EXPLORING COMPLEXITY AND DIVERSITY COLLOQUIA COURSE PROPOSAL What is an Exploring Complexity and Diversity Colloquium course? Honors colloquia are intimate seminar courses, typically with 15 or fewer students At the heart of an Honors colloquium course is a focal question, some sort of thought-provoking inquiry around which content and discussion should be based This question should be enduring and significant, the kind that has perplexed and engaged scholars through the ages, or has modern leaders grappling for solutions Is morality dependent on culture? What does it mean to be “American”? How should the privacy of our information be maintained? The goal is to elicit critical dialogue and encourage a rigorous approach to processing information Students should not only be introduced to foundational texts and sources that have shaped thinking on the focal question, but should also develop a capacity and propensity to approach new ideas and information critically and creatively Equally important is that the course be interdisciplinary in nature What does that mean, exactly? Interdisciplinarity requires an integration of ideas, a deliberate incorporation of sources, methodologies, and insights from multiple disciplinary traditions It’s not enough to simply broach a topic from multiple vantage points Knowledge from these various disciplines should be unpacked simultaneously, such that concepts and approaches mingle together in students’ minds as they address issues The thinking here is that the integration of multiple disciplinary perspectives will allow students to arrive at a deeper understanding of complex problems related to the focal question of the course For additional information, including characteristics and benefits of an Honors course and tips for putting together an interdisciplinary course, please visit our Honors HUB website Which students will enroll in the course? • All Honors students must take at least two Exploring Complexity and Diversity Colloquia to fulfill their Honors requirements • Students typically take their colloquia courses sophomore year, though they can take them as early as second semester freshmen year It’s also entirely possible for juniors and seniors to enroll in the courses, as electives • Students are required to take one Foundation course as a prerequisite, which means they’ll have been exposed to certain foundational disciplinary methodology Is a colloquium course the best fit? If the course you’re envisioning is more foundational in nature, or if it’s more of a deep analysis into a particular subject matter rather than a broader interdisciplinary exploration, it may be better suited as a Foundations or Advanced Studies course On our website you’ll find a more detailed distinction between the types of Honors courses we offer, as well as the appropriate proposal form for each course Submission Instructions • Submit electronically via email to Honors@cofc.edu and/or hardcopy via departmental mail to Honors College, 10 Green Way Honors Exploring Complexity and Diversity Colloquia Proposal Form PROPOSAL INFORMATION Name(s) and department(s) of faculty member(s) submitting proposal (more can be added as needed): _ Name Department _ Name Department Course Title: Indicate preference for semester to be taught: _ Fall (Year: ) Spring (Year: ) Indicate your top three preferred meetings times to teach this course (ex MWF 12:0012:50) The Honors College will make every effort to schedule your course during a preferred timeslot while still ensuring the course fits within the overall Honors schedule If you are interested in teaching this course in subsequent years, please indicate frequency preference We encourage faculty to teach courses over multiple years, if possible Every fall or spring Every other fall or spring Occasionally Note: If you plan to apply for sabbatical or a similar opportunity during the upcoming academic year, please consider carefully whether the timing is right to submit a proposal for an honors course Once we have selected courses, we rely on the availability of the submitting faculty member to teach the course COLLOQUIA THEME Colloquia courses are meant to attract faculty from all disciplines across campus To ensure we’re offering a breadth of topics and asking diverse questions of our students, we categorize and track our colloquia courses using eight varied themes Detailed descriptions of each theme can be found at the end of this application Thinking about the focal question your course will explore, select one of the following categories for your course In reality, most (if not all) interdisciplinary courses could fit into several of these categories We’re looking for the best fit Honors Honors Honors Honors Honors Honors Honors Honors Colloquium: Colloquium: Colloquium: Colloquium: Colloquium: Colloquium: Colloquium: Colloquium: Foundations of Western Civilization Elements of Human Culture and Expression Ethics Values and Traditions in the Nonwestern World History and Philosophy of Science Diversity and Sustainability Self, Other, and Society Inquiry, Discovery, and Innovation COURSE