Fall 2026 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, 10:10 am – 12:55 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, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm ; Recitation: W, 3:35 pm – 4:50 pm. Instructor(s): Mara Evans. Enrollment = 24.
The biological diversity we see on Earth today encompasses a variety of genetic, species and ecosystem level variation. This course will focus on the biological principles that push biologists to understand what produces and sustains the biodiversity of life on Earth. This class will address key questions about how we identify and measure biological diversity, how it changes over time, and why biological diversity matters as our planet continues to change. The honors recitation will include more in-depth exploration of key topics, and opportunities for individual research efforts.

 

Mara Evans is an award-winning professor of Biology focused on teaching introductory courses for biology majors related to ecology, evolution and organismal biology. Since 2024, she has also served as Assistant Dean for Honors Carolina. Dr. Evans graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a degree Ecology, Behavior and Evolution and a minor in Spanish Literature and then earned a master’s and PhD in Ecology from the University of California, Davis.

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

TR, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm. Instructor(s): Lillian Zwemer. Enrollment = 24.
BIOL 252H. Fundamentals of Human Anatomy and Physiology
One biology course over 200 recommended. An introductory but comprehensive course emphasizing the relationship between form and function of the body’s organ systems.

NO FIRST YEAR STUDENTS.Requisites: Prerequisites, BIOL 101; corequisite, BIOL 252L.

NO INSTRUCTOR BIO ON FILE

TR, 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm. Instructor(s): Xiao Feng. Enrollment = 24.
In the era of big data, biological research is experiencing a surge in data volume and diversity, including vast datasets from citizen science initiatives (e.g., iNaturalist) and high-resolution environmental data from satellites. Conventional tools with graphical interfaces often struggle to manage this influx of data efficiently. Consequently, there is a growing need for data literacy, particularly in programming, to effectively analyze big data in biology.

This course offers an introduction to fundamental computational concepts using Python, a versatile object-oriented scripting language. Students will learn to process and analyze biological and environmental data commonly utilized in ecology and environmental science. Emphasizing an open-source environment, the course equips students with essential tools for conducting reproducible research. This course offers students an opportunity to explore a real-world research question using the skills learned from class. By cultivating data literacy skills highly sought after in biology and various other fields, this course prepares students to thrive in data-driven disciplines.

Prerequisites:
BIOL 104 is strongly recommended. Students are required to use their own laptops. No prior programming experience is required.

 

NO INSTRUCTOR BIO ON FILE

M, 10:00 am – 12:55 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 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 103, BIOL 104, BIOL 220; Co-requisite or Pre-requisite: BIOL 240;  or instructor permission for students lacking a prerequisite.

Open to JUNIOR/SENIOR
NO FIRST YEAR STUDENTS.

 

Victoria Bautch has been teaching Honors Cardiovascular Biology since 2019. Her research focuses on how blood vessels form and function, and what goes wrong with aging and disease. She enjoys teaching cardiovascular biology at the intersection of basic understanding and applications to human disease.  Helping students access cardiovascular concepts and research in heart and vascular biology is a goal of this course.

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

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.

R, 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.

R, 6:00 pm – 9:00 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.

 

MW, 1:25 pm – 2:40 pm. Instructor(s): Todd Austell. Enrollment = 24.
CHEM 102H is recommended by the Chemistry Department for STEM majors who have excelled in their pre-college chemistry classwork and who have an interest in pursuing chemistry or another STEM field as an academic major at UNC.  The topics covered have been identified by the Department of Chemistry faculty as essential for success in and a good foundation for more advanced study in chemistry and other areas of the basic and applied sciences. The textbook, lectures and course work require a willingness to accept rigorous academic challenges and a solid high school background in algebra, coordinate geometry, and trigonometry.  Differential and integral calculus will be used only where necessary in derivations and with explanation. In addition to reviewing important general chemistry concepts necessary for success at the next course level, students in CHEM 102H will receive training in scientific literature queries, will give short oral presentations of class topics, will attend scientific seminars both inside and outside of class time and will carry out one or two faculty interviews..

STUDENTS ELIGIBLE FOR ENROLLMENT IN CHEM 102H MUST HAVE PREVIOUSLY EARNED AP, IB or TR credits for Chem 101,101 and 102,102L PRIOR TO their matriculation at UNC-CH.  They also must be entering UNC with earned credit for MATH 231.  An additional screening assessment may also be used to screen interested students.
INSTRUCTOR CONSENT ALSO REQUIRED (tlaustell@unc.edu)

OPEN only to students in first semester at UNC and first semester of college.

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): Leslie Hicks. 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.

Dr. Hicks received her B.S. in Chemistry at Marshall University (summa cum laude) and Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign where she was the recipient of an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at UNC. Research in the Hicks lab focuses on development and implementation of mass spectrometric approaches for protein characterization including post-translational modifications, as well as the identification of bioactive peptides/proteins from plants.

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, 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm. 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, 11:15 am – 12:05 pm. Instructor(s): Daniel DiSalvo. Enrollment = 24.
This course will examine the theoretical ideas that informed the creation and development of America’s political system and some of the major contemporary challenges to the maintenance of American constitutionalism. We are fundamentally interested in answering the question, “What is the American regime?” What institutions, laws, and customs uphold it? What does it mean to be a citizen of this regime? We will focus on the Founding and the debates over the meaning and interpretation of the Constitution, the role of religion in American life, slavery and civil rights, and the development of contemporary political partisanship. The course will take place in a seminar setting and emphasis will be placed on the discussion of important primary texts and documents. This course meets the Ethical and Civic Values and Foundations in American Democracy requirements.

 

Dan DiSalvo’s research focuses on American political parties, elections, labor unions, state government, and public policy. He is the author of Engines of Change: Party Factions in American Politics, 1868–2010 (Oxford) and Government Against Itself: Public Union Power and Its Consequences (Oxford). His scholarly work has appeared in Political Science Quarterly, Policy Studies Journal, Political Research Quarterly, and American Political Thought. DiSalvo also writes for popular outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Monthly, National Affairs, City Journal, and The Los Angeles Times. He comes to UNC from the City University of New York.

TR, 3:30 pm – 4:45 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.
This class introduces these discrete structures and the formal proof techniques that support the production, verification, and maintenance of correct software, often using puzzles, games, or magic tricks.

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 to 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.

MW, 9:05 am – 10:20 am. Instructor(s): Kris Jordan. Enrollment = 16.
Software engineering is undergoing a structural transformation as foundation models, most notably large language models (LLMs), become part of the modern software stack. Building on prior experience in software engineering fundamentals (COMP 423), this course prepares students to design, build, and operate foundation model-integrated systems in production environments.

Students will learn architectural patterns for incorporating foundation models into software systems, including prompt and context engineering, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), vector databases, tool calling and agents, structured outputs, evaluation methodologies, and fine-tuning strategies.

Emphasis is placed on systems design concerns such as asynchronous job queues, caching, observability, cost and latency optimization, reliability engineering, and testing non-deterministic components. Students complete a substantial project building a production-style foundation model-integrated system.

INSTRUCTOR CONSENT REQUIRED

TR, 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm. Instructor(s): Angela Velez. 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

NO INSTRUCTOR BIO ON FILE

TR, 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm. Instructor(s): Adam Price. 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).

