Fall 2025 Honors Courses

TR, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm. Instructor(s): Cary Levine. Enrollment = 24.
This course will explore some of the major trends in American and European art from 1958 to 2014. These dates are largely arbitrary, yet they bracket a range of provocative objects, ideas, and practices that continue to resonate. This course should provide a basis for understanding and assessing contemporary art. We will focus on close readings of select artworks and texts and consider how the questions and debates raised by them relate to various historical, social, cultural, and political contexts. The semester has been divided into thematic and semi-chronological sections, with several class periods devoted to each. This course will present contemporary art and discourse as diverse, contradictory, contested, and unresolved.

Cary Levine is Professor of Contemporary Art History. He received his Ph.D. from the Graduate Center, City University of New York, and was a recipient of a year-long J. Paul Getty Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. His first book, Pay for Your Pleasures: Mike Kelley, Paul McCarthy, Raymond Pettibon (University of Chicago Press, 2013) examines the work of these artists in terms of post-60s politics, popular culture, mass media, and strategies of the grotesque. His second book, The Future is Present: Art, Technology, and the Work of Mobile Image (with Philip Glahn), focuses on an important telecommunications art collective and the intersections of art, politics, and technology. This book received the 2025 Frank Jewitt Mather Award, one of the most prestigious distinctions in the field. He was also the 2020 recipient of the Art Journal Award and a 2014 recipient of the Hettleman Prize for Scholarly Achievement at UNC. He has lectured nationally and internationally, has written for various magazines and museum catalogues, and previously worked at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

MW, 11:15 am – 2:00 pm. Instructor(s): Bob Goldstein / Beth Grabowski. Enrollment = 14.
ARTS409H and BIOL409L together form a course that brings art majors and science majors together to learn theory and practical skills in both art and science, and to make use of this learning to make artworks using a variety of printmaking techniques. Students in this course learn some specific biological concepts and practical lab skills, and then use these and their own interests to guide, gather and generate visual information (frequently photographic) and pose questions that arise from scientific looking. These images, processes and ideas then become the point of departure for printmaking projects.

In the print studio, work in the class includes both analog and digital skills. The course introduces several printmaking processes including relief (large-scale wood cut and/or letterpress) stencil printing (screen-printing and/or pochoir) and approaches to photo-printmaking (photogravure, cyanotype). Technically, students learn how to translate imagery by hand and digitally (especially using Photoshop), make printing matrices (block, plate, or screen), and how to print these matrices.  This technical challenge is embedded in a larger consideration of artmaking, where we reflect on the whole of a creative process from idea generation and planning to execution.  Specifically, we’ll explore “print strategies”— the unique affordances of printmaking processes and how they both can inform an idea and be a way of thinking.

The title of this class, Art and Science, implies an intersection of two disciplines. Intrinsic to both is an investment in close observation, experimentation, and visual analysis. While organized around meaningful connections between art and science, the course actively considers disciplinary differences, especially regarding what constitutes creative and scientific research.

Throughout the course, students engage in artistic ideation to develop images through iteration involving trial and error, and critical and aesthetic analysis. While generating ideas and images for projects, we expect students to learn from the professors, from each other, and from reading about topics in both art and science. We expect students to enjoy challenging themselves by considering questions that arise from this merger.

PREREQUISITE: (1) Either a 200-level ARTS course OR a 200-level BIOL course, and (2) Permission of instructors.
CO-REQUISITE: ARTS409H and BIOL 409L are co-requisites (you must sign up for both ARTS 409H and BIOL 409L)
NO FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS.

Bob Goldstein is a Distinguished Professor of Biology and Adjunct Professor of Art. He runs a research lab at UNC that focuses on discovering fundamental mechanisms in cell and developmental biology. The lab asks questions about how cells work during development, questions that are relevant both to basic biology and to human health: How do cells divide in the right orientation? How do certain components of cells become localized to just one side of a cell? How do cells change shape? How do cells move from the surface of an embryo to its interior? The lab also studies tardigrades, which are microscopic animals that can somehow survive just about anything. He enjoys helping students learn using students’ own curiosity as a starting point.

Beth Grabowski is the Kappa Kappa Gamma Distinguished Professor of Art. Her creative work utilizes photography and print to explore unfixed, ambiguous messages that can sometimes signify chaos, but can also become the poetry of wonder and possibility. Professor Grabowski teaches a variety of classes, specializing in printmaking and book arts. She has received several awards for her excellence in undergraduate teaching at UNC. As a teacher, Beth embraces the idea that making art depends on a conversation between the intuition and intellect.  She takes great pleasure in assisting students’ own exploration of this conversation and always learns something new along the way.

TR, 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm. Instructor(s): Kerry Bloom. Enrollment = 24.
To provide you with the core principles of genetics and molecular biology.
The lecture/discussion sessions and the book will provide the basic content. We will take an historical approach at times to discuss seminal experiments and how they were done. We will examine the basic “rules” of genetics and molecular biology. After this class you will be prepared to do research in a lab on campus and to build upon this content with upper-level genetics courses and/or molecular biology courses.
Skills —
· Build hypotheses to answer a specific scientific question, design an experiment
using an appropriate technique/assay to answer the question, predict and analyze the results of the experiment
· Give examples of how advances in genetics and molecular biology, from the discovery of DNA’s structure to the sequencing of individual genomes, have changed the world (e.g. recombinant insulin, personalized medicine, transgenic crops)
· Prepare and deliver a short presentation based on reading and research

Concepts —
· Explain the term “allele” for a single gene at a population, organismal, cellular and molecular level; explain how dominance and recessiveness are expressed at these levels
· Explain where genetic variation comes from in a population (e.g. meiosis, mutation and epigenetic changes)
· Predict genotypic and phenotypic ratios of offspring in defined genetic crosses and work these problems in reverse (i.e. when given data about offspring determine the genotypes and phenotypes of parents)
· Deduce modes of inheritance (e.g. autosomal dominance, X-linked recessive) from genetic pedigrees and explain how incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity complicate these analyses
· Distinguish single gene traits from polygenic traits and the influence of environment on traits
· Explain how DNA is replicated normally and abnormally, and how these concepts are utilized in polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
· Understand the mechanism of recombination and its impact on genetic variability
· Compare and contrast the consequences of germline errors during meiosis (such as non-disjunction and translocations) and somatic errors during abnormal mitosis (such as non-disjunction and cancer)
· Explain the flow of genetic information based on the central dogma from DNA to proteins and how mutations are carried through this flow of information
· Describe the nature of the genetic code
· Describe the general organization of prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes, including the identification and significance of the different parts of a gene (i.e. regulatory/nonregulatory, exons/introns, transcription start site, translation start site, UTRs)
· Explain how a gene can be regulated transcriptionally and post-transcriptionally and how this leads to limited expression under different conditions (e.g. different environments, during the course of development or under disease conditions)
· Predict the outcome of experimental manipulations in genes
· Describe the basic steps in gene cloning
· Design a transgenic animal/bacteria where a protein of interest is specifically produced
· Explain the significance of research in genetic model organisms to understand fundamental biological phenomena

Kerry Bloom is recognized for his work studying dynamic aspects of the cytoskeleton and chromosomes in live cells. He is known for work on the chromatin structure of active genes and most recently biophysical studies demonstrating the physical basis for how centromeric chromatin is built into a molecular spring that resists microtubule-based extensional forces in mitosis. Dr. Bloom was born in Washington D.C. He graduated from Tulane University (B.S. 1975) and received his Ph.D. in 1980 from Purdue University. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. John Carbon at UC Santa Barbara and took his first and only job at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1982. Bloom was an Instructor in the Physiology course at the MBL in Woods Hole MA for 10 years in the 80’s and 90’s, and an Instructor in the Science Writers course for 5 years in the early 2000’s. Bloom has a record of service in the American Society of Cell Biology where he is currently Secretary of the Society. He is a Lifetime Fellow of the ASCB, as well as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences.
Research Interests
Dr. Bloom has a long-standing interest in chromatin structure. He used nucleases to probe chromatin organization and studied the structure of active genes and centromeres. Dr. Bloom was an early developer of live cell microscopy and analysis of fluorescent protein fusions in budding yeast. He discovered a nuclear migration defect in dynein mutants that opened up the field for studying the mitotic exit checkpoint and genetic requirements for nuclear migration and spindle orientation in yeast and multicellular organisms. Turning back to the centromere, the visualization of centromere DNA dynamics challenged prevailing models of how cohesion holds sister centromeres together. Using bead-spring polymer models of chromosomes he discovered that the centromere is organized into a bottlebrush, in which the bulk of DNA is in radial loops, displaced from the primary axial core. The axial core is where tension is focused, and lies between kinetochore microtubules. They are currently using high spatiotemporal imaging of chromatin in vivo together with mathematical modeling to elucidate physical properties that underlie the formation and fluctuations of chromosomal territories, including the centromere and nucleolus. Introduction of tethers, cross-linkers and loop extrusion functionalities into the models sequester sub-domains and account for experimental observations

TR, 9:30 am – 10:45 am. Instructor(s): Kerry Bloom. Enrollment = 24.
To provide you with the core principles of genetics and molecular biology.
The lecture/discussion sessions and the book will provide the basic content. We will take an historical approach at times to discuss seminal experiments and how they were done. We will examine the basic “rules” of genetics and molecular biology. After this class you will be prepared to do research in a lab on campus and to build upon this content with upper-level genetics courses and/or molecular biology courses.
Skills —
· Build hypotheses to answer a specific scientific question, design an experiment
using an appropriate technique/assay to answer the question, predict and analyze the results of the experiment
· Give examples of how advances in genetics and molecular biology, from the discovery of DNA’s structure to the sequencing of individual genomes, have changed the world (e.g. recombinant insulin, personalized medicine, transgenic crops)
· Prepare and deliver a short presentation based on reading and research

Concepts —
· Explain the term “allele” for a single gene at a population, organismal, cellular and molecular level; explain how dominance and recessiveness are expressed at these levels
· Explain where genetic variation comes from in a population (e.g. meiosis, mutation and epigenetic changes)
· Predict genotypic and phenotypic ratios of offspring in defined genetic crosses and work these problems in reverse (i.e. when given data about offspring determine the genotypes and phenotypes of parents)
· Deduce modes of inheritance (e.g. autosomal dominance, X-linked recessive) from genetic pedigrees and explain how incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity complicate these analyses
· Distinguish single gene traits from polygenic traits and the influence of environment on traits
· Explain how DNA is replicated normally and abnormally, and how these concepts are utilized in polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
· Understand the mechanism of recombination and its impact on genetic variability
· Compare and contrast the consequences of germline errors during meiosis (such as non-disjunction and translocations) and somatic errors during abnormal mitosis (such as non-disjunction and cancer)
· Explain the flow of genetic information based on the central dogma from DNA to proteins and how mutations are carried through this flow of information
· Describe the nature of the genetic code
· Describe the general organization of prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes, including the identification and significance of the different parts of a gene (i.e. regulatory/nonregulatory, exons/introns, transcription start site, translation start site, UTRs)
· Explain how a gene can be regulated transcriptionally and post-transcriptionally and how this leads to limited expression under different conditions (e.g. different environments, during the course of development or under disease conditions)
· Predict the outcome of experimental manipulations in genes
· Describe the basic steps in gene cloning
· Design a transgenic animal/bacteria where a protein of interest is specifically produced
· Explain the significance of research in genetic model organisms to understand fundamental biological phenomena

