Self and Society

Students must complete two sections of HONR 2047 between their second and fourth years. In HONR 2047, students choose from a selection of social science introductory courses that provide a foundation in the language, perspectives, methods, and research approaches of a specific social science discipline.

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.

Holocaust Memory
Media, Power, and Society
Justice and the Legal System II
Humanitarianism
Equality & the Law
Epidemics in American History
Value Conflict in Politics

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.

Ambitious Multilateralism: Global Social Movements

Professor Laura Engel

HONR 2047:10 - 3 Credits

CRN: 44868

TR 11:10AM - 12:25PM

Fulfills:

GPAC:Critical Thinking in the Social Sciences

Course Description: Is it better to live in a multilateral world? Why is it good to be multilateral? Is multilateralism just everyone talking while the powerful hit mute?

It has been said that the challenges of our global interconnected and interdependent world require “an ambitious multilateralism” (Bautista, 2024). Different from the past, individuals around the world are encouraged to step outside of their local and/or national interests to explore, take part, and embody a shared agenda or set of activities with others; to champion a global vision of shared humanity; to tackle problems of a global scale. The United Nations 2030 Agenda, marked by 17 global goals, is one such global effort and movement aimed at sustainable development and the pursuit of peaceful, inclusive, just, and sustainable societies. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), comprised of 17 distinct, yet interrelated goals, aim to offer the world a roadmap. The SDGs are not just a list of goals with targets and indicators, but can also be understood as a global social movement, defined as networks of key actors that pursue and shape an agenda across national borders, are impactful on global governance, as well as national and local political agendas around the world. Envisioned in the 2030 Agenda is multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary approaches to global challenges. Yet, critiques abound – from the lofty nature of the goals to the agenda being driven only by select groups, classes, or global regions, undermining their mission of representative democracy and global equity.

Through this course, students will build knowledge about the history and contemporary multilateral institutions, talk with individuals in and visit international agencies, learn about the challenges of implementing the global goals, and offer opportunities to make their mark through a research project related to the global goals in context. In the process, the class will grapple with big questions, like Is multilateralism the best way to solve global problems? Has the UN helped create a more peaceful world? Is multilateralism just everyone talking while the powerful hit mute? Do global goals help or hurt people? Through these inquiries, we will better understand how countries work together through multilateralism, how they could work together, and develop the kinds of skills and dispositions needed to navigate our respective places within these dynamics.

Bio: Dr. Laura Engel is a Professor of International Education and International Affairs with GW's Graduate School of Education and Human Development. A recipient of GW's 2022 Morton A. Bender Teaching award, Dr. Engel's research interests focus on the influence of global education policy trends in national and regional systems.

Transitional Justice

Professor Elvira Maria Restrepo

HONR 2047:12 - 3 Credits

CRN: 45175

W 12:45PM - 3:15PM

Fulfills:

GPAC Critical Thinking in the Social Sciences
CCAS: Peace Studies Major Group 2 International Peace and Conflict requirement
ESIA: International and Comparative Politics Advanced Fundamental
ESIA: Conflict Resolution concentration, Comparative Economic and Social Systems concentration, International Politics concentration
GWSB: Non-Business Elective/Unrestricted Elective

Course Description: Since the end of the Cold War, peace building interventions have increasingly implemented Transitional Justice (TJ) initiatives. TJ incorporates a dynamic set of multidisciplinary mechanisms adapted to societies transforming themselves after a period of pervasive human rights abuses due to conflict or authoritarian regimes. While definitions of TJ may vary, they all encompass the political, legal and moral dilemmas faced during these transitions.

The field has expanded in three significant ways: it has moved to embrace a larger number of disciplines, transcending its initial legal focus; it has broadened its goals; and it has also raised high expectations in troubled societies. Even though TJ cannot achieve all of its goals, due to its inherent limitations, this fascinating and increasingly popular field merits its careful study.

The purpose of this course is to: (i) examine and analyze TJ mechanisms including trials, truth commissions, reparations, lustration/vetting, amnesties, reforms, and memorialization; (ii) investigate normative and political debates raised by TJ processes; (iii) assess the effects and reach of TJ processes; and (iv) discuss real examples stemming from a variety of countries that have or are experiencing huge violations of human rights.

