Honors Courses: Spring 2025

Professor Rachel Bezanson, Tuesdays and Thursdays 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.; Tuesdays noon to 12:50 p.m.

This course will be an introduction to astronomy and astrophysics. The 4-credit honors course will consists of all aspects of the 3-credit course, including lectures and homework with additional problems tailored for this course. ASTRON 0413 includes an additional 50-minute class session each week. In these extra sessions, basic topics will be covered in more detail than in ASTRON 0113. These extra sessions will also involve significant problem solving and discussions of the derivations of fundamental results in astronomy and astrophysics.

Professor Zuzana Swigonova, Tuesdays and Thursdays 8:30 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.

This course will cover the cell cycle, DNA replication, transcription, translation, molecular biology, biotechnology, genomics and bioinformatics, plant development, and animal development. The experimental basis supporting our understanding of these processes will be introduced.

Professor Jennifer Roccisana, Mondays and Wednesdays 6 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.; Fridays 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

In this course we will examine the signaling, cellular processes, and feedback loops of physiological systems in the human body that maintain homeostasis. Compensatory pathways and mechanisms to maintain homeostatic control will be investigated. Research related to the functioning of these systems will be emphasized throughout the course.

Professor Kiersten Maryott, TBA

Professor Piervincenzo Rizzo, Thursdays 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The course introduces Honors students to the modern paradigm of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) as it applies to engineering infrastructures and systems with a specific focus on bridges. SHM refers to the implementation of 24/7 nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques to detect damage, characterize materials, or to determine non-invasively the static and dynamic response of a given structure to external load such traffic and wind. Typical SHM systems receive and elaborate data from sensors bonded or embedded to the infrastructure or material of interest to establish whether the structure is damaged or if it operates according to design specifications. SHM is a multidisciplinary field that embraces knowledge in areas that include but are not limited to sensors fabrication, signal processing, NDE, materials science, hardware design, and soft computing.

Professor Michelle Morgan, Lecture section on Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., Lab sections on Wednesdays 1 p.m. to 4:50 p.m. or Tuesdays 1 p.m. to 4:50 p.m

Chemistry 0710 and 0720 comprise a two-term introduction to the fundamental properties of matter. The courses emphasize the fundamental principles of chemistry as exemplified by applications to industrial and environmental chemistry. CHEM 0720 covers the properties of solids, liquids and gases, chemical dynamics and chemical kinetics.

Professor Paul Floreancing, Lecture section on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 9:50 a.m.; Recitation section on Tuesdays from 5 p.m. to 5:50 p.m.

An introduction to theory and practice of organic chemistry through study of structural principles, reaction mechanisms, and synthesis leading toward end of second term, when complex molecules of biological interest are discussed. Basic goals of course are to develop appreciation and skill in methods of molecular analysis which have made organic chemistry such a powerful intellectual discipline. Course will prepare student for work in advanced topics of organic chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering and health related sciences.

Professor Michelle Morgan, Lecture section on Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., Recitation sections on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 1:55 p.m.

Chemistry 0710 and 0780 comprise a two-term introduction to the fundamental properties of matter. The courses emphasize the fundamental principles of chemistry as exemplified by applications to industrial and environmental chemistry. CHEM 0780 covers the properties of solids, liquids and gases, chemical dynamics and chemical kinetics.

Professor Ericka Huston, Tuesdays from 1 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.

In this course students will work in teams to write original research proposals. They will then design and carry out appropriate experiments, collect and interpret data and ultimately report results in both oral and written formats.

Professor David Marshall, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.

