The University of Florida Honors Program
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Honors sections are versions of regular UF courses, but specifically designed for honors students. Quest 1 & 2 sections are typically available each semester, but are not required.
What is medical anthropology? How do anthropologists investigate pain, illness, healing, and wellness in global contexts? How do cultural processes that seem to be local or global interact and shape aspects of our bodies, such as illness or efforts to find healing? What methods and theories do anthropologists use to explore these issues and how do these differ from and work with public health or medicine? This course places health and healing in a cross-cultural and evolutionary perspective. It explores three major themes. First, how our experience of sickness and health is shaped by cultural context. Second, how biology and culture intersect to shape global and local inequalities in health and well-being. And third, how healing practices and policies are embedded in political, economic, and historical context. We will discuss everything from diabetes to HIV, Ebola to childbirth, and witchcraft to biotechnology and COVID-19. Applying an anthropological perspective to these questions deepens our understanding of the human condition and prepares us to address practical matters of life and death in the US and around the world. This course will be particularly of interest to pre-health professions students because it will bring to light new ways to think about healthcare, health and illness, interactions in healthcare settings, and broader social, cultural, state, and global forces influencing disease and wellbeing. We will also learn about and apply qualitative analysis methods through a semester long class research project.
Intro Med Anthropology - Syllabus
This class introduces students to the visual arts from a global perspective to equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary to engage critically with the artistic and cultural landscape of the United States today. This course helps students master the skills necessary to analyze artworks according to the basic elements and principles of design. It also exposes students to canonical artworks from many of the world’s artistic traditions, helping them appreciate how artists, both inside and outside of the United States, have engaged with art’s global histories to make work that reflects the rich diversity of the American experience. The semester is organized thematically, with each module dedicated to a single theme or issue that resonates with art from around the globe and throughout time. These modules, when combined, offer a broad and deep look at the history of global arts and the role of art in American society. Honor's sections complete the asynchronous online lectures and assignments, then meet for a live classroom section once a week.
CHM2051 – Honors General Chemistry 2
For the Spring 2025 term the Department of Chemistry is offering two sections of Honors General
Chemistry 2 under the course number CHM2051. Class #18074 is reserved for students in the Honors
program while class #18075 is open to all students that meet the prerequisites. To be placed in this
section students have to have existing credit for MAC1147 or higher. Students also have to show
superior performance in CHM2045 (General Chemistry 1) or equivalent courses (CHM2095 or
CHM2050) as evidenced by a ‘B+’ grade or higher. If students bring credit for CHM2045 from exam
(AP, IB, AICE) they can also take the course.
Both sections have the same instructor, meet at the same time, and have the same learning experience.
The course meets TR-2+3 for lectures in FLI 50. The curriculum closely parallels the curriculum of the
main CHM2046 courses. However, the instructor is a research faculty and will place emphasis on
modern developments in chemistry as well as applications to current problems. Specifically, the course
contains modules on atmospheric chemistry, nuclear chemistry, and transition metals.
What distinguishes these sections from the regular CHM2046 sections:
1. The course is capped at 90 students in the classroom. The smaller class size compared to CHM2046
will help foster a sense of community among the students. The instructor:student ratio will therefore be
about 3 to 4 times higher than in the regular CHM2046 sections.
2. Students will not take multiple-choice but rather long-form exams where work has to be shown
which allows for partial credit on problems.
3. The course is taught by a research professor (currently assigned to Dr. Angerhofer) who will use
examples from modern research in chemistry to illustrate the material to be learned. The pace will be
somewhat faster than CHM2046 to make space for the extra modules and guest lectures.
4. Guest lectures will be given by eminent UF faculty who will discuss how chemistry aids them in
their field of study.
5. Lecture meetings will be more interactive (among students and between students and instructor) than
is possible in the large lecture auditoria. Small student-centered study groups and collaboration on
homework between students is strongly encouraged. Students will work in teams on jeopardy-style
games in preparation for their exams.
What do these two sections have in common with the main CHM2046 sections?
1. They provide the same number of credits covering the same material.
2. Students can attend the CLC (Chemistry Learning Center) where General Chemistry TAs have office
hours and will assist all students regardless of their section or class numbers.
3. The common material covered is Thermodynamics, Equilibrium, Acid-Base Chemistry,
Electrochemistry, and an introduction to Organic Chemistry.
Medical professionals have a special obligation to communicate without ambiguity. Whether in the written or spoken word, they depend on communication skills to interact productively with colleagues, patients, caregivers, and consumers. This course provides students with the opportunity to participate in a range of activities focusing on researching, processing, and sharing medical information with others. Given our current evidence-based medical culture, students will learn to do research using medical databases and other research tools, as well as discover how best to organize and present their findings to other medical professionals. The healthcare professional must often act as intermediary between the specialized world of medical research and the more pragmatic world of patients and consumer. Consequently, this class also considers best practices for communication in clinical encounters, from the waiting room to the exam room, especially at the intersection of human contact and contemporary communication technologies.
How do cities--urban spaces--organize experience and meaning, and produce and reproduce social, cultural and economic relationships? How do we, as city dwellers, experience cities? How has that experience changed, from the European medieval city, through the Renaissance and Baroque period, to modernity, post-modernity, globalization? What is the relationship between city and society, and between urban space and power? How are cities (re) organized in the context of pandemics?
“This course will provide more depth on topics introduced in Apiculture I including beekeeping styles, colony stressors and yearly management. This course will also explore issues affecting the beekeeping industry including integrated pest management, pests/diseases, African bees, commercial pollination, queen production, bee removals and pesticides will be discussed.”
This course introduces students to Tolstoy's epic novel of life in Russia at the beginning of the 19th century. War and Peace is a profound meditation on the causes of war, the nature of human relationships, and, perhaps most importantly, the meaning of history itself. As we read War and Peace in its entirety, we will examine the origins of the novel in Tolstoy's early writing, and we will consider the historical, political, and social contexts of the events described: the Napoleonic Wars and the turbulent period fifty years later in which Tolstoy wrote War and Peace. Taught entirely in English. No prerequisites or knowledge of Russian required.
Quest 1
What is democracy and in what ways has this form of government changed since its birth in ancient Athens? This course offers a comparative approach to democracy (ancient and modern), tackling some of the most pressing issues of our times, illustrating political history and political theory: political thought in action.
What is music and how can understanding the musical elements of emotion deepen our appreciation for music and its influence on individual and collective experiences?
What does it mean to be wise and what does it mean to live heroically?
How do leaders use rhetoric to persuade others? What role does the art of rhetoric have in the making of politics, art, and community?
What effect does the magical have on our thinking and research pursuits?
How can stories teach us about the human condition?
Quest 2
Can science create new technologies that will address present bottlenecks in agricultural production while securing a healthy, equitable diet and minimizing impacts to the environment?
What is life, what are the conditions necessary for life, and where can we find those conditions in the universe?
Do people overestimate how much they know about the world and underestimate the role of chance in our lives? Are our subjective judgements biased? Are we too willing to believe findings based on too few observations and inadequate evidence?
How can experts/scientists apply AI-powered services/programs in communicating (social) scientific problems for the public?
These courses are discussion-oriented, one-credit seminars centered around an artistic performance or exhibit.