Kerry Bloom is recognized for his work studying dynamic aspects of the cytoskeleton and chromosomes in live cells. He is known for work on the chromatin structure of active genes and most recently biophysical studies demonstrating the physical basis for how centromeric chromatin is built into a molecular spring that resists microtubule-based extensional forces in mitosis. Dr. Bloom was born in Washington D.C. He graduated from Tulane University (B.S. 1975) and received his Ph.D. in 1980 from Purdue University. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. John Carbon at UC Santa Barbara and took his first and only job at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1982. Bloom was an Instructor in the Physiology course at the MBL in Woods Hole MA for 10 years in the 80’s and 90’s, and an Instructor in the Science Writers course for 5 years in the early 2000’s. Bloom has a record of service in the American Society of Cell Biology where he is currently Secretary of the Society. He is a Lifetime Fellow of the ASCB, as well as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences.
Research Interests
Dr. Bloom has a long-standing interest in chromatin structure. He used nucleases to probe chromatin organization and studied the structure of active genes and centromeres. Dr. Bloom was an early developer of live cell microscopy and analysis of fluorescent protein fusions in budding yeast. He discovered a nuclear migration defect in dynein mutants that opened up the field for studying the mitotic exit checkpoint and genetic requirements for nuclear migration and spindle orientation in yeast and multicellular organisms. Turning back to the centromere, the visualization of centromere DNA dynamics challenged prevailing models of how cohesion holds sister centromeres together. Using bead-spring polymer models of chromosomes he discovered that the centromere is organized into a bottlebrush, in which the bulk of DNA is in radial loops, displaced from the primary axial core. The axial core is where tension is focused, and lies between kinetochore microtubules. They are currently using high spatiotemporal imaging of chromatin in vivo together with mathematical modeling to elucidate physical properties that underlie the formation and fluctuations of chromosomal territories, including the centromere and nucleolus. Introduction of tethers, cross-linkers and loop extrusion functionalities into the models sequester sub-domains and account for experimental observations

M, 11:15 am – 2:00 pm. Instructor(s): Bob Goldstein / Beth Grabowski. Enrollment = 14.
ARTS409H and BIOL409L together form a course that brings art majors and science majors together to learn theory and practical skills in both art and science, and to make use of this learning to make artworks using a variety of printmaking techniques. Students in this course learn some specific biological concepts and practical lab skills, and then use these and their own interests to guide, gather and generate visual information (frequently photographic) and pose questions that arise from scientific looking. These images, processes and ideas then become the point of departure for printmaking projects.

In the print studio, work in the class includes both analog and digital skills. The course introduces several printmaking processes including relief (large-scale wood cut and/or letterpress), stencil printing (screen-printing and/or pochoir), intaglio (photogravure, drypoint, collagraph) and other alternative photo-printmaking (cyanotype). Technically, students learn how to translate imagery by hand and digitally (especially using Photoshop), make printing matrices (block, plate, or screen), and how to print these matrices.  This technical challenge is embedded in a larger consideration of artmaking, where we reflect on the whole of a creative process from idea generation and planning to execution. Specifically, we’ll explore “print strategies”— the unique affordances of printmaking processes and how they both can inform an idea and be a way of thinking.

The title of this class, Art and Science, implies an intersection of two disciplines. Intrinsic to both is an investment in close observation, experimentation, and visual analysis. While organized around meaningful connections between art and science, the course actively considers disciplinary differences, especially regarding what constitutes creative and scientific research.

Throughout the course, students engage in artistic ideation to develop images through iteration involving trial and error, and critical and aesthetic analysis. While generating ideas and images for projects, we expect students to learn from the professors, from each other, and from reading about topics in both art and science. We expect students to enjoy challenging themselves by considering questions that arise from this merger.

PREREQUISITE: (1) Either a 200-level ARTS course OR a 200-level BIOL course, and (2) Permission of instructors.
CO-REQUISITE: ARTS409H and BIOL 409L are co-requisites (you must sign up for both ARTS 409H and BIOL 409L)
NO FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS.

Bob Goldstein is a Distinguished Professor of Biology and Adjunct Professor of Art. He runs a research lab at UNC that focuses on discovering fundamental mechanisms in cell and developmental biology. The lab asks questions about how cells work during development, questions that are relevant both to basic biology and to human health: How do cells divide in the right orientation? How do certain components of cells become localized to just one side of a cell? How do cells change shape? How do cells move from the surface of an embryo to its interior? The lab also studies tardigrades, which are microscopic animals that can somehow survive just about anything. He enjoys helping students learn using students’ own curiosity as a starting point.

Beth Grabowski is the Kappa Kappa Gamma Distinguished Professor of Art. Her creative work utilizes photography and print to explore unfixed, ambiguous messages that can sometimes signify chaos, but can also become the poetry of wonder and possibility. Professor Grabowski teaches a variety of classes, specializing in printmaking and book arts. She has received several awards for her excellence in undergraduate teaching at UNC. As a teacher, Beth embraces the idea that making art depends on a conversation between the intuition and intellect.  She takes great pleasure in assisting students’ own exploration of this conversation and always learns something new along the way.

TR, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm. Instructor(s): David Pfennig. Enrollment = 24.
Ecological and Evolutionary Developmental Biology (or simply ‘Eco-Evo-Devo’) is a new field that examines how genes and the environment interact to shape how organisms develop, interact with their living and nonliving environments, and, ultimately, evolve. In this combined lecture and discussion course, we will explore such topics as whether there is more to inheritance than just genes, what epigenetics entails, how microbes influence their hosts’ development and evolution, and the role of developmental plasticity in ecology and evolution. Students will also learn how studying eco-evo-devo can provide novel insights into how to prevent and treat many diseases and mitigate the ongoing biodiversity crisis.

Prerequisites: Bio 105 and either Bio 250 or Bio 471 or the consent of the instructor

David Pfennig is broadly interested in the interplay between evolution, ecology, and development. He uses a variety of model systems––from bacteriophage to snakes, and a diversity of approaches––from field experiments to molecular analyses.

TR, 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm. Instructor(s): Victoria Bautch. Enrollment = 24.
An experimental approach to understanding cardiovascular development, function, and disease. This class will cover development of the cardiovascular system (heart and blood vasculature), and cardiovascular function as linked to selected diseases. We will cover the molecular, genetic, cell biological, and biochemical techniques used to study the cardiovascular system, with an emphasis on the genes and signaling pathways involved in cardiovascular development and disease. It is assumed that students will have some familiarity with animal development and cell and molecular biology. This course will focus deeply on selected aspects of cardiovascular development, function and disease rather than taking a superficial approach to the subject. To facilitate a deeper understanding of the scientific method, some topics will be paired with a research paper from the primary literature.
Pre-Requisite: BIOL 205 or BIOL 103, BIOL 104, BIOL 220, and BIOL 240; or instructor permission for students lacking a prerequisite.

NO FIRST YEAR STUDENTS. FOR SENIOR BIOL MAJORS AND/OR 2ND MAJORS ONLY.

NO INSTRUCTOR BIO ON FILE

MW, 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm . Instructor(s): Arzu Ozoguz. Enrollment = 45.
This course provides essential tools that anybody interested in business should know. We will analyze theory and practice of the major financial decisions made by corporations. The goal of the class is to teach you 1) how to value firms and project opportunities using methods drawn from the theory of corporate finance 2) to develop an appreciation of how financing decisions impact project and firm value and 3) how to develop effective ways to visualize and communicate spreadsheet analyses. By definition, the course is designed to be “hands-on”.

Prerequisite: BUSI 408 with minimum grade of C

MW, 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm. Instructor(s): Arzu Ozoguz. Enrollment = 45.
This course provides essential tools that anybody interested in business should know. We will analyze theory and practice of the major financial decisions made by corporations. The goal of the class is to teach you 1) how to value firms and project opportunities using methods drawn from the theory of corporate finance 2) to develop an appreciation of how financing decisions impact project and firm value and 3) how to develop effective ways to visualize and communicate spreadsheet analyses. By definition, the course is designed to be “hands-on”.

Prerequisite: BUSI 408 with minimum grade of C

MW, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm. Instructor(s): Jim Kitchen. Enrollment = 50.
The goals of this course are to give the students a broad understanding of the field of entrepreneurship and to introduce the important tools and skills necessary to create and grow a successful new venture. The course is designed to simulate the real life activities of entrepreneurs in the start-up stage of a new venture. Students, in teams, will develop a new venture concept and determine if a demand exists for their product or service. Importantly, the course facilitates networking with entrepreneurs and other students who are considering becoming entrepreneurs.

As an undergraduate at UNC, Jim learned how to create and grow companies.  After successfully selling his tour operation business that he started in college he built a successful commercial real estate investment firm and is an active consultant and investor in numerous early startup ventures. Jim has an MBA from the University of Tennessee, as well as a Masters in Management from George Washington University.

Jim is Professor at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, teaching Entrepreneurship to undergraduate students and was one of the founders of Launch Chapel Hill, and 1789 Venture Lab.

Over the past 30 years, Mr. Kitchen has wandered through the remotest villages on the planet, across every single one of the world’s 193 United Nations recognized countries, and last year went to space, and to the very bottom of the Earth, in a submarine to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

TR, 9:30 am – 10:45 am. Instructor(s): Jeffrey Mittelstadt. Enrollment = 40.
Students will learn how to apply full triple bottom line sustainability in business to drive simultaneous improvement of impacts on people, the environment and our economy. They will explore how business fits into the greater sustainability landscape and the importance of cross-sector collaboration and partnership. This course concentrates on sustainability in established businesses of all sizes (multinational, regional, local, family, etc.), rather than starting new entrepreneurial ventures. Students will learn how to evaluate existing businesses and industries using ESG metrics (environment, social and governance), the triple bottom line framework (TBL = simultaneously improving impact on people, planet, and profit), lifecycle assessment, stakeholder understanding and other timely standards/frameworks. Work will compare how established businesses address sustainability incrementally versus using it to innovate, and how those companies market sustainability and are viewed within existing indices and rating systems. Learning will emphasize driving profitability through addressing current global social and environmental challenges highlighted by the United Nations Sustainable Development goals; including climate change, social justice, supply chains, economic mobility, water scarcity and much more.

TR, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm. Instructor(s): Michael Beeler. Enrollment = 30.
A supply chain is comprised of all the parties involved in fulfilling a customer request. The integrated management of this network is a critical determinant of success in today’s competitive environment. Companies like Amazon, Zara, and Dell are proof that excellence in supply chain management is a must for financial strength and industry leadership. With increasing competition around the globe, supply chain management is both a challenge and an opportunity for companies. Hence a strong understanding of supply-chain management concepts and the ability to recommend improvements should be in the toolbox of all managers.
This course is designed to be of interest not only to students wishing to pursue careers in operations and supply chain management but also to those interested in careers in marketing (especially brand and channel management) and consulting. The course is also useful to those students who would like to pursue careers where they will be providing external evaluations of supply chains (e.g. in investment, financial analysis) and those with entrepreneurial aspirations.

Prerequisite: BUSI 403 with minimum grade of C

Mike Beeler brings more than 20 years of industry experience in operations and supply chain management to UNC Kenan-Flagler.

Professor Beeler’s teaching interests include operations, supply chain and project management.

His teaching history began while serving as an instructor in the U.S. Navy, teaching shipboard weapons systems and warfare tactics during his nine years of active duty service.

Professor Beeler has significant experience in process improvement and lean methodologies, and has earned the Six-Sigma Black Belt certification.

He has worked in a variety of industries including automotive, industrial manufacturing, telecommunications and consumer packaged goods.

He received his MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler and his BS in mathematics from The Pennsylvania State University.

Professor Beeler received Kenan-Flagler Business School’s Weatherspoon Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in 2022.