FIRST YEAR HONORS CAROLINA STUDENTS ONLY

 

Adam O’Fallon Price is the author of two novels, THE GRAND TOUR (Doubleday 2016) and THE HOTEL NEVERSINK (Tin House Books 2019), which won the 2020 Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original. His short fiction has appeared in Harper’s, The Paris Review, Granta, VICE, the Kenyon Review, the Iowa Review, EPOCH, and many other places. He lives in Carrboro, NC and teaches fiction writing at the University of North Carolina.

TR, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm. Instructor(s): Gabby Calvocoressi. 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.

 

Gabrielle Calvocoressi is the author of The Last Time I Saw Amelia Earhart, Apocalyptic Swing (a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize), and Rocket Fantastic, winner of the Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry. Calvocoressi is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships including a Stegner Fellowship and Jones Lectureship from Stanford University; a Rona Jaffe Woman Writer’s Award; a Lannan Foundation residency in Marfa, TX; the Bernard F. Conners Prize from The Paris Review; and a residency from the Civitella di Ranieri Foundation, among others. Calvocoressi’s poems have been published or are forthcoming in numerous magazines and journals including The Baffler, The New York Times, POETRY, Boston Review, Kenyon Review, Tin House, and The New Yorker. Calvocoressi is an Editor at Large at Los Angeles Review of Books, and Poetry Editor at Southern Cultures. An Associate Professor at UNC Chapel Hill, Calvocoressi lives in Old East Durham, NC, where joy, compassion, and social justice are at the center of their personal and poetic practice. Calvocoressi is the Beatrice Shepherd Blane Fellow at the Harvard-Radcliffe Institute for 2022 – 2023 and the recipient of the 2023 Lucille Clifton Legacy Award.

TR, 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm. Instructor(s): Melissa Faliveno. Enrollment = 15.
HONORS INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE NONFICTION:
Put on your boots. In this class, we’ll be roaming. We’ll start with an exploration of our own world: our childhoods and our families; our fans and our enemies; our lovers and our friends. Our quirks, our fears, our desires. Next, we’ll investigate other worlds. Like roller derbies, bingo halls, and bail bond agencies. Then we’ll create new worlds by reinterpreting the ordinary as extraordinary—through graphics, lyricism, mosaics, and objects lost and found. Along the way, we’ll read scintillating works that take risks both in content and in form, and then we’ll strive, strive, strive to do the same. We’ll write testimonios. Memoirs. Travelogues. Portraits. Lyric essays galore. We’ll be artists. Seekers of truth. Arbiters of the dynamic Fourth Genre. We’ll write words that matter.

FIRST YEAR HONORS CAROLINA STUDENTS ONLY.

NO INSPECTOR BIO ON FILE

MWF, 11:15 am – 12:05 pm. Instructor(s): Aubrey Snowden. Enrollment = .
This course will introduce and explore the interrelationships between acting, directing, designing, and playwriting. Studying seminal dramatists through major periods of theatrical expression, students develop a deeper understanding of the elements that must be brought together to take a play from the page to the stage. Students will be able to look at a piece of dramatic text and understand the process and techniques of collaboration. Reading plays and seeing two fully realized professional productions becomes the impetus for Aesthetic and Interpretive analysis in the Theater Arts.

Aubrey Snowden is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the ​Department​ of Dramatic Arts here at UNC, Chapel Hill. She teaches Perspectives in Theater, Script Analysis and Directing. In addition to teaching, she has also directed for the Kenan Theater Company and the MFA Acting Program. Outside of UNC, she is a freelance director and acting coach. Her extensive training includes acting and directing at the National Theater Institute, Suzuki and Viewpoints under the SITI Company, Moment Work with Tectonic Theater Project, and the International Symposium of directors with LaMama in Umbria, Italy. She holds her MFA in Directing from Brown University.

TR, 9:30 am – 10:45 am; Recitation: F, 1:25 pm – 2:15 pm. Instructor(s): Kalina Staub. Enrollment = 24.
Introduction to Economics (Economics 101H) is the Honors section of the introductory course in Economics
for undergraduates. The Honors section covers the same material as the large enrollment version but does so in more depth. This is an introductory course in both microeconomics and macroeconomics. In this one-semester course students are introduced to fundamental issues in economics including competition, scarcity, opportunity cost, resource allocation, unemployment, infation, and the determination of prices. This course is the gateway course for the major of Economics; if you wish to major in Economics, you must have at least a C in this course.
Kalina Staub is originally from Texas, where she received a BA in French and Economics from the University of Texas at Austin before moving to the great state of North Carolina to pursue graduate studies at a nearby university. Before coming to UNC, she was a lecturer in the Department of Economics at the University of Toronto Mississauga.
Dr. Staub is an applied microeconomist whose research has focused on marriage formation and dissolution in the US. More recently, she has become interested in exploring effective teaching strategies in the economics classroom and promoting diversity within the economics major.  Dr. Staub is the faculty advisor for the Women in Economics Club at UNC.

TR, 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm; Recitation: F, 12:20 pm – 1:10 pm. Instructor(s): Christopher Handy. Enrollment = 35.
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.

TR, 9:30 am – 10:45 am; Recitation: F, 11:15 am – 12:05 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, 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm. Instructor(s): Laurie Langbauer. Enrollment = 24.
Spend this term in some exciting places. Plunge down the rabbit hole with Alice, get whirled to Oz with Dorothy, find adventure in the Hundred Acre Wood, or go shopping on Diagon Alley with Harry and Hagrid. In English 284 “Reading Children’s Fiction,” read (or reread) some of the most influential and lasting books written in English. Enjoy works hailed as classics alongside works recovered for their importance and vitality—get lost one week in Little Women and the next in the pictures and stories of the children’s magazine, The Brownies Book, edited by W. E. B. Du Bois and a masterwork of the 1920s.This class asks: what definitions of youth do these texts offer? What do they tell us about their times? Why did these works matter when they were written? Why have they persisted?

English 284 is a research class, in which your term-long original project provides the most exciting work we do together. You choose from among historical children’s books—including from among the treasures in our own Special Collections in Wilson Library. You may be the first researcher ever to explore the text you choose, and you will become the expert on it, researching where it came from (who was its author? its illustrator? its specific audience?) and what it means. You meet a team of library research specialists and are mentored throughout your project by your professor, with whom you meet one-on-one. Throughout the term, you write two papers, building on each step, and, at class’s end, you share the excitement and significance of this research in a class presentation and in your final.

 

Laurie Langbauer, a professor at Carolina for thirty years, is proud of the mentoring awards given her by the graduate students in English and Comparative Literature. She brings that same spirit of close collaboration and shared discovery to her work in her undergraduate research classes. Every year, she is blown away by her students’ original findings. Trained in nineteenth-century British literature, she loves to share her passion for working in the archives. Her current work on youth-produced culture began when she wondered why so many Romantic poets were teenagers—which has led to decades of discovery already and ongoing of just how many young people have produced writing and images that are exciting to explore.

