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University Honors Program

 

Arts and Humanities

Students complete two sections of HONR 2053 between their second and fourth years. HONR 2053 courses offer a thematic, multidisciplinary, and cross-cultural analysis of the arts and artistic expression. 

Spring 2027 Courses

Cross-listed Honors courses

NOTE: Students must be registered in the HONR section in order to receive UHP credit. For courses that are cross-listed with another department, the UHP can add "credit" for a course to the student's DegreeMAP within the major and/or minor's requirements block. Students must have officially declared the major or minor with their respective school, and it must be reflected on their DegreeMAP at the time of the request. Students may also petition their school/major to accept HONR courses they find are relevant to their curriculum requirements. For any questions, please see a UHP Program Manager.

A cross-listed course is a course that is shared with another department, please pay careful attention to the GPAC attributes associated with each cross-listed course.

Upper-Level Course Substitution Option

On occasion, a UHP student may have a particular interest in a certain course or topic outside of their major which we are not able to offer formally through the UHP but which may nonetheless conform to some or all of the ideals of an Honors course. If a UHP student can demonstrate that they will benefit personally and intellectually from that course, they may be granted an exception to count one non-UHP course toward the UHP upper-level course requirements. Please review the upper-level course substitution option webpage for more information.

Keeping the Faith

Professor Jenna Weissman Joselit

HONR 2053: 80 - 3 Credits

CRN: 73885

M 3:30PM - 5:00PM

Fulfills:

  • GPAC Critical Thinking in the Humanities

***Note that UHP students will only receive Arts & Humanities credit if they are enrolled in the HONR 2053 section 80 (CRN: 73885)***

Course cross listed with HIST 2001. 81 (CRN: 73765) and REL 2990. 80 (CRN: 74331).

Course Description:  An untraditional look at religious traditions in modern America, this seminar explores the variety of ways by which faith makes itself felt and visible.  Moving from the 20th century into our own day, it draws on a series of case studies of outsized personalities, distinctive phenomena and the occasional scandal to get at how religion shapes the American landscape.

Bio:  Dr. Joselit is the Charles E. Smith Professor of Judaic Studies & Professor of History. Among her many areas of academic study, she specializes in the history and culture of America’s Jews and also writes a monthly column on American Jewish culture for Tablet: The Online Magazine of Jewish Culture.

The Crisis of Liberalism

Professor Daniel Schwartz

HONR 2053: 81 - 3 Credits

CRN: 73886

MW 3:45PM - 5:00PM

Fulfills: 

  •  

***Note that UHP students will only receive Arts & Humanities credit if they are enrolled in the HONR 2053 section 81 (CRN: 73886)***

Course cross listed with HIST 2001. 82 (CRN: 78046).

Course Description: What is liberalism? Is there a 'crisis of liberalism' occurring in the United States, as well as around the world? If liberalism is in crisis, what are the features of this disorder and what are possible responses? Is it possible to believe in the further progress of liberal societies, or have they fallen into a decadent condition?

These are some of the key questions we will explore in this course. We will devote the first half of the semester to studying the  foundations of liberalism, early challenges to liberalism from its right and left flanks, and 20th-century developments in liberal thought from the Progressives to the political theorist John Rawls. The second half of the semester will focus on the period from the Revolutions of 1989 to the present age of crisis, in which critics on the right and left are waging war against a beleaguered liberalism, and the future of liberal democracy hangs in the balance.

Bio: Dr. Daniel Schwartz is a Professor of History. Dr. Schwartz specializes in modern European and American Jewish intellectual, cultural, and urban history and was recently named a fellow of the American Academy for Jewish Research.

Critical Social Thought: The Frankfurt School

Professor Joseph Trullinger

HONR 2053: 82 - 3 Credits

CRN: 72492

TR 12:45PM - 2:00PM

Fulfills: 

  • GPAC Critical Thinking in the Humanities
  • Philosophy: Declared majors/minors see department

***Note that UHP students will only receive Arts & Humanities credit if they are enrolled in the HONR 2053 section 82 (CRN: 72492)***

Course cross listed with PHIL 3100 Section 80 (CRN: 73594).