T, 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm. Instructor(s): Paul Friga. Enrollment = 30.
**Application and Permission Required for This Course (See Below)*

Consulting Skills and Frameworks is an intensive skill-based course dedicated to teaching key business and consulting skills of teamwork, analysis and presentations.  While designed particularly for students interested in consulting, any students are welcome.  Students who are interested in applying will need to submit an application at https://kenan-flagler.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_87CMlGhYOPikJV4 by April 1st.  The application requires you to upload your resume (including current GPA) and a brief cover letter (with interest, capabilities, relevant coursework, and seciton preference for 2pm or 5pm on Thursdays, if any).
Note that there are limited seats in the course. *Note: This course is NOT restricted to Honors students, but Honors students may use the course towards their program requirements.
This course is designed to complement the technical and diagnostic skills learned in the other courses at KFBS. A basic premise is that the manager needs analytic skills as well as interpersonal skills to effectively manage groups. The course will allow students the opportunity to develop these skills experientially and to understand team behavior in useful analytical frameworks.
This course is designed to complement the technical and diagnostic skills learned in the other courses at KFBS. A basic premise is that the manager needs analytic skills as well as interpersonal skills to effectively manage groups. The course will allow students the opportunity to develop these skills experientially and to understand team behavior in useful analytical frameworks.

Paul N. Friga researches strategic problem solving and project management in consulting, personalized knowledge transfer, intuition and entrepreneurship. He teaches courses in management consulting and strategy, and is director of the Consulting Concentrations for the BSBA and MBA Programs. He previously worked as a management consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers and McKinsey & Company, and researches how top consulting firms recruit, train, evaluate and reward employees.

Dr. Friga is the author The McKinsey Mind (McGraw-Hill, 2001) and The McKinsey Engagement (McGraw-Hill, 2008), and his work has been published in top journals. He has consulted for Fortune 100, mid-size and entrepreneurial companies, universities and not-for-profit organizations. Recent clients include ABG Consulting, Bloomington Economic Development Corporation, Boeing, Boston Scientific, J.D. Power & Associates, Kimball Office Furniture, Microsoft, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Scientific Atlanta (now part of Cisco), Technomic Consulting, the Greater Indianapolis Hospitality & Lodging Association, the U.S. Navy and Walker Information.

Dr. Friga previously served on the Indiana University faculty where he received the Trustee Teaching Award and the Kelley School of Business Innovative Teaching Award. He received the PhD Teaching Award when he was a doctoral student at UNC Kenan-Flagler. In 2008, the Strategic Management Society appointed him to its task force on teaching strategy.

He received his PhD and MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler, and graduated from Saint Francis University magna cum laude with a double degree in management and accounting. He has earned CPA and CMA designations.

W, 3:30 pm – 6:20 pm. Instructor(s): Pramita Saha. Enrollment = 15.
Application/Permission Required for this Course (see below)*
Prerequisites: 408, core-requisite: 407

This is a UBP/MBA cross-listed course that follows the second year MBA calendar. It is a course with minimal instruction, where students apply what they have learned to manage a real money portfolio, with feedback on their work from instructors.
Two consecutive terms, earning 6 credit hours OR one term, earning 3 credit hours.
Eligibility:
· Prereqs: BUSI 407 (financial accounting) and 408 (corporate finance)
· Recommended: BUSI 580 (investments) and 584 (financial modeling)
· Observe MOD 4 section prior to official fall enrollment, if possible.
· Preference for students entering final year, who have completed a number of finance courses.
· Familiarity with company financial results and ability to analyze income statement, balance sheet and cash flow.

To apply:
Application will only open during Spring semester.
https://drric.web.unc.edu/im-concentration/aim-applications/aim-application-for-bsba-students/

To apply visit: https://drric.web.unc.edu/teaching/im-concentration/aim-applications/aim-application-for-bsba-students/

TR, 9:00 am – 10:15 am. Instructor(s): Andreas Stathopoulos. Enrollment = 45.
Prerequisite: BUSI 408 with a grade of C
The course provides an introduction to the primary instruments of the derivative securities market.  Topics covered include no-arbitrage based pricing; binomial option pricing; the Black-Scholes model and the pricing of futures and forwards contracts.  There will be an introduction to hedging with derivatives, and the concepts of static and dynamic arbitrage will be developed.

TR, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm. Instructor(s): Andreas Stathopoulos. Enrollment = 45.
Prerequisite: BUSI 408 with a grade of C
The course provides an introduction to the primary instruments of the derivative securities market.  Topics covered include no-arbitrage based pricing; binomial option pricing; the Black-Scholes model and the pricing of futures and forwards contracts.  There will be an introduction to hedging with derivatives, and the concepts of static and dynamic arbitrage will be developed.

TR, 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm. Instructor(s): Todd Austell. Enrollment = 24.
Analytical separations, chromatographic methods, acid-base equilibria and titrations, spectrophotometry, mass spectrometry

Purpose of the course.
To gain an understanding of the fundamental principles and modern techniques of chemical analyses including spectrochemical, volumetric and chromatographic methods. Additionally, explore modern chemical instrumentation and evaluate different methods for data interpretation.
Course format…
taught as a lecture, discussion and problem-solving class with emphasis on current research in analytical chemistry.  Guests speakers from the department, faculty interviews and student
topical presentations will incorporated into this class.

If you would like to be considered for a seat in 241H, please fill out this below. You will need to include your major, overall GPA, and grades in Chemistry courses at UNC.

https://unc.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6zJ1EsblxarPQrQ

PREREQUITE: CHEM 102 OR 102H.
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY CONSENT REQURIED.

Todd Austell is a Teaching Professor and currently serves as the Associate Director of U’grad Studies for the Department of Chemistry. He serves as an academic advisor for STEM and pre-health science majors in UNC Academic Advising.  Prof. Austell received his BS in Chemistry in 1987 and his PhD in Chemistry in 1996, both at UNC. He spent one year working in the pharmaceutical industry prior to graduate school and another year as an Assistant Professor at the United States Air Force Academy prior to returning to his current position in 1998. As an undergraduate, he participated in the Department of Energy and American Chemistry Society’s Summer School in Nuclear Chemistry. Topical studies in nuclear chemistry have been a hobby of his since that time. His graduate research involved separation science, and he is currently involved in both curriculum development within the chemistry department and in a long-term study of how middle school and secondary math education/preparation affects student performances in college general chemistry. His hobbies include hiking, camping, disc golf and gardening as well as following all UNC athletics.  He has two young daughters whom he says are “his greatest accomplishment” and a wife who works as a physical therapist.

TR, 2:00 pm -3:15 pm. Instructor(s): Jeffrey Johnson. Enrollment = 24.
Molecular structure of organic compounds, and the correlation between structure and reactivity including the theoretical basis for these relationships; classification of “reaction types” exhibited by organic molecules using as examples molecules of biological importance.  This course will be similar to CHEM 261 with a greater emphasis on class discussion, problem-solving, and the investigation of organic chemistry research at UNC.

PREREQUISITES: CHEM 102 OR CHEM 102H. GPA OF 3.600 OR HIGHER.
PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR REQUIRED. EMAIL chemus@unc.edu.

Jeffrey Johnson earned his B.S. at the University of Kansas in 1994, graduating with Highest Distinction and Honors in Chemistry. He performed graduate research as an NSF Predoctoral Fellow in the laboratories of Professor David Evans at Harvard University from 1994-1999, working in the area of enantioselective catalysis employing bis(oxazoline) copper(II) complexes. After receiving his Ph.D. in 1999, he was an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratories of Professor Robert Bergman at the University of California at Berkeley, where he investigated Ti(IV)-catalyzed amination reactions. He joined the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as an assistant professor in 2001. He was promoted to associate professor in 2006 and full professor in 2010. His research interests lie in new reaction design, discovery, and development.

TR, 9:30 am – 10:45 am. Instructor(s): Dorothy Erie. Enrollment = 30.
Dynamic examination of the principles of biochemistry, from macromolecules through enzyme function and catalysis, and into the primary metabolic pathways that create cellular energy.  This course will be an interactive combination of lecture-type materials along with presentations from students and deeper dives into topics of mutual interest to course participants.  The goal of the course is to provide a detailed foundation in biochemistry and to teach critical thinking skills focused on understanding and challenging primary biochemical data.  Students who enroll in this course are typically heading to graduate or professional school in this area of study, or will use the principles employed to enhance their problem-solving abilities.
Chemistry 430H is designed for chemistry majors and is not cross-listed with biol 430. Chemistry majors in the honors program will have priority.  Seats will open as follows: Chemistry majors in honors with senior status, Chemistry majors in honors with junior status, Non-chemistry majors in honors, Chemistry majors BS-Biochem, Chemistry majors BA.  Any additional seats (and they can be limited at this point) will be open to other majors.  For non-majors, you will be enrolled last based on open seats and affiliation with the Honors Carolina.
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY CONSENT REQUIRED. CONTACT THE DEPARTMENT VIA EMAIL AT chemus@unc.edu. PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR NAME, EMAIL, AND REQUEST FOR CHEM 430H ENROLLMENT IN THE MESSAGE.

NO INSTRUCTOR BIO ON FILE

MWF, 12:20 pm – 1:10 pm. Instructor(s): Suzanne Lye. Enrollment = 24.
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the myths of the ancient Greeks and Romans, the stories about gods, goddesses, and heroes that were told and retold over a period of centuries. The emphasis will be not simply on learning these stories, but on studying them in their historical context. How were they transmitted? What roles did they play in Greek and Roman culture? What can we learn from them about the way that the ancient Greeks and Romans understood the world around them? In our explorations we will concentrate on literary texts, especially epic and tragedy, but will also consider visual sources, especially vase painting and sculpture. As another way of exploring the significance of myth in ancient Greek and Roman society, we will also examine analogous phenomena in our own society.

Suzanne Lye is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Classics at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She received her A.B. from Harvard University, where she studied organic chemistry and the history of antibiotics. After receiving her Ph.D. in
Classics from the University of California, Los Angeles, she was awarded a Postdoctoral
Fellowship at Dartmouth College. Her current research focuses on conceptions of the afterlife in ancient Greek Underworld narratives from Homer to Lucian. She has also participated in several digital humanities initiatives through Harvard’s Center for Hellenic
Studies, including the Homer Multitext Project. Additional areas of interest include ancient epic, ancient magic and religion, ancient representations of gender and ethnicity, ancient and modern pedagogy, and Classical reception.

TR, 5:00 pm – 6:15 pm. Instructor(s): Jack Snoeyink. Enrollment = 24.
Underlying the many applications of computers in our daily life are discrete structures like Boolean logics, relations, finite state machines, graphs, and networks that have mathematical specifications. You can tell your parents that the primary purpose of this class is to introduce these discrete structures and the formal proof techniques that support the production, verification, and maintenance of correct software. In fact, many of these are familiar from puzzles and games: already in 1990 Super Mario World expects kids to immediately understand a finite state machine diagram…
This is a language class: you will learn vocabulary and idioms of a language that is more precise and less ambiguous than the languages that we usually speak or write. With any new language, you may at first struggle to make yourself understood, but by frequent immersion and fearless practice you can become comfortable thinking and expressing yourself creatively in the language. Students pick up languages at different rates, so work to teach each other. All can gain fluency with effort and a willingness to make mistakes. And fluency will help all your computer science endeavors – precise and unambiguous language helps you catch mistakes early, when they are cheaper to fix.
Math381, Discrete Mathematics, shares many of our goals of teaching formal reasoning and mathematical rigor, but they do so by delving deeply into number theory. We will find our examples more broadly, so that we can also provide students with a toolbox of mathematical techniques and concepts that are fundamental in most areas of computer science.
The honors section is for students who want mastery of this language. In addition to participating in the regular lectures, honors students will be asked to use this language develop proofs of more advanced material using the Moore method. For graph theory in particular, the textbook has a series of definitions and questions for which students are asked to provide answers; similar material is being developed for game theory.