Don't you just want to fix the world? Doesn't the world look broken in a thousand ways? Can't university researchers just tell us what to do to make all of this-once and for all-better? This course argues that research can provide no quick and final fixes. To be sure, research offers us lots of fixes, but then many of our fixes turn out to be problems in their own right, and we need to be better at recognizing and articulating the complexity of that kind of unintended consequence. In this course, you'll learn about how a cluster of disciplines called the humanities works on complexities of this kind. Why are our fixes so reliably unpredictable in their consequences? Because human beings and human societies are highly complex and because history compounds change. Created by the Co-Directors of Pitt's Humanities Center, this course wagers that the humanities deal with fields of inquiry where the relation between cases and rules is highly complex. In the real world, no rule can tell you definitively what to do in a particular case. In the real world, we're often called upon to recognize what's novel in an unusual case. And in the real world, we often have to create new rules of our own (where we're not just approximating laws of nature). Such work is both critical and creative: it critiques injustice, and it imagines things otherwise. We'll learn how different forms of humanities research push into these complexities of rules and cases: we'll learn how to work with archives, models, storytelling, feelings, genres, objects, play, games, fragments, commitments, and norms. You'll have the opportunity to articulate a humanities research question that matters to you. And you'll have the chance to develop that question into a research proposal that you can then explore in another class at Pitt or in a paid research opportunity that we'll mentor you toward-like the Humanities Center's own Undergraduate Fellowship.

Professor Jacob Biehl, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

This is an interdisciplinary course intended for a broad range of students and/or backgrounds. The course seeks participation from technical, health, social science, business, and design-focused majors. The course targets students who want to experience early product exploration and prototyping processes while learning how to work successfully on a multidisciplinary team. The course will cover a range of design methodologies use to envision socio-technical solutions to improve workflow challenges. Each offering of the course will focus on a particular work domain. Spring 2025 semester will will focus on home healthcare and clinical care processes. The course will investigate these domains using a variety of methods, which include ethnomethodological observations, contextual inquiry, structure interviews, cognitive walkthroughs, market discovery and more. Prototyping techniques include low-fidelity paper-based prototyping to use of modern design tools such as Figma and Adobe XD. Students will be expected to contribute significant time to reading, writing, and interaction with clinical partners.

Professor Jennifer Keating, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

These courses are offered as alternatives to meet the general writing requirement. Each section will use a specific theme or problem to develop students' facility with the sorts of inquiry and discursive practices that characterize academic work. Topics courses require regular reading, at lEast 35 pages of writing, and regular revision.

Professor Uma Satyavolu, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

Professor Michael Sawyer, Mondays and Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.

This course examines detective fiction in terms of its history, its social meaning and as a form of philosophizing. It also seeks to reveal the place and values of popular fiction in our lives.

Professor Lori Campbell, Mondays and Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. 

This course studies the persona, work, and critical and popular reception of J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) from his initial publication of The Hobbit in 1937 through today. In the 1960s and '70s, people were scribbling "Frodo Lives" on subway walls and getting married dressed like Aragorn and Arwen. Less than half a century later, The Lord of the Rings repeatedly beat out the Bible as "best-loved" book in British polls, and Peter Jackson's adaptations made history both for their box-office earnings and for their groundbreaking contributions to film-making. Widely recognized as the father of modern fantasy and touted as the "Author of the [Twentieth] Century" by scholars, Tolkien continues to exert a panoramic influence on culture, particularly in his ability to speak to and for the marginalized. From Comic Con to Elder Scrolls to Game of Thrones, his sub-creation of Middle-earth embodies and fuels "nerd" culture now just as it did for the hippies of the previous century. Yet, Tolkien " war veteran, Oxford professor of Medieval languages and literature, devout Catholic " was a man of his time and quite conservative, at least publicly. While he famously said that his wife "should be satisfied by devotion to her children" and not "enter the intellectual side of life," the female characters in his stories, while small in number, are arguably great in power, assertiveness, and heroism. Tolkien's writing argues for the importance of a community where all cultures coexist: Elves, Dwarfs, Men, Hobbits go to war against Sauron and the "One Ring" designed to "rule them all." In this course we will read Tolkien's major works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings in their entirety, as well as excerpts from what he considered to be his master work, The Silmarillion. We will explore Tolkien materials housed in Special Collections at Hillman Library and online. Our reading list will include reviews and scholarship on Tolkien's life and work, as well as on the ways in which his mythology continues to resonate and be reimagined in the twenty-first century. Ultimately, we will analyze the relationship between Tolkien and the counterculture as a way of understanding the ways in which myth, fantasy, and literature more broadly represent, shape, and interrogate complex social and political systems.

