English 2373.45: Honors Seminar  *  *  * Spring 2005

Course Description: For several decades, much has been written about the decline of the liberal arts in American higher education.  Some of the issues surrounding this purported decline are the co-optation of academia by corporate interests (which leads to the university becoming a job-training program); the dependence of colleges and universities on local, state, and federal funding (which leads to the attenuation or outright elimination of liberal arts curricula during budgetary challenges); the constant increase of technologically based education, entertainment, and employment (which is thought to distract Americans from core cultural values), and the failure of public education to properly prepare students for college (which requires institutions of higher learning to remediate a certain percentage of students rather than educate them), and the collapse of sound curricular and administrative judgment within academia itself (leading to special interests, speech codes, quotas, and so forth).  Underlying all of these issues is anti-intellectualism on the part of many Americans, which both causes and is caused by the decline of a liberal arts education. Using a think-tank model, we will explore these issues and attempt to produce research worthy of presentation and/or publication.

Course Objectives:
Our objectives for this course will be to examine the ways in which Honors Programs address the diminution of the liberal arts education in the modern American university.  We will start with self-examination, using this seminar as a point of reference (since this issue is, or at least should be, a classic liberal arts problem).  Then, we (think YOU) will research the problem of diminishing liberal arts curricula, examine the reorganization of instructional and research resources within the liberal arts (i.e.. from traditional liberal arts study to newly emerging points of focus), and assess how Honors curricula may or may not compensate for the loss of liberal arts education.

Any objectives you would like to add to this course will be considered by the class as a whole and voted in or out.  It's your class, your Honors Program, your education, and your future.

Course Method: The best method for this class will be discussion, supplemented by in-class writing assignments and occasional quizzes.  I am in great hopes that discussion will threaten to displace other instructional time.  We will have speakers as needed, but only as needed.  If we need an expert, we will consult one.  I have a few in mind, and you may invite speakers if you wish.  But we need to focus on our own thinking.  Thus, our discussions and your research will be the driving force for this class.

Course Projects: Book reports, research projects.

Textbook: There is no text in this class.

Course Policies: Certain simple rules provide a basis for equal treatment and evaluation of all students. These rules are listed below.

• Attend all classes on time. This is something you can always get right. If you know of a conflict ahead of time, I need to know about it, too. If an emergent situation necessitates your absence, inform me as soon as you can.
• Hand in work on time. This is also easy to do correctly. Everything contributes to your final grade. Consider every assignment an important one (and consider any questions regarding missing anything important, should you miss class, answered). Moreover, contrary to popular myth, absence does not extend due dates or relieve you from responsibility. Thus, missing class as a method of excusing yourself from course policies will only cause an additional problem.
• Pay attention. Everything has the potential of being included on an exam or quiz. Review your notes--don't just take them down and leave them closed in your notebook. The key factor involved with paying attention, of course, is self-discipline. Anyone engaging in activities that are more suitable outside the classroom will be encouraged to relocate. Pagers, cell phones, and other distractions should be turned off before class begins.
• Do your own work. Lying, cheating, and plagiarizing always earns a zero and may lead to official disciplinary action by the University.
• Drop or Withdraw.  The last day to drop or withdraw with a guaranteed "X" is March 4, 2005.  The  last day to drop or withdraw:

March 31, 2005
• Advise me of any special needs you may have immediately. WTAMU seeks to provide reasonable accommodation for all qualified persons with disabilities. This university will adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as required to afford equal educational opportunity. It is the student's responsibility to register with the Disability Support Services and to contact the faculty member in a timely fashion to arrange for suitable accommodations.
• Other policies may be instituted as needed.