PREREQUISITES: MATH 231 or MATH 241; a grade of C or better is required

Prof. Jack Snoeyink (Ph.D. Stanford, 1990) works on computational geometry, which is a branch of the theory of computer science that designs and analyzes algorithms and data structures for problems best stated in geometry form. His main application areas are in terrain modeling in geographic information systems, molecular structure validation and improvement in biochemistry, as well as computational topology, computer graphics, and information visualization. He participated as a PI in GEO*, the first program Darpa organized with NGA (National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, formerly NIMA, DMA.)

TR, 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm. Instructor(s): Daniel Wallace. Enrollment = 15.
Writing intensive. Early short assignments emphasize elements of dramatic scene with subsequent written practice in point-of-view, dialogue, characterization, and refinement of style. Assigned short stories with in-depth analysis of technique, craft, and literary merit. Students will write and revise two stories which will be workshopped by instructor and class. Revision in lieu of final exam. The course is informal but stringent; students may be asked to write each class meeting. Vigorous class participation in workshop is expected. This course (or ENGL 130) serves as a prerequisite for other courses in the fiction sequence of the creative writing program (ENGL 206, 406, 693H). Textbook:  TBD.

FIRST YEAR HONORS CAROLINA STUDENTS ONLY

J. Ross MacDonald Distinguished Professor of English. Daniel Wallace is author of six novels, including Big Fish(1998), Ray in Reverse (2000), The Watermelon King (2003), Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician (2007), The Kings and Queens of Roam (2013), and most recently Extraordinary Adventures (May 2017).  His children’s book, published in 2014, and for which he did both the words and the pictures, is called The Cat’s Pajamas, and it is adorable. In 2003 Big Fish was adapted and released as a movie and then in 2013 the book and the movie were mish-mashed together and became a Broadway musical. His work has been published in over two dozen languages, and his stories, novels and essays are taught in high schools and colleges throughout this country. His illustrations have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Italian Vanity Fair, and many other magazines and books. A memoir, This Isn’t Going to End Well, was published in 2023, and a collection of short fictions, Beneath the Moon and Long Dead Stars, will be released in May, 2025.

TR, 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm. Instructor(s): Tyree Daye. Enrollment = 15.
This course will explore the many pleasures and challenges of writing poetry. Our focus will be the regular writing and revising of your original poems, and the in-class workshopping of some of these poems, but we will also spend much time reading and discussing exemplary poems from the past and present, learning poetic terms and forms and techniques, listening to poems read aloud, and doing whatever else might help you become a better poet. Among the course requirements: is a notebook, a midterm project and a final project other written exercises; a memorization and recitation assignment; and (most important of all) your writing of up to ten original poems, and your ongoing revisions of those poems. This is a fun and informative class that will help you think and write more clearly, more vividly, and more imaginatively.

INTENDED FOR FIRST-YEAR HONORS CAROLINA STUDENTS, BUT OPEN TO OTHERS, BY PERMISSION OF THE INSTRUCTOR.

Tyree Daye is a poet from Youngsville, North Carolina, and a Teaching Assistant Professor at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is the author of two poetry collections River Hymns 2017 APR/Honickman First Book Prize winner and Cardinal from Copper Canyon Press 2020. Daye is a Cave Canem fellow. Daye won the 2019 Palm Beach Poetry Festival Langston Hughes Fellowship, 2019 Diana and Simon Raab Writer-In-Residence at UC Santa Barbara, and is a 2019 Kate Tufts Finalist. Daye most recently was awarded a 2019 Whiting Writers Award.

, . Instructor(s): Richard Marks. Enrollment = .
DATA110H surveys the major aspects of data science including ethics,  data visualization, mathematical/statistical concepts, Python programming, and introductory machine learning.  Students will gain a solid understanding of the fundamentals of data science to support more in-depth, advanced coursework for the data science majors.  DATA110H will be similar to DATA110 with a greater emphasis on class discussion, problem-solving,  data understanding, and the investigation of data science research at UNC.

Richard Marks (PhD Stanford 1995) is a Professor in the School of Data Science and Society with a joint appointment in the Department of Computer Science. His research interests include AR/VR, machine learning, and context-aware systems. From 2018-2023, Dr. Marks was a Director at Google ATAP; prior to that, he was at PlayStation R&D for 19 years and helped create the EyeToy, PlayStation Move, and PlayStation VR.

TR, 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm. Instructor(s): Christopher Handy. Enrollment = 24.
Economists use data and statistics to measure economic outcomes, to test theories, and to estimate the effects of policy changes and other events. This course is an introduction to statistical methods and their application in economics. We will study probability and random variables, estimation and sampling distributions, inference about population characteristics, and linear regression. You will work with economic data and apply these methods in R, a widely used statistical software environment.

Prerequisites, ECON 101 and one of MATH 152, 231, or STOR 112, 113.

Chris Handy is a Teaching Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at UNC–Chapel Hill, where he has been a faculty member since 2021. He earned his Ph.D. at Cornell University in 2013, and taught at Washington and Lee University for eight years before arriving at UNC. He is a labor economist with research interests in intergenerational mobility and educational attainment.

MW, 2:30 pm – 3:45 pm. Instructor(s): Tugba Somuncu. Enrollment = 24.
The primary focus of the course is on the function of markets and how markets work to allocate resources and distribute income. Topics included in the course are  consumer behavior including economic uncertainty, theory of the firm, market structure (perfect competition, monopoly, and oligopoly), and basic game theory and information economics. One of the purposes of the course is to help students learn how to apply microeconomic principles to economic questions. For this reason, problem sets are assigned and considered to be an important part of the course. The honors section is offered in order to provide students with the opportunity to gain a somewhat greater breadth and depth of knowledge than in other sections. Calculus will be used.

PREREQUISITES: ECON 101. MATH 231 OR STOR 113.

I earned my PhD in Economics from Iowa State University in 2024. My primary research interests lie in environmental economics and labor economics. In my PhD dissertation, I focused on the green transition, particularly examining its impact on workers’ earnings, with an emphasis on female workers, as well as the role of water pollution in determining economic opportunities. I am excited to teach honors courses and introduce students to economic tools and their applications.

TR, 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm. Instructor(s): Jeanne Moskal. Enrollment = 24.
Did you know that volcanic ash from the eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Tambora dimmed the sun’s light for months, making 1816 “the year without a summer”? This climate event kept a vacationing Mary Shelley indoors, where she composed the first draft of Frankenstein.

Our section of English 121, which surveys 19th and 20th-c British literature, will be informed, as above, by present-day concerns with climate change.  On the literary side, the syllabus focuses more than is usual on women writers, stressing Jane Austen’s importance, as well as reflecting on the Gothic tradition, as exemplified in S. T. Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize.  In terms of present-day concerns, we’ll study how the Industrial Revolution’s use of fossil fuels, as registered in literature, wrought long-term change on global health and climate.

In the semester’s major project, students will compose a commonplace book, which is a collection of quotations for personal use. This genre has been revived in the past five years or so because the physical object can be a site of crafting and because it offers an alternative to digital storage as well as a means of combating information overload. We will examine rare commonplace books in UNC’s Wilson Library and profile major commonplacers of the past (Leonardo DaVinci, Virginia Woolf) to inform our own practice. Writing assignments include two short papers (5-7 pages) and, to accompany your physical commonplace book, a ten-to-twelve-page reflection on commonplacing. During the final exam period, you will summarize your research for the class.

Interested students are welcome to contact the instructor with any questions or concerns at <moskal@unc.edu>

The granddaughter of Polish immigrants, Jeanne Moskal is a Professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research has focused on William Blake, Mary, Shelley, and Charlotte Bronte. Her teaching has been recognized by UNC-CH’s highest teaching award, The University Mentor Award for Lifetime Achievement.

TR, 9:30 am – 10:45 am . Instructor(s): H. M. Cushman. Enrollment = 24.
Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is an extraordinarily wide-ranging poem. It is characterized by variety, surprise, and quick movements from one narrative world to a completely different one. With the turn of a page, the reader finds herself on a medieval pilgrimage, then in the aftermath of an ancient Mediterranean war, then in the court of Genghis Khan, and then in a barnyard squabble between a rooster and a fox. One moment a serial-monogamous seamstress is explaining her theories about marriage, and the next a friar is puzzling over how to divide a fart. We will read each of these tales in the original Middle English–with a little help along the way–and find out how all of these adventures and characters live together in one poem. There are no prerequisites for this course. All are welcome!

This course is being offered in honor of Weldon Thornton, and is supported by a generous gift from the Weldon Thornton Society.

H. M. Cushman is an Assistant Professor of English and Comparative Literature. She specializes in late medieval British literature.

MWF, 1:25 pm – 2:15 pm. Instructor(s): Jessica Wolfe. Enrollment = 24.
This course offers an interdisciplinary approach to the literature and culture of the English and European Renaissance (ca. 1520-1640), studying important landmarks of science, religion, and philosophy alongside selected major literary works of the period. We will approach our study of the Renaissance as an era that experienced numerous upheavals in the production and dissemination of knowledge: the spread of print, the European “discovery” of the Americas, the rise of modern scientific method, and the Protestant reformations. Our readings will place poets, playwrights, and essayists in conversation with medical writers, astronomers, travelers, and biblical scholars, among others, tracing the ways that writers of fiction both shaped and responded to some of the most pressing questions of the age: how do we know what we know? What are the limits of human knowledge, and how much can we trust knowledge gained by different means – reason, faith, our senses, our experience? How best may we come to understand the workings of nature and of God?

Writers studied will include Desiderius Erasmus, Michel de Montaigne, Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser, William Shakespeare, Francis Bacon, John Donne, Galileo Galilei, and Thomas Browne.

There are three main writing assignments for this course, due at monthly intervals. Each is centered upon a different species of primary or archival evidence. An interpretive assignment asks students to close read one of the key readings. A second assignment asks students to work closely with a rare book in Wilson Library – anything from a 1591 Ortelius world atlas to an anatomy book to a 1609 edition of Spenser’s Faerie Queene. And a final assignment (keyed to a final group presentation) asks students to create individual exhibits for a joint ‘cabinet of curiosities’ by researching an object significant to the culture of the global Renaissance – an obsidian mirror that travelled from Aztec Mexico to Elizabethan England, the cinnamon brought back by Dutch explorers from southeast Asia, the telescope through which Galileo performed his earliest lunar observations, or the “unicorn horns” placed on display in the public collections of European monarchs. Students will also be asked to create a second, brief oral presentation that aims to provide historical context for a single figure, event, or text. The class will require several excursions to Wilson Library, as well as a visit to the Ackland Art Museum.

Jessica Wolfe (Marcel Bataillon Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Classics, and Romance Studies) researches the literature of the English and European Renaissance and the early modern reception of classical literature (especially epic). She has published widely on sixteenth- and seventeenth-century writers including Edmund Spenser, John Milton, the Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus, George Chapman (the first English translator of Homer), and Thomas Browne.

Professor Wolfe grew up smack-dab in the middle of New York City and studied at Bryn Mawr, Cambridge, and Stanford Universities. She has taught at UNC for twenty-seven years, and when not teaching, loves to take very long walks and to travel internationally (favorite recent trips have included Sardinia, Thessaloniki, Greece, and Portugal). She lives south of Chapel Hill with her partner, an engineer and a gifted chef, and their Jack Russell terrier.