Professor George Stetten, Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

A course directed toward development of basic skills in recording engineering through expanded understanding of the science and engineering of music. The course will use the music engineering laboratory (MEL) located in Benedum Hall. The MEL is a state of the art sound recording facility with research and educational capabilities for sound recording and music engineering. Topics covered: recording engineering (microphones, amplifiers, and mixing, filtering, special effects), mathematical basis of sound and music (acoustics, speech and singing, hearing, pitch, stereo perception), musical instrument function (mechanical and electronic).

Professor Anna Balazs, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.

This is an honors course and a continuation of ENGR 0711. Students will be introduced to engineering research and various special topics.

Professor David Sanchez, Tuesdays from 2 p.m. to 3:50 p.m., Lab Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 4:50 p.m. 

This is an honors introductory course that offers an interdisciplinary exploration of engineering innovations, design, technology, and scientific phenomena. In the initial part of the course students will engage in hands-on workshops that require them to think critically about engineering designs and describe their mechanisms using science and engineering principles. They will also learn how to investigate, identify, frame, and validate both design problems and value propositions by communicating with multiple audiences and using entrepreneurship frameworks that screen for scalable innovations. In the latter part of the course, teams of students will develop the foundational skills and creativity necessary for engineering problem-solving by collaborating to tackle real-world challenges using design thinking, iterative prototyping, and the engineering design process. Students will appreciate the significance of their design decisions as they simultaneously consider multiple design factors (cost, quality, safety, societal impact and sustainability etc.) and weigh their tradeoffs. With an emphasis on personal and professional development, students will be given multiple opportunities throughout the course to apply principles from Happiness and Human Flourishing to design purpose-driven lives that help them to become more emotionally intelligent, intrinsically motivated, service-oriented, mature and dependable people. By the end of the course, students will have developed a robust understanding of engineering design, innovation, and themselves.

Professor Diego Holstein, Tuesdays from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

This course offers a venue to explore a large variety of political regimes frequently bounded together in the professional literature under the conceptual umbrella of "dictatorship." After gaining an introductory overview and acquiring a conceptual toolkit we will systematically scrutinize the trajectories, structures, and policies of some twenty political regimes throughout the world aiming to identify their commonalities and singularities. These findings will allow us to search for shared patters, identify types of political regimes, establish comparisons and connections between them, and understand every regime within a wider global context.

Professor Leslie Hammond, Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

This course will explore the discourse and history of Anarchism, from its contested origins through the present. It will introduce students to a wide variety of anarchisms in a wide variety of contexts. It will follow the travels and networks of people who were anarchists and who sought to spread anarchist ideas through teaching, activism and, sometimes, violence. It will pay special attention to the world-wide influences and connections of various anarchists and anarchist groups, and it will ask students to think about hierarchies of power, like political and economic systems, not only through the eyes of the anarchists, but also from the perspectives of their opponents.

Professor Elizabeth Archibald, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

This course examines the early history of cities, from urban settlements in the ancient world up to the Early Modern period. It will include investigations of imperial capitals, mercantile hubs, and religious centers, including Damascus, Rome, Aksum, Constantinople, Baghdad, Samarkand, Novgorod, Córdoba, Paris, and Venice. We will also consider the elements of urban settlements, the networks that linked them, patterns of urban life, and civic identity.

Professor Raja Adal, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

The history of Japan since 1800. This course stresses the modernization and economic development of Japan into the industrial giant it has become today. It also investigates the major by-product of that development, World War II, and the events that led to the war.

Professor Mari Webel, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

This course explores the history of health, healing, and disease in modern Africa, focusing on the social, political, economic, and environmental aspects of illness and health. The course also provides an orientation to the changing burdens of disease in Africa in the past 300 years. Seeking to understand change and continuity in Africans' experiences of health and healing, how have historical processes shaped understandings of disease, misfortune, and illness? Within what contexts should health interventions be understood? How and when did health in Africa become a global issue?