How do we understand the physical world around us? How can our environment influence every other part of our lives? These are big questions without easy answers. In this course we’ll approach these big questions by exploring how environmental science has been portrayed in recent popular film. We will watch, discuss, and dissect films from widely popular and award-winning filmmakers such as Christopher Nolan, Bong Joon-ho, Alexander Payne, and Alex Garland. During the course we will consider popcorn blockbusters, prestige dramas, low-brow comedies, and more to get the most robust and complete picture of how modern Hollywood portrays the environment. The course won’t have any substantial readings, but we will watch an assigned film every week. Class activities will include weekly Socratic discussions about the week’s film, occasional reflection essays, and a final project compiling your thoughts and conclusions at the end of the semester. In addition to the weekly class meeting, films will be screened each week on Tuesdays at 5:10pm. Attendance at this screening is not required, but if you do not attend the screening, you will need to watch the week’s film on your own.
The quintessential strong man of the ancient Greek and Roman world, the hero Hercules has remained a constant figure in media over the millennia. Who is Hercules? What’s his story? Did he really go “from zero to hero”? In this course, we’ll discover “the gospel truth” about Hercules as we “go the distance” and explore the changing media depictions of him across time and cultures, from the pottery, painting, and drama of the ancient world to modern television and film screens. The heroic Hercules used his strength, brains, and resolve to take on the twelve labors but also was involved in
many comic stories. With our primary focus on artistic depictions, we’ll also check out how Hercules appeared in ancient literature, especially drama. Modern media, on the other hand, tends to lean in more on Hercules’ heroic characteristics. We’ll explore three time periods of Hercules on screen: the mid-20th century, the turn of the millennium, and the 2010s. What can we learn from a fictional character who carries with him millennia of ‘baggage’? Why do stories about Hercules remain so popular across time and cultures?
Lichens are a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and a photosynthesizing partner. Their symbiosis in unique in that the lichen resembles neither the fungus or photosynthesizing partner. Lichens are easily overlooked due to their small size, but under a hand lens have an intricate morphology. The symbiosis and beauty of lichens has attracted the attention of multiple artists, including John Cage. The class explores the biology of lichens and how lichens are depicted in art and politics. Class periods will contain a mix of field trips, and discussion on the ecopoetics of lichens and their biology.
The lectures, readings, and videos explore the origins of American music through the Mississippi Delta and its movement to Chicago and beyond. The course examines how Delta Blues and its offshoots not only constructed our current music scene but also the social fabric of our culture. Class instruction includes field trips to local blues shows.
Dr. Ed Kellerman has taught The Roots of American Music: Blues and Beyond for the past six years in the Honors College. He is a professional guitarist and ethnomusicologist on Delta and Deep South blues, folk, and country blues genres. In retirement, Dr. Kellerman continues to research the origins and spread of American roots music throughout the US and world.
…Ready for it? In this class, students will fearlessly jump then fall into 13 gorgeous weeks of discussing Taylor Swift’s discography, with a focus on her evergreen songwriting, and draw parallels between Swift’s enchanting lyrics and fine art such as paintings, pottery, photographs, and more. Each week, students will be expected to keep their eyes open and examine closely in order to listen, discuss, reflect, argue, and write on themes such as heartbreak, coming of age, societal norms, and relationships. Students will collaborate with their peers to annotate lyrics, analyze themes, and participate in class discussions all too well. Students will participate in thematic assignments which include identifying inspirational artwork in Gainesville, creating their own artwork, and collaborating on a final class project. As we go through the course, we encourage you to think critically about the texts and the topics we encounter and to push your creativity. Achievement of the learning outcomes will be assessed through engagement in class discussions, artwork, an analytical blog post, and the final class project.
These courses are discussion-oriented, one-credit seminars centered around books from a variety of genres.
History + Biography
What is Mass Incarceration? When did mass incarceration begin? What is the relationship between crime, racism, and politics? Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness examines the racial inequality in the American justice system. Her book provided an in depth analysis of the connection between African American criminalization and public policy. Mass incarceration expanded during the 1980s under Ronald Regan''s War on Drugs, but according to historian Elizabeth Hinton mass incarceration began during the late sixties under Lyndon Baines Johnson. Johnson is known for his Great Society Programs, but during the late sixties he began a War on Crime and created federal policies that provided local law enforcement resources to fight crime. During the 1960s, the crime rate increased, but the federal government did not view the increase due to Black underemployment and racism they interpreted it as Black inherent criminality.
An 18th century country survey claiming to be more interesting and entertaining than the competition. An irreverent book, full of historical fact and possibly fiction, gossip and anecdotes. Written by a shady and obscure character, called an assassin and a fraud. This was one of the ways English readers were exposed to Ottoman realities, history, customs and opinions. It serves as an introduction to the Ottoman world, to the way it was viewed and studied by others, and to the craft and practices of writing large scale survey projects that try to describe everything you need to know.
Science (Non-Health) + Science Fiction
The Alchemy of Air: A Jewish Genius, a Doomed Tycoon, and the Scientific Discovery That Fed the World but Fueled the Rise of Hitler’ by Thomas Hager.
From the back cover of this book: “A sweeping history of tragic genius, cutting-edge science, and the Haber-Bosch discovery that changed billions of lives—including your own. At the dawn of the twentieth century, humanity was facing global disaster: Mass starvation was about to become a reality. A call went out to the world’s scientists to find a solution. This is the story of the two men who found it: brilliant, self-important Fritz Haber and reclusive, alcoholic Carl Bosch. Together they discovered a way to make bread out of air, built city-sized factories, and saved millions of lives.
But their epochal triumph came at a price we are still paying. The Haber-Bosch process was also used to make the gunpowder and explosives that killed millions during the two world wars. Both men were vilified during their lives; both, disillusioned and disgraced, died tragically.
The Alchemy of Air is the extraordinary, previously untold story of a discovery that changed the way we grow food and the way we make war–and that promises to continue shaping our lives in fundamental and dramatic ways.”
One does not have to be an expert in history or in chemistry to read and appreciate this book. Its author, Thomas Hager, a veteran science and medical writer knows how to tell dramatic stories about world-changing discoveries. His books have earned national recognition, including in 2017 the American Chemical Association's top writing award, the Grady-Stack Medal for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public.
After reading the book students will be familiar with the Haber-Bosch process, what it is, how it was developed, and its effects on world history in the 20th century and beyond. They will also be familiar with the lives of the two main protagonists in the story, Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch. Moreover, students will understand the implications of ‘fixed nitrogen’ on modern agriculture, industrial chemistry, and our environment.
During the first half of the semester we will read and discuss the book in student-led discussions. The second half of the semester will be dedicated to students’ own research on a topic of their interest related to the book. Each student will have the opportunity to share their insights with the rest of the class in a ~15-minute presentation.
