Coolidge Otis Chapman Honors Program

SAMPLE COURSES

Metamorphosis and Identity

Students may choose one of the following sections:

A. This section of Honors 211 explores identity across the centuries through stories about metamorphosis. The nature of change reflects cultural, intellectual, and social differences that undergird these stories about "self" and "shape" from fifth-century Athens to twentieth-century Germany. The course examines how early cultures both anticipate modern ideas of individualism as well as radically diverge in their assumptions about human nature, personal and communal obligations, and change as a threat to or regeneration of order. All of the "stories", verbal and visual, reflect tensions and paradoxes through a highly conscious working out of the boundaries between the personal and communal, interior and exterior, private and public, animal and human, despite the fact that they do not share a view of "the individual" or "self" that corresponds to a contemporary (and thus diverse) sense of personal identity and autonomy.

B. This section of Honors 211 examines the biblical story of Adam and Eve, one of Western culture's key foundation myths, by following its preoccupation with forbidden knowledge in the works of authors ranging from the 17th-Century poet John Milton to contemporary women writers of the psychedelic movement, who like Eve, ingest forbidden wisdom-giving "fruit." In doing so, we enlist the help of philosophers, neuroscientists, and psychologists to explore such questions as: Should certain kinds of knowledge be forbidden or is knowledge an unqualified good? Who should decide? What does it mean to be in a state of innocence, or of experience? What aspects of the human psyche are involved in occupying these states and what kinds of knowledge are they capable of acquiring? These questions will in turn invite us to (re)assess what we understand to be the nature of reality and the deepest aspects of our human identity.

Code

Humanistic Approaches

Prerequisites

Admission to the Honors Program.

HON 212

What is America?

MEET THE FACULTY

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Alison Tracy Hale

Professor, English

ajtracy@pugetsound.edu

A widely published scholar and author, Prof. Hale focuses her research in early American literature, with emphasis on the American gothic, the early novel, pedagogical practices, and the early Republic.

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Suzanne Holland

Professor, Religion, Spirituality, and Society, John B. Magee Professor of Science and Values, and Director, Bioethics

sholland@pugetsound.edu

Prof. Holland teaches courses in ethics and values, including topics in gender studies and bioethics. Her research interests include ethics in human genetics, biotechnology, religion, and culture.

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Alisa Kessel

Professor, Politics and Government

kessel@pugetsound.edu

Prof. Kessel’s current research is about rape culture and sexual consent; her past research focused on democratic education. Her classes cover a range of topics in political theory, including race, democracy, freedom, intersectionality, and…

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Kriszta Kotsis

Professor and Chair, Art and Art History

kkotsis@pugetsound.edu

Prof. Kotsis studies images of Late Antique and Byzantine women, and teaches courses on Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Western Medieval, and Islamic art, and art historical methodology.

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John Wesley

Professor and Chair, English

jwesley@pugetsound.edu

Early modern English literature is the primary focus of Prof. Wesley’s research and teaching. He teaches courses on Shakespeare, Milton, the Bible as literature, and the history of the English language.

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David Latimer

Professor and Chair, Physics

dlatimer@pugetsound.edu

Prof. Latimer’s research interests primarily lie in nuclear and particle theory, with an emphasis on neutrino phenomenology, and in novel ways to assess the particle properties of dark matter.

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George Erving

Professor, Humanities and English and Director, Honors Program

gerving@pugetsound.edu

In order to examine how literary arts advance ideas about the self, Prof. Erving researches British Romantic period history and literature. His courses focus on European intellectual history and English literature.

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Aislinn Melchior

Professor, Greek, Latin, and Ancient Mediterranean Studies

amelchior@pugetsound.edu

Prof. Melchior's research explores violence and its effects and justifications, both ancient and modern. She teaches Ancient Greek and Latin, classical materials in translation, and also teaches in the Honors Program.

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Denise Despres

Professor, Humanities, Honors, and English

ddespres@pugetsound.edu

Prof. Despres teaches a wide range of courses, from early literature to creative writing. Her current research focuses on the intersection of Magic, Medicine, Religion and material culture in the late middle ages.

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EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

Ways our students learn through experience:

Emily Wright ’22, summer 2019 internship with USGS
Amanda Melin ’20, summer 2019 NASA grant, wastewater analysis
Lukas Karoly ’21, summer 2019 research on Vorticella
Kylie Gurewitz ’20, summer 2019 research on meditation
Kate Gladhart-Hayes ’20, summer 2019 research on nuclear waste on indigenous lands

AFTER PUGET SOUND

What some of our alumni are doing:

Samantha Lilly ’19, Watson Fellow, "Understanding Suicidality Across Cultures"
Meadow Poplawsky ’19, Fulbright Teaching Assistantship, India
Nicholas Navin ’19, Fulbright Teaching Assistantship, Indonesia
Annie Lamar ’19, Stanford University (classics and computer science)
Megan Sanders ’19, U.S. State Department (foreign service officer)
Andrew Brandt ’18, University of Texas - Austin (architecture)
Helen Tschurr ’19, University of Wisconsin - Madison (law school)
Madeline Brown ’18, George Washington University (public policy and gender studies)
Megan Schowalter ’17, Teach for America
Ada Smith ’17, Japan Exchange and Teaching Program
Rachel Anderson ’17, Peace Corps, China
Sam Scott ’17, Seattle Children's Research Institute (clinical research associate, pediatric cancer)

Puget Sound Podcast: Kyra Zapf '21

Kyra does a deep dive into European history as she describes her summer research project on 16th-century clothing and portraits.

Campus

Community

Students

Raising the Roof

Students build a tiny house to help reduce homelessness

Puget Sound Podcast: Rachael Shelden

Rachael Shelden ‘12, M.A.T.’13 describes her Puget Sound journey, from participating in the Honors Program, to completing her graduate studies in the School of Education, to working in the Center for Writing, Learning, and Teaching.

FACILITIES

LANGLOW HOUSE

Built in 1908, Langlow House is an optional residence for sophomores in the Honors Program, including singles, doubles, and triples, as well as multiple common areas.

THOMAS HALL READING ROOM

This special reading room in Thomas Hall is available to students in the Honors Program and provides a dedicated area for our students to study and hang out.

THOMAS HALL HONORS FLATS

Junior and senior honors students are eligible to live in the Thomas Hall Honors Flats, which feature singles, as well as a full kitchen, common areas, and access to the Reading Room.