Professor Nicola Foote, Thursdays from noon to 12:50 p.m.; Fridays from 2 p.m. to 2:50 p.m. 

This is the second course in a two-semester informational seminar sequence for first-year Chancellor Scholars. Students will gain a better understanding of an issue from a multi-disciplinary perspective through discussions with faculty and experiential learning activities. Students will also learn about the services, functions, policies, and opportunities available through the David C. Frederick Honors College.

Professor Oksana Stalczynski, Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.

Professor Kar-Hai Chu, Thursdays from f10 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.

Have you thought about why our health system is counter-intuitive? Why is the US healthcare system the best (or worst) in the world? What are the pros and cons of pubic and private healthcare? How does medical education perpetuate the health system? What are social determinants of health, and who is responsible in addressing them? Why are cigarettes legal but cannabis is not?

Professor Michael Meyer, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 p.m.

Writers learn from other writers, so why not study the best? You should take this course if you've always wanted to read classic books and also to improve your writing. Each week we will delve deeply into a great work of fiction or nonfiction and in short assignments emulate elements of the writer's craft, including voice, tone, dialogue, characterization, set pieces, and suspense. You'll workshop, edit and revise your writing. At semester's end, you'll apply what you've learned to writing about your own topic of interest. Previous students have used this final as a springboard to their B.Phil. thesis, as well as their applications to Peace Corps, Fulbright, Rhodes and Marshall fellowships, and graduate school.

Professor Abdesalam Soudi, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Language, spoken or signed, does more than what it says; it gets things done. Words enact change and drive action across every aspect of life. They shape attitudes, influence decisions, and foster connections that make a real-world impact. This course explores the performative nature of language and emphasizes its vital role in fostering dialogue, empathy, compassion and cultural humility, which are key to thriving in professional settings and engaging meaningfully with communities.

Professor Eugene DePasquale, Thursdays 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Winston Churchill said, "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others." Today, many are concerned that our experiment with democracy if failing. According to public polling, voters across the ideological spectrum believe authoritarianism is possible. Voters also rate threats to democracy as one of the top issues facing the nation.This course is designed for students interested in political and social sciences. The primary method of coursework will be interactive discussions. The goal of this course is to provide students with the opportunity to examine the success and failures of our democratic experiment and to critically analyze how we have come to this point.

Professor Joaquin Rodriguez, Mondays and Wednesdays 3 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.

Sustainability is now the most influential concept in any job, career, organization, or community. It provides the reference frame for working out solutions for a better world now and in the future. It extends from individual habits to interactions among nations, from community lifestyles to the entire planetary ecosystem. The course explores the highest-level platform of the UN Sustainable Development Goals to introduce the top priority problems in the world and the current attempts for solutions. The course reviews then an extensive list of topics on sustainability from energy transition to environmental justice, unveiling the constraints and opportunities for affecting results. After this review, the course introduces to the method of "systems thinking" as the strategy to tackle the complexities of the problems challenging humankind. The course then take a tour for the most relevant stages in the history of sustainability, and the path for the future. Join the course if you are enthusiastic and committed to work for a better world. You will develop an understanding of the most pressing problems for humanity and get inspired to contribute to their solutions. You will start finding a topic that challenges you to start sharing the responsibility to build that better world. You will gather data, analyze proposals, and develop your own. It may be a starting point for your future career in medicine, law, engineering, social work, education, business, arts. Any field of knowledge can be integrated in this approach. You will share with classmates from diverse backgrounds: the most enriching experience for working on sustainability. You will develop skills on collaborative research, managing a broad range of strategies from selecting a problem, defining de situation, setting up goals, researching proposals, summarizing analysis, proposing your contribution, and explaining your results to a wide range of audiences. You will get knowledge and experience, and you will build a documented case to strengthen your applications for job, research, or your own business in the future.

Professor Teresa Thomas, Mondays and Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.