"The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you" – Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson. Astrophysics is a burgeoning field even amongst STEM disciplines in the modern age. New science from the discovery of gravitational wave events to images from the James Webb Space Telescope that are revealing new features about even our own solar system have revolutionized our understanding of the universe. Despite this, many regard the cosmos as impossibly complex and difficult to understand (similar to how Dr. Tyson describes it above). The field of astrophysics regularly observes new phenomena that are not sufficiently explained by our current physical theories, and many remain unaware of the gravity (pun intended) of these discoveries. In this course we will cover the book "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry" by Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson. This text is a short expose on some core concepts and problems in modern astrophysics. Some discussions within the text include the origin and structure of the Universe, how gravity impacts the bodies in the sky, and phenomenological descriptions on things like light, dark matter, and dark energy. In this class, we will try to introduce students to the tremendously large field of astrophysics and push them to acquire scientific skills like the ability to reason through fundamental principles and how to read and digest peer-reviewed scientific literature.
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry - Syllabus
Rene Descartes (1596-1650) is one of the greatest thinkers in Western history. He is often credited as the “founder of modernity” due to his enormous influence on modern science and philosophy. Students will be familiar with his “Cartesian Coordinate System” from their study of geometry, and everyone knows his famous declaration “I think therefore I am.” Indeed, most people know the Latin, even if it’s the only piece of Latin they know: cogito ergo sum. But what does this iconic phrase really mean, and why does it matter?
In weekly 50-minute sessions, we will read and discuss the two most influential works of Descartes, collected in the volume Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy (Fourth Edition), translated by Donald A. Cress. We will consider such issues as: the motivations for Descartes’ quest for an absolutely certain foundation for human knowledge; his method of “radical doubt,” which questions the true reality of the external world and the things in it; his discovery of the Cogito as the sought-after foundation for knowledge; his arguments for the existence of God, and their relation to the Cogito; his views on the differences between humans, animals, and machines; his influence on modern science; and his legacy in the later history of philosophy, especially vis-à-vis the “transcendental turn” of Immanuel Kant, the “phenomenological turn” of Edmund Husserl, and the “existential turn” of Martin Heidegger.
We will contextualize Descartes backwards, as well as forwards, in history—for example, by considering how his doubting of the reality of the external world is not only an inspiration for contemporary “simulation theory” and movies like The Matrix, but also an evolution of Plato’s Cave Allegory. Throughout the course, we will strive to apply what we read to our own lives and times.
By the end of this course, you may become convinced that you exist and that the world around you is real, or you may come to doubt this more radically—but either way, you’ll have read one of the most famous books in the history of philosophy, and you will have learned how to think about these issues more precisely and in dialog with the great thinkers of the Western tradition.
Allen Porter is a philosopher with wide-ranging interests. He is a postdoctoral associate at the University of Florida’s Hamilton Center and will assume the position of Assistant Professor of Philosophy in the Center for Arts and Letters at the University of Austin in July 2025. His research focuses on the philosophy of Martin Heidegger, phenomenology, and the history of philosophy, as well as contemporary politics, bioethics, and issues of transhumanism and posthumanism. He is currently editing a volume on Phenomenology and Posthumanisms for Springer Nature’s Philosophical Studies in Contemporary Culture book series. He has previously taught UF Uncommon Reads on Plato, Machiavelli, Rousseau, and Heidegger.
Descartes Meditations - Syllabus
The Hunger Games trilogy has become a classic in the short time it has been published. It has value because of its roots in cultural history. Cultural History is best characterized as a discussion of representation and the struggle over meaning within social constructs. The book has an interplay of class, politics, and ethics. Some of the discussion topics will include oppression, feminism, rebellion and government marketing. Although this universe is a fictional one, it offers students a chance to discuss pressing issues in another context. Panem has numerous problems aside from its rigid regime. This class will focus on cultural history by discussing the politics of The Hunger Games trilogy. We will tackle topics like whether Katniss is a feminist, disparities in wealth distribution, political philosophy, and the oppression of some of the districts.
Patricia Takacs joined the University of Florida Smathers Libraries in 2022 as the Political Science Librarian. In addition to the Political Science department she is the liaison to the Tourism and Hospitality department, the Bob Graham Center for Public Policy, the Election Science Group, and the Center for Global Islamic Studies. She earned her Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree from the University of Tennessee Knoxville, and her Bachelor's of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Southern Maine. She is currently a PhD student of languages and literacy in the Education department at the University of Florida. Patricia is a member of the Association of College & Research Libraries and American Library Association where she is a co-editor of the PPIRS (Politics, Policy and International Relations Section) newsletter. Patricia is known for her dedication to teaching and to enhancing students' information literacies. She assists students and faculty with research navigating law, policy, and political issues. She provides reference services, and information literacy/library instruction. Patricia’s research interests include civic literacies, agricultural policy issues and the influence of media on information literacy/behavior.
Insects and plants are intimately connected and have been so for 300 million years. During this time, the evolutionary arms-race between the two groups has produced examples of co-existence more fantastic than any science-fiction. During this course, we will use the textbook to stimulate more in- depth discussions of diverse topics linked to insect-plant interactions, including co-evolution, chemical ecology, predator-prey relationships, mimicry, natural selection, camouflage, host-mediated speciation and adaptive radiation. In addition to lectures and discussion sessions, students will have a chance to visit the collections of the Florida Museum of Natural History and of the Division of Plant Industry, in addition to the Natural Area Teaching Laboratory located behind the Florida Museum of Natural History, and the Chemical Ecology Laboratory of USDA. Students will gain an appreciation and understanding of the evolution of two of the most important groups of organisms on the planet, in addition to developing their ability to think critically about scientific research. This course is intended to stimulate interest in the natural world, in which insects and plants form the great majority of species, and there are no prerequisites beyond a fascination in the diversity of life.
This course is based on the book How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence by Michael Pollan, which presents a review of the use of psychedelic drugs throughout human history, including in religious practices in various cultures and the US countercultural movement of the 1960s. The course will require a mature perspective on drug use. Students can expect to participate in frank discussions around the effects of psychedelic drugs under a variety of conditions. The course does not in any way advocate the casual use of psychedelic or other drugs.
Honors students interested in subjects as far-ranging as spirituality, therapeutic treatments, the history of medicine, brain neurotransmitters, psychiatric illnesses, and consciousness should find something of interest in this course.
The class will be structured around weekly discussion of the book and students will be evaluated based on class participation and two 1200-word papers.
Regan Garner (rlgarner@ufl.edu) is an Associate Director in the Honors Program where she coordinates internal scholarship programs. Ms. Garner works closely with the UF International Center’s offices of International Student Services and Study Abroad and was named UF’s International Educator of the Year in 2016.
Dr. Lou Ritz (lritz@ufl.edu) is on the faculty of the Department of Neuroscience in the McKnight Brain Institute, a former director for Clinical Neuroscience which is taken by second year medical students, and the director of the UF Center for Spirituality and Health (www.spiritualityandhealth.ufl.edu). Dr. Ritz was selected by Honors students as the 2018 Honors Professor of the Year.
The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin is an award-winning science-fiction novel, originally written in Chinese, that dives deep into philosophical questions about civilization, communication, and ethical decision-making. In this course, students will attempt to answer such questions through collaborative group discussions, brief homework assignments, and a cumulative final project.
Kira is a fourth-year Honors student majoring in Chemistry and Marine Sciences. She is a sci-fi enthusiast, and has been taking UnCommon Reads courses since she was a freshman.