TR, 5:00 pm – 6:15 pm. Instructor(s): Liesbet Hooghe. Enrollment = 3.
This course engages the European Union and the political causes and consequences of Brexit, nationalism, political polarization, and Trumpism. What kind of polity is emerging at the European level? How is European integration contested? Is European integration the beginning of the end of the national state in western Europe, or will states harness the process within their current institutional structures? In this class, students will have an opportunity to analyze the character and dynamics of European integration and the current economic crisis by reading speeches of contemporaries, evaluating alternative theories of European integration, and by using additional resources.
This course has a double purpose: to think critically about one of the world’s most important experiments in governance–the European Union and to probe the future shape of politics in the West and the wider world.
The course will critically assess the emergence of the Europe Union, Brexit, the future of the EU, the rise of nationalism, political polarization, and the response to Trumpism. Is the West breaking up into regional blocks? Is the EU an consensual empire? What are the political pressures that shape it? How does the European Union compare with other international organizations such as the United Nations, NAFTA, the African Union, or the World Trade Organization?

Professor Liesbet Hooghe is the W.R. Kenan Distinguished Professor in Political Science and Senior Fellow at the European University Institute, Florence. Born and educated in Belgium, she held fellowships at Cornell University and Oxford University and taught at the University of Toronto before moving to Chapel Hill in 2000.
Hooghe’s research and teaching are chiefly on the European Union, comparative politics, international organization, political behavior, and measurement. She is perhaps best known for her work on multilevel governance, GALTAN, and the transnational cleavage. She is Principal Investigator of the Chapel Hill Expert Data on party positioning (CHES) and of major datasets on regional and international authority (RAI and MIA). In recent years she has led a major grant that seeks to explain the role of education in political polarization in Europe and the United States. Recent work has been published in leading political science journals and four books with Oxford University Press (https://hooghe.web.unc.edu). Hooghe has received awards from the American Political Science Association, honorary doctorates from the University of Maastricht and the University of Lausanne, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the European Union Studies Association.

TR, 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm. Instructor(s): Johna Register-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.

Johna Register-Mihalik, PhD, LAT, ATC, FACSM, FNATA is a Professor in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science.  She is the Co-Director, alongside Dr. Adam Kiefer, of the STAR Heel Performance Laboratory and is  founding and core faculty in the Matthew Gfeller Center. She also serves as Core Faculty with the Injury Prevention Research Center and as the Traumatic Division Director for the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research. She completed her undergraduate work at the University of Alabama in Athletic Training and her master’s, Athletic Training, doctoral, Human Movement Science, and postdoctoral, Neuroscience, training at UNC-Chapel Hill. Prior to joining the faculty in Exercise and Sport Science, she served as the Senior Research Associate in the Emergency Services Institute at WakeMed Health & Hospitals in Raleigh, NC. Dr. Register-Mihalik’s research interests include the negative consequences, prevention, education and clinical management of sport and recreational TBI. Her primary work centers on novel behavioral and clinical interventions to improve the prevention and care for concussion across the lifespan. She has been the recipient of several research grants to pursue this line of work and has taught several neuron-related classes her at UNC-CH. Her work has been published in a variety of journals across the sports medicine and brain injury literature. Dr. Register-Mihalik is also an active member of many professional organizations including the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, NATA, and the American College of Sports Medicine, ACSM. In addition, she currently serves on the NATA’s Convention Program Committee and the NATA Research and Education Foundation’s Pronouncements and Research Committees. Dr. Register-Mihalik was the 2018 recipient of the NATA Research and Education Foundation’s New Investigator award and is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and the National Athletic Trainers’ Association.

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 2026.
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.

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.

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.

To be considered for enrollment email sterhune@email.unc.edu

 

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 nearly 18 years. This year’s seminar will be held in Dr. Ferguson’s honor.

MWF, 1:25 pm – 2:15 pm. Instructor(s): Valerie Pruvost. Enrollment = 18.
This fourth-semester course stresses reading and writing skills while speaking skills are further developed through discussions of texts in French. Readings, both literary and cultural, serve as the background for the oral and written work around topics related to art, traditions, relationships, the influence of the past on the present in the French and francophone world. Video and film are also integrated into the course. Texts and exams are the same as for other sections, but the small class size allows for greater exploration of the readings and more participation. Texts: Furry and Jarausch, Bonne continuation, second edition, Student Activities Manual.

1. Prerequisite: A final grade of A, A-, or B+ in FREN 203 or equivalent.

MW, 2:30 pm – 3:45 pm. Instructor(s): Erica Johnson. Enrollment = 24.
GLBL 481H.001: NGO Politics is an interdisciplinary exploration of what NGOs do, how do they do it, and how can societies and policymakers evaluate their activities.  No prerequisites are required.

 

Dr. Erica Johnson is a Teaching Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Curriculum in Global Studies.  Her research and teaching interests are in comparative politics and political economy, with particular focus on post-Soviet state-society relations. Her research explores how authoritarian governments in post-Soviet Central Asia manipulate health care provision in order to gain legitimacy and regime survival. In addition, she has an ongoing research agenda on civil society development in the post-Soviet region and around the globe.

T, 2:00 pm – 4:50 pm. Instructor(s): Jonathan Weiler. Enrollment = 24.
This course aims to develop a critical perspective on development — understood as a cultural logic and a discreet set of practices and policies — so that we can better contribute to positive social change. Through course material and service learning, students develop an understanding of the relationship between development projects and emancipatory frameworks, domestically and globally.

 

Jonathan Weiler received his PhD in political science from UNC Chapel Hill. He has written four books, including Authoritarianism and Polarization in American Politics (Cambridge University Press, 2009), co-authored with Marc Hetherington), which won the Philip Converse award from the American Political Science Association in 2016, in recognition of the book’s lasting impact on the field, and Prius or Pickup: How the Answers to Four Simple Questions Explain America’s Great Divide (2018), also co-authored with Marc Hetherington. He teaches courses on economic globalization, sports and globalization and human rights.

TR, 3:30 pm – 4:45 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 in History at King’s College London.

TR, 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm. Instructor(s): Antwain Hunter. Enrollment = 24.
The United States’ historic relationship with slavery, particularly during the Civil War Era, is often misunderstood in the present day. This course explores slavery’s western expansion, the political debates in the decades preceding the Civil War, abolitionists and proslavery arguments, the secession crisis, enslaved people’s wartime experiences, the Lincoln and Davis administrations’ relevant policies, wartime emancipation and formerly enslaved peoples’ military service, the struggle to pass the XIII Amendment, and Black people’s fight to fully realize their freedom during Reconstruction. Students in this course will read important secondary texts but will also engage with a wide array of primary sources produced during the Civil War Era, which will allow them to shape their own conclusions on this complex period. Students will be evaluated on their critical analysis, engagement with historical texts, active participation in class activities, and the quality of their research and written assignments.

 

Antwain K. Hunter is an assistant professor in the Department of History and works primarily in North American slavery. He earned his BA at Westfield State College (2007) and his MA at the University of Connecticut (2009), both in History. Prof. Hunter earned his PhD in History at the Richards Civil War Era Center at the Pennsylvania State University (2015) and taught at Butler University for eight years before joining the faculty the Carolina in 2022. Prof. Hunter’s current book project, A Precarious Balance: Firearms, Race, and Community in North Carolina, 1729-1865, examines the community and legal dynamics of free and enslaved black people’s firearm use in the colonial and antebellum eras. He has previously published on this subject and on white laborers’ politics on the Civil War home front.