DETAILS Please type your answer(s) to each question in the corresponding space below Course Description: In order to evaluate proposed courses, please provide a short description of the course that encapsulates the intent of the course and can be shared with department chairs and program directors to consider in their course of study **Since all colloquia courses are focused on a central and enduring question, please include your focal question(s) in your course description Interdisciplinary Nature of Course: Please explain what makes this course interdisciplinary (rather than cross-disciplinary) From what disciplines will the course material and/or teaching methodology draw? How will these be combined in the course? Use of Primary Sources: All Honors colloquia courses draw on primary sources for foundational information and core arguments Please include a list of potential primary or foundational sources that will be used in the course Written Assignments: Writing assignments should be a focus of the course and make up a considerable part of the grade Please describe the types of writing assignments you plan to include in your course Active Learning Approaches: All Honors colloquia courses are discussion-based and use a variety of active learning approaches (e.g problem-based learning, group projects, student presentations, service learning and reflective writing) Please describe the potential types of active learning approaches you will use in the class Honors Nature of the Course: If there are any other characteristics of your course that distinguish it as an honors course, please explain these briefly STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES AND ASSESSMENT The Honors College has three student learning outcomes that are required for colloquia courses These are included in the table below Please complete the table for each of these outcomes as appropriate for your course Additional course-specific or general education student learning outcomes should be detailed in section 4, as needed Additional information and resources on Honors SLOs can be found online at our Honors HUB Student Learning Outcomes What will students know and be able to when they complete the course? Assessment Method and Performance Expected How will each outcome be measured? Who will be assessed, when, and how often? What target for each outcome will be set? It is possible that multiple SLO’s will be answered with the same or similar assignment Demonstrate the ability to create and communicate analytic arguments supported by evidence Evaluate complex issues using an interdisciplinary perspective Analyze and synthesize information within and/or across disciplines Add any course specific or general education SLOs here How does this course align with the student learning outcomes articulated for the major, program, or general education? What program-level outcome or outcomes does it support? Is the content or skill introduced, reinforced, or demonstrated in this course? SUSTAINABILITY-CENTERED COURSES (OPTIONAL) If you think your course meets the requirements of a sustainability-centered course, please contact the College of Charleston’s Sustainability Literacy Institute for further information on course designations FACULTY SIGNATURE(S) Please indicate your agreement to teach the course if selected by signing below _ Faculty Signature Date _ Faculty Signature Date STATEMENT FROM CHAIR Each faculty member submitting this proposal should have his or her chairperson complete the Statement from Chair (template available below) verifying a workload plan to accommodate the faculty member’s release to teach the course and agreement that the course will be taught if selected To: Department Chair From: Trisha Folds-Bennett, Dean, Honors College The faculty member indicated below has submitted a proposal to teach an Honors Engaging Complexity and Diversity Colloquia course In order to maintain the high level of active learning that is required of the students in these courses, they are capped at an enrollment of 19 students Before we consider the proposed course, we need to verify that you, as department chair, are willing to accommodate the request Please indicate below how you plan to handle any workload changes due to the faculty teaching an Honors course (e.g hiring an adjunct to cover the faculty member’s regular course; shifting faculty around to fulfill course needs) so that we are able to consider the institutional resources necessary to teach the course Faculty member: Department: Course title: Preferred Semester: Fall 20 _ Spring 20 Signature of Department Chair: Date: _ Thank you for providing a faculty member in your department the opportunity to teach in the Honors College APPENDIX: HONORS COLLOQUIA CATEGORIES All Honors Colloquium courses are writing and reading intensive, discussion-based, and interdisciplinary in nature Please note that any of these colloquia may count towards general education credits in humanities, social sciences or history HONS 225 Honors Colloquium: Foundations of Western Civilization Courses in this colloquium series