The Three-Body Problem - Syllabus
Sea turtles are among the most magnificent megafauna we encounter in the ocean. The story of these iconic creatures is one of survival and resilience, especially in today’s world. In this course we will cover the book 'The Voyage of the Turtle' by Carl Safina, which explores the plight of sea turtles and how human intervention has impacted both positively and negatively these animals and their ecosystems. During weekly discussions (from book readings and with invited speakers) students will learn not only about sea turtles but also about the scientific, political, and cultural challenges encountered while conducting marine conservation around the world. This will provide students with a better understanding of current issues faced in the marine environment and help them reflect on what the ocean means to them and what steps they can take to make a positive impact on the marine environment.
Voyage of the Turtle - Syllabus
In this course, we will read stories that span millennia and delve into the lives of greatly different characters. From Greek philosopher to a girl on a spaceship, we will time travel from the ancient past to an unimaginable future. Ultimately, we will be in the hands of a masterful writer who crafts a story about the power of books and stories to connect us all. Class time will be rich student-led discussions, written reader responses, and a final multimedia project.
Health
The re-emergence of research into psychedelic therapy coincides with an expanded awareness of mental health issues in the United States and abroad. In this Uncommon Reads, students will have the opportunity to discuss the design and concepts of “set” and “setting” in therapeutic milieus, especially those created for emerging treatment models in expanded mental healthcare. The selected book was published in 2020 and offers a grounded depiction of the science and sociocultural depictions of “psychedelics” at work now in healthcare, government legislation, and popular culture.
Dr. Craig Smith is an artist and theorist working at the intersection of the arts and expanded mental healthcare. His 2024 book: RELATIONAL ART: A GUIDED TOUR was published by Bloomsbury. Smith is the Chief Culture Officer at Control-Z Health, LLC; a clinical and therapeutic healthcare business in Boston, Massachusetts specializing in treatment for PTSD and Depression.
Drugs by themselves are neither good or bad – it is ultimately how they are used that will lead humans to label them as such. Oliver Grundmann, PhD, has researched both synthetic and natural drugs with mind-altering effects for over a decade. Those who have been used for hundreds of years as part of traditional medicine and rituals are often mis- or abused in modern society. Others are solely intended to either create a fantastic escape from reality or get the user hooked to cause a substance use disorder. Numerous personal accounts and the scientific literature are a testament to this growing problem of what is commonly called “addiction”. But there is more to it as seen through the eyes of a researcher. Accompany Dr. Grundmann as he discusses the landscape, effects, and impact of drugs on the individual and society.
This course is based on the book “The Emotional Life of Your Brain: How Its Unique Patterns Affect the Way You Think Feel, and Live – and How You Can Change Them” by Richard Davidson, Ph.D.
Dr. Davidson is a professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Dr. Davidson is one of world’s leading authorities of neuropsychology and of mindfulness-based meditation systems. The book explores the brain mechanisms of our six “Emotional Styles” – Resilience, Outlook, Social Intuition, Self-awareness, Sensitivity to Context, and Attention.
Honors students with interests in psychology, medicine, emotions, brain structures and functions, health, mind-brain-body connections, neuroplasticity and/or meditation experiences will find this course engrossing.
This course is a student-centered discussion class. The final grade will be based on two 1200-word essays and on class participation.
Dr. Lou Ritz (lritz@ufl.edu) is on the faculty of the Department of Neuroscience within the McKnight Brain Institute and the College of Medicine. Dr. Ritz is the former director of Clinical Neuroscience, a course taken by second year medical students. He is the director of the University of Florida Center for Spirituality and Health (www.spiritualityandhealth.ufl.edu) and was selected by Honors students as the 2018 Honors Professor of the Year.
Follow the journey of a 19 year man who endured a two-month long medically induced coma, yet he could hear, see and feel throughout the experience. Explore what he has to say to health care professionals based on his unique experience.
This course transcends the traditional boundaries of area-studies, humanities, stem sciences, and medicine by offering a closed reading of the Cannon of Medicine and the Book of Healing by Avicenna -- (980-1037), a polymath and founding figure in several multiple disciplines including medicine, theology, and logic.
Dr. Sahin is a specialist in international operations and ethno-religious interactions. He received his Ph.D. from McGill University and is the recipient of research and teaching awards, including Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, U.S. Project Global Officer Program, and the University of Florida’s Teacher of the Year Award.
Dr. Paul Kalanithi, a 36-year-old neurosurgeon and writer on the cusp of graduating from residency at Stanford, receives a life-shattering diagnosis: stage IV lung cancer. Dr. Kalanithi's rattling memoir "When Breath Becomes Air" is split into two sections: pre-diagnosis and post-diagnosis. Dr. Kalanithi first recounts his decision to pursue medicine, and the trials of medical school and residency. Dr. Kalanithi's background as an avid reader and his BA and MA in English literature result in an insightful account of his journey to becoming a doctor. This part of the book will allow students a greater understanding of the realities of medical school and residency. The second half of the book sees Dr. Kalanithi question the meaning of his life and process his newly heightened mortality. Citing poets, scientists, and novelists, Dr. Kalanithi searches for answers as he beautifully portrays the heartbreaking aftermath of a terminal diagnosis. If you knew that you only had a limited amount of time left, what would you devote your final days to? Dr. Kalanithi grapples with this exact question, only for him- it is not hypothetical. As students read this Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, they will engage in meaningful discussions about the reality of becoming a physician and life after a terminal diagnosis.
Literature
Are you ready to dive into Infinite Jest? Whether this infamous novel has been gathering dust on your bookshelf for years or you've just heard it's a must-read without knowing why, this class is designed to inspire you to finally explore this modern American classic. We will read and discuss the novel's sprawling narrative, which takes us from tennis courts to rehabilitation centers and beyond. Along the way, you'll encounter a cast of unforgettable characters, including undercover agents in drag, French Canadian terrorists, and enigmatic radio hosts. At the heart of the story lies a mysterious film so captivating that viewers can't tear themselves away. This course is perfect for readers who enjoy stories about sports, addiction, complex family dynamics, and richly detailed world-building.
A.B. Yehoshua’s The Lover (1977) is a truly unique novel, constructed from a series of monologues by six characters spanning three generations and four nationalities. The novel features a successful garage owner who resents his family; his introverted wife, a high school history teacher, who may no longer love him; their rebellious teenage daughter who witnesses the collapse of her parents’ relationship; an Arab boy who works at the garage and recites Hebrew poetry; a deserter, an Israeli who moved to France and returns seeking his dying grandmother’s fortune—and the grandmother herself, demented yet wise, embodying the voice of ancient Jewish histories. In this course, we will unpack Yehoshua’s innovative and challenging novel. We will begin by situating ourselves in the contemporary Israeli context before delving into the book’s monologues, exploring the trials and tribulations of three generations, and the cultural divides both within and beyond it. Our discussions will engage with the history and fate of the Jewish people in exile, Jewish identity, the state of Israel, and the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We will also address how the conflict shapes the characters' lives and worldviews, and raise personal questions about the structure of identity: How do we define and present ourselves in relation to religion, race, ethnicity, nationality, and mainstream culture? How do external forces like community, family, and prescribed notions of destiny affect our lives and free will? This (Un)Common Reads course marks the two-year anniversary of Yehoshua’s passing. The celebrated novelist, essayist, and playwright was described by the New York Times as the “Israeli Faulkner.” Students will familiarize themselves with Yehoshua's literary inspirations and his philosophical reflections on Jewish and Israeli identity, the state of Israel, and the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict through supplemental readings and discussions.