How is the health of a city like Pittsburgh shaped by its history, people, and institutions? How does poverty, racism, and segregation impact health? What are community groups doing to help ensure high-quality healthcare across Pittsburgh? This discussion-based class will encourage learners to explore these and other questions in an interactive, small group setting that includes students, faculty, and community partners. This course emphasizes discussion, leadership and professional development, and community-based research. Students interested in health and healthcare as well as community engagement are encouraged to join this supportive, engaged group of students and community partners.

Professor Gretchen White, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

Are you passionate about making a difference? Do you believe that everyone deserves a fair chance at a healthy life? Are you ready to dive deep into the factors that shape our health beyond individual choice? This course will focus on structural influences of health, which are the political mechanisms and social and economic policies that create, maintain, or eliminate hierarchical patterns of advantage among groups in conditions that affect health. Together, we will explore how systems and policies of the past have influenced the health of people today and critically examine how today¿s policies and practices may impact the health of people tomorrow.

Professor Ron Idoko, Mondays from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

This is the second part of a two-semester sequence for students participating in the Justice and Equity Honors Network (JEHN), which is a consortium of honors colleges in the United States whose students examine issues of justice and equity in depth and in context. Through high-level thinking and self-critical analysis, students will identify and create new definitions and new understandings of the principles necessary for achieving equity. They will inquire, research, and collaborate across academic disciplines, across communities, and across geographic regions.

Professor Samantha Balbier, Fridays to 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

This is the second part of a two-semester sequence for students participating in the Elsie Hillman Honors Scholars Program, which connects entrepreneurial and creative students with regional community partners to join an existing project or develop a student and agency-led project that addresses issues important to the organization and reflects the social commitment of Elsie Hillman. Through a structured and collaborative process, the student will work closely with their community agency and mentor to develop a project, product, or conduct research.

Professor Daniel Mikecz, Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.

Hungary today is a key site for competing plans for state- and peoplehood in the European Union. The country is also critical for making sense of the relationship between Europe's imperial-colonial legacies, Central Europe's capitalist and (post)socialist transformations, and EU integration, while providing deeper insight into the global issues of 'politics from below,' human rights and security, and migration. This is an interdisciplinary course taught by a visiting Hungarian Fulbright distinguished scholar. The content of the course will depend on the field and research of the individual scholar, but will typically explore history, culture, politics and / or society from a transnational and global perspective, focusing on contemporary Hungary within the broader context of Central Europe.

Professor Barbara Burstin, Tuesdays and Thuradays from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

There are many concerns and issues that Jews think about and deal with in contemporary America. Some of these issues have been of long standing, but some have come into focus as a result of dramatic changes and developments in today's society. These issues can invoke real confusion, angst and/or disagreement among Jews, as well as among non-Jews so it is important to raise some of these issues and allow for wide-ranging class discussion. Our class will look at topics such as Zionism in world and American history, the founding of Israel and the relationship of American Jews to that state, antisemitism in history and on campus today, the impact of the Holocaust on Jewry both in the past and now, Jewish feminism, Intermarriage, the shape and structure of the American Jewish community, assimilation and challenges for Judaism in the digital age, and more. To enhance our conversation, we will hear from a variety of Jewish professionals and informed speakers offering their analysis and perspective on important topics.

Professor Christopher Leonard, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 1 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.; Recitation Tuesdays and Thursdays 1 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.

This course is intended as a first course in mathematical analysis for highly motivated students. Topics will include sets and functions, number systems, topology of Euclidean spaces, limits, continuity, and the main theorems of elementary calculus.

Professor David Swigon, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 2 p.m. to 2:50 p.m. 

This course provides a more thorough mathematical treatment of the theory than is possible in the non-honors course (MATH 1270), and also covers some more recent applications. In addition to basic material on exact solutions, mathematical proofs will be given of the existence and uniqueness theorems, leading to a better understanding of such important topics as phase plane behavior and stability theory. In addition, more topics will be covered, including a more extensive discussion of series solutions and special functions than is possible in MATH 1270. Finally, a course project, usually done in pairs, on a topic to be chosen by the students with guidance and approval from the instructor, will be a key feature.

Professor Rika Asai, Tuesdays 3 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. 