TR, 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm. Instructor(s): Karen Auerbach. Enrollment = 20.
Jewish life in Eastern Europe is often depicted as a history of isolation and persecution. This course will seek a more nuanced view of Jewish life in Eastern Europe, focusing on the urban areas of present-day Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Belarus. Drawing on documents, memoirs, literature, film and photography, the course will explore the ways in which traditional notions of Jewish space in shaping community were adapted to the large urban setting in Eastern Europe; the role of Jews in the urban economy; changes in the relationship between Jews and their neighbors as a result of the growth of Jewish populations in large cities; the development of Jewish political movements in the urban context; and Jewish interactions with non-Jewish cultural, political and intellectual movements. The broader goals of the course are to understand the ways in which the shift of Jewish populations from small towns to large cities in Eastern Europe altered notions of Jewish community, cultures, identities and families; the impact of Jewish populations on the physical, cultural and economic development of East European cities; and the concepts of “ghetto” and “shtetl” in memory of the Jewish past.

CROSSLISTED WITH JWST 311H

Karen Auerbach is an associate professor in the Department of History and the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies. Her research and teaching focus on the modern history of Jews in Eastern Europe and the Holocaust.

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.

R, 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm. Instructor(s): James Leloudis. Enrollment = 24.
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.

TBD, . Instructor(s): Henry Gruber. Enrollment = 24.
Premodern Pandemics takes a multidisciplinary approach to the study of pandemic diseases and their effects on history in the period before ca. 1600 CE. We will integrate the close reading of primary source accounts with the latest research in the fields of epidemiology and ancient pathogen genetics. Our case studies begin in the ancient Mediterranean and include the so-called Plague of Athens, the Antonine and Cyprian plagues of the Roman Empire, and the great bubonic plague outbreaks known as the Plague of Justinian and the Black Death. We will then cross the Atlantic and examine the role of disease in the encounter between Europeans, Africans, and Indigenous Americans after 1492. Students will work on their writing skills, engage in a group digital project, and present on scholarly articles, all leading up to a major research paper.

Henry Gruber is a historian and archaeologist of the late Roman Mediterranean, the Director of the Ancient World Mapping Center at UNC Chapel Hill, and the editor of the Justinianic Pandemic Sourcebook online. He has spent 13 seasons on archaeological projects throughout the Mediterranean, and integrates the materiality of the ancient world into his research and teaching. His research focuses on social history, economic history, and the history of disease. His current book project, Quantifying Catastrophe: Archaeology, Violence, and the End of Roman Spain analyzes the economic impact of the fall of Rome. His research on the Justinianic or First Plague Pandemic has been published in the Journal of Late Antiquity, Human Ecology, and featured at conferences and workshops in the United States, Germany, and Lithuania.

TR, 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm. Instructor(s): Eren Tasar. Enrollment = 24.
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.

TR, 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm. Instructor(s): Karen Auerbach. Enrollment = 4.
Jewish life in Eastern Europe is often depicted as a history of isolation and persecution, and modern Jewish history is often viewed as a progression from “ghetto to emancipation.” This course will seek a more nuanced view of Jewish urban life in Eastern Europe. In fact no ghettos, in the original meaning of the word as an enclosed, enforced, exclusively Jewish space, existed in Eastern Europe until the Second World War. Nor was the shtetl – Yiddish for small town – an exclusively Jewish location isolated from surrounding society, as it is often portrayed in literature. Drawing on memoirs, film, photography and fiction in addition to historical documents, this course will explore the ways in which the shift of Jewish populations from small towns to large cities in Eastern Europe altered notions of Jewish community, cultures, identities and families in the modern period; the impact of Jewish populations on the development of East European cities; and the roles of “ghetto” and “shtetl” in memory of the Jewish past.

CROSSLISTED WITH HIST 311H

Karen Auerbach is an associate professor in the Department of History and the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies. Her research and teaching focus on the modern history of Jews in Eastern Europe and the Holocaust.

MWF, 11:15 am – 12:05 pm. Instructor(s): Elizabeth McLaughlin. Enrollment = 34.
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 29 ON THE ACT MATH TEST OR SCORE OF AT LEAST 680 ON THE SAT MATH 2 SUBJECT TEST OR GRADE OF C- OR HIGHER IN MATH 130 AT UNC-CH (OR HAVE THE EQUIVALENT TRANSFER CREDIT).

 

Elizabeth McLaughlin received a Master’s Degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Arizona and has been teaching math at UNC since 1998. Her primary focus is the development of large lecture calculus courses.

TR, 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm. Instructor(s): Emily Burkhead. Enrollment = 34.
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.
PREREQUISITES: AT LEAST A C- IN MATH 232 AT UNC OR A 3 OR HIGHER ON THE BC CALCULUS EXAM.

 

Emily Burkhead holds an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  She has been teaching collegiate mathematics since 2002 and won the Goodman-Petersen Award for Excellence in Teaching, presented by the UNC Mathematics Department, for the 2020 – 2021 academic year. Her professional focus is on mathematics education and best practices in teaching, with research interests in discrete dynamical systems.

MWF, 11:15 am – 12:05 pm. Instructor(s): Olivia Dumitrescu. Enrollment = 35.
This course serves as a transition from computational to more theoretical mathematics, designed to provide you with the fundamental skills necessary for success in situations that require you to read, write, and reason precisely when working with mathematics. Special emphasis is given to improving your fluency in the use of mathematical vocabulary and notation when writing and critiquing mathematical proofs. Topics are from the foundations of mathematics: logic and proof techniques, set theory, relations and functions, counting methods, and basic number theory. In many ways, this will be the first “abstract” math course in your academic career. Although we will explore specific, concrete examples whenever possible, this course requires you to hone your ability to analyze and articulate the logical essence of the problems being studied. In other words, you will be expected to learn how to communicate coherently and persuasively using the language and the grammar of mathematics.
PREREQUISITES: MATH 232 OR A B OR BETTER IN MATH 231 OR MATH 210.

 

NO INSTRUCTOR BIO ON FILE

MWF, 1:25 pm – 2:15 pm. Instructor(s): Alexander Varchenko / Alexander Varchenko. Enrollment = 35.
The main topic of this course is ordinary differential equations (ODEs) from two points of view. The first point of view is how ODEs model a wide range of applications from biology, chemistry, engineering and physics. In particular, the laws of chemistry, physics and Nature are not given as “formulas”, rather, they are typically given in terms relations between a function and its derivatives. Classic examples include “population” models where the population might be humans, bacteria, radioactive species, or many other populations. The evolution of the population size is governed by rates for growth versus decay. The second point of view is the methods to solve ODEs, studying a wide range of ODEs for which we exact solution methods are known as well as an even larger range of ODEs for which we must use approximate or numerical solution methods.
The honors section will place greater emphasis than other sections on understanding how the behavior of solutions is tied to the properties of the structure of the ODE itself. E.g., if the ODE is “linear” or “nonlinear” in the unknown function and its derivatives, how does that influence both the methods of solution and the behavior of solutions. This perspective allows one to understand the limitations or successes in how well a given model describes the application it was derived for.
The honors section will be graded on the basis of homework, in-class exams, and a semester project that the instructor and student agree upon ahead of time. Depending on one’s present major, the project may be more mathematical (e.g., methods of proof or underlying mathematical concepts for qualitative behavior or quantitative solutions), or it can involve how ODEs are used in an area of application of interest to the student (e.g., biology, chemistry, economics, finance, marine sciences, social sciences). It is possible for a pair of students to create a team project.
Prerequisites: A grade of B+ or higher in Math 233 or 233H at UNC, or permission of the instructor in special cases.