TR, 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm. Instructor(s): Elyse Crystall. Enrollment = 24.
This course takes as its primary objects of analysis novels, poetry, and visual and filmic texts; historical and government documents; and personal memoir, music, journalism, and interviews, in order to examine how race and ethnicity, or maybe our perceptions of race and ethnicity, shape our current world. This, in turn, should enable us to imagine other ways of seeing and being. We will consider how race and ethnicity, among many other identity signifiers, are structured by institutions and social relations and informed by cultural beliefs. Once we understand how we participate in and interact with these structures, how we are defined by them, how we create them, we are positioned to critique and change them.

Dr. Elyse Crystall has been teaching courses on race and ethnicity (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate; migrants and refugees; gender, class, sexuality, and nationality; memory and trauma; and conquest, imperialism, colonialism, and empire) for 25 years. Her role as the coordinator of the social justice concentration for the English undergraduate major links to her commitment to social justice issues; her understanding of the critical importance of historical context; and her belief that race, ethnicity, class, gender, nationality, sexuality, among others, are both identity categories and social locations that shape how we see the world — and how the world sees us. Nothing is more gratifying to Dr. Crystall than when a group of students, an instructor, the texts assigned in the course, and the world outside the classroom work together to create meaning — new possibilities, new questions, and new ways of seeing.

TR, 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm. Instructor(s): Rebecka Rutledge Fisher. Enrollment = 24.
This course takes as its primary objects of analysis novels, poetry, and visual and filmic texts; historical and government documents; and personal memoir, music, journalism, and interviews, in order to examine how race and ethnicity, or maybe our perceptions of race and ethnicity, shape our current world. This, in turn, should enable us to imagine other ways of seeing and being. We will consider how race and ethnicity, among many other identity signifiers, are structured by institutions and social relations and informed by cultural beliefs. Once we understand how we participate in and interact with these structures, how we are defined by them, how we create them, we are positioned to critique and change them.

The sub-title (how does it feel to be a problem?) comes from W.E.B. Du Bois’s 1903 foundational text The Souls of Black Folk where, among other important insights, critiques, and analyses, he predicted that the ¿color line¿ would be the issue of the twentieth century. Perhaps it is the question for the twenty-first century as well? If we consider what it means to be a problem, we must ask: Who decides who is and who is not a problem? What are the criteria for becoming a problem? Do we need some people to be considered problems? In order to examine these issues and formulate responses, we must also explore the changing structures of power.

, . Instructor(s): Bradley Hammer. Enrollment = .

T, 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm. Instructor(s): Joseph Viscomi. Enrollment = 24.
This interdisciplinary course examines the technical and aesthetic revolutions in the fine arts of the English Romantic Period. It will discuss productions, experiments, and aesthetic theories of William Wordsworth, S. T.  Coleridge, J. M. W. Turner, and William Blake, focusing on the developments of lyrical poetry, landscape painting, and original printmaking. We will pay special attention to the period’s new ideas about nature, the sublime, picturesque travel, genius, originality, and social role of the artist. There will be a studio workshop in drawing landscapes in pen and ink according to 18th-century techniques and formulae and a workshop in printing facsimile plates from Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Knowledge of printmaking and painting is not required.

Joseph Viscomi, the James G. Kenan Distinguished Professor of English Literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is a co-editor with Morris Eaves and Robert N. Essick of the William Blake Archive , with whom he also co-edited volumes 3 and 5 of The William Blake Trust’s William Blake’s Illuminated Books. His special interests are British Romantic literature, art, and printmaking. He is the author of Prints by Blake and his Followers, Blake and the Idea of the Book, William Blake’s Printed Paintings, and numerous essays on Blake’s illuminated printing, color printing, and reputation throughout the 19th century. He has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, Rockefeller Foundation, Getty Foundation, and National Humanities Center.

, . Instructor(s): Henry Veggian. Enrollment = .

NO INSTRUCTOR BIO ON FILE

TR, 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm. Instructor(s): Johna Mihalik. Enrollment = 24.
This course provides an introduction to neuromuscular control and motor learning through a general understanding of neuroanatomy/neurophysiology, sensory contributions to human movement, initiation and regulation of voluntary movement, and the acquisition of motor skills.  Course topics will include central and peripheral nervous system functions in the production and regulation of human movement, neural pathways and control mechanisms, and enhancement of motor learning in the rehabilitation and training settings.   The course will include interactive discussions, class group work, unit content activities, research article reviews, exams, and a culminating case study project.

Dr. Johna Register-Mihalik is the Associate Chair for Curricula and Faculty Affairs and an Associate Professor in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science. She is also a core faculty member in the Matthew Gfeller Center and serves as the Co-Director of the STAR Heel Performance Laboratory and Traumatic Division Director for the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research.

TR, 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm. Instructor(s): Samantha Buckner Terhune. Enrollment = 14.
“Take a cooking class in college and get credit? Sign me up!” This used to begin a 5 minute- to 2- hour conversation on Honors 330.001, but no more. As an example, we cite a paper topic from last semester, “Can growing seaweed kelp the world? A deep dive into the underwater world of macroalgae”. The paper was lavishly illustrated by undersea images taken by the author. When we first offered the class in 1997, it was a slightly naïve and timid enquiry into food and culture. Since 9/11/2001, the economic meltdown in 2008 and recovery since, and the latest Farm Bill, developing and sustaining a vital interest in the sourcing, preparation, consumption, sharing, and preservation of our daily bread has become an urgent concern for us. If one cannot eat sustainably there is no point in worrying about finance. Malthus will be proven correct. Then came COVID 19 and the armed conflicts in Gaza and the Ukraine. The concerns they have fostered will nuance but not overshadow our course direction for fall 2025.
We begin our trajectory by introducing scientific method and health affairs through the complex food studies prism by considering nutrition, eating disorders, epidemiology, genomics, and evolutionary biology. We examine such topics as the ethics of eating a diverse and sustainable diet, slow vs. industrial food, organic, and local food sourcing as well as the grim reapers of climate driven crop and water shortages and rampant obesity with its implication for escalating mortality from Type II diabetes and other diseases.

Although we have always emphasized the importance of historical context and the need to analyze change over time, in recent years its geographical and spatial scope have become considerably broader, with more and more of the readings and discussions focused on global concerns. Assigned texts American Catch, American Wasteland, Gaining Ground, and The American Way of Eating highlight food entitlement and its consequences.

As traditional communal meals are changing, the newfound passion for sustainability is the rage. For some, however, sustainability has always been a way of life and to understand this and to help implement it more widely is our concern. Thus, we deliberately do not favor extreme positions which do more to obscure than to elucidate our most vital contemporary issues. Instead, we attempt to engage our students in an open-ended examination and implementation of practices which take as their premise Barry Commoner’s observation that the first law of ecology is that everything is related to everything else.

We start and end with science, opening with the question of what constitutes a “healthy” diet and closing with a quantitative approach to food judgment, epistemology ever our muse. Archaeologists have pushed back the formal frontiers of articulated cuisine to 3200 BCE and agriculture to 17,000 BCE. Historical investigation has dramatically revised earlier notions and official orthodoxies about medieval and monastic life, revealing that it was anything but primitive and “dark.” Indeed, many of our contemporary high tech agricultural practices find their origins in the newly developed granges of 12th Century Cistercian monasteries. We also take a hand in applied judgment/journalism through brief excursions into the restaurant reviewing process.

Weekly moves around the prism find us examining ritualistic food practices through ancient religious rubrics, a sense of place—especially as it relates to American southern cuisine and literature, artistic expression, and evolving customs and manners at (or not) table. To conclude, the urgent press of current issues points us in the direction of global economics and food policy as well as food justice.

Always a major component in the Eats 101 experience, field trips and exercises will engage students in site visits to working examples of sustainable agriculture and food production as well as their historical grounding, be it in North Carolina or elsewhere. These visits provide insight into the historically complex interaction among food, culture, economics, climate, and region.

Students are required to undertake a major research project/paper which treats food and culture from the point of view of one or more of the perspectives covered during the semester.

Spring of 2016 we added a volunteer service component, which engages all the students in planning and executing a project for the benefit of the larger community. In 2017, Eats 101 adopted campus fundraising for the No Kid Hungry North Carolina Program (part of the Carolina Hunger Initiative), a statewide effort to ameliorate and help eradicate hunger among public school students.

We expect students to schedule their commitments to enable continuing discussion with faculty and participation in dinners following class. These occasions have become integral to the larger mission of Eats 101 as they create a community based on knowledge of the physical reality of food as well as the rituals surrounding its preparation, consumption, and sharing. The weekly meals honor our longstanding practice of promoting sustainability through local and seasonal food sourcing whenever possible and applicable.

 

Ms. Samantha Buckner Terhune (BA in Communications, UNC; MA in Curriculum and Instruction, NCSU) is the Director of the Ferguson Family Program in Food Studies. Her focus is on education and development, with special interests in early childhood education, dietary patterns, and health. Samantha is an Eats 101 alumni and has co-taught the course alongside the late Dr. James Ferguson, founder of the course, for over 15 years. This year’s seminar will be held in Dr. Ferguson’s honor.

 

MW, 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm. Instructor(s): David Pike. Enrollment = 24.
-Why was occupied Germany divided into two states after World War II?
-Were the Cold War and division inevitable?
We will explore these questions in two chronological contexts: 1945-1949 and 1989-present, with emphasis on the reemergence of Western conflict with Putin’s Russia.

NO INSTRUCTOR BIO ON FILE

TR, 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm. Instructor(s): Susan Pennybacker. Enrollment = 24.
New historical approaches to the history of the former British Empire provide a ‘transnational’ vantage point that disrupts conventional narratives. Historians consider the movement of people, ideas, commodities, and cultural forms in patterns that integrate metropolitan British history into comparative and global studies of the histories of the Middle East,  South Asia, the Caribbean, southern Africa, and parts of the British Isles. We read four representative works of this new literature. Cultural and artistic expression, enslavement and its aftermath, anti-colonialism, the role of London as a center of power and wealth, and the histories of racial, gender and religious difference, are central themes. The course centers upon the discussion of the four texts, short written responses to the texts, and committed, individual projects involving written and visual presentations. We consider a range of historical documents alongside literary, photographic and film sources.

Susan D. Pennybacker, Chalmers W. Poston Distinguished Professor of European History, is a modern British specialist. She is the author of two previous works: A Vision for London, 1889-1914 (Routledge, 1995 and 2013), and, From Scottsboro to Munich: race and political culture in 1930s Britain (Princeton, 2009). Her work on the 1930s focused on anti-colonial and anti-fascist dissent, European responses to Jim Crow in the US South, and the complex racial politics of the domestic, imperial and transatlantic interwar era. She is completing a 3rd London study of groups of political dissenters and exiles from several parts of the former empire, Fire By Night, Cloud By Day: refuge and exile in postwar London (Cambridge). Her research for this book has involved archival and ethnographic work in the UK, South Africa, India, and the Caribbean. Pennybacker has strong interdisciplinary interests, and has worked on collaborative projects in urban history, documentary film, and photography. She has visited the Caribbean intermittently, and lived for extended periods of time in New England, Britain, India, and South Africa. She directed Honors London in 2013 and Honors Cape Town, in 2017. She is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and a (non-residential) Visiting Professor of History at King’s College London (2025-27).

MW, 3:35 pm – 4:50 pm. Instructor(s): Jens-Uwe Guettel. Enrollment = 24.
This course looks at German history from the founding of the modern German nation state in 1871 until the end of WWII through the lenses of colonialism and genocide thus exploring possible ties between German and European colonialism in the 19th century and the Holocaust. It allows students to take an in-depth look at European expansionism, specifically the so-called “scramble for Africa,” and the various developmental strands that lead from nineteenth- and early twentieth-century European colonial policies first to World War I, then to the genesis of fascism as a political movement during the 1920s, and finally to Nazi expansionist and exterminatory policies in the European East.

