne. Burn it Down! Feminist Manifestos for the Revolution (Verso, 2024). IBSN: 1788735390
- Vaid-Menon, Alok. Beyond the Gender Binary (Penguin Workshop, 2020). ISBN: 0593094654
Assignments:
- weekly discussion-board responses reflecting on the module for the week
- a personal feminist manifesto paper outlining personal feminist views on a subject of personal importance modeled on other feminist, queer, etc. manifestos read in the course
- a final creative or scholarly work paired with a theoretically informed reflection outlining the artifact or creative work; alternatively, students can produce a scholarly work on a subject of interest to them: a feminist/queer theoretical guide on a particular subject, a policy brief, a transnational feminist comparison of a particular topic; or a video webinar in which they present their final project as a “Ted Talk”
Scroll down for upper-level Honors seminars.
Upper-Level Honors Seminars, Internships, and Learning Contracts
The following courses are restricted to students admitted to the Fredonia Honors Program. There may be additional restrictions placed on each course.
HONR 302: US/Puerto Rico: Cultural Realities of Colonialism (Section 01)
- Upper-Level Honors Seminar: The Human Experience
- Dr. Brian Boisvert
- Face-to-Face: TR 2:00-3:20 p.m. (CRN: 36155); 20 seats
Course description: The goal of this course is to provide students with additional knowledge of the US American experience, particularly that of the Puerto Rican population both on-island and those throughout the diaspora. The course will document the timeline from overseas Spanish colony through almost-independence and through the second colonization/occupation by the USA. Puerto Rican national identity, non-national identity, language, history, politics, culture, and government will be examined through a cultural lens relative to both the time in which it occurred and the repercussions they have presently. Special attention will be given to language and cultural artifacts, such as art of resistance in its relation to specific political realities. This course will answer the question, “What political and social events have had the greatest impact on Puerto Rico and its current culture, both on-island and across the diaspora?
Class materials:
Required texts:
- War against all Puerto Ricans
- Island of Fantasy: Colonialism, Exploitation, and the Betrayal of Puerto Rico
Suggested Readings:
- Esmeralda Santiago, “The American Invasion of Macun” (story)
- Tato Laviera, “Ame/Rican” (poem)
- Yazmin Hernandez, artist, series on Vieques/Bieké
- Jorge Duany, The Puerto Rican Nation on the Move
- Jose Luis Gonzalez, El Pais de Cuatro Pisos
- Julia de Burgos, poetry
- Juan Flores, essays
- Poetry by the Nuyorican Poets Cafe
- Pedro Pietri, “Puerto Rican Obituary” (poem)
Assignments: students will listen to podcasts; read selected chapters from texts (required and suggested); complete a research project about some aspect of last 125 years of Puerto Rican culture; students will also use virtual museums to investigate Puerto Rican identity/identities; engage in numerous writing prompts on FREDLearn that ask them to reflect on their learning, their identities, Puerto Ricanness, etc. Finally, any student interested in continuing this topic should consider the SUNY Fredonia J-Term study abroad experience at the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras Campus and the accompanying pre-departure 1-credit course.s, and a research paper.
HONR 302: Putting It Together: Sondheim & the Broadway Musical (Section 02)
- Upper-Level Honors Seminar: The Human Experience
- Dr. Natalie Gerber
- Face-to-Face: MWF 10:00-10:50 a.m.; (CRN: 35800); 26 seats
Course description: The history of the Broadway book musical is largely the history of Oscar Hammerstein and his protégé, Stephen Sondheim. In this course, we will look briefly at the origins of the Broadway musical, looking at the transition from vaudeville, revues and song showcases to the so-called integrated musical as best realized by Hammerstein (Showboat, Oklahoma), bringing our focus to the career of Sondheim, whose justly celebrated shows explored—and exploded--all of these possibilities, from the book to the concept musical. Students will work in small teams to present a different Sondheim musical (we’ll aim to discuss 8-10 of his shows), examining carefully not only the process of creation but also the distinctive achievements, challenges, and opportunities the musical presented as well as the commonalities it may hold with his other works (or with other works of musical theater). At the end of the semester, each student or student team will present what they have learned from Sondheim and demonstrate the lessons via an original creative or critical work accompanied by a critical reflection; the extrapolations need not be in musical theater but may certainly take the form of work toward an original show or of any component of a show (e.g., score, lyrics, etc.).
Class materials: Sondheim, Finishing the Hat and Look I Made a Hat (Knopf, 2011); Lapine, Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created Sunday in the Park with George (FSG, 2021); plus, libretti for musicals as needed; ability to stream/view videos and recordings of musicals outside of class; @SondheimLetters on Instagram; Genius.com (lyrics); various online videos; recommended: Spotify Premium (for listening to works)
Assignments: TBD but likely weekly discussion posts–song analysis + show commentary; collaboration; group presentation of a Sondheim show; final research-based project synthesizing learning; possible contribution to Sondheim Hub
HONR 304: The Biology of Sci Fi (Section 01)
- Upper-Level Honors Seminar: Science and Society
- Dr. Nicholas Quintyne
- Face-to-face: MWF 12:00 to 12:50 p.m.; (CRN: 36156); 26 seats
Course description: Science-fiction as a genre is a speculative imagining of a society driven forward by advances in science and technology. It is an exploration of the fantastic and our potential futures brought about by innovation. Robert Heinlen wrote that a definition of science-fiction could be “... realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method.” Science-fiction’s presence is ubiquitous: literature, comics, movies, and television have all been excellent vehicles to deliver tales to stretch our imaginations. But how does the science of science-fiction hold up to scrutiny? In this class, we will explore science-fiction from a biological perspective, and we will apply current knowledge in biology to see if we can determine the plausibility of different aspects of sci-fi.
Class materials:
Still TBD, but books will include the following:
- “Day of the Triffids” by John Wyndham
- “Playing for Keeps” by Mur Lafferty
Assignments: weekly journal entries; reflection pieces; short quizzes; class participation – including preparing information for informal presentation; final project
HONR 490: Honors Internship (Section 01)
- Applied-Learning Experience (may substitute for an Honors course)
- Dr. Natalie Gerber
- Modality variable; (CRN: 16751); 12 seats
Course description: Upper-level experiential learning opportunity through on-campus or off-campus placements. Nature of work will vary from placement to placement. This course is generally reserved for Honors Program members and students are responsible for finding and negotiating their own placement. Course requires students to consult with the Honors Program Director and the Career Development Office to complete a Learning Contract in accordance with college guidelines before the start of the internship.
Class materials: n/a
Assignments: TBD via a CDO learning contract and an Honors learning contract
- Honors Community & Event Planning Intern - https://fredonia.joinhandshake.com/jobs/5548781/share_preview
- Photo/Video & Website Content Development Intern - https://fredonia.joinhandshake.com/jobs/5548772/share_preview
- Social Media Intern - https://fredonia.joinhandshake.com/jobs/5548765/share_preview
- Honors Music Community Building Intern (description to come)
Students may opt to pursue an applied-learning project (minimum 2 credits) in place of any one course that is part of the program requirements. This applied-learning project could be a directed study, field experience, learning assistantship, internship, service-learning project, study-abroad experience and/or volunteer project. Students must consult with the program director prior to the experience both to set up an Honors Program Learning Contract and to arrange to receive credit. See this presentation for further information.