The last of Jane Austen's novels, Persuasion—the story of a second chance at true love—is widely regarded as the most moving. While pursuing the captivating love story of Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth, the reader learns about some of the most pressing questions of the human condition: How ought we to live? What do we owe each other?
Shakespeare's 154 Sonnets, printed in 1609, trace a drama which some have read as autobiographical. The first 126 sonnets portray a poet with deep admiration for a "fair young man," while the final 28 poems comprise the "dark lady" sequence, with satirical poems telling a story of moral and artistic instability. In this course we will closely read all the sonnets, studying Shakespeare's poetic art and his place in Renaissance poetry. We will examine the sonnet as a literary art form and discover Shakespeare's original contributions to the genre.
Madeline Miller's critically acclaimed debut novel The Song of Achilles explores the heartfelt, enchanting, and ultimately immortal relationship between the eponymous ancient Greek hero and the mortal—but equally divine—protagonist, Patroclus. Drawing upon her extensive academic background in ancient Greek, as well as her knowledge of and affinity for theatre, Miller offers a compelling, queered retelling of the (hi)story of the Trojan War in the style of ancient Greek tragedy, no climax, trough, character arc, or pivotal shift held back. By way of the detail-rich, carefully crafted relationship between Patroclus and Achilles, the authoress takes us back to circa 1200 BCE to explore timeless themes such as (queer) love, loss, complicated relationships, the beauty of nature, the tragedies of war, belonging, adolescent angst, personal development, and the struggles of parent-child fealty and divergence. Drawing upon an interdisciplinary framework including such fields as classics, English literature, anthropology, sociology, history, and linguistics, this course will foster critical analysis and discussion of the text and its context as a means to view and understand the human past, present, and future—and the unique propensity for feeling inherent therein. Indeed, though the discipline of archaeology reminds us of contemporaneous society's epistemic power to create chosen presentations of the past in the present, one must also recognize that queer love and its stories are as old and original to humanity as life itself. The Song of Achilles provides the perfect entrée into said recognition.
In this course, we will read stories that span millennia and delve into the lives of greatly different characters. From Greek philosopher to a girl on a spaceship, we will time travel from the ancient past to an unimaginable future. Ultimately, we will be in the hands of a masterful writer who crafts a story about the power of books and stories to connect us all. Class time will be rich student-led discussions, written reader responses, and a final multimedia project.
Homer's Iliad resonates with us today because the work explores what it means to be human, what we need to do for others, and what we ought to do when we are wronged. It reveals all the greatness of humanity and exposes all of its foibles. In his telling of the Trojan War, Homer invites his audience to ask what it means to be a hero, who is and who is not a hero, and how to judge what is right and what is wrong.
Society + Culture + Politics
In this course we read Edward Abbey's hilarious, thrilling, and deeply serious novel The Monkey Wrench Gang (1975). Abbey, no less committed to environmental efforts, forms a sharp contrast to the ecological and ethical reverence found in the mediation of Leopold’s Sand County Almanac. Throughout his work which spans across the genres of memoir and novel (Desert Solitaire being his other well-known work), Abbey articulates a quintessential late 20th Century American environmentalism that borrows more from anarchist politics and ethics than any of his American predecessors. Totally alien to the environmental politics of today, Abbey’s version will constantly have your assumptions of environmental ethics shifting, changing, and questioned. That is not to say that the novel entirely consists of musings on political activism, environmentalism, and the necessity of an irreverent spirit in the face of totalitarian technologies, technocracy, and environmental bureaucracy (Abbey’s main enemy was the National Parks Service). Students will be distracted from the more pedantic points by the expressed and captured beauty of the Utah landscape that serves as the setting of the drama and characters. Through a blend of literary analysis, historical context, and environmental critique, students will gain a deeper understanding of Abbey's provocative vision and its relevance to contemporary discussions on activism and conservation.
Tim is a PhD student in political science. He studies political theory, specifically. With various techniques of criticism derived from German Idealism, psychoanalysis, and Derrida, he theorizes about the United States Intelligence Community, the nature of the political in the United States, fascism, emergency politics, and the connection between erotics and politics. Before coming to UF, he earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy, a masters degree in the history of philosophy from Marquette University and another in political science from UW-Milwaukee.
This course delves into James McBride's The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, exploring its complex themes of race, religion, disability, and community. Set in mid-20th century Pennsylvania, the novel brings together Black, Jewish, and disabled characters navigating societal marginalization. Through close readings, class discussions, reflective writing, and creative expression, students will examine McBride’s portrayal of solidarity, survival, and justice in the face of oppression. The course will emphasize critical thinking about intersectionality and historical context while connecting the novel's themes to contemporary social issues.
What is justice? What is equity? Is it even possible to identify or measure these concepts? In this class we will address (though maybe not fully answer) these questions by reading and discussing the book Creating Capabilities by Martha Nussbaum, who is one of the most important and powerful contemporary philosophers still writing and thinking today. Nussbaum’s book introduces the concept of the “capabilities approach” which is a theory of justice she developed along with Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen. We’ll consider the role of dignity and pluralism within a framework of democracy, we’ll think about whether and how the state should be involved in ensuring fairness, and we’ll ask “who decides?” what is fair and just and good within a society. This seminar style, discussion-based course is ideal for students with an interest or background in the humanities, for STEM students looking to balance their curriculum, for pre-law and pre-health students interested in issues of justice and dignity, and for anyone who enjoys reading and discussing a good book.
Creating Capabilities - Syllabus
This course will aim to provide an overview of the intersection of politics, migration, and electronic music using the UK as the main case study. The book, Bass, Mids, Tops by Joe Muggs, provides an oral history of soundsystem culture in the UK through 25 interviews with prominent DJs, producers, and promoters. The interviews establish a timeline, documenting the chronological development of electronic music and soundsystem culture from the arrival of the Caribbean immigrants into the UK in the middle of the 20th century.
Bio: Alumni of the UF Honors College, and a current graduate student in the Masters of Sustainable Development Program conducting research on climate adaptation and climate migration in the South Pacific.
Electronic Dance Music and the Politics of Migration - Syllabus
Fairy tales, in their fantastical fiction, provide something very real: the transmission of cultural values, morals, and messages. However, these tales as old as time promote dated attitudes of gender, power, and relationships. Feminist retellings such as Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted uncovers the problematic gender roles and expectations inherent in Grimm’s Cinderella and subverts them, transforming historical messages of obedience and passivity into a curse thrust upon the heroine that she alone must overcome. In this course, we will thoroughly read and analyze Cinderella and Ella Enchanted, both identifying the original cultural values and messaging and highlighting Levine’s feminist subversion. Further, through the incorporation of supplementary academic articles, we will uncover the tenuous relationship between feminism and fairy tales, the importance of children’s literature, and ultimately decide if feminism and fairy tales can co-exist.