 

Alexander Varchenko is Ernest Eliel Professor of Department of Mathematics, UNC, Chapel Hill

MWF, 12:20 pm – 1:10 pm. Instructor(s): Arunima Bhattacharya. Enrollment = 35.
The real numbers, continuity, and differentiability of functions of one variable, infinite series, integration. This honors section will explore the topics listed above in greater detail, and additional topics, such as Fourier series and their application, are likely to be covered. Moreover, assignments of greater depth will be given.

PREREQUISITES: MATH 233 OR MATH 235 AND MATH 381. A GRADE OF A- OR BETTER IN STOR 215 OR STOR 315 MAY SUBSTITUTE FOR MATH 381.
FIRST YEAR STUDENTS MAY REGISTER WITH INSTRUCTOR PERMISSION ONLY.

 

NO INSTRUCTOR BIO ON FILE

M/W, 12:20 pm – 12:50 pm/9:05 am – 12:35 pm. Instructor(s): Leyla Mangual-Santiago. Enrollment = 20.
This course is entirely hands-on. Under the direction of the newsroom managers, students will write, produce, and broadcast a weekly TV news program and provide news content for other MJ-school platforms. Students will fill all normal newsroom positions.

 

PRE-REQUISITE: MEJO 522.001

INSTRUCTOR CONSENT REQUIRED.

Leyla Santiago joined the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media in the fall of 2023 as the Daniels Executive-In-Residence. Santiago has worked in local, national and international newsrooms as a broadcast journalist. Most recently, she was a correspondent for CNN, based in Miami, and was at the forefront of CNN’s coverage on natural disasters, immigration, the Covid-19 pandemic, politics, and the relationship between the United States and Latin America.

After her extensive coverage of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, Santiago was nominated for a Peabody Award and her team won an Edward R. Murrow award. She was one of the first to reach some of the most remote parts of the island after the hurricane. Officials added more cases to the list of hurricane-related deaths after her investigation exposed inaccuracies in the government’s low death toll.

In 2020, Santiago joined CNN’s political team to report from the campaign trail. She covered the presidential bids of Congressman Beto O’Rourke and Senator Elizabeth Warren and captured the campaigns’ courtship of voters, focusing on the issues that mattered most to communities across the country.

In April of 2018, Santiago spent nearly a month traveling through Mexico with a caravan of migrants thrust into the national spotlight after President Trump tweeted about the group. Santiago introduced viewers to the families of the caravan and explained the complexities of U.S. immigration laws. She also garnered the prestigious Alfred I. DuPont award for the documentary, “The Journey Alone,” about the surge of unaccompanied minors from Central America and Mexico crossing the U.S southern border in 2014.

Santiago was named to Crain NewsPro’s “12 to Watch in TV News” in 2019.

Before joining CNN, She reported as a journalist for WRAL in Raleigh, North Carolina; KBAK/KBFX in Bakersfield, California, KTUU in Anchorage, Alaska; and NBC29 in Charlottesville, Virginia.

M, 9:05 am – 12:15 pm. Instructor(s): Charles Tuggle. Enrollment = 20.
This course is entirely hands-on. Under the direction of the newsroom managers, students will write, produce, and broadcast a weekly TV news program and provide news content for other MJ-school platforms. Students will fill all normal newsroom positions.

INSTRUCTOR CONSENT REQUIRED.

C.A. Tuggle — Dr. T to his students — enjoyed a 16-year career in local television news and media relations before returning to academia to educate and train a new wave of broadcast journalists. He spent 11 years at WFLA-TV, the NBC affiliate in Tampa/St. Petersburg, the nation’s 13th largest media market. He has held many newsroom titles, but he spent most of his career as a sports reporter/producer.

His forte as a teacher is developing storytellers — journalists who can use the language and all the tools available to them to turn out memorable broadcast reports. Broadcast and electronic journalism students broadcast one live installment of the TV news program Carolina Week, one live episode of the radio newscast Carolina Connection and one live installment of the sports highlights, analysis and commentary show SportsXtra per week.

Tuggle is the recipient of an Edward Kidder Graham superlative faculty award, the David Brinkley Teaching Excellence Award and the Ed Bliss Award, which is a national honor for broadcast journalism educators who have made significant and lasting contributions to the field throughout their careers.

W/F, 2:30 pm – 3:45 pm/11:15 am – 2:00 pm. Instructor(s): Adam Hochberg. Enrollment = 20.
A practicum class in which students work under faculty guidance to produce news stories, features, interviews, sports stories, podcasts, and other audio content. Student work is broadcast on “Carolina Connection” — a weekly radio program — and is distributed on Spotify and other digital platforms. Students in 523H.003 also work as producers and mentors for the weekly program, setting each week’s coverage agenda and assigning other students to cover stories as needed.

 

PRE-REQUISITE: MEJO 426.

INSTRUCTOR CONSENT REQUIRED.

Adam Hochberg teaches journalism at the University of North Carolina School of Media and Journalism. Students in his practicum class produce a weekly radio newsmagazine and podcast. In 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2021, the program received the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio-Television Digital News Association, which named it the nation’s top student newscast. Five times, the program has received the top national collegiate award from the Society of Professional Journalists.
Hochberg has also taught accountability journalism and journalism ethics. He is often interviewed in the media on issues of ethics and journalistic standards.
Hochberg is a veteran journalist and educator with over two decades of experience in national news. A former correspondent for NPR, he has won multiple national journalism awards, including an Edward R. Murrow Award for national investigative journalism in 2013.
Hochberg leads “The American Homefront Project,” a nationwide collaboration of public radio newsrooms that produce in-depth journalism on military and veterans issues.
A native of Chicago, Hochberg received his master’s degree in 1986 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He graduated from Ohio University in 1985. He lives with his wife and daughter in Chapel Hill.

MW, 12:20 pm – 1:35 pm. Instructor(s): . Enrollment = 20.
This is a serious course for serious students. This course is entirely hands-on. Under the direction of the instructor, students from the School’s various specialty areas will work together to find, produce and market stories that would attract the attention of professional media partners throughout the state and region, and at times, the nation. We will produce multiple versions of each story and expect each to be at a level of quality to warrant publication. We expect you to be an expert on your particular platform, and conversant enough with the other platforms to earn the title of APJ. (all-platform journalist) We will look for stories with broad appeal. We will concentrate on trends and developments that many news organizations don’t have the manpower to cover. The course will involve and require substantial field work from all students enrolled.

The majority of the work in this class will be fieldwork — from chasing down leads to investigating tips, securing sources, performing print, audio or video interviews, capturing video and audio, pitching stories to news directors, promoting the students’ work regionally, etc. Each week, every student on every team will spend a majority of his or her time working outside the classroom to capture and gather the raw materials necessary to turn these packages into professional-quality work. The stories will involve local, regional and national issues, and the teams will pitch all the completed packages to professional news outlets across the state, region and country.
This is not your typical college course, so don’t treat it like one. This will mimic the professional journalist’s work environment more than any other class in the School of Media and Journalism.

