I took this course called Markets and Morals during the Fall semester because I have enjoyed taking courses taught by Dr. Blincoe in the past. Before this course, I was not really interested in economics or the philosophy behind the market. However, as always, Dr. Blincoe made this course very interesting and I learned a lot. As a part of this course, we had to read several articles on the various types of economies including capitalism and socialism along with other less popular forms of economics. For my whole life, I have identified as a capitalist but after this course, I began to question my true stance on economics. As a part of the course, before each unit, we had to write a reflection about a topic that was going to be covered in the unit. I have attached the first reflection that I wrote about the definition and purpose of work.
Category Archives: Honors Courses
English 210: Honors
Ever since I was in high school, I have been interested in 9/11 so when I learned that there was an English course that I could take that was dedicated to literature about 9/11, I was so excited. In this course, the professor gave us several readings that were not exactly about 9/11 but had central themes that tied to the event, such as war and personal security. When I thought about an English class, I mainly thought that only we would be reading books, but every class, the professor tied in movies, television series, and commercials that showed the same central themes as the books discussed. I loved learning about how to analyze the different texts and television shows to find the ways that these connected to the ideas taught in class. At the end of the semester, after finishing the readings, the professor assigned us a major project which could be on any topic that we wanted and any format that we wanted as long as it tied the readings to 9/11. I have attached below the personal narrative that I wrote for this project about how the events of 9/11 have changed my career and training as a First Responder.
Education 245: Honors
I took this course to fulfill the Human Behavior and Social Institutions pillar along with a requirement for the BSN Program the fall of my freshman year. In this course, we learned about the different developmental stages that humans go through and the changes that occur in these stages. We also discussed the various theories that describe the changes involved in the development of a child. To help us apply the material to real-world experiences, we were completed a project called the Three Ages Project. The requirements for the project included a ten-page paper and presentation based on interviews of children who were in the toddler stage of development, pre-teen stage of development and the teenage stage of development. For my project, I interviewed a 5-year-old, 12-year-old, and 17-year-old. I have attached my paper below.
Honors 495
When I signed up to take this course on the topics of love, sex and friendship along with the philosophy behind these relationships, I did not expect to learn as much as I did and I did not think that the arguments would change my way of thinking due to already having taken a class on ethics with Dr. Blincoe in the fall. However, at the end of the semester, my opinion has changed drastically. At the beginning of the course, the basics of ethics were covered as they had been in my previous class. Towards the middle of the semester, I began to learn about the philosophical reasoning behind various types of relationships and different views about how these relationships develop or grow. The texts provided in class allowed me to reflect on my previous and current relationships along with giving reasons for certain occurrences within my relationships.
My favorite reading assigned during the course was C.S. Lewis’ The Four Loves. Even though it was written in the 1960s, I was able to relate to and apply the content to my personal relationships. The chapter “Eros” talked about the role of erotic love and sex within a relationship which allowed me to examine my previous relationships and my current relationships. Also in this book, the section on friendship and the different facets of friendship provided arguments and explanations as to why some of my friendships dissolved and reasons why some of my friendships are as strong as they are. Going into future relationships, I will put more thought into the characteristics of the other person and whether the relationship will be beneficial or not based on the material that I learned in class. Before, I thought that there were only three types of love: friendship, parental and romantic. This course has taught me that there are so many more types and there are multiple aspects to every kind of love. I especially enjoyed the guest lecturer that explained the psychology behind love which furthered my understanding of the different types of love and the ways these types affect our lives.
As a part of the course, we had to write papers about certain themes in the class that argue for or against the material presented in class. These papers allowed me to better understand the matter and allow me to form an argument for or against each topic. The attached paper is one that I wrote on the topic of whether males and females could be friends without the friendship evolving into a romantic relationship.