Listening to Live Music Performance is a course that hopes to deepen the way you understand music and, through new understanding, inspire the way you experience music! Over the course of the semester, we will explore, without prejudice, a variety of live music performances that will help you develop a lifelong ability to analyze music performance, think critically about the act of listening to music, and to consider your critical role as a member of the audience. The purpose of this class is to transform your experience with music by focusing on live performance. Music is a ubiquitous part of our everyday lives, so much so that many people have lost the ability to listen critically to what they are hearing. In many contexts, we are not even aware that music is playing until it is brought to our attention! Recorded music accounts for much of this ubiquity and it's also changed many listeners' relationship with music. Throughout the semester, we will explore the experience of listening to live performances of music, which may include large ensembles, chamber ensembles, solo concerts, and multi-media performances. Topics will include protocol and traditions of the audience, criteria for critical listening, and discrimination of basic elements of performance. Students will attend live performances, consider evaluative criteria for music performances, and develop critical listening skills. We will also have opportunities to speak with performers to learn about various ways of experiencing music. We are interested in developing critical skills to experience, analyze, and appreciate the myriad musical styles and contexts you will encounter over a lifetime of listening. To that end, this class is focused totally on the act of critical, experiential listening, how to do it, informed listening, and what it can tell the listener's not only about a piece of music, but about the culture and society that created that music, as well as the challenges faced by the increasing ubiquity of music in our world. You do not need a musical background to have a successful semester. Through listening, reading, and associated assignments, the objective is to deepen your experience of music.

Professor Judy Cameron, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.

Students will learn strategies for giving presentations about science to both a scientific audience and a public audience. Topics covered will include 1) how to engage our audience, 2) the art of breaking down your message, 3) tips to make clear, interesting slides, and 4) pointers on presentation style. All audiences want to learn interesting new scientific information, and have it delivered as a good story in an understandable manner by a personable, easy to approach person. Communication skills, including knowing your audience and why they are interested in the information you are speaking about, how to translate scientific jargon into understandable concepts for the public, and how to keep the audience engaged will be discussed. Pointers will be given on answering questions, being conversational, and conveying the "big picture". Students will give a number of presentations in this course and learn to receive and give feedback effectively.

Professor Jennifer Roccisana, Mondays and Wednesdays from 6 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.; Fridays 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

In this course we will examine the signaling, cellular processes, and feedback loops of physiological systems in the human body that maintain homeostasis. Compensatory pathways and mechanisms to maintain homeostatic control will be investigated. Research related to the functioning of these systems will be emphasized throughout the course.

Professor Erika Fanselow, Mondays 1 p.m. to 3:55 p.m.

This honors course supplements the material in the companion lecture course, NROSCI 1011, in two ways. In the initial laboratory portion of the course, human and animal brain tissue will be examined to provide students a first-hand knowledge of the structures that make up the brain and spinal cord. Subsequently, major journal articles that were key in establishing the scientific principles discussed in NROSCI 1011 will be reviewed. This portion of the course will allow students to gain insights into the methods that neuroscientists use to learn about the nervous system. This is a three credit course and will count as an advance elective for majors.

Professor Stephen Meriney; Mondays and Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 12:50 p.m.

This FHC course examines the mechanisms by which neruotransmitters are synthesized and released and the biochemistry of synaptic responses. Basic physiological, biochemical, and morphological characteristics of neuronal transmission will be discussed. An emphasis will be placed on the experimental approaches used to examine these processes.

Professor Richard Henker, Mondays noon to 2:50 p.m.

This course is designed to provide the undergraduate nursing student with an understanding of the role of the nurse anesthetist as an advanced practice nurse. Emphasis will be placed on exploring 1) the advanced practice role as a nurse anesthetist, 2) health care policies affecting nurse anesthesia practice, and 3) evidence based practice in nurse anesthesia practice. Students will describe the opportunities and barriers for nurse anesthetists in a variety of practice settings. Students will also explore the implications of health care policies at the national, state and local level on practice.

Professor Jennifer Whiting, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.

This is an advanced undergraduate course examining the basic concepts of Aristotle's metaphysics, physics, ethics and logic.