Katherine is a senior dual majoring in Philosophy and Women's Studies. As a peer instructor, Katherine is passionate engaging students in meaningful discussions on societal norms, power structures, and cultural messaging. Having worked with children in diverse contexts, Katherine is interested in taking a critical understanding of children's education and children's rights—informing her creation of her UnCommon Read. After graduation, she plans to pursue a career in Education or non-profit work.
Feminism and Fairytales - Syllabus
“A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor”, by Hank Green, follows the characters from “An Absolutely Remarkable Thing”, in which April May made first contact with Carl and became instantly famous as a result. In this course, we will read “A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor” during the semester and explore questions of identity, power, technology, and the decisions that we collectively take and the future of humanity. Each week students will be expected to read the assigned section and supplementary material in order to participate in class discussion. Students will also have small in-class projects like drawing scenes from the book and making memes based on the characters’ experiences. Students will write 2 online discussion posts: an introduction and an analysis of themes. At the end of the semester, students will work with a partner to create a final project of their choosing.
Beautifully Foolish Endeavor - Syllabus
"The Life You Can Save" by Peter Singer is a fascinating deconstruction of the current status quo of global inequality. This book seeks to break down the psychological and socioeconomic barriers to charitable giving amongst developed nations. In turn, Singer makes his argument that the average middle-class person can make a tremendous tangible difference in the developing world. Students in this course will engage with the current landscape of philanthropy through the lens of their own experiences and develop a greater understanding of standards for aid and the apathy that sometimes accompanies it. Students will consider Singer’s assessments as well as a variety of perspectives from outside authors and philosophers.
The world community has made tremendous strides in alleviating debilitating poverty, but there are still more people living off less than $1.90 a day globally than there are people in all of North America. How did it get this way? And what can I, a regular student at the University of Florida, do to end this? This is surely above my paygrade, right? In this course you will learn how truly nothing is too little, and we can all play a role in the creation of a more just society. Most of the global efforts to eliminate poverty have been taken within our lifetimes (after the year 2000), and students will gain an understanding of the work that has been done and the work we have left to do.
Dr. Joel B. Harley is an Associate Professor with the UF Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. He also runs the SmartData Lab where he creates new diagnostic systems and data-driven models for clients such as the Department of Energy and the US Air Force. He received his Ph. D & M.S in Electrical & Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.
Rafae Jamal is a fifth-year Accounting major pursuing his Master of Accountancy Degree at UF. Along with Dr. Harley, he taught this course before in Fall 2023 and is thrilled to be back! He is part of the Honors Mindfulness Learning Community and is currently studying for his CPA exams. He one day hopes to get his PhD in economics and work in academia, but before that he plans to work for KPMG as a corporate auditor. In his free time, he loves listening to music and reading.
Consider this grocery list: eggs, bread, cheese, puppy food, stain remover, beer. For ourselves, the grocery list organizes an experience, spells out a specific goal; when the list belongs to someone else, a bit more story glimmers between the words. Can we plan a day without a list of activities? Do vacations work without a packing list? What is a NASA rocket launch without the countdown? In The Checklist Manifesto, author Atul Gawande builds a case for the checklist as a literal saver-of-lives. Gawande is a surgeon. This book includes vivid – some might say, “graphic” – descriptions of medical procedures through which the checklist becomes a hero. In class, we will consider the impact of (check)lists for ourselves: are we trapped or liberated by the act of writing each thing down? What do checklists say about their writers?
The internet is not neutral; it is informed by the values of programmers, consumers, and society. This course will explore Saifya Noble's Algorithms of Oppression to understand how search engines like Google reaffirm bias and create identity.
While many aspects of societal life have been moving away from traditional forms of religion, it seems that humans just can't refrain from seeking meaning-making experiences. Through a close read of Tara Isabella Burton's book Strange Rites: New Religions in a Godless World, this class will seek to gain clarity on what we actually mean by the concept of religion, and to understand the various remixed forms of meaning-making that have emerged. Is religion making a comeback in a world that has mostly gone secular? Or are we remaking religion in new forms of spirituality? Is there room for the sacred in the midst of the profane? Turns out with the fading of traditional religion, space has been made for what might best be called the "remixing of religion".
Todd Best is a faculty member in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences where he works as an Academic Advisor and teaches. A long-time instructor of Uncommon Read courses, he has taught on issues ranging several areas of the humanities and social sciences, including on the topics of media literacy, higher education, ecological literature, the self, and the common good. He received a master’s degree in religious studies from the University of Florida, focusing on religious pluralism and educational philosophy.
This course explores the themes of gender roles, identity, and the politics of technology as explored in Ira Levin's novel, The Stepford Wives, a foundational text in feminist literature that critically examines the intersection of feminism and technology. Students will analyze the portrayal of suburban life in the 1970s, focusing on how the novel critiques the idealized roles of women and the implications of conformity and autonomy in a rapidly changing technological landscape. Key topics include the construction of femininity and masculinity, the impact of artificiality on human relationships, how technology can both liberate and oppress, environmentalism, pharmaceuticals and psychiatry, the preservation of youth, and the pursuit of beauty. The course will also explore how the novel balances feminist satire and horror. In doing so, we will aim to answer questions such as: Where can we draw the line between satire and real life, or perhaps better stated, the horrors of real life? Can we find horror in the mundane, or is the mundane, at times, horrific itself? Is it better to be robotic in our day-to-day life or to be, as one character exclaims, “rushed, sloppy, irritated, and alive?”
Juliana is a PhD candidate in political science, in which she studies American Politics. Specifically, her research focuses on what factors of individuals’ political lives shape their political behavior. Before attending UF, she earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Spanish at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. She received her master’s degree in Political Science from UF in the Spring of 2024.
Yanis Varoufakis’s Technofeudalism is a compelling read for those curious about how Big Tech has transformed our world. Varoufakis argues that traditional capitalism has been replaced by a new system where tech giants, like Amazon and Google, operate like digital feudal lords. Every time you use platforms like TikTok, you contribute to their power without even realizing it. Drawing parallels to the feudal era, he explores how today’s tech giants, or “cloudalists,” exert control much like medieval barons, not by producing goods, but by extracting value from users and smaller capitalists through monopolistic access to platforms. This work presents a vital framework for understanding the evolution of global capitalism and the rise of tech-enabled rent-seeking, offering insights into the socio-economic forces shaping today’s “algorithmic” economy.
Kevin Artiga has worked as a technical communication professional for a variety of organizations in medicine, software development, and cultural resource management. His doctoral research is in technical and business communication, computational media theory, and migration studies.
Why are we called the Gators? What is Century Tower’s purpose? What are the oldest buildings on campus? How did UF begin? The University of Florida has a long, storied history that begs to be explored. In this course, we will do a deep dive into materials held in the University Archives to explore how these materials tell the story of UF, including those silent, undocumented stories that were excluded from the narrative. We will explore how these materials create the story of community and identity for the students at UF. You will be able to discuss your own story here at UF, and think of ways to share your story for the future. How will your experiences today be reflected in UF’s future? What kinds of stories will be told and how will they be told? How can we fill in the gaps in the archival record to ensure all aspects of a story are told? These are some of the many questions we will explore in this course. The course will include short reflections, discussion posts, and a final project. No previous archives experience or knowledge is necessary, and this course is open to anyone with an interest in learning more about the history of UF.