The Supreme Court and the Constitution: Life in Wartime

Professor Jill Kasle

HONR 2047:13 - 3 Credits

CRN: 48436

T 12:45PM - 3:15PM

Fulfills:

GPAC:Critical Thinking in the Social Sciences

Course Description: This course will take a close look at how the Supreme Court does its job.

The Supreme Court has only one job, ostensibly, and that is to exercise “the judicial power of the United States” (Article III, U.S. Constitution). But what is the judicial power of the United States? How does the Court exercise this power? And most of all, how does the Court exercise the judicial power of the United States at a time when the country is led by a president who has filed vastly more lawsuits (227 as of late October 2025) in federal court in the first ten months of his second Term than any other president has ever filed in a four-year or eight-year Term?

The U.S. Constitution was written by men who had survived great political turmoil so the Framers intended the document to serve as a blueprint for a stable government and provide a list of rights for citizens of a new democracy. But lately the Constitution has come under assault for its role in perpetuating grave social injustices. Even those who retain faith in the justice and efficacy of the American constitutional order have reasons to occasionally doubt the legitimacy of this Supreme Court. The Court is increasingly accused of nakedly partisan decision-making, its membership is unrepresentative of modern America, and three of its members entered office under unusually contentious circumstances.

This course is designed to introduce students to the theory and practice of American constitutional law since 1787 as told through the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. Readings consist of court cases, primary and secondary sources from American history, and commentary from contemporary legal scholars. Students will leave the course with an informed perspective on the Court’s role in helping (or hindering) social change.

Bio: Prof. Kasle is both a lawyer and Associate Professor of Public Policy and Public Administration. She has extensive experience in telecommunication policy, has served on the Board of Advisors for GW's Undergraduate Law Review Journal, and was GW's university marshal for over two decades!

Holocaust Memory

Professor Walter Reich

HONR 2047:83 - 3 Credits

CRN: 45440

W 3:30PM - 6:00PM

Fulfills:

This course has no GPAC designations
CCAS: Upper-level History European Regional requirement
ESIA: Comparative, Political, Economic, Social Systems, Conflict Resolution, Contemporary Cultures and Societies, Europe and Eurasia, International Politics, and Security Policy concentrations

***Note that UHP students will only receive Self & Society credit if they are enrolled in the HONR 2047 section (CRN: 45440)***

Course cross listed with JSTD 2002.82 (CRN: 46102) and IAFF 3205.80 (CRN: 46388)

Course Description: The sources, construction, development, nature, uses and misuses of the memory, or public consciousness, of the Holocaust. How do different publics in different countries, cultures and societies know, or think they know, about the Holocaust from diaries, memoirs, testimonies, fiction, documentaries, television, commercial films, memorials, museums, the Internet, social media, educational programs and the statements of world leaders—some of them historically accurate and some of them highly distorted, often for political and national reasons. The challenge of representing the Holocaust with fidelity and memorializing its victims with dignity and authenticity. The impact of Holocaust memory on contemporary responses to other genocides and crimes against humanity. The increasing efforts to use, misuse, abuse, minimize, deny or attack the Holocaust for political, diplomatic, strategic, ideological, antisemitic, anti-Zionist, or other purposes, including the growing efforts to create false or distorted narratives of the Holocaust in the service of nationalist, political or ideological ends. The effectiveness—or lack of effectiveness--of Holocaust memory in teaching the Holocaust’s contemporary “lessons,” especially the vow of “Never again!” The roles of Holocaust memory, and of Holocaust denial or minimization, in international affairs, including in the Middle East in general and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in particular. The psychological, national and diplomatic role of Holocaust memory in Israeli consciousness and behavior. The effects on Holocaust memory of the passage of time since the event. This course uses a cross-disciplinary approach, drawing on the fields of politics, society, ethics, literature, history, cinema, individual testimony, group psychology, social psychology, individual psychology and international affairs.