Required Texts:

Sebastian Conrad, German Colonialism: A Short History (available as Ebook from our library)

Mark Mazower, Hitler’s Empire (on reserve)

David Blackbourn, The Long Nineteenth Century: A History of Germany, 1780 – 1918 (on reserve)

Lora Wildenthal, German Women for Empire (on reserve)

Jens-Uwe Guettel is Associate Professor of History at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. His first monograph, German Expansionism, Imperial Liberalism, and the United States, 1776–1945, analyzes the intersections of U.S. and German imperialism. His second book project takes a broad look at opposition groups, street politics, and violence in the German Kaiserreich and the Weimar Republic. Guettel has published on the domestic ramifications of empire and colonialism for Germany and the United States; on political scandals in the German Empire; and on National-Socialist expansionism and genocide.

TR, 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm. Instructor(s): Molly Worthen. Enrollment = 24.
This course explores questions and problems that have preoccupied idea-makers and shaped intellectual culture in late 19th and 20th-century America. Central themes include: the problem of defining American identity and mission in the world; the clash between faith and reason; solutions to social injustice; the tension between equality and freedom; the meaning of “modernity;” conceptions of human nature, truth, and even reality itself.

Molly Worthen is a professor in the Department of History. Her research focuses on North American intellectual history, particularly religion and politics. Her most recent book is Spellbound: How Charisma Shaped American History from the Puritans to Trump. She writes often for the New York Times, the Atlantic, and other publications.

TR, 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm. Instructor(s): Eren Tasar. Enrollment = 30.
This course examines the historical and contemporary context behind the violent brand of Islamism that culminated in the formation of Al-Qaeda and its execution of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It discusses the emergence of the umbrella of ideologies and political movements associated with “Islamism” through the lens of two interrelated historical developments: Muslim resistance against colonialism, and the clash of nationalism and communism in the postcolonial Muslim world. Topics include the rise of Islamism in the 1960s as a source of competition to communist youth movements, the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the Afghan War, the 9/11 attacks, the U.S.-led “War on Terror” and consequent rise of ISIS. Students should note that this is not a class on American politics, terrorism, or Islamophobia; nor does it focus primarily on the events of 9/11/2001.

Dr. Tasar studies Central Asia, Institutions, Islam, Religion and Politics, Social History, and the Soviet Union.

T, 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm. Instructor(s): James Leloudis. Enrollment = 18.
Across the country, colleges and universities are wrestling with the legacies of slavery on their campuses. This is painful history that we must acknowledge and come to terms with, particularly if we are to fulfill the promise of a public university. I serve as a co-chair of the task force appointed by Chancellor Folt to research, document, and teach a full and inclusive account of Carolina’s past. This course is designed to contribute to that work.

This course will be somewhat unconventional, in that we will spend most of our class sessions in the University Archives, the North Carolina Collection, and the Southern Historical Collection (all located in Wilson Library) working on research. University historian Cecelia Moore, History doctoral student Brian Fennessy, and I will be on hand to coach and assist you in developing fruitful lines of inquiry, identifying sources, discerning patterns of evidentiary significance, and framing historical insights.

We’ll begin with two primary tasks: 1) an examination of the university’s financial records to identify the place of slavery in the economic life of the institution, and 2) the use of census records to paint a detailed portrait of slavery in Chapel Hill. From there, we’ll move out in other directions, following the questions and leads that arise from our discoveries.

3.0 CREDIT HOUR COURSE

James Leloudis is Professor of History, Associate Dean for Honors, and Director of the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He received his B.A. and Ph.D. at UNC, and his M.A. at Northwestern University. His chief research interest is the history of the modern South, with emphases on women, labor, education, race, and reform. He has published two books on these topics: Like a Family: The Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World (co-authored with Jacquelyn Hall, Robert Korstad, Mary Murphy, Lu Ann Jones, and Christopher Daly; University of North Carolina Press, revised edition, 2000), and Schooling the New South: Pedagogy, Self, and Society in North Carolina, 1880-1920 (University of North Carolina Press, 1996). With support from the Spencer Foundation, he has also completed a major oral history project on school desegregation.

TR, 11:00 am – 12: 15pm. Instructor(s): Jennifer Grayson. Enrollment = 20.
Historians conventionally date the start of “globalization” to either the 1500s (when Europeans reached the Americas) or as late as the 1970s. Yet many characteristics of “global” societies were present much earlier, during the middle ages: These include long-distance trade, voluntary and forced migration, multi-ethnic empires, and the transmission of cultural forms across long distances. In fact, medieval people routinely traveled across thousands of miles and encountered people with different cultures, religions, social structures, and beliefs. Many wrote about the experience of doing so. This upper-level seminar will introduce students to the “Global Middle Ages” and the history of travel in the medieval period. Students will learn about how and why medieval people traveled, and they will read and analyze a variety of medieval travel narratives originally composed in Latin, Hebrew, Arabic, Norse, and Chinese.

Jennifer Grayson is the Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat Fellow in Jewish History and Assistant Professor of Medieval History at UNC. She researches the social and political history of Arabic-speaking Jewish communities in the medieval Islamic world, primarily through the documents of the Cairo Geniza. Dr. Grayson holds a Ph.D. in History from The Johns Hopkins University (2017); an M.Phil. in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Cambridge (2013), where she was a Gates Cambridge Scholar; and an A.B. in History and Late Antique Cultures from Brown University (2011).

MWF, 11:15 am – 12:05 pm . Instructor(s): Andrey Smirnov. Enrollment = 35.
Math 231 is designed to provide a detailed introduction to the fundamental ideas of calculus. It does not assume any prior calculus knowledge, but the student is expected to be proficient working with functions and their graphs as well as manipulating variable expressions and solving equations using algebra.
This is the Honors section of Math 231. It offers a more demanding and deeper treatment than the regular sections as well as more involved applications. There will be more emphasis on understanding theory than in other sections, and students will be expected to understand and reproduce proofs of theorems and formulas. In addition, this section will cover extra topics, including the epsilon-delta definition of limit. Applications will be more involved and will sometimes involve real data. Homework will be more challenging, with more emphasis on creative problem solving and less emphasis on drill. Students will be expected to complete a final project.

PREREQUISITES: SCORE OF AT LEAST 32 ON THE ACT MATH TEST OR SCORE OF AT LEAST 700 ON THE SAT MATH 2 SUBJECT TEST OR GRADE OF A- OR HIGHER IN MATH 130 AT UNC-CH (OR HAVE THE EQUIVALENT TRANSFER CREDIT).

NO INSTRUCTOR BIO ON FILE

MWF , 12:20 pm – 1:10 pm. Instructor(s): Arunima Bhattacharya. Enrollment = 35.
Level:  This is the Honors section of MATH 233.  It offers a more demanding and deeper treatment than the regular sections.   For example, there will be more emphasis on understanding theory than in other sections.  Topics:  Vectors in three dimensional space.  Dot products and cross products and their applications.  Functions of two and three variables.  Polar and spherical coordinates.  Graphs and contours.  Multivariable calculus:  partial derivatives, gradient.  Curves in space.  Surfaces: normal vector, tangent plane.  Maxima and minima.  Lagrange multipliers.  Double and triple definite integrals, line integrals, Green’s theorem.

PREREQUISITE: AT LEAST A B+ IN MATH 232 AT UNC OR A 5 ON THE BC CALCULUS EXAM.

MWF, 11:15 am – 12:05 pm. Instructor(s): Lev Rozansky. Enrollment = 35.
Logic and proofs, Sets and Functions, Number theory, Induction, Counting, Discrete probability, and Relations (Chapters 1,2,4,5,6,7 and 9 from Rosen’s Discrete Mathematics text).
This is the honors section of math 381. The usual course topics will be treated in a deeper and more demanding manner than in the regular sections. In particular, we will go through strategies for proofs very carefully.

PREREQUISITE: MATH 232 OR 283.

I received my Ph.D. in Physics at Northwestern University, IL in 1991. I work at UNC since 2000. My area of interest is the intersection of low-dimensional topology, algebraic geometry and quantum field theory.

MWF, 9:05 am – 9:55 am. Instructor(s): Richard Rimanyi. Enrollment = 24.
The structure, completeness, and topology of real numbers, different infinities, sequences and series, limits of functions, continuity, derivative, local and global theory, function sequences and series, Riemann integral. This honors section will explore the topics listed above in greater detail, and likely some additional topics will be covered. Moreover, assignments of greater depth will be given.

PREREQUISITES: MATH 233 AND 381. A GRADE OF A- OR BETTER IN STOR 215 MAY SUBSTITUTE FOR MATH 381.
FIRST YEAR STUDENTS MAY REGISTER WITH INSTRUCTOR PERMISSION ONLY.

Research Interests: Geometry, topology, singularity theory

MW, 9:05 am – 9:55 am. Instructor(s): Jane Thrailkill. Enrollment = 40.
This course provides an introduction to Health Humanities, an interdisciplinary field that combines methods and topics from literary studies, healthcare, and the human sciences.  We’ll read novels, screen films, learn about illnesses and treatments, and hear expert speakers as we investigate the importance of narrative in the time of high-tech medicine.  We’ll play close attention to how ideas about sickness have changed over time and across cultures. Topics will include the clinician-patient relationship, medical detection, the rise of psychiatry, racism and social determinants of health, epidemics and the “outbreak narrative,” and the quest for immortality.

Prerequisites: This course welcomes students from all fields—especially humanities majors and those interested in careers in healthcare and health affairs.

Class format:  There will be two informal, interactive lectures and one discussion section per week. We will have frequent visiting speakers (including clinicians, journalists, researchers, novelists, and scholars).

Texts:  Literary works may include Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, a science fictional exploration of the lives of medical clones; first-person narratives of illness; and movies such as How to Survive a Plague. Nonfiction works will include articles drawn from journalism, medicine, anthropology, and history. We’ll conclude with selections from Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal, a powerful reflection on longevity and humane care for those at the end of life.

Assignments: Two analytical papers, reading quizzes, short creative assignments, a midterm exam, an illness narrative, and a take-home final. Students enrolled in ENGL 268H will also complete a research project on a particular illness, investigating the cultural, literary, and biological aspects of their selected topic.

Jane F. Thrailkill swerved away from a career in health care and instead earned her Ph.D. in English and American Literature. Her interest in clinical practice has persisted, however: her first book studied the influence of medical ideas on American authors such as Mark Twain, Henry James, and Kate Chopin. She is Co-Director of HHIVE (Health & Humanities: Interdisciplinary Venue for Exploration) and teaches part-time in UNC’s School of Medicine. Her talk for TEDxUNC looks at the serious issue of hospital-based delirium and describes how literary study can give insight into medical problems. Dr. Thrailkill has been recognized for her commitment to undergraduate teaching by a number of university-wide teaching awards.

