Course Descriptions

HNRS 1100
Honors Philosophical Inquiry
Prof. Catherine Peters

Philosophical Inquiry is an introductory exploration of central questions and interpretations of human existence, with special emphasis on theories of knowledge and theories of reality, carried on in light of the Catholic intellectual tradition. While there are many ways to go about pursuing this inquiry, this course will be divided according to Ancient (beginning circa 600 BC), Medieval (circa 300-1300AD), and Modern (circa 1500-1800AD) periods, examining some key themes and central figures in each. Our goal is to trace the development of philosophical thought in order to inform and enrich discussions today.

HNRS 1100
Honors Philosophical Inquiry
Prof. Robin Wang

This course is designed to introduce students to the various modes of philosophical inquiry and to the great philosophical questions that are relevant to a humanistic education in the Catholic intellectual tradition. More specifically, the aim of this course is to help students to acquire an understanding of fundamental metaphysical (the study of the nature of what is) and epistemological (the study of the nature and scope of human knowledge) questions in ancient philosophical texts from Greek and Daoist traditions. We will read classic texts such as Plato’s Dialogues, Epictetus, Daodejing and Zhuangzi so on. This course will assist students in acquiring the interpretive and evaluative skills necessary for assessing various answers to these fundamental questions, and to encourage them to develop a lifelong habit of philosophical self-reflection. A wider range of the course activities will be selected to promote each of these aims. It includes careful reading classical texts, a close analysis of these texts and formulations critical questions from class lectures, research project, course assignments and self-reflection.

HNRS 1200
Honors Theological Inquiry
Prof. Matthew Petrusek

This course provides a broad survey of foundational ideas and texts that have contributed—and continue to contribute—to the vast, diverse, and living body of moral thinking that constitutes “Christian Ethics.” The course is divided into two interconnected parts. First, we will examine the relationship between God and the good from philosophical, literary, and psychological perspectives. Second, we will leverage the questions and responses gained from our broad consideration of the question to critically examine the uniquely Christian conception of God and the good, especially mindful of its biblical roots. Here, we will also focus on the theology and ethics of two watershed Christian thinkers: St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. The course’s methodology and content engage the topic primarily from conceptual and theoretical perspectives; however, we will continually highlight the practical, concrete, every-day implications of the ideas throughout the semester. There will also be a unit dedicated solely to studying the principles of good argumentation.

HNRS 2000
Honors Colloquium: Research and Exhibition
Prof. Andrew Dilts

This course—required for all University Honors Program students—is an orientation to the practice of research and creative activity from a scholarly point of view. It introduces young scholars and creative people into the mechanisms, habits, assumptions, and knowledges of the academy. This includes 1) the formulation by the student of a problem worthy of in-depth study, 2) the articulation of how that problem can be addressed, and 3) the public exhibition of the student's work. In short, the course introduces students to formal, mentored academic research and creative work.

HNRS 2100
Honors Historical Analysis and Perspectives
Prof. Nicolas Rosenthal

This course examines the history of the United States and its place in the world through the lens of civil rights activism and advocacy, from the late-nineteenth century to the present. It traces the efforts by different groups to achieve and expand the full rights of United States citizenship, focusing on women, African Americans, and LGBTQ persons. Throughout the course we will ask a series of fundamental questions as we trace the experiences of these groups over time: What have been the conditions of these groups and what demands have they made for full citizenship in US society? What have been the different forms of activism and advocacy and how have they changed over time? How have their efforts been received and what changes have they made? What is the nature of these struggles today and how can we better understand them by examining this history? Since this is a survey class we will pay particular attention to how these efforts by different groups are contextualized within the broader changes of American society and culture.

HNRS 2200
Honors Nature of Science, Technology, and Mathematics
Prof. John David Dionisio

The course aims to introduce you to the theory and practice of computation as a scientific and engineering endeavor. Long after you finish this course, my hope is that you will be able to:

1. Understand the concept of computation through the lens of computer science, the primary discipline that studies it as a phenomenon in its own right.
2. Apply this knowledge of computation through rudimentary computer programming in either the JavaScript or Python languages.
3. Integrate this deeper knowledge of computation with its many uses in the real world, including but not limited to algorithms, networks, artificial intelligence, entertainment/media, and robotics.
4. Appreciate the abstract meaning of computation as a pure idea, separated from technology, particularly its relationships to infinity, complexity, tractability, and what problems are even “computable.”

HNRS 3000
Honors Colloquium: Post-Baccalaureate Success
Prof. Cassidy Alvarado

HNRS 3000 is an orientation to opportunities that await students beyond LMU (including national and international fellowships, postgrad service, and career opportunities) and preparation for pursuing them effectively. Early in the course, students will explore a variety of post-baccalaureate opportunities and reflect on their undergraduate experiences. Through peer-led writing workshops, students will learn how to connect their experiences to their future goals. Students will develop a personal statement and statement of purpose, which they can adapt for internship, job, graduate school, or prestigious fellowship applications. By the end of the course, students will submit a mock fellowship application package, and will be able to express their academic and professional goals.

HNRS 3100
Honors Ethics and Justice
Prof. Sue Scheibler

What does it mean to be a good person? How have philosophers answered this question? How can we use their work as a series of lenses through which to analyze media texts? As we read, think, write, watch, play, and discuss, we will attempt to answer the following questions: What role do media (film, TV, and video games) play in our construction of ourselves as ethical and moral people? Why do so many media texts rely on a simple binary of heroes versus villains, protagonists versus antagonists? In what ways does this overarching assumption about storytelling impact our individual and collective thinking about what it means to be human? Does it contribute to a worldview that sees things in black and white; placing people in categories of self/other; friend/enemy; member/outsider? Why do so many of our movies, TV series and video games stage the struggle between good and evil through the spectacle of violence? What roles do empathy and affect play in our responses to the images we consume and the ethical values we may take away from them? In what ways do technologies such as video games, AR and VR intensify our relationships to the questions we're exploring? Is there such a thing as an ethical gaze?

HNRS 3110
Beyond Good and Evil
Prof. Andrew Dilts

What does it mean for “morality” to have a history? What about “freedom”? Equality? The Self? The Psyche? The Soul? How are we to orient ourselves toward the task of living if we take seriously Nietzsche’s declaration that it is precisely “we knowers” who are “unknown to ourselves?” Beyond Good and Evil is a course in critical ethical and moral theory, studying the cultural and ideological formations that have shaped our understandings of ethical, social, political, and economic questions in our contemporary moment. In this small and reading-intensive seminar, we will focus on the fraught relationships between three definitive modern terms: the self, society, and freedom. We will ask hard questions about these terms which are meant to disorient ourselves from the certainty we have, so that we may be able to think more ethically, freer, and more honestly about our actions and reactions to the world in which we find ourselves.