The marketing team is charged with coordinating with the content teams so that we might keep our professional partners apprised as we move through the newsgathering, production, and delivery phases of the work. As a team, the marketing group will produce contact lists for media outlets across the state, building on the strong relationships established in earlier semesters. The marketing team will also continue to brand the Media Hub initiative, chart pickups by professional outlets, develop best practices, and contribute to the degree possible to content creation.

INSTRUCTOR CONSENT REQUIRED.

TR, 9:30 am – 10: 45 am. Instructor(s): Joshua Carlton. Enrollment = 20.
The contemporary digital information environment is creating new opportunities for marketers and advertisers to communicate with and engage consumers. This course provides the practical knowledge and insights on current and emerging digital technologies and experiences. Students will gain knowledge about various opportunities for strategically implementing digital media into communications plans through case study analysis and hands-on projects. Students will be required to establish digital marketing objectives and strategies, properly select digital media platforms, and monitor and measure the results of those efforts. While the course provides a framework of how to evaluate and construct digital communication strategies and plans, its focus is on applying critical reasoning skills through assignments and a progressive digital campaigns project. Possessing the skills to evaluate and create digital marketing and advertising is valuable for students planning careers in communications, branding, marketing, or consulting, and is a fundamental function across all industries and organizations.

 

Pre-Req – MEJO 379

Josh Carlton joins UNC Hussman with more than two decades of experience in brand strategy, marketing communications and customer insights consulting. He has worked with more than 140 brands across most industries, including automotive, retail, CPG and technology.  Carlton has held leadership roles at agencies including The Martin Agency and McKinney. He served as an adjunct professor at Virginia Commonwealth University from 2008-10 and was initially introduced to UNC Hussman as an adjunct instructor from 2014-21. He specializes in uncovering human insights through data and translating them into actionable strategies.  Carlton earned a B.A. in psychology from the University of Richmond and holds an M.A. in advertising, communications and account planning from the University of Texas at Austin. At UNC Hussman, he teaches advertising and strategic communication courses; mentors students; and directs the school’s M.A. in Digital Communication program.
Bio link

MW, 8:00 am – 8:50 am; Recitation: F, 10:10 am – 11:00 am OR F, 11:15 am – 12:05 pm OR F , 9:05 am – 9:55 am. Instructor(s): Jane Thrailkill. Enrollment = 24.
From popular shows like The Pitt to the many memoirs of illness published each year, stories about human struggles with suffering and mortality captivate audiences. Illness, disability, and care are not just individual matters; they occur within social and institutional contexts. This course focuses on powerful stories from various genres—memoir, journalism, poetry, fiction, TED talks, and documentary films—that address some big questions: how do human beings weather and make sense of illness? How does healthcare relieve and/or exacerbate suffering? why do some kinds of suffering receive care and compassion while others do not? Students will also have the opportunity to write an in-depth illness narrative about someone they know.
Books we may read: Paul Kalanithi, When Breath Becomes Air; Meghan O’Rourke, The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness; Damon Tweedy, Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor’s Reflections on Race and Medicine.
Prerequisites: None. Students from the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences are all welcome.
Note: 268H is a required course for the interdisciplinary Honors minor in Medicine, Literature, and Culture.

Learning Objectives
· Hone analytical skills and engage with nuanced readings.
· Gain a solid understanding of health humanities concepts and techniques.
· Explore modes of analysis across disciplinary boundaries.
· Develop a comprehensive illness narrative.

 

Jane F. Thrailkill is Professor of English and Comparative Literature and co-founder of HHIVE Lab, the first health humanities lab in the United States. From 2015-2025 she taught medical students in the Social and Health Sciences curriculum at UNC’s School of Medicine.

W, 2:30 pm – 5:00 pm. Instructor(s): Terry Holt. Enrollment = 24.
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.  It also 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, at https://www.uncmedicalcenter.org/uncmc/support/volunteer-services/ug-volunteers-/ ) 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. His next book, a novel titled Soldiers & Sailors, will be published this Fall.  Holt teaches medicine at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

TR, 9:30 am – 10:45 am. Instructor(s): Robert Jenkins. Enrollment = 5.
This course explores the background, history, and aftermath of recent conflicts in the Balkans and attempts by international organizations to secure peace and rebuild states in the region.  Topics include nationalism, ethno-national violence, state formation, international intervention, and European Union enlargement.

CROSSLISTED WITH POLI 469H

Robert M. Jenkins is a Teaching Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  A long-time specialist in Central and Eastern Europe, his expertise also includes the European Union, NATO, international organizations, and climate change policy. His current research includes projects on comparative Transatlantic policies on climate change and international intervention into the post-conflict Western Balkans. Dr. Jenkins is committed to study abroad programs, leading semester programs in Brussels (2022, 2023, 2025), Cape Town (2013, 2016), and a long-running 6-week summer program in the Balkans and Vienna (12 times since 2002, most recently 2025).

TR, 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm. Instructor(s): David Reeve. Enrollment = 19.
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.

CROSSLISTED WITH RELI 126H.

 

 

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

TR, 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm. Instructor(s): Alex Worsnip. Enrollment = 24.
Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that deals with questions about knowledge, rational belief, evidence, and the like. Philosophical introductions to epistemology are often quite abstract, beginning with very general questions like ‘what is knowledge?’ or ‘what is rationality?’ and only turning to applied questions much later. This course inverts that trend by beginning with some of the areas of social human life in which questions about knowledge, rationality and evidence matter to us: areas like democratic politics, the law, science, and religion. It investigates particular “knowledge problems” that we, as 21st century citizens, face. For example: when there is so much contradictory information out there, how can we know who to trust? Should we be worried about the ways that our upbringings and social characteristics (e.g. gender, race, class, etc) shape and bias our beliefs, and if so what should we do about it? Should we even have beliefs about complex policy questions about which we are not experts? Should the existence of widespread disagreement about politics, morality and religion make us less confident in our own views? Is it ever really “beyond reasonable doubt” that someone is guilty of a crime, and why should that be the standard that matters anyway? Through investigating these specific, applied questions, we hope to learn something about the nature of knowledge, evidence and rationality more generally.

Alex Worsnip is a Professor in the philosophy department. Before coming to UNC, he taught at NYU; before that, he did his graduate work at Yale and Oxford. His current work is primarily in “applied epistemology”, where epistemology is the philosophical study of knowledge, evidence, and rationality; and applied epistemology applies its tools and methods to problems of pressing social and political concern. He has published articles about political disagreement, deference to experts, media consumption and echo chambers, and climate change denial, among other topics. His earlier work focused on more abstract questions about rationality, culminating in a book, Fitting Things Together: Coherence and the Demands of Structural Rationality, published by Oxford University Press in 2021.

TR, 5:00 pm – 6:15 pm. Instructor(s): Tom Dougherty. Enrollment = 24.
This course draws on contemporary moral philosophy to shed light on some of the most pressing ethical questions of our time. We will look at arguments that help us answer practical questions like: Can sexual desires be politically criticized? Should abortion be allowed? Is it ok to eat meat? Are college athletics exploitative? Are we obligated to make donations to relieve people from poverty? Is military conscription the most fair way of organizing the armed forces? By the end of the course, you should have a good understanding of these practical ethical issues, and, more crucially, be equipped with the conceptual resources to think through new ethical questions and dilemmas as they arise in personal and professional life.