T, 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm. Instructor(s): Rick Stouffer. Enrollment = 16.
This course is designed to supplement knowledge obtained through the traditional pre-medical curriculum in order to enhance students’ development as health care providers. It has five objectives:
1)         To introduce students to non-biological factors that affect the health of individuals and society. Understanding the social situation of your patient, including environmental, financial and familial factors, is important for the effective practice of medicine. Just to give one example of the importance of understanding these factors: studies have shown that patients do not take up to one third of medications that are prescribed and implement only a small portion of lifestyle changes (e.g. dietary changes or smoking cessation). Unfortunately, physicians tend to focus on what happens in their offices and on treating only the biological factors contributing to disease. A better understanding of a patient’s social situation is necessary if the therapies that are discussed in the physician’s office are to be implemented once the patient goes home.
2)         To provide students with an overview of changes in the delivery of medical care. The traditional fee-based model in which physicians in private practice (generally either self-employed or part of a small group) get paid for performing specific services is being supplanted by systems in which physicians work for hospitals and are paid (at least in theory) for keeping individuals healthy, as well as for treating diseases. An understanding of the currents and crosswinds that are changing the delivery of health care in the U.S. is necessary for anyone who is planning a career in this field.
3)         An introduction to the medical training system and how to pick a specialty. A healthcare provider’s satisfaction is dependent upon the specialty, type of practice, call schedule, geographic location, co-workers, work-life balance and many other factors. The class will discuss different types of practices and how to obtain the necessary training to obtain the best position.
4)         Provide practical knowledge that healthcare providers must possess including an introduction to ethics, government regulations that practicing healthcare providers need to know, the malpractice system and other issues affecting healthcare providers in the US
5)         Discuss topics related to healthcare delivery including the importance of innovation in healthcare and international healthcare

The course will combine weekly seminar meetings with visits to Dr. Stouffer’s clinics, where they will see issues discussed in class play out in the real-life treatment of patients.

HONORS CAROLINA THIRD AND FOURTH YEAR STUDENTS ONLY. 1.0 CREDIT HOUR COURSE.

George A. Stouffer III, MD. Distinguished Professor of Medicine, UNC School of Medicine. Chief of Cardiology, UNC Hospitals.

W, 2:30 pm – 5:00 pm. Instructor(s): Terry Holt. Enrollment = 20.
This seminar explores the role of narrative in medicine from two sides: the patient’s experience of illness, and the caregiver’s experience of providing for the sick.  As a writing workshop, this course offers students a supportive environment in which to explore their own experiences and refine their writing skills.  Pandemic conditions permitting, it provides an opportunity for service work in a variety of clinical settings, in which students will have a chance to participate in medical care.  (Please note that each student will be responsible for arranging to perform volunteer work at UNC Hospitals, and that these arrangements must be completed on line over the summer, usually in June; deadline will be communicated to registered students as soon as course registration is set.) Taught by a clinician-writer with years of experience in medical care, professional publication, and workshop instruction, this course offers a rare opportunity to learn from a highly skilled professional engaged in the central concerns of his work.

3.0 CREDIT HOUR COURSE. NO FIRST YEAR STUDENTS.

FULFILLS LITERARY ARTS (LA) & EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION (EE) REQUIREMENTS IN THE MAKING CONNECTIONS CURRICULUM.

FULFILLS THE FC-CREATE & HI-SERVICE REQUIREMENTS IN THE IDEAS IN ACTION CURRICULUM.

Terrence Holt taught literature and writing at Rutgers University and Swarthmore College for a decade before attending medical school. Hailed as “a work of genius” by the New York Times, his 2009 collection of short fiction, In the Valley of the Kings, was one of Amazon’s Best Books of the Year. Internal Medicine, his New York Times bestselling memoir of medical training, was named best book of 2014 by three industry journals.  Holt teaches medicine at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

TR, 5:00 pm – 6:15 pm. Instructor(s): Roaslind Chaplin. Enrollment = 24.
This course is an introduction to philosophy through the study of influential writings in its history. We will cover a range of questions in epistemology, value theory, and metaphysics, focusing especially on the following: What is knowledge, and what can we know? What is it to live a good life, and does the pursuit of happiness support or conflict with the pursuit of virtue? Is there causality in the world? What is the nature of the self? And do we have a self at all? We will study these questions by reading the works of Plato, Aristotle, René Descartes, John Locke, Catharine Trotter Cockburn, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, and early Buddhism, among others.

Professor Chaplin specializes in Kant, early modern philosophy, and ethics and moral psychology. In her historical research, her projects focus on Kant’s idealism, his criticisms of traditional metaphysics, disputes about the infinite and the indeterminate, and other debates in early modern metaphysics and philosophy of mind. In her research in ethics and moral psychology, she focuses on the moral emotions, the role of reactive attitudes in our responsibility practices, and the significance of close personal relationships for a compelling account of the reactive attitudes.

TR, 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm. Instructor(s): David Reeve. Enrollment = 14.
The aim of this course is to introduce you to the philosophy of Western religion, and such central issues for it as the existence of God, the problem of evil, the immortality of soul, and the justification of religious belief, through a close reading of some short texts by significant thinkers, such as the author(s) of Genesis, The Book of Job, The Gospel of Matthew,  Hesiod,
Plato, Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Anselm, Nietzsche, and Kierkegaard.

Most of my books are on Plato and Aristotle, with frequent asides on film, and on love and sex.

TR, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm. Instructor(s): Daniel Hermann. Enrollment = 24.
This course focuses on philosophical questions tied to advances in technology, in particular artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR), and how they affect, positively or negatively, the long-term future of human beings. We will discuss whether such technology is an extinction threat for humanity or a new horizon for a novel way of survival. We will discuss the moral challenges faced by the rise of advanced forms of AI: what do we owe them, how will they relate to us, and how could we influence that things will go well? And we will discuss more metaphysical problems related to virtual reality and artificial intelligence: is a virtual reality an illusion or just a different kind of reality? Can minds and consciousness be realized by machines or computers?

MW, 3:35 pm – 4:50 pm. Instructor(s): Sarah Stroud. Enrollment = 24.
Deductive logic, our subject, is the study of one type or species of good argument. We will use formal tools to more precisely characterize and investigate that species, in which the conclusion of an argument follows from certain premises simply in virtue of the form of the various statements involved. We will progressively uncover and study several distinct aspects of form that are relevant to such patterns, starting with what is called truth-functional logic and moving on to quantificational logic. One concern throughout the course will be whether and how we can rigorously prove that a conclusion follows (or doesn’t follow) from a group of premises.

Assessment will be via frequent problem sets, which we will prepare for by using significant class time to work together on sample problems. The required textbook is Deductive Logic by Warren Goldfarb (Hackett Publishing).

Sarah Stroud joined Carolina in 2018 as Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Parr Center for Ethics. She holds degrees from Harvard (A.B.) and Princeton (Ph.D.) and taught previously at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

TR, 9:30 am – 10:45 am. Instructor(s): Markus Kohl. Enrollment = 24.
This course is an introduction to major themes and figures in early modern (17th and 18th century) Western philosophy. At the same time, it is an introduction to topics and debates that have proved to be be of lasting interests, which still pose central challenges for our attempts to understand who we are, what the external (corporeal) world is, and what connection there is between the human mind and the outside world.
We will study the doctrines of five or (time permitting) six philosophers whose thought has had a great lasting impact on subsequent philosophy and on subsequent intellectual developments more generally: Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, and (time permitting) Spinoza. We will focus our attention mostly on the answers that these philosophers gave to crucial questions in theoretical philosophy (metaphysics and epistemology) such as the following: Can we prove that there is a real world outside the mind, or could we always be dreaming (or be living in the Matrix) for all that we can tell? Is the mind identical to the brain, or are mind and body two different substances? Can we prove that God exists? How can we know mathematical truths about numbers or triangles? Are apples really green, or is greenness nothing but a subjective sensation in our mind? Are we rationally justified in thinking that the sun will rise tomorrow, or that a stone must fall to the ground if dropped in mid-air? Does the existence or the character of material objects like trees or rocks depend on the human mind? We will consider the answers that modern philosophers gave to these questions, both in light of early modern scientific developments and in their own right.
This course has no prerequisites; no previous courses in philosophy are required

Markus Kohl grew up in Germany before moving to England and then to the US. He studied philosophy and literature in Oxford, and obtained his PhD in philosophy from UC Berkeley in 2012. His philosophical interests focus on great thinkers such as Aristotle, Hume, Nietzsche and especially Kant. He also has a strong side interest in the philosophical implications of literature, especially with regard to Kafka.

TR, 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm. Instructor(s): Timothy Ryan. Enrollment = 24.
This course is an introduction to American political institutions, political behavior, and the policy process. In this course we will discuss the origins of the current governmental system in America, the structure of the U.S. government, and how theories of American government apply to current events and problems the government and citizens face today.  At the end of the course students should have a greater understanding of government, political differences, and how to be an engaged citizen in our democracy.

Timothy Ryan is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at UNC, Chapel Hill. He has a number of research interests related to public opinion and political psychology.

MW, 3:35 pm – 4:50 pm. Instructor(s): Ashley Anderson. Enrollment = 24.
This course is designed as an introduction to contemporary Middle Eastern politics for advanced undergraduates. The goal is to provide students with the historical background and theoretical tools to address key questions about the region: 1) How has Western colonialism shaped contemporary state development? 2) How do patterns of authoritarian rule differ in the region and why do they persist? 3) Why do some Middle Eastern countries suffer from sectarian and political violence while others do not? 4) What accounts for the region’s current economic underdevelopment? 5) Why have Islamist parties emerged as prominent opposition forces within some countries? And finally, 6) Why have citizens across the region risen up to try to overthrow dictators and authoritarian regimes?

To explore these questions, the course combines systematic analytical approaches to big questions with concrete knowledge of events and developments in specific countries. In so doing, it aims to give students a critical understanding of politics while simultaneously building empirical knowledge about the Middle East/North Africa region. POLI 130 is strongly recommended; however, the course is suitable for students with all levels of knowledge on the region.

Ashley Anderson is an assistant professor in the Political Science department at UNC. She specializes in Middle Eastern politics, authoritarian governments, and social movements, and received her Ph.D. in Government at Harvard in 2016.

TR, 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm. Instructor(s): Evelyne Huber. Enrollment = 24.
This course provides an overview of major topics in the study of Latin American politics. It is aimed at students with a desire to understand how Latin American societies and governments are organized, what the major problems are that these societies are facing, and what accounts for different outcomes from the point of view of the welfare of citizens. We shall examine both common traits in the region’s history, culture, and economic, political, and social structures, and important differences between countries in these dimensions. We shall gain an understanding of the diversity of national experiences and a somewhat deeper knowledge of a few select cases: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and Costa Rica.

Evelyne Huber, Morehead Alumni Distinguished Professor in Political Science, works on problems of development, democratization, and welfare states in Latin America and Europe. Her most recent books, co-authored with John D. Stephens and published by the University of Chicago Press, are entitled Development and Crisis of the Welfare State: Parties and Policies in Global Markets (2001) and Democracy and the Left: Social Policy and Inequality in Latin America (2012).

W, 2:30 pm – 5:00 pm. Instructor(s): Niklaus Steiner. Enrollment = 24.
While the global movement of products, services, ideas, and information is increasingly free, the movement of people across borders remains tightly controlled by governments. This control over international migration is a highly contested issue, and it is complicated by the fact that never before have so many people had the ability to move from one country to another while at the same time governments have never had so much power to control this movement. This class explores the moral, economic, political, and cultural dimensions of this movement across international borders. The class is based on discussions (as opposed to lectures) and tackles thorny questions like: do we have an obligation to let poor people into our rich country? what constitutes persecution? how do foreigners affect national identity?  how should citizenship be allocated? We will pay particular attention to the distinction between migrants who move voluntarily (immigrants) and those who are forced to flee (refugees) – is this an important distinction to make, and does one group deserve admission more than the other?  No prior knowledge or experience is needed; instead, students need to be ready to dig deep into all sides of migration issues through reading, writing and discussion. This class encourages students from a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives to enroll because it benefits significantly from such diversity.

NO FIRST YEAR STUDENTS.

Niklaus Steiner is a Professor of the Practice in Political Science. A native of Switzerland who moved to the U.S. in his youth, Steiner has had the good fortune of moving between cultures all his life, and this experience shapes his academic focus. Steiner earned a B.A. with Highest Honors in International Studies at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and a Ph.D. in Political Science at Northwestern University. His research and teaching interests include migration, refugees, nationalism, and citizenship.

