Fall 2026 Advanced Honors Seminars

HON 205: Interdisciplinary Investigations

Section 1: Pop Culture and Protest in the Soviet ‘60s and ‘70s

1st half of the semester; Mondays and Wednesdays, 2 - 2:50 pm; Schroeder 246
Dr. Christine Varga-Harris; History 

This seminar delves into the material world, film, music, jokes and literature of late socialist society to explore how Soviet citizens lived, expressed creativity, and asserted rights. Along the way, students will encounter youth who reproduced Western music on discarded Xray film; poets and punk rockers; writers who distributed banned literature through underground networks; and dissidents who demanded that their government honor its laws. Such Soviet youth and dissidents fashioned a vibrant cultural sphere that paralleled others in the world.

Exploring the Soviet 1960s and 1970s through the lens of popular culture and protest, students will learn that even within the strictures of a nondemocratic state, people can exercise agency; that drabness, conformity, consumer shortages and fear were not the only experiences of late Communism; and that the “Iron Curtain” was porous.

Section 2: Land Use and Land Ethics

2nd half of the semester; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:35 - 10:25 am; Schroeder 104
Dr. Greg Carter; History

This seminar will examine conservation movements and key ideas in the 20th and 21st Centuries through the work of four key innovators in land use ethics: Aldo Leopold (forest ranger), Wendell Berry (farmer), Bill Coperthwaite (zero-waste living pioneer), and Steven Rinella (influencer). 

In addition to learning and understanding the work and ideas of these people, and the evolution of conservation philosophy and ethics that have stemmed from their work, the class will include direct, hands-on learning about healthy and unhealthy human impacts on land and the long-term effects of land use.

HON 206: Innovation and Inquiry

Section 1: Campus and Community Safety: Addressing Distracted Driving Through Science, Research, and Social Change

Full semester course; Tuesdays, 3:35 - 4:25 pm; Honors Program Building 114
Dr. Rachel Waring-Sparks; Center for Civic Engagement
Vince Hummel, Melissa Miles; State Farm

This seminar addresses distracted driving, a major public safety issue in the U.S. contributing to thousands of fatalities and injuries each year. Working in teams, students will explore its causes and consequences using current research and evidence-based practices.

Students will analyze risks, explore innovative countermeasures, and examine the broader social and cultural factors that influence driver behavior.  Students will create and implement a practical plan to reduce distracted driving on campus and in the local community, including budget proposals, logistical management, and project evaluation. Throughout the course, students will strengthen skills in problem solving, teamwork, communication, influence, and project management while transforming research into real-world action for safer roads and communities.

HON 208: Culture, Context, and Identity

Section 1: Superheroes, Identity, & Culture

1st half of the semester; Mondays and Wednesdays, 11 - 11:50 pm; DeGarmo 39
Dr. Eric Wesselmann; Psychology

What are superheroes and why should we care? They are just characters of mindless fantasy for children, right? The large number of high-grossing popular movies based on superhero comics that are released each year, however, suggests otherwise. Indeed, superheroes that began in comics have become some of the most recognizable icons in popular culture. Superheroes, whether in movies or comics, can provide an important window into how we think of ourselves, our social groups, and ultimately experience the world around us. This seminar will focus on understanding the ways in which superheroes serve psychological and cultural functions. 

This course will draw from various disciplines to provide students a rich background for superheroes and their role in culture.  For example, we will consider both theoretical and empirical research from various disciplines, including comics studies, film theory, history, philosophy, and psychology/cognitive science.  Using a combination of scholarly readings and comic book texts, we’ll highlight the constructed nature of media generally, and how artists/authors create media with specific goals and utilize various approaches to affect the consumer psychologically. Finally, students will have with the opportunity and encouragement to think critically about the function of superhero stories in their own lives and how one’s cultural backgrounds and beliefs influence reactions to these stories.

Section 2: Navigating the Nuances of Mixed Heritage

2nd half of the semester; Mondays and Wednesdays, 3 - 3:50 pm; DeGarmo 406
Dr. Ellis Hurd; School of Teaching and Learning

This seminar prepares students to understand and build on the culturally and historically grounded knowledge that students from historically marginalized communities bring into society. Providing students with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, competencies, and resources necessary to understand diverse students’ strengths and needs is central to Illinois State's Strategic Plan and the Dimensions of Honors Learning.

The course focuses on key principles and effective frameworks for students of diverse culture, context, and identity, with an emphasis on those of mixed language, heritage, ethnicity, race, religion, geography, (dis)ability, and other key areas of diversity and identity.