Sarah Coates, CA, is the University Archivist at the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida. As University Archivist, she saves, secures, and shares the story and history of the University of Florida. To achieve this goal, her work includes acquiring and processing records of enduring historical and administrative value from institutional units, faculty, staff, students, and campus organizations at UF. She has worked at the University of Florida’s University Archives since 2018, becoming University Archivist in 2022. Prior to coming to UF, she worked at Oklahoma State University’s Special Collections and University Archives and taught freshman composition at several universities in Ohio and Oklahoma. She received her Master’s in Library and Information Studies from the University of Oklahoma and her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in English Literature from Wright State University in Dayton, OH. She is also a Certified Archivist through the Academy of Certified Archivists.
Class meets in Smathers 208
Untold Stories: UF History - Syllabus
This uncommon read course is based on the book “The Nonprofit World: Civil Society and the Rise of the Nonprofit Sector,” by John Casey (2016). This book traces the growth of nonprofit sector as a major part of the global civil society. Students will learn the roles, importance and impacts of the nonprofit sector (also known as the Third Sector) locally, nationally and internationally in providing a wide array of vital social, environmental and other services. Assignments will include student-led discussions on various sections of the book and case study presentations by students.
This course focuses on native Floridian, anthropologist, folklorist, and Harlem Renaissance great, Zora Neale Hurston and her classic novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. It is a novel about a young woman’s fight to find herself despite societal pressures that want to constrain her, mold her, and fit her into a person outside herself. Set in rural Florida in the mid-1930s, Janie Crawford’s story is a powerful exploration of identity, resilience, and the quest for autonomy in a society marked by racial and gendered oppression. This class will use Their Eyes Were Watching God as the primary text, and we will also use the 2005 film, and other resources related to the life and work of Zora Neale Hurston, and those who have written about similar themes to understand how Hurston’s legacy of interrogating and celebrating the rich hues of everyday life still live in contemporary society. We will also plan to travel to the Zora! Festival and the Zora Neale Hurston Museum in Eatonville, Florida. The Zora! Festival is a yearly festival to celebrate the life and work of Zora Neale Hurston. We will also have occasional guest speakers. Students will discuss the book and the supplementary resources and tie the contents to current events. This course is especially timely since The UF George A. Smathers Libraries in partnership with the Alachua County Library District, and the UF College of the Arts, have created a Big Read for the book, which is a year-long celebration of Zora Neale Hurston and the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.
Dr. Riché J. Daniel Barnes is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Associate Director of African American Studies here at the University of Florida. She is also an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Gender, Sexualities, and Women’s Studies, and the Center for African Studies. Dr. Barnes previously served as dean of Pierson College at Yale University, where she continues to be a faculty affiliate in education studies. Her teaching and research specializations are at the intersection of black feminist theories, work and family policy, and African Diasporic raced, gendered, and classed identity formation. Her book, Raising the Race: Black Career Women Redefine Marriage, Motherhood, and Community (Rutgers University Press 2015), in which she developed the conceptual tool “Black Strategic Mothering,” won the 2017 Distinguished Book Award for the Race, Gender, Class section of the American Sociological Association. Her research has appeared in numerous scholarly books, journals, and mass media news outlets. She has been awarded fellowships from the Ford, Sloan, and Mellon Foundations. She is also the recipient of the AAA/Oxford University Press Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching of Anthropology award (2019), and the Association of Black Anthropologists was awarded the 2020 American Anthropological Association President’s Award during her tenure as president. Current projects include applying “Black strategic mothering” to an understanding of multigenerational views on gender and motherhood among U.S. Black women from West Africa and the Caribbean; how Black women navigate school choice in the U.S.; and the expansion of her essay, “She Was a Twin: Black Strategic Mothering, Race-Work, and the Politics of Survival” which investigates the effects of “race-work” on Black women’s perinatal health disparities.
Business + Economics
Sustainable and responsible business practices are increasingly appreciated, if not expected, in all sectors of business in the 21st century, yet many firms of all sizes struggle to operate in just, green fashions. Concern about the causes and impacts of climate change, labor inequality, international exploitation, and pollution are arguably at an all-time high, but business solutions are often public relations strategies as much as actual operational changes aimed at minimizing the impacts of these global-scale problems. So, what is a business to do? Is it even possible to conduct business sustainably in the 21st century? Answering that question will be the central goal of this course. Based around the memoir of Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, we will explore the philosophies that can drive a business to operate in just and sustainable ways, what those decisions mean for a business’s positive and negative outcomes, and what this all means for us as customers and consumers as well. Coursework will include weekly Socratic discussions, occasional short reflection essays, and a presentation.
Other
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer is a profound exploration of the interconnectedness between humans and the natural world, blending Indigenous wisdom with scientific knowledge. In this class you'll have the chance to reflect critically on key themes: Reciprocity in nature, environmental stewardship, and cultural identity and heritage; we will have open dialogues on these topics, provide opportunities for student-lead discussion, and participate in local environmental projects. Join us in exploring Kimmerer’s blend of Indigenous wisdom, ecological insights, and personal stories while reflecting on our own values, beliefs, and relationship with the natural world around us!
Racheal is an advisor for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and works with residential and Promise students. As a first-generation college student, Racheal graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Western Oregon University, and went on to graduate school at Oregon State University (OSU). At OSU she studied Human Development and Family Sciences, and researched Native American Student Success. Before coming to UF, Racheal was an advisor for a TRIO SSS program, serving students who were first generation college students, students with a low-income background, and students with disabilities. Racheal’s favorite part of advising is getting to know students and seeing them thrive. Outside of work, she enjoys exploring Florida with her family, traveling, photography, journaling, and all things nature!
Braiding Sweetgrass - Syllabus
Ostensibly a novel about an open-and-shut murder case on an island in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada, this is a story with echoes into the history of another group of islands 3,000 miles to the east, the Outer Hebrides – Eilean Siar – of Scotland. “Entry Island” provides readers with the opportunity to not only enjoy the mystery, but also to dive deeper into the history of many of the ordinary Scots who settled in North America during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Journal 29, by Dimitris Chassapakis, is a collection of original, escape-room-like puzzles centered around the mysterious disappearance of a team of excavators working on a confidential project. The book requires readers to submit solutions online in order to receive “keys” that they need to solve some subsequent puzzles. Students in this course will engage with the book through frequent collaborative puzzle-solving. They will also discuss elements of good puzzles, the importance of diversity on puzzle-solving teams, the role of a storyline in puzzle-based games, and the ways in which puzzle-solving and logic connect to careers in a wide range of disciplines. Additionally, students will use their experiences with the puzzles in Journal 29 to create their own themed puzzle book game as a class.
(Un)Common Writes courses are 1-credit themed writing workshops taught by University Writing Program faculty. These courses allow students the opportunity to work 1:1 with experienced instructors while stretching their writing muscles, inspiring their creative side, and releasing their inner writer.
This course challenges students to express their digital identities through multimodal writing techniques. We will explore the role of digital identity and how it is shaped by the platforms we use, analyzing platform-specific storytelling and considering the impact of our digital footprints and online legacies. Through a blend of personal essays, digital storytelling, and visual narratives, students will build a digital portfolio that critically and creatively engages with their online identities, culminating in a collaborative digital anthology that showcases their work.