Bio: Dr. Reich is the Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Professor of International Affairs, Ethics and Human Behavior and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He formerly served as a Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Media, Power, and Society

Professor Steven Livingston

HONR 2047:84 - 3 Credits

CRN: 46485

TR 12:45PM - 2:20PM

Fulfills:

This course has no GPAC designations

***Note that UHP students will only receive Self & Society credit if they are enrolled in the HONR 2047 section 84 (CRN:46485)***

Course cross listed with SMPA 3194.85 (CRN: 46484)

Course Description: This seminar considers democracy in the United States through the lens of social and economic power structures. Drawing on sociological and historical accounts, discussions are organized around a core hypothesis: Democratic decay is the consequence of endemic power disparities along class and racial lines. The seminar is also informed by the instructor's fieldwork in Michigan during the 2024 elections.

Bio: Dr. Steven Livingston is a Professor of Media and Public Affairs and International Affairs and is the Founding Director of the Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics. Dr. Livingston studies the role of digital technology in governance and the provisioning of public goods, including human security and rights.

Justice and the Legal System II

Professor Jill Kasle

HONR 2047:85 - 3 Credits

CRN: 48437

M 12:45PM - 3:15PM

Fulfills:

This course has no GPAC designations

***Note that UHP students will only receive Self & Society credit if they are enrolled in the HONR 2047 section 85 (CRN:48437)***

Course cross listed with PPPA 2001.11 (CRN: 45196)

Course Description: TBD

Humanitarianism

Professor Michael Barnett

HONR 2047:86 - 3 Credits

CRN: 48438

T 12:45PM - 3:15PM

Fulfills:

This course has no GPAC designations
CCAS: 2000-level Political Science course elective

***Note that UHP students will only receive Self & Society credit if they are enrolled in the HONR 2047 section 85 (CRN:48438)***

Course cross listed with PSC 2454.80 (CRN: 48495)

Course Description: This class focuses on humanitarianism – the attempt to provide life-saving relief during moments of urgency to distant strangers. Because humanitarianism is so closely identified with humanity, acts of compassion and benevolence, and people sacrificing to help strangers, it is often treated as the posterchild of what is good in the world. But nothing is pure and this course takes a sober look at the blends. This course is divided into three sections. Section I considers the “humanity” in humanitarianism. What does it mean to act in the name of humanity? Who is supposed to act? When? For what purpose? Is humanitarianism a Trojan horse for imperialism? Do acts of relief and care bring out the best in us, or are they a mixture of care and power? Section II provides an overview of the history of humanitarianism. It begins by exploring the theory and practice of humanitarianism, and then turns to its history. A key point is that there are several humanitarianisms, and global politics deeply influences their life and times. It ends by looking at the current state of the humanitarian architecture. Section III examines some of the dilemmas of humanitarianism. Doing good is far more morally treacherous than it appears. Trade-offs have to be made. Some lives saved and others sacrificed. All too often attempts to do good only create more harm. What are humanitarians to do?

Bio: Dr. Barnett is the University Professor of International Affairs and Political Science. His research interests span the Middle East, humanitarianism, global governance, global ethics, and the United Nations. His most recent books include Global Governance; Israel and the One State Reality; The Star and the Stripes: A History of the Foreign Policies of the American Jews; Paternalism Beyond Borders; and the edited collection Humanitarianism and Human Rights: Worlds of Differences?

Equality & the Law: Introduction to Legal Research and Writing

Professor Zachary Wolfe

HONR 2047W:80 - 3 Credits

CRN: 47013

MW 4:45PM - 6:00PM

Fulfills:

WID Requirement
This course has no GPAC designations
CCAS: Law & Society minor requirement

***Note that UHP students will only receive Self & Society credit if they are enrolled in the HONR 2047W section 82 (CRN: 47013)***

Course cross listed with UW 2031W.80 (CRN: 45186)

Course Description: This course offers an introduction to how lawyers and legal scholars research and write about specific disputes that arise in the context of complex social issues. It is one of the required courses for the minor in law and society and satisfies a WID requirement.