Course Description:  Why do we desire our unfreedom as if it were our freedom? In a time of runaway capitalist inequality and a political status quo unresponsive to brewing fascist resentment, a group of Marxist scholars came together to understand why the promise of communist uprising failed when it came so close to succeeding. Their Institute for Social Research was founded in Frankfurt, Germany in 1923. For decades this group generated some of the sharpest critiques of capitalist democracy and its propensity to slide into authoritarianism, forming the basis of what's sometimes known as "critical social thought" or "critical theory." In addition to their thorough critique of modern society, they found promises of utopian hope amidst this ruinous pseudo-progress—that a radically different world is possible. This seminar on "the Frankfurt School" will explore some of its most famous affiliated thinkers—Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Herbert Marcuse, Ernst Bloch, Walter Benjamin—and those modern thinkers who take up their radical hope in other ways (such as Angela Davis and José Esteban Muñoz).

Nietzsche & Political Thought

Professor William Winstead

HONR 2053: 83 - 3 Credits

CRN: 73194

T 3:30PM - 6:00PM

Fulfills: 

  • GPAC Critical Thinking in the Humanities
  • CCAS: 2000-level Political Science Course Elective Group E

***Note that UHP students will only receive Arts & Humanities credit if they are enrolled in the HONR 2053 section 83 (CRN: 73194)***

Course cross listed with PSC 2991 Section 80 (CRN: 73139).

Course Description: This seminar will be devoted to a close reading of a selection of Nietzsche’s most important texts, including works from his early, middle, and late periods. We will carefully explore the political orientation and implications of his writings as well as his broad philosophical vision of life. We’ll consider the relevance of Nietzsche’s views to our time, and we’ll ask about the ways in which Nietzsche’s views can empower our lives in a polarized world. Broadly stated, fundamental questions about philosophy, politics, and aesthetics will shape the horizon of our discussions. In addition, the following themes will be central to our conversations: The importance of Greek tragedy for a healthy politics, the relationship between art and politics, the conflict between master and slave moralities, nihilism and the nihilistic character of modernity, the politics of life and the affirmation of life in contrast to the narrowly circumscribed conception of politics characteristic of our age, the dangers of resentment and rage, and the nature of liberation and self-mastery. In addition to Nietzsche’s emphasis on the tragic character of life and his attention to tragedy’s decisive role in ancient Athens, we will also consider the emancipatory force of comedy in Nietzsche’s later writings. Taken as a whole, the seminar will introduce us to a series of non-standard philosophical insights and political themes that will beneficially expand our conception of the political and the possibilities of life. Close reading of texts and active class participation will be expected of all students

Diversity in Mughal Art: Seminar in South Asian Art

Professor Mika Natif

HONR 2053:84 - 3 Credits

CRN: 73099

W 12:45PM - 3:15PM

Fulfills: 

  •  

***Note that UHP students will only receive Arts & Humanities credit if they are enrolled in the HONR 2053 section 84 (CRN: 73099)***

Course cross listed with CAH 4182 Section 80 (CRN: 78178). 

Course Description: This course introduces students to the visual and material cultures of South Asia from early archaeological settlements to the contemporary period. The history of South Asian art is remarkably rich, diverse, and complex, consisting of many distinct but interconnected traditions and practices. Working chronologically, we will sample objects and sites from some of the key periods and places in its long history. Students will acquire knowledge of different cultures and their artistic practices, as well as the corresponding geographical, political, and religious contexts. While it is not possible to cover every period, culture, and faith in South Asia, the aim is for students to gain an overview of some of the major moments and achievements in the art history of the region and an understanding that ‘South Asian art’ is not a monolithic style or culture but a complex web of ideas, idioms, and interchanges.

Bio: Prof. Natif is an Associate Professor of Art History. A specialist in Islamic art, Mika Natif focuses on the intercultural exchanges and global connections that Muslim societies forged with the European sphere during the premodern period. 

Zen Buddhism

Professor Eyal Aviv

HONR 2053: 85 - 3 Credits

CRN: 73281

TR 2:20PM - 3:35PM

Fulfills:

  • GPAC Critical Thinking in the Humanities
  • Philosophy: Declared majors/minors see department

***Note that UHP students will only receive Arts & Humanities credit if they are enrolled in the HONR 2053 section 85 (CRN: 73281)***

Course cross listed with PHIL 3100 Section 82 (CRN: 74926) and REL 2990 Section 82 (CRN: 77851). 

Course Description: Were Zen Masters really ever "Zen"? In this class, we will begin by tracing Zen's development back to the Indian Buddhist tradition, Daoist philosophy, and Confucianism. We will then introduce the early Zen masters and how their teachings and practices evolved. A large bulk of the semester will be dedicated to the writings of the Japanese Zen Master Dōgen (1200-1253). Finally, we will end with contemporary Zen writers.

