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 past Honors Colleg Forums below. For a full listing and descriptions of past Honors College courses, visit our course archive.

 

Public health and you

a white surgical mask

This course plans to center on educating college students on health-related issues that can impact them individually as well as our campus at large. The course will broaden the knowledge of infectious diseases both nationally and globally and how these infections could potentially affect student lives. An added purpose will be in educating students in becoming good healthcare consumers and more proficient in navigating the healthcare system. This course will encourage active dialogue between the instructor and class and may also give more insight into a medical career but is not limited to only those pursuing medical career paths as these topics span multiple disciplines.

Learn more on the Public Health and You course page. 

 

campaign 2024

A reading area in the U of A Mullins Library

This fall’s Honors College Forum will focus on the upcoming presidential election in Campaign 2024. The foundation of the course will be the discussion that takes place each week around a table in the Honors College wing of Gearhart Hall. The class will begin with a foundational study of the presidency, focusing on the nature of the office and the process through which we elect our presidents every four years. Next, students will learn a number of important skills for election analysis, including topics such as campaign fundraising law, political geography, and how to read polling reports. Considering this election cycle includes an incumbent president, the class will also analyze President Trump's first term in office along with what will be the major policy issues being debated in the campaign. Each student will also be assigned a battleground state to track throughout the semester, periodically reporting to the class about the state of the race. In addition to this, student will also track key congressional races that could determine the balance of power in both the House and the Senate. Throughout the semester, student will produce essays for the Honors College blog, predicting what will happen before Election Day, followed by an analysis of the final results and what they mean for the next four years of the United States.

Learn more on the Campaign 2024 course page.

 

Taylor Swift (Arkansas' Version)

A reading area in the U of A Mullins Library

Whether you are a dedicated Swiftie or have questions about all the hype, students in this forum will be cultivating discussions around three areas of Swiftian inquiry. First, we will learn the tools that scholars use to form an interpretation of her songs. This might be different than fan theories and sleuthing, but can lead to new and exciting understandings of her music. Second, we will learn how to assess Swift’s music from a cultural perspective, analyzing and contextualizing her music, her career, and the narratives surrounding her work. And third, we will utilize Swift as a window into contemporary issues, exploring her work to comment on identity formation, international fans, social media, the music industry, and more. And of course, through it all we will listen to her music, watch her videos, and soak up her performances.

Learn more on the Taylor Swift course page.

 

Breaking world records

A reading area in the U of A Mullins Library

Note: This course is cancelled for Fall 2024

Did you ever wonder what it takes to break a world record? One way you can do it is to be Lebron James and score more than anyone in history by pure talent. Another way is to be like Robert Waldow and be the tallest man ever by genetics. Or you could be like Amelia Earhart and be the first woman to fly across the Atlantic based on her skill, facing adversity, and never give up attitude. This class will not just be about learning record breaking figures, but also about how to identify limitations that can be overcome to break records. This includes identifying a difficult problem that might have a solution, figuring out a creative way to approach it based on fundamental principles, marketing the record-breaking method, and then going for it. It won't be easy, maybe we will fail, but we will do everything we can to show that students from all backgrounds, working together, can indeed break a world record. And if we do break said record, making sure everyone is there to witness it. Are you ready to try???

Learn more on the World Records course page.