 

Tom Dougherty is a core faculty member of UNC’s Philosophy, Politics and Economics Program. They completed their B.A., in PPE, at Oxford (2004) and their PhD, in Philosophy, at MIT (2010). Before coming to UNC, they were a post-doctoral scholar at Stanford (2010-2012), a lecturer at the University of Sydney (2012-2014), a University Lecturer in the Philosophy Faculty at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Trinity Hall (2014-2019) and a Faculty Fellow at the Murphy Institute of the University of Tulane (2018-2019). Dougherty has recently published two books on the ethics of consent. Among other topics, they have also researched the debate over consequentialism, ethical vagueness and female under-representation in philosophy.

W, 3:35 PM – 6:20 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, 5:00 pm – 6:15 pm. Instructor(s): Liesbet Hooghe. Enrollment = 24.
This course will critically assess basic principles of governance—scale and community—in coming to grips with the European Union, the rise of nationalism, political polarization, and illiberalism. Is the EU a consensual empire? What are the political pressures that shape it?  How does the European Union compare with other international organizations such as the African Union, the Council of Europe, or the World Trade Organization?
This course places the European Union in a wide comparative context with a double purpose: to induce critical reflection concerning the European Union, the world’s most important experiment in democratic multilevel governance, and, second, to gain a deeper understanding of the forces that shape politics in Europe and beyond. Why is there a European Union? How does it operate? How has it developed? How does multi-level governance reshape policy and politics within and among national states? What are the major lines of contention among parties and citizens? What are the effects of the poly-crises that the EU has faced over the past decade? And what is the future of the European Union against the backdrop of large geopolitical shifts?
Students will work with primary sources (such as data on party positioning and dispersion of authority), critically engage with scholarly work, make a public presentation, debate major topics, and write reflection essays.

 

Professor Liesbet Hooghe is the W.R. Kenan Distinguished Professor in Political Science and Senior Fellow at the European University Institute, Florence. Born and educated in Belgium, she held fellowships at Cornell University and Oxford University and taught at the University of Toronto before moving to Chapel Hill in 2000.
Hooghe’s research and teaching are chiefly on the European Union, comparative politics, international organization, political behavior, and measurement. She is perhaps best known for her work on multilevel governance, GALTAN, and the transnational cleavage. She is Principal Investigator of the Chapel Hill Expert Data on party positioning (CHES) and of major datasets on regional and international authority (RAI and MIA). In recent years she has led a major grant that seeks to explain the role of education in political polarization in Europe and the United States. Recent work has been published in leading political science journals and four books with Oxford University Press (https://hooghe.web.unc.edu). Hooghe has received awards from the American Political Science Association, honorary doctorates from the University of Maastricht and the University of Lausanne, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the European Union Studies Association.

TR, 9:30 am – 10:45 am. Instructor(s): Robert Jenkins. Enrollment = 19.
This course explores the background, history, and aftermath of recent conflicts in the Balkans and attempts by international organizations to secure peace and rebuild states in the region.  Topics include nationalism, ethno-national violence, state formation, international intervention, and European Union enlargement.

 

Robert M. Jenkins is a Teaching Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  A long-time specialist in Central and Eastern Europe, his expertise also includes the European Union, NATO, international organizations, and climate change policy. His current research includes projects on comparative Transatlantic policies on climate change and international intervention into the post-conflict Western Balkans. Dr. Jenkins is committed to study abroad programs, leading semester programs in Brussels (2022, 2023, 2025), Cape Town (2013, 2016), and a long-running 6-week summer program in the Balkans and Vienna (12 times since 2002, most recently 2025).

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.

MWF, 2:30 pm – 3:20 pm. Instructor(s): Charlie Wiss. Enrollment = 24.
: This course will focus on providing an overview of many of the major psychological disorders, with a focus on adult disorders. The major objectives of this course will be for the students to:
· Gain mastery of the diagnostic criteria and identifying features that are associated with each disorder
· Identify and distinguish the disorders
· Have a thorough understanding of the etiologic theories associated with each disorder.
· Understand the major treatment approaches associated with each disorder.
The course will utilize a variety of formats including lectures, discussions, videos, and group presentations. We will attempt to move beyond the definitions of the disorders toward a more nuanced understanding of how they manifest in real life and how modern social, cultural, and biological forces may impact them.

 

My background is in Clinical Psychology and my early career was spent providing psychotherapy for children, adolescents, and adults; with a focus on adolescents with moderate to severe mental illnesses. This background informs my teaching and I tend to focus more on clinical presentation than statistical trends.

TR, 9:30 am – 10:45 am . 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, and (3) demonstrate knowledge about the significance and impact of a chosen addiction topic.

 

PREREQUISITE: PSYC 101

 

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/

MWF, 10:10 am – 11:00 am. Instructor(s): Daniel Gitterman. Enrollment = 24.
This course provides a general overview of the role of history in public policy, the policymaking process, and the substance of major domestic and global public policy challenges.  It exposes students to the conceptual and analytical perspectives necessary for understanding and playing a direct role in policy making.  This course will illuminate policy and political challenges in areas such as tax policy, social policy, education policy, health policy, foreign policy, and homeland security. We will explore the inherent tensions that emerge between good “politics” and good “policy” in a number of these substantive policy areas. Honors students will pay particular attention to the role of politicians (elected officials) and experts (policy researchers) in the making of public policy. Students will work to develop their skills in effective oral and written communication, including making oral arguments, presenting research findings, and writing for policy audiences.

FIRST AND SECOND YEAR STUDENTS ONLY.
CROSSLISTED WITH PWAD 101H.

Daniel Gitterman is Duncan MacRae ’09 and Rebecca Kyle MacRae Professor of Public Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill. He also serves as Director of the Honors Seminar in Public Policy and Global Affairs (Washington, DC).

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.

TR, 9:30 am – 10:45 am . Instructor(s): Manuel Schechtl. Enrollment = 24.
This course will introduce students to public policy as a discipline and the policy analysis process. The process involves defining a public problem and understanding stakeholders and their perspectives; describing public problems with quantitative data; understanding market failures and other rationales for government involvement; selecting criteria relevant for decision-making; constructing policy alternatives; evaluating the different alternatives against the stated policy criteria; and making and communicating a recommendation. This is a research-based and communication-intensive course, which requires the completion of a policy brief in several, iterative steps. The course incorporates current events and relevant case studies to motivate and explain the policy analysis process.

 

Manuel Schechtl is an assistant professor in the department of public policy. His work examines multiple facets of wealth inequality and accumulation, with a particular focus on the impact of inheritances and inheritance taxes as well as social consequences of exposure to wealth inequality. He received his Ph.D. in Sociology from Humboldt University Berlin and holds degrees in Economics, Political Science, and Sociology from the University of Munich.

TR, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm. Instructor(s): William Goldsmith. Enrollment = 24.
This course will introduce students to public policy as a discipline and the policy analysis process. The process involves defining a public problem and understanding stakeholders and their perspectives; describing public problems with quantitative data; understanding market failures and other rationales for government involvement; selecting criteria relevant for decision-making; constructing policy alternatives; evaluating the different alternatives against the stated policy criteria; and making and communicating a recommendation. This is a research-based and communication-intensive course, which requires the completion of a policy brief in several, iterative steps. The course incorporates current events and relevant case studies to motivate and explain the policy analysis process.