We will discuss questions such as: Why did a small movement take the religious and intellectual world by storm, first in China, then throughout East Asia, and eventually also in the West? How did Zen extend to visionaries like Steve Jobs, hip-hop producer RZA of Wu-Tang Clan, or poet Ocean Vuong? Finally, can Zen still teach us something important about life in the 2020s? 

Literary Love Stories

Professor Aaron Hamburger

HONR 2053: 86 - 3 Credits

CRN: 74815

MW 4:45PM - 6:00PM

Fulfills:

  • This course has no GPAC designations

***Note that UHP students will only receive Arts & Humanities credit if they are enrolled in the HONR 2053 section 86 (CRN: 74815)***

Course cross listed with ENGL 3210 Section 80 (CRN: 72107). 

Course Description: In this course, we'll examine three classic literary love stories from different time periods which also have been adapted into films: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, A Room with a View by E. M. Forster, and Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman. We'll explore the authors' approaches to discover how to spin a romantic tale with memorable characters and settings as well as surprising plot twists while avoiding pitfalls like sentimentality and cliche. We'll also compare scenes from the books with their film adaptations to note the varying ways these stories have been interpreted. Finally, we'll do writing exercises and write romantic stories of our own which we'll critique in a workshop in order to put these writers' strategies into practice. 

Bio: Prof. Hamburger is a Visiting Assistant Professor of English and previously served as a Professorial Lecturer at GW for many years. He is a novelist and short story author whose writings have also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Chicago Tribune.

Film, Politics, and Journalism

Professor Kerric Harvey

HONR 2053: 87 - 3 Credits

CRN: 77718

TR 2:20PM - 3:35PM

Fulfills:

  • This course has no GPAC designations
  • SMPA Majors: Elective credit for declared Journalism and Mass Communication Majors
  • SMPA Majors: Elective credit for declared Political Communication Majors

***Note that UHP students will only receive Arts & Humanities credit if they are enrolled in the HONR 2053 section 87 (CRN: 77718)***

Course cross listed with SMPA 3194 Section 83 (CRN: 74737) and SMPA 3195 Section 83 (CRN: 74738). 

Course Description: Based on the theory that the products of popular culture can provide important sociological and anthropological insight into the deep structure and the conceptual and well as the practical dynamics of self-governance, this course examines Hollywood film as a text for analyzing the crucial relationship between journalism and politics in American public life.

Drawing from the scholarly literature in media theory, political science, communications studies, semiotics, cultural studies, and media anthropology, students will explore how the American and international cinema frame the necessary tensions between leadership elites and the news media which are tasked with monitoring them. Special attention is paid to the complexities of implementing the idea of the “Fourth Estate” within the real-world context of the contemporary commercial press.

Topics examined will include: Journalism and political ethics, privacy, objectivity, the political economy of the press, technology’s effects on journalism as both a practice and as an industry, non-human reporting, the political impact of the press in deeply polarized societies, and the evolving role of free speech in an increasingly globalized society. 

Bio: Dr. Kerric Harvey is an Associate Professor of Media and Public Affairs as well as a working playwright and multimedia producer. Dr. Harvey writes about the media arts and cultural archetype in the public imagination, the anthropological effects of new media technologies, digital storytelling and the relationship between new media narratives and political identity.

Heidegger's Being and Time

Professor Mark Ralkowski

HONR 2053: 88 - 3 Credits

CRN: 77667

MW 3:45PM - 5:00PM

Fulfills:

  • GPAC Critical Thinking in the Humanities

***Note that UHP students will only receive Arts & Humanities credit if they are enrolled in the HONR 2053 section 88 (CRN: 77667)***

Course cross listed with PHIL 3100 Section 81 (CRN: 77681). 

Course Description: “When I left the auditorium, I was speechless. For a brief moment I felt as if I had a glimpse into the ground and foundation of the world. In my inner being, something was touched that had been asleep for a long time.” That is how one person described the experience of listening to Heidegger present his philosophy in 1929. Our advanced seminar will be an intensive and focused study of Heidegger’s Being and Time, one of the most influential philosophical works of the twentieth century. We will begin the course with an overview of Edmund Husserl’s phenomenological method, and then trace how Heidegger adopts and adapts this new way of doing philosophy in order to address the problems of existence. Second, we will work our way through Being and Time systematically, mastering Heidegger’s arguments and considering their implications for traditional philosophical problems in epistemology and ontology. Finally, we will look at the “turn” in Heidegger's later thought, and consider the importance of his philosophy for understanding language, art, and poetry, as well as his profound critique of modernity, which has influenced thinkers as diverse as Sartre, Marcuse, Derrida, Foucault, Lacan, Cavell, Taylor, Agamben, and Žižek. As Richard Rorty once said, “You cannot read most of the important philosophers of recent times without taking Heidegger’s thought into account.” This course is designed for students who want to know why.