TR, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm. Instructor(s): Donald Lysle. Enrollment = 24.
This course is designed to introduce the student to the topic of learning and behavior. We will consider Pavlovian and operant learning, and the role of that learning in human conditions such as substance abuse and traumatic stress. Students will acquire knowledge of the procedures used to study learning, the ways that learned behaviors are expressed, and theories that have been proposed to explain how learning is represented in the brain. We will also examine new findings in the literature that enhance our understanding of the interrelationship between neuroscience and behavior.

PREREQUISITE: NSCI 175 or PSYC 101.

Dr. Donald Lysle is a Kenan professor in the Behavioral & Integrative Neuroscience Program of the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience. His research investigates the role of learning in opioid and alcohol use disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder with funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Dr. Lysle’s teaching interests are in the brain mechanisms that underlie learning and behavior, and how these mechanisms drive substance abuse and anxiety disorders.

, . Instructor(s): Stacey Daughters. Enrollment = 24.
PSYC 517 Addiction focuses on the etiology and treatment of addiction to mood altering substances. During the course students will, (1) describe and evaluate the factors that increase the risk for addiction and the effectiveness of treatment approaches, (2) apply knowledge of addiction treatment to the reduction of a personal change behavior, (3) critically evaluate how addiction is portrayed in the media, and (4) demonstrate knowledge about the significance and impact of a chosen addiction topic.

 

Stacey B. Daughters, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of North Carolina. Dr. Daughters research program investigates the neural and behavioral factors that impact recovery, as well as develops and tests the effectiveness of interventions for substance use disorder. You can access a list of her publications here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/16mIPZcFIylQ3/bibliography/public/

TR, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm. Instructor(s): Rafiuddin Najam. Enrollment = 24.
Global issues have sources, impacts, and solutions that extend beyond the borders of any one country. This course serves as an introduction to several of the most pressing issues facing populations around the world and the challenges of designing and implementing policies to address these issues. Emphasis will be placed on students’ ability to critically evaluate the causes, consequences, and most promising policy responses to each challenge. Students will learn about global policy issues through the analysis of the scholarly literature and through a semester-long research project. They will be encouraged to build the analytical and communication skills necessary to pursue research in the most salient policy arenas facing our world today, either in further study or in career paths.

Rafiuddin Najam is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Najam’s primary fields of interest are the economics of conflict and fragility, human capital, and development in low- and middle-income countries. His work has appeared in journal such as the Economics of Education Review, Education Economics, Nutrients, and Defence and Peace Economics.

Najam’s current research examines the short- and long-term impact of armed conflict on educational progression, human development, and return to schooling in fragile and conflict-affected settings. This work aims to better understand the microeconomic consequences of violent conflict and the role of sustained investment in human capital in the development of such contexts.

MW, 1:25 pm – 2:40 pm. Instructor(s): Joshua Preiss. Enrollment = 24.
Government plays an incredibly important role in citizens’ everyday lives. Public action (and by
extension, inaction) determines our access to lifesaving medical procedures, safe air, food, and
drinking water, quality education for our children, and protection against physical harm from
others. While students of public policy often advocate for evidence-based policy, the process of determining what is best for society – even what constitutes evidence –generates debates and controversy. The give and take, bargaining, competition and compromise that arise from this process are called politics.

The purpose of the class is threefold. First, we will review major political and economic
institutions that structure the policymaking process in the United States. Second, the class provides a framework for analyzing and understanding the politics of public policy formation. Third, the course assesses the implementation of policy: How well are the policies working? Do they affect different groups of people differently? In the process, the course provides students with the tools to analyze American public policy and politics more critically in your day-to-day life.

Joshua Preiss is Teaching Associate Professor of Public Policy and a Core Faculty Member in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to coming to Chapel Hill, he was Professor of Philosophy and Director of PPE at Minnesota State University, Mankato. For 2016-2017, Preiss was Visiting Associate Professor and Scholar-in-Residence at the Political Theory Project at Brown University. His recent book, Just Work for All: The American Dream in the 21st Century (Routledge) is about the theory and practice of justice in a time of rising inequality and declining hope for a better future.

TR, 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm. Instructor(s): David Reeve. Enrollment = 24.
The aim of this course is to introduce you to the philosophy of Western religion, and such central issues for it as the existence of God, the problem of evil, the immortality of soul, and the justification of religious belief, through a close reading of some short texts by significant thinkers, such as the author(s) of Genesis, The Book of Job, The Gospel of Matthew,  Hesiod,
Plato, Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Anselm, Nietzsche, and Kierkegaard.

Most of my books are on Plato and Aristotle, with frequent asides on film, and on love and sex.

TR, 9:30 am – 10:45 am. Instructor(s): David Cook-Martin. Enrollment = .
Why do people move across borders? Why do others stay behind?
In our interconnected world, human migration shapes economies, politics, cultures, and individual lives. This honors-level course invites you to explore the complex dynamics of global migration through multiple lenses—sociological, anthropological, political, environmental, and economic.

What you’ll explore:
· Migration Theories & Patterns – Understand explanations of historical and contemporary migration flows that have shaped our world
· Power Dynamics – Examine how ideas of race, gender, class, and nationality influence who moves and why and how we create categories of people like “refugees”
· Labor & Economics – Investigate connections between migration, work, and development
· Climate Change – Analyze emerging patterns of environmental migration
· Citizenship & Belonging – Question what it means to belong in an age of mobility
· Migration Industries – Discover the complex systems that facilitate and control human movement, and their sometimes tragic effects on people

What makes this course distinctive:
· Interdisciplinary Approach – Engage with perspectives on mobility from social science, literature, film, and art
· Global Scope – Examine case studies spanning Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America
· Research Focus – Develop an original research project on a migration topic of your choice
· Hands-On Learning – Maintain a migration journal to track your intellectual journey

Who should take this course:
This honors course is ideal for sociology majors and students interested in global studies, political science, anthropology, public policy, international relations, and human rights. The course welcomes both those with personal connections to migration and those curious about one of the most significant social phenomena of our time.

Prerequisites: None. Open to all students interested in migration issues.

David Cook-Martín brings a global perspective to the study of migration rooted in his experiences of living in Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Panama, the United States, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates. As William Burwell Harrison Distinguished Professor of Sociology at UNC Chapel Hill, he researches migration, citizenship, race, and ethnicity—the very themes students will explore in this course.
His award-winning books include Culling the Masses (with David FitzGerald), which examines how states construct racial barriers to immigration, and The Scramble for Citizens, which explores citizenship policies across countries. His forthcoming book, Workers without Rights: The Making of Temporary Labor Migration since Abolition (Oxford University Press), directly connects to the course’s focus on labor migration systems worldwide.
David’s teaching approach emphasizes collaborative exploration of complex social questions. He creates classroom environments where students can connect theoretical frameworks to real-world migration patterns and policies. Having previously taught at institutions including NYU and the Spanish National Research Council, he brings diverse pedagogical experiences to guide students through their own research journeys in understanding the factors shaping human movement across borders.

MWF , 11:15 am – 12:05 pm. Instructor(s): Helene M de Fays. Enrollment = 10.
Spanish 261H is a fifth semester course that uses a variety of texts (literature, movies, newspaper articles, speeches, and essays) as a basis for reviewing grammatical concepts, developing writing competency, refining analytical skills, and improving overall communication abilities in Spanish. Through work on authentic and original texts, this course continues to focus on refining the students’ language skills, as well as further their developing critical analytical capacities. With the readings and films, students will explore their socio-historical context and analyze the application of different linguistic structures as tools employed to create meaning and convey a message. Students will be expected to do a significant amount of reading and writing in Spanish 261H.

Note: This course is the prerequisite for all the Spanish minors and majors at UNC. Students may not receive credit for both SPAN 261 and SPAN 267. This course may also be taken as an elective.

REGISTRATION LIMITED TO MEMBERS OF HONORS CAROLINA; OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE IN SPAN 204 OR EQUIVALENT IS REQUIRED.

Throughout her career, Dr. Hélène de Fays has been in the vanguard of educational innovation. She has developed and taught courses at all levels – from First Year Seminars, to intermediate language courses, to upper level topic-focused culture courses – and formats – traditional face to face, online and hybrid courses. Her work has been inspired by some important socio-cultural phenomena — from the creation of complex societies in pre-Colombian America and the development of Spanish identity at the end of the Middle Ages, to the consequences of the digital revolution, the world-wide ecological movement and the growth of multiculturalism in the present.

MWF, 11:15 am – 12:05 pm. Instructor(s): Helene M de Fays. Enrollment = 9.
Spanish 261H is a fifth semester course that uses a variety of texts (literature, movies, newspaper articles, speeches, and essays) as a basis for reviewing grammatical concepts, developing writing competency, refining analytical skills, and improving overall communication abilities in Spanish. Through work on authentic and original texts, this course continues to focus on refining the students’ language skills, as well as further their developing critical analytical capacities. With the readings and films, students will explore their socio-historical context and analyze the application of different linguistic structures as tools employed to create meaning and convey a message. Students will be expected to do a significant amount of reading and writing in Spanish 261H.

Note: This course is the prerequisite for all the Spanish minors and majors at UNC. Students may not receive credit for both SPAN 261 and SPAN 267. This course may also be taken as an elective.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE IN SPAN 204 OR EQUIVALENT. STUDENTS MUST OBTAIN RECOMMENDATION FORM FROM THEIR CURRENT FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTOR AND DELIVER IT IN PERSON TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ROMANCE LANGUAGES.

Throughout her career, Dr. Hélène de Fays has been in the vanguard of educational innovation. She has developed and taught courses at all levels – from First Year Seminars, to intermediate language courses, to upper level topic-focused culture courses – and formats – traditional face to face, online and hybrid courses. Her work has been inspired by some important socio-cultural phenomena — from the creation of complex societies in pre-Colombian America and the development of Spanish identity at the end of the Middle Ages, to the consequences of the digital revolution, the world-wide ecological movement and the growth of multiculturalism in the present.

MWF, 10:10 am – 11:00 am. Instructor(s): Gabor Pataki. Enrollment = 24.
Honors is a rigorous and challenging  introduction to linear, integer, and nonlinear optimization. The honors section is tailored to students who like a challenge, are interested in gaining deep understanding of the subject, and/or plan to go on to graduate school. The course covers practical skills to model optimization problems in production, workforce management, inventory management, machine learning, and many other areas. It also covers use of optimization software, and  optimization algorithms, focusing on the underlying theory and geometry.

Professor Gabor Pataki received his Ph.D. in Algorithms, Combinatorics, and Optimization at Carnegie Mellon University. His main focus is semidefinite, and integer optimization, and he published extensively in leading journals in these areas, with several of his students winning prizes.

MWF, 11:15 am – 12:05 pm. Instructor(s): Shankar Bhamidi. Enrollment = .
Prereq: MATH/STOR 235 or MATH 233; and STOR 215 or STOR 315 or MATH 381 or COMP 283

Dr. Shankar Bhamidi is a Professor in the Department of Statistics and Operations Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He joined the department in July 2009 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship in the Mathematics Department at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Dr. Bhamidi earned his Ph.D. in 2008 from the Department of Statistics at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Bhamidi’s research interests lie at the intersection of probability and statistics, with a focus on stochastic processes and network models motivated by areas like neuroscience, sociology and urban planning.   Beyond his research, Dr. Bhamidi has taught a wide array of courses at UNC, both at the graduate level, upper division undergraduate level such as machine learning  as well developing new courses for the department including  “Risk and Uncertainty in the Real World,” designed to introduce first-year students to contemporary research in statistics and operations research or the new STOR/Math 235 course.