Professor Joseph Lewinsohn, Tuesdays 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

This advanced undergraduate course examines a selection of philosophical questions that arise in connection with the theory and practice of law, including constitutional, criminal, and tort law. Topics might include such issues as the comparative role of judges and legislators in making law, the nature of justice, and the relation of law to morality.

Professor David Nero, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 11:50 a.m., Recitation Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.

This is the second term of a two-term honors version of the physics 0104-0105-0106 sequence. This term deals with electricity and magnetism, relativity, and an introduction to modern physics and quantum phenomena.

Professor Lindsay Brunswick, Mondays 3:15 p.m. to 4:45 p.m., Recitation sections varies

The purpose of this course is to teach undergraduate students skills for having resilience in the face of commonly experienced stressors and difficulties. Stated simply, resilience is the ability to both survive and thrive. Resilience is not only about your ability to positively adapt in the face of adverse or challenging circumstances (that is, survive), but it is also about learning the positive skills, strategies and routines that enable you to live a happy, fulfilling, and successful life (in other words, thrive). This course will provide you with a personalized set of strategies and skills for self-care and optimize your academic and social experiences while at the University of Pittsburgh and beyond.

Professor Kristin Kanthak, Mondays 6 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.

This course is, quite generally, designed to provide students with a basic working knowledge of the basic goals of the constitutional framers, giving students an understanding of the purposes of the American political system; the essential structures (or institutions) within the American political system, the behavior (broadly defined) of the actors within the American political system, the purpose and performance of the linkage institutions in the United States (possibly including political parties, elections, and interest groups); and the types of policies that are often produced by a system with the characteristics of those found in the United States. Depending on the interests, area of expertise, and inclinations of the particular instructor, some of these may be emphasized more heavily than others.

Professor Barbara Burstin, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

There are many concerns and issues that Jews think about and deal with in contemporary America. Some of these issues have been of long standing, but some have come into focus as a result of dramatic changes and developments in today's society. These issues can invoke real confusion, angst and/or disagreement among Jews, as well as among non-Jews so it is important to raise some of these issues and allow for wide-ranging class discussion. Our class will look at topics such as Zionism in world and American history, the founding of Israel and the relationship of American Jews to that state, antisemitism in history and on campus today, the impact of the Holocaust on Jewry both in the past and now, Jewish feminism, Intermarriage, the shape and structure of the American Jewish community, assimilation and challenges for Judaism in the digital age, and more. To enhance our conversation, we will hear from a variety of Jewish professionals and informed speakers offering their analysis and perspective on important topics. An important component of the class will be the opportunity for students to shadow professionals in charge of a variety of Jewish agencies in the community. This special opportunity will not only give students an understanding of a Jewish agency and its mission in the community, but it will also afford students the opportunity to learn about a subject and make personal contacts that might be important in shaping and furthering a career choice.

Professor Marcela Perdomo Alvarado, Mondays and Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.

What is health, an absence of illness or something more? What is healing, a physical process or something that is not limited to the physical? In order to answer these seemingly basic questions, a host of assumptions about the body, its ideal state, and the kinds of changes to which it can or should be subjected are often implicit. Religious attitudes toward the body and the natural world have a tremendous impact on these assumptions. In this course, you will gain a better understanding of this impact by exploring the relationships between religion and health and seeing these relationships as part of a much larger web of human concerns such as nationalism, resistance to colonization, and gender politics. In order to facilitate cross-cultural comparison and understanding, this course is not organized around geography or history, but rather around the structure human body. After two introductory weeks, each three-week unit will consider a particular aspect of human health through cases drawn from a wide variety of religious contexts. This process is aimed at decentering Western narratives about health, healing, and the body while fostering a more global perspective.

Professor Tom Ralston, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

What would the ideal high school look like? How would it provide an engaging, equitable and quality education to all adolescents? In Current Issues in Secondary Education: Reimagining the American High School we will explore current issues in U.S. high schools, such as systemic racism and unequal funding, and learn about innovative schools that are doing things differently. We will reflect on our own schooling experiences and collaborate to design a model high school.