Hollywood History and Politics

Professor Pat Phalen

HONR 2053: 89 - 3 Credits

CRN: 77809

MW 3:45PM - 5:00PM

Fulfills:

  • This course has no GPAC designations
  • SMPA Majors: Elective credit for declared Journalism and Mass Communication Majors

***Note that UHP students will only receive Arts & Humanities credit if they are enrolled in the HONR 2053 section 89 (CRN: 77809)***

Course cross listed with SMPA 3195 Section 84 (CRN: 77786).

Course Description: Are you obsessed with Hollywood?  Maybe you find yourself analyzing film and television content long after you’ve seen it.  Are you curious about the “when, where, why and how” of Hollywood production – its past, future...and the politics of it all?  If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you’ve come to the right place.  This course will cover the development of film and TV from the early days of the studio system to the “miracle” of television…to the streaming content on your computer.

Bio:  Prof. Phalen is an Associate Professor of Media and Public Affairs. Her academic research focuses on the economic sociology of mass media organizations, particularly the various occupational cultures at work in television production.

Being Human

Professor Alice Alexa Joubin

HONR 2053W: 80 - 3 Credits

CRN: 73474

TR 2:20PM - 3:35PM

Fulfills:

  • WID Course
  • This course has no GPAC designations

***Note that UHP students will only receive Arts & Humanities credit if they are enrolled in the HONR 2053W section 80 (CRN: 73474)***

Course cross listed with ENGL  2800W Section 81 (CRN: 71469).

Course Description: How has the human condition been re-defined throughout history from Plato and Aristotle through Mandeville, Ovid, and Shakespeare to Michel de Montaigne, Mary Shelley, Franz Kafka, and science fiction? As AI tools provoke rethinking of creativity it is all the more important to examine what it means to be human to construct the social spaces of humanity and how we envision the relationships between human and non-human entities such as the machine environment animals and objects. This course examines how imaginative literature bears witness to the limits of the human. 

Bio: Dr. Joubin is director of the Digital Humanities Institute and a Professor of English, Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Theatre, International Affairs, and East Asian Languages and Cultures. She is a leading voice in humanistic AI and social justice questions, and she was awarded GW's 2022 Trachtenberg Prize for Scholarship.

Shakespeare on Film

Professor Alica Alexa Joubin

HONR 2053W: 81 - 3 Credits

CRN: 72037


TR 3:45PM - 5:00PM

Fulfills:

  • WID Course
  • This course has no GPAC designations

***Note that UHP students will only receive Arts & Humanities credit if they are enrolled in the HONR 2053W section 81 (CRN: 72037)***

Course cross listed with ENGL 3441W Section 80 (CRN: 73290).

Course Description: How did Shakespeare’s plays go from the page to the stage and the screen? What distinguishes the stagecraft from filmcraft? This course examines cinematic representations of Shakespeare’s biographies, tragedies, comedies, and history plays. The history of Shakespeare on film began in 1899, shortly after the invention of the celluloid film. Students will acquire critical tools to appreciate Shakespeare as both drama and as film.

Bio: Dr. Joubin is director of the Digital Humanities Institute and a Professor of English, Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Theatre, International Affairs, and East Asian Languages and Cultures. She is a leading voice in humanistic AI and social justice questions, and she was awarded GW's 2022 Trachtenberg Prize for Scholarship.

After the Holocaust

Professor Jenna Weissman Joselit

HONR 2053W: 82 - 3 Credits

CRN: 77717

M 12:45PM - 2:25PM

Fulfills:

  • WID Course
  • This course has no GPAC designations

***Note that UHP students will only receive Arts & Humanities credit if they are enrolled in the HONR 2053W section 82 (CRN: 77717)***

Course cross listed: TBD

Course Description: World War II may have come to an end in 1945, but destabilizing conditions – displacement, hunger, political turmoil and prejudice – continued for several more years, affecting millions of people in Europe, the Middle East and the United States. This seminar explores those conditions. Drawing on sources as varied as eyewitness accounts, government proceedings and novels, it looks at the variety of ways in which the war and what became known as the Holocaust shaped life on the ground between 1945-1950.

Bio:  Dr. Weissman Joselit is the Charles E. Smith Professor of Judaic Studies & Professor of History. She specializes in the history of daily life in modern America and the ways in which it intersects with religious, ethnic and cultural identity.