The Honors College Faculty Fellows program encourages curricular innovation, giving faculty the opportunity to design new Honors College courses that also fit within the General Education Foundations (GEF) course framework.
2019-2020 Faculty Fellows
Christina Fattore
POLITICAL SCIENCE, EBERLY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
“Global Politics Through Film” will use film to connect students to major events in global politics in the 20th and 21st centuries, helping emphasize the importance and impacts of these events on individuals and societies. Using both films and supplemental readings, students will discuss the core issues of global politics during this period, working to understand how entertainment products can impact political behavior and opinions, and how satire, comedy or drama can be used to make politics more accessible to the everyday citizen. Students will also apply methods and principles of critical inquiry to explore global issues and cultural, linguistic, or experiential diversity.
Christine Hoffmann
ENGLISH, EBERLY COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES
“Allegories for Boldness” challenges students to conduct a literary investigation of boldness primarily through a survey of the Bluebeard folktale—a story retold from the fifteenth century to present in forms as varied as fiction, poetry, music and film. With the perplexing original moral warning readers to “Be bold, be bold … be not too bold,” the course will enable students to engage in broader conversations about the entanglements of folklore and history, making connections between the arts and today’s world. Students will ultimately compose their own adaptation of the tale.
Brent McCusker
GEOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY, EBERLY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
“Global Development in a Changing World” explores international development, challenging conventional ways of thinking on the topic. Students will move from theoretical discussions of international development to applying this knowledge to the development policy cycle. Working to answer real-world development questions about development and international aid, students will learn data software, enabling them to collect and analyze large development datasets. Students will employ evidence to address the policy cycle at major international aid agencies.
Matthew Titolo
COLLEGE OF LAW
“A Short History of Money” will teach students to see the big historical and cultural picture behind policy debates surrounding money and debt in the modern world. Using primary and secondary sources, students will dive into a deep study of money’s entanglements with politics and society across several centuries. The class will discuss money, debt and state formation; current controversies over Brexit, the EU and the Euro; Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and other issues related to money’s place in the modern political and legal order.
Kathryn Williamson
PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY, EBERLY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
“Ambassadors for Change in West Virginia” will help students develop skills in leadership and service, empowering them to network with real leaders and advocate for change in West Virginia. Students will learn about education and industry in West Virginia, immersing themselves in the issues facing first-generation college students. Students will learn how to plan and lead discussions, becoming leaders and allies for rural first-generation college students. Working with the National Science Foundation-funded First 2 Network, students will connect with first-generation participants in the network across the state, helping strengthen statewide ties and perspectives.