relate the arts, literature, and philosophy of the Western world to their political, social, and economic contexts By focusing on enduring questions or critical issues, students will engage in literature and perspectives from a cross-disciplinary perspective to understand who we are HONS 230 Honors Colloquium: Elements of Human Culture and Expression Courses offered in this colloquium series will consider multidisciplinary approaches to enduring questions or critical issues in language, literacy, and cultural expression Creative fusions between studies of fine arts, foreign languages, aesthetics, and composition will privilege opportunities for experiential and applied learning Courses in this series may involve collaborative work in peer and community contexts, and conversational, hands-on engagement with materials and techniques that help us to better understand cultural literacies and creative arts HONS 235 Honors Colloquium: Ethics Ethics is primarily concerned with questions about how humans ought to behave with respect to each other, non-human animals, and the environment This colloquium series will engage with enduring questions and critical issues in ethics, drawing on a number of fields within the humanities and social sciences When possible, topics will include contemporary, emerging issues HONS 240 Honors Colloquium: Values and Traditions in the Non-Western Courses in this colloquium series explore the visions, values, and practices by which people of the non-Western world have shaped their life experiences By focusing on enduring questions or critical issues, students will engage in literature and perspectives from a diversity of disciplines to understand the worldviews and traditions that are practiced in non-Western societies such as China, Japan, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa Students will explore the issues and themes central to the study of the non-Western world and its peoples HONS 245 Honors Colloquium: History and Philosophy of Science Science is deeply intertwined in both historical and philosophical thinking Many of the greatest scientific minds throughout the centuries were also philosophers In this colloquium series, students will explore enduring questions as to how time, place, and context all impact scientific research, and how the role of philosophy has developed over time to delineate the boundary between science and pseudo-science HONS 250 Honors Colloquium: Diversity and Sustainability Courses in this colloquium series examine pressing 21st century problems related to the intersection of social, economic, and environmental systems Given the complexity of 21st century problems, students will engage literature and perspectives from the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, public health, and other domains Students will make sense of and offer possible creative solutions to interlinked issues such as environmental institutional sexism and racism, climate change, biodiversity loss, the tragedy of the commons, inequitable distribution of wealth, and queerphobia Students will discuss creative problem solving, systems thinking, analytical reasoning, and interdisciplinary thinking and how these may equip students to advocate for resiliency and solutions to these problems HONS 255 Honors Colloquium: Self, Other, and Society Courses offered in this colloquium series will each address enduring questions or critical issues related to the role of the individual in society Drawing from diverse perspectives in the social sciences, humanities, and other disciplines, these courses address the range of factors – genetics, physiology, neurology, personality, cognition, emotion, experience, context – that distinguish human beings and contribute to the unique beliefs, values, and behaviors that characterize any given individual HONS 260 Honors Colloquium: Inquiry, Discovery, and Innovation Courses in this colloquium series will focus on the discovery of knowledge and its transformation into new insights and innovative ideas The current worldview of nature and reality is the result of human curiosity, creativity, discovery and innovation A human drive for understanding the universe underlies the knowledge-generating, transformational process that is constantly at work in our everyday lives These courses will encourage students to develop an interdisciplinary perspective on enduring questions or critical issues in math and science, work towards finding answers and innovations that allow for a greater understanding of the universe .. .Honors Exploring Complexity and Diversity Colloquia Proposal Form PROPOSAL INFORMATION Name(s) and department(s) of faculty member(s) submitting proposal (more can be added... several of these categories We’re looking for the best fit Honors Honors Honors Honors Honors Honors Honors Honors Colloquium: Colloquium: Colloquium: Colloquium: Colloquium: Colloquium:... Culture and Expression Ethics Values and Traditions in the Nonwestern World History and Philosophy of Science Diversity and Sustainability Self, Other, and Society Inquiry, Discovery, and Innovation