Forums
ABOUT THE HONORS COLLEGE FORUM/HNRs 300h1
Our Honors College Forum series brings star faculty and campus, community and state leaders together with honors students to discuss trending topics in a variety of subjects, from politics to local business to leading a museum. Each course is one credit hour, which makes it easy to fit into a busy honors schedule, and it's well worth the time: the opportunities for networking and community involvement offered by these courses are second to none. Please consult individual course pages for more information.
We share some upcoming Honors College Forums below. For a full listing and descriptions of past Honors College courses, visit our course archive.
Education Reform for Arkansas and the World
Improving education is at the top of Americans’ policy priorities in 2024 and has
been for the past few years. This need for improvements in education has only been
intensified by the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic brought significant
PK-12 education learning losses and increased chronic absenteeism, the experience
of alternative ways of teaching and learning, declines in enrollment in traditional
public schools, increased concerns about the health of the teachers’ labor force,
and an expansion of school choice options across the country. This Forum will introduce
students to various education policy issues and interventions that hold promise for
improving student outcomes and will subject those policies and proposed interventions
to vigorous discussion and debate. The policies discussed will include improving the
quality and diversity of the teacher workforce, enhancing school leadership, overhauling
school funding formulas, expanding and improving the delivery of gifted and talented
programs, promoting results-based accountability, introducing new curriculum models,
and expanding school choice, among others. Students will be expected to complete assigned
readings on these topics and write brief reaction papers each week in advance of engaging
in lively, informed, and civil discussions of the strengths and weaknesses of the
various policies and interventions. The Forum will be team-taught by the entire multidisciplinary
faculty of the Department of Education Reform, including Endowed Chair professors
with backgrounds in public policy, economics, and psychology and with expertise in
the areas of school choice, teacher quality and teacher labor markets, school accountability
and finance, school leadership, and gifted education.
This course is taught by:
Albert Cheng, Associate Professor in Education Reform
Robert Maranto, Chair in Education Leadership
Josh McGee, Chair in Accountability
Sarah McKenzie, Director of the Office for Education Policy
Harry Patrinos, Chair and Department Head in Education Reform
Jonathan Wai, Chair in Education Policy
Patrick Wolf, Chair in School Choice
Gema Zamarro, Chair in Teacher Quality
Visit the course page for more information.
Disability Studies
Disability Studies explores disability and society using overlapping perspectives
from the social sciences, humanities, science, and the law. This interdisciplinary
course centers disability in historical and theoretical inquiry, engaging with topics
and themes including, disability and: race/sex/class; civil rights; eugenics; care/kinship;
intimacy; pandemics; crip theory; capitalism; education; madness/mental health; bioethics;
the arts; and technology. The course tackles the shortcomings, harms, misinformation,
and prejudices about disability that shape public life in the U.S.
This course is taught by Lisa Corrigan.
Visit the course page to learn more.
Partisanship
Intense partisanship seems to be everywhere today; good luck spending ten minutes
on social media without seeing some form of political antipathy. Even as studies emerge
about the many ways Americans are divided in 2024, what often gets overlooked is that
partisanship, for better or for worse, has been a key feature of our political system
since its founding. In this course, honor students will get to explore the impact
of partisanship on the United States throughout its history before analyzing the issues
that divide the country today.
The foundation of the course will be the discussion that takes place in the Honors College wing of Gearhart Hall. The course will begin with an examination of some of the most politically divisive eras in American history, periods where it looked as if the United States was beginning to unravel at the seams. Next, the class will focus on the growing partisanship we have seen in recent decades along with some of the contributing factors, such as the ever-increasing role of the internet being used as a communication tool and overall media fragmentation. During the last part of the course, students talk through some of the most intense issues we see debated today, from recent Supreme Court decisions to what is appropriate role of the United States in global affairs today.
This course is taught by Noah Pittman.
Visit the course page for more information.
Science communications
Sir Mark Walport famously said, "Science isn't finished until it's communicated."
This course will provide examples of effective science communication and equip you
with the skills necessary to convey the impact and importance of research to a wide
variety of audiences - from peers and professors, to the media and funding agencies.
You'll learn the importance of concise, clear writing that conveys complex science
in an accessible way. We'll look at when and how to expand science communications
to include video, graphics, and podcasts. Along the way, we'll welcome guest instructors,
including some of the U of A's top researchers and the university's award-winning science and research writing
team.
This course is taught by Andy Albertson.
Visit the course page for more information.
walmart
This course will provide a comprehensive overview of Walmart, one of the world's most
entrepreneurial and efficient corporations. We will explore the company's best practices,
strategies, and history. This course will incorporate collaboration with the Walmart
Museum, study of Sam Walton's "Made in America."
This course is taught by Matthew Waller.