 

William Goldsmith is a Teaching Associate Professor who has lived all over this state. He hails from western North Carolina, where he grew up in the shadow of Hickory Nut Mountain. After college at Yale University, he taught English and Theater Arts at Northwest Halifax High in the northeast. His Ph.D. in history comes from the university just north on Tobacco Road. Goldsmith’s research looks at how the civil rights movement reshaped education and economic development policy in the South. Broadly, he is interested in how institutions exacerbate and ameliorate historical inequalities.

MWF, 2:30 pm – 3:20 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, recognition of property rights, and protection against physical harm from others. 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 frameworks 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 their day-to-day lives.

Joshua Preiss is Teaching Associate Professor of Public Policy and a member to the Core Faculty in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) at UNC. Prior to coming to Chapel Hill this spring, I was Professor of Philosophy and Director of the PPE Program at Minnesota State University, Mankato. His research and teaching is in ethics, politics, and public policy. Particular areas of interest include (1) justice and the future of work (2) freedom and markets (3) political economy (4) American politics and (5) the philosophy of economics. His research considers the implications of this analysis across numerous domains of public policy, including: financial regulation, trade, labor market, tax, childcare, business, education, environmental, and industrial policy.

MW, 3:35 pm – 4:50 pm. Instructor(s): Rebecca Kreitzer. Enrollment = 24.
NO COURSE DESCRIPTION ON FILE.

Rebecca Kreitzer is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She earned a BA in Chinese and Political Science from Macalester College, and her MA and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Iowa. Her research explores questions of public opinion, interest groups, representation, policy feedback and policy diffusion in the states, with an area of expertise in gender and sexuality policy.

TR, 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm. Instructor(s): David Reeve. Enrollment = 5.
The aim of this course is to introduce you to the philosophy of Western religion by means of a close investigation of four key representatives of the religious life: Job (in the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible), Jesus (in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew), Socrates (in Plato’s Euthyphro and Apology) , and Father Zosima (in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Brothers Karamazov).

CROSSLISTED WITH PHIL 134H

 

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): Eden Consenstein. Enrollment = 24.
Is an iPhone anything like a prayer book? How did the invention of electricity spark debates about the reality of spirits? Why is meditation so popular in Silicon Valley, and why does it matter for us? RELI 135 diagnoses the ethical problems and religious expressions that emerge when new technologies are adopted. We’ll see how new technologies re-constitute communities, compound existing inequities, and bridge old divisions. In Fall 2026, RELI 135 will include units on sermons and early sound recording, the atom bomb, A.I., and more.

Eden Consenstein is a scholar of religion, media, and capitalism in the United States. She holds a B.A. in Religious Studies and English from the University of Toronto, an M.A in Religious Studies from New York University, and a Ph.D.in Religious Studies from Princeton University, where she also completed a certificate from the program in Media and Modernity. She is currently working on research projects about Christianity in the news and religion and MLMS.

TR, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm. Instructor(s): Brandon Bayne. Enrollment = 25.
This course will explore the marvelous diversity of Latinx religious communities and practices in the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, and multiple borderlands where cultures collide and combine in the Americas. We will interrogate both historical and contemporary topics, focusing on Indigenous and European encounters and the creative productions like the Virgin of Guadalupe that emerged from contact and colonization. Through music, art, food, ritual, and performance we will explore the unique hybridity of lived religion in the borderlands as well as sometimes coercive political structures that have sought to contain them. Specific topics include conversion, immigration, community activism, education, and the arts. Active learning and discussion as well as personal experience and community connections are welcome, while short lectures will provide key context when necessary.

 

Brandon Bayne is an Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies, where he also serves as the Director of Undergraduate Studies and holds additional appointments in Latin American Studies and American Indian and Indigenous Studies. His first book, Missions Begin with Blood: Suffering and Salvation in the Borderlands of New Spain (Fordham University Press, 2021) was awarded the Frank and Elizabeth Brewer Prize by the American Society of Church History for outstanding scholarship in the history of Christianity. His current research focuses on race, religion, memory, and erasure in modern celebrations of “pioneer” missionaries, including Fathers Eusebio Kino, Junipero Serra, Damien of Molokai, and Stanley Rother. He also serves as the Americas editor for the scholarly journal, Church History. Bayne teaches courses on Religion in the US, Religion in Latin America, Religion and Violence, and Native American Religions. Before UNC, he taught at Fordham University, Indiana University, and Claremont School of Theology.

TR, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm. Instructor(s): Guang Guo. Enrollment = 24.
This course examines how advances in molecular genetics challenge the long-standing social science assumption that individuals are essentially the same at birth and shaped entirely by environment. Designed for non-science majors with no prerequisites, it provides an accessible introduction to genomics while helping science students broaden their perspectives beyond medicine and disease. Topics include gene–environment interaction, twin studies, basic molecular genetics, DNA data collection, genome-wide association studies, race and ancestry, gender, health and education, evolutionary psychology, epigenetics, CRISPR, genetically modified organisms, research validity, and ethical issues. The course emphasizes the joint influence of genetic and social factors in shaping human traits.

 

Guang Guo has a PhD in sociology from Princeton University and has taught at UNC Chapel Hill for more than two decades. He is Dr. George Alice Welsh distinguished professor in the department of sociology. His work has focused on social genomics, or the intersection between social sciences and genetics. The second half of the course will have an introduction to genetics and their impacts on social sciences.

MWF, 10:10 am – 11:00 am. Instructor(s): Helene M de Fays. Enrollment = 19.
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. The class will also participate in a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) project. Specifically, students will share a cultural exchange experience with a group of students learning English at the Universidad Técnica Nacional (UTN) de Costa Rica.

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 and fulfills the FC-AESTHETIC requirement.

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, 1:25 pm – 2:15 pm. Instructor(s): Gabor Pataki. Enrollment = 24.
STOR 415 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.

TR, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm. Instructor(s): Amarjit Budhiraja. Enrollment = 24.
STOR 435 Honors (Introduction to Probability) is an accelerated, mathematically rigorous honors section of the department’s advanced undergraduate probability course. The course develops the core language of probability: sample spaces and events, conditional probability and Bayes’ rule, random variables and common discrete/continuous distributions, joint distributions and dependence (covariance/correlation), and sums of random variables. The honors section goes beyond the regular section of the course covering advanced topics such as modes of convergence, concentration inequalities and large-deviation ideas (e.g., Chernoff/Hoeffding/Bernstein bounds and Cramér-style results), and an introduction to Markov chains and Martingales. Students will build proof-based intuition and problem-solving skills. The course is intended for students with strong multivariable calculus preparation and comfort with discrete mathematics and mathematical notation.

Prereq: MATH/STOR 235 or MATH 233; and STOR 215 or STOR 315 or MATH 381 or COMP 283

Budhiraja is a Professor of Statistics and Operations Research. His research is in Probability and Stochastic Analysis. Some of the topics he is interested in are Large Deviations, Stochastic Control, Stochastic Differential Games, Stochastic Networks, Stochastic Partial Differential Equations, Random Graphs and Stochastic Numerics. More information can be found at https://abudhiraja.web.unc.edu.