Legal writing, like all forms of scholarly writing, is best understood in context and in practice. In this course, we have the opportunity to explore an ongoing challenge to our society in general and the legal system in particular: the promise of equality, and how government relates to it. We do so by examining judicial decisions, statutes, regulations, and law review articles concerning matters related to race, sexual orientation and gender, disability, and others issues that continue to advance major challenges to the system’s ability to realize legal and civil equality. That examination requires an understanding of legal audience expectations as well as the ability to use specialized research techniques and craft written analysis in particular forms, so students will learn about the nuances of argument in the interdisciplinary field of law and the unique requirements of legal research and writing.

Bio: Professor Wolfe teaches writing courses themed around law and social movements and an advanced Writing in the Disciplines course in legal writing. After obtaining his Juris Doctorate from The George Washington University Law School, he practiced public interest law for several years and eventually began teaching part-time. Although he's been a full-time professor for a number of years, he continues to practice law to a limited extent, mostly by consulting on cases and filing an occasional amicus brief. He is an active legal writer, including as the author of the fourth edition and quarterly updates to the seminal Farnsworth on Contracts and of annual editions of Hate Crimes Law. More info (and Supreme Court tips!) are on profzwolfe.com.

Epidemics in American History

Professor Vanessa Northington Gamble

HONR 2047W:82 - 3 Credits

CRN: 47339

MW 12:45PM - 2:00PM

Fulfills:

WID Requirement
This course has no GPAC designations

***Note that UHP students will only receive Self & Society credit if they are enrolled in the HONR 2047W section 81 (CRN: 33986)***

Course cross listed with AMST 4701W.80 (CRN: 47342) and HIST 3001W.81 (CRN: 47341)

Course Description: This course surveys the history of epidemics in the United States from the late nineteenth century to today. It examines the development of the medical and public health responses to epidemics and the social, political, cultural,and economic impact of epidemics on American history and culture.This semester we will focus on the 1918 influenza epidemic; race, ethnicity, and epidemic disease; polio; and the tensions between public health and civil liberties, including the development of anti-vaccination sentiments. We will use primary documents, historical accounts, museum visits, and films to understand the history of these diseases and topics. Of course, we will conduct our study of the history of epidemics in the shadow of the contemporary COVID-19 pandemic. However, we will not focus on COVID-19 in this class.

Bio: Professor Northington Gamble is University Professor of Medical Humanities and Professor of American Studies. A physician, scholar, and activist, Dr. Gamble is an internationally recognized expert on the history of American medicine, racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care, public health ethics, and bioethics. She chaired the committee that took the lead role in the successful campaign to obtain an apology in 1997 from President Clinton for the United States Public Health Syphilis Study at Tuskegee.

Her many honors include appointment to the National Council on Humanities; election as a Fellow of the Hastings Center; membership on the Penn Med Board; an honorary degree from SUNY Upstate Medical University; and the Distinguished Graduate Award from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. A proud native of West Philadelphia, Dr. Gamble is an elected member of the prestigious National Academy of Medicine.

Value Conflict in Politics

Professor Ingrid Creppell

HONR 2047W:83 - 3 Credits

CRN: 48022

T 12:45PM - 3:15PM

Fulfills:

WID Requirement
This course has no GPAC designations

***Note that UHP students will only receive Self & Society credit if they are enrolled in the HONR 2047W section 81 (CRN:48022)***

Course cross listed with PSC 3192W. 23(CRN: 47971)

Course Description: This course will begin by situating value conflict (VC) as a type of conflict. We’ll look at some aspects of its “history” and discuss how political philosophers have sought to find solutions to conflicts over values. Then we delve into particular value conflicts. VC is not just a product of today’s wokeness debates. Some of the topics we discuss include conflicting ideas on the meaning of freedom and equality, DEI (identity vs. color-blind justice), religious neutrality vs. religious protection, feminism vs. patriarchy, and nationalism vs. cosmopolitanism (immigration debates), among other possible issues. Ultimately, we hope to gain perspective on diverse points of view as value-conflicts and ask how or if intractable polarization of this nature can be resolved.

Bio: Dr. Creppell is an Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs. She is currently working on enmity as a conceptual, normative, psychological and historical phenomenon.