Beyond the end of writing, our probes and transmissions will transit the stars. The symbolic rhetorics of our messages at once indicate the significance of priorities and serve to mark by absence what might have been different. By interpreting the messages, analyzing their formation and genre, and reading their history, we will come to fully appreciate the elements of scientific semiosis to prepare for the course project: crafting a message with AI.
Many types of media tell stories: novels, movies, and plays, of course, but also blogs, podcasts, advertisements, journals, newspapers, games, and music. In this course, we will examine stories that have been “remediated” from one genre into another, including dramatic plays remediated into Broadway musicals, albums remediated into movies, and even poems remediated into comic books. Then, you will remediate writing that we workshop as a class into other genres of your choosing. You don’t need a background in creative writing or any particular software, film, or other types of media production, but you will need to be open to trying out new ideas and pushing yourself out of what you might imagine to be your comfort zone. Possible “texts” include: Tommy, My Fair Lady, and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Assignments will include the production of your own writing in several traditional academic genres (think: essays, presentations, Canvas posts) that you will then adapt into the forms of your choosing.
Ethan Mollick of "co-intelligence" fame claims that to make AI/LLMs work for you, you must learn how to help them work with you. The key is prompting — using the right set of instructions so the program understands what you want it to do. Moreover, Mollick encourages prompting experimentation to accomplish goals, but the average number of attempts to achieve complex work is THIRTY-TWO. In the spirit of curiosity and experimentation, let's spend a semester using UF's suite of LLMs to write prompts. Let's see what it takes to "get the machine" to do the work you'd like it to do. In the interests of transparency, I am NOT an expert in AI. Like you, I'm learning how to use this new technology tool and struggling to find the time to do so effectively. How about we learn together? We'll collectively create a toolkit of inquiries to effectively direct our co-intellects to accomplishing at least one useful thing.
Mickey Schafer is the Associate Director of the University Writing Program. Professionally, she describes herself as follows: "a lapsed linguist teaching discipline-specific prose to undergrads, grads, and faculty. I practice this as a species of applied linguistics – part anthropology, part composition studies, part discourse analysis. I am particularly fascinated by the relationship between communicating within a field and developing a professional identity within a field...how does writing in discipline-specific forms impact emerging professionals? Does 'talking the talk' really help someone learn how to 'walk the walk'?"
Prompt & Circumstance - Syllabus
The course focuses on producing short stories based on personal memories that will promote personal growth and also appeal to a broader audience. We will discuss components of a good story, including tone, diction, theme, structure, and imagery. The class will include a journal focusing on specific daily moments, extensive workshopping, and culminate in a longer memoir.
In this course we will explore the lavish history of language’s connection to the magical and mystical: From the drafting of spells, prayers, and mantras to experimenting playfully with the variety of ways words mediate the world, however visible its forms and figures. And whether we seek to enrich our communicatory capacity or quiet it in the service of nature’s veiled voice, our access to and agency with the mysterious requires above all, the measured cultivation of curiosity. Let us proceed!
Courses created specifically for honors students that cross and combine disciplines
In today’s world of uncertainty and burnout in healthcare settings, health practitioners must practice having good emotional intelligence to assist patients, community members, stakeholders, and other healthcare workers. This course will allow students the opportunity to engage in self-reflection activities, case study analysis, live lectures, and additional in-class practice activities to develop and strengthen their empathic skills.
Essentials of Empathy - Syllabus
This course will look at potential legal issues in certain literary texts–texts that are not ostensibly about the law but that nevertheless do involve legal issues. The focus of the course will entail analyzing these legal issues, researching positions on them, and writing persuasive legal briefs in support of these positions. Students will perform mock trials, evidentiary hearings, and depositions both during and at the end of each unit and present the arguments made in their legal briefs before a live jury. Texts for the class include: Miss Julie (August Strindberg), Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson), “A Mother” (from Dubliners, James Joyce), Ethan Frome (Edith Wharton), A Doll’s House (Henrik Ibsen), and Dirty Work (Larry Brown).
Courses focused on leadership, career development, and other professional development topics. IDH 1700: Introduction to Honors Professional Development is only available in fall and geared towards first-year honors students. Upperdivision professional development courses focus on specific topics such as graduate / professional school preparation, industry engagement, and other similar topics. Students should review any course pre-requisites or recommendations to ensure they take the course when it can create the maximum benefit.
Advanced Pro Dev Topics
Students will learn the basics of communication skills in the health professions. Students will apply the concepts taught in class by practicing with small groups. Although patient communication is emphasized, the course will also cover communication with staff at all levels.
Using various forums, technology provides a convenient method for people to communicate with each other locally and worldwide. This course will analyze the impact of digital tools and social networks on interpersonal communication, and present information to help students effectively communicate in a digital world, improve communication skills, and expand their professional network.
This course is for students applying to medical school in summer 2025. During the semester, we will work through the application and you will prepare many of the materials you will use to apply to medical school.
Navigating the Job Search Process with Confidence
This course is designed to assist students in developing a personal career plan. Career planning involves a thorough self-assessment and alignment of values, interests, and skills, as well as a thorough understanding of the key steps to implement a job search such as networking, interviewing, and negotiating job offers. The target audience is sophomore and junior non-business majors who do not plan to go straight to graduate school upon graduation.
Navigating the Job Search Process with Confidence - Syllabus
Signature Seminars
This course is designed to assist students in developing the skills to engage in respectful and robust debate as well as effectively analyze controversial and divisive issues. Topics include cancel culture, self-censorship, free speech, respectful dissent, rigorously weighing alternatives, aligning on facts, reframing disagreement as a benefit, and breaking down barriers that impact mutual understanding.
Engaging in Respectful and Robust Debate - Syllabus
Honoring the Ocean is an interdisciplinary Honors course that takes place in both a virtual classroom and at sea. Students selected for this 1-credit course will engage in discussions about the ocean through a humanistic lens, working with fellow Honors students and faculty from across the state. The class will meet via Zoom from 2 to 4 pm Friday, from January 17th - through March 21st, except for spring break. The course culminates with an overnight stay aboard a Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO) Research Vessel. Learn more and see pictures from prior years. (link: www.fio.usf.edu/research-and-education/honoring-the-ocean/)
Students across all disciplines are encouraged to apply (link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdnQqQmhpPdfTmlffmsU6j-Oy7wicRKUXWsxsbDMtLzshvMLw/viewform?usp=sf_link) by the 10/20/24 deadline. Select students selected for this uncommon experience will be enrolled in a 1-credit Honors course and earn 1 academic point. Standard tuition fees apply. The trip aboard the Research Vessel is free to students through generous sponsorship by the FIO and the UF Honors Program.
The course introduces hands-on components relevant to the Insects and Plants UnCommon Reads course, where students gain appreciation for the evolutionary arms-race between interacting insects and plants.
Students will have a chance to spend time in the field collecting and photographing insects, will learn how to make a basic insect collection, how to identify insects and plants using publications and electronic resources, and how to contribute their observations online for broader use by the scientific community.
Course participants will also be introduced to basic taxonomic techniques, such as dissecting and drawing insect specimens, extracting DNA for DNA-barcoding, and “blasting” DNA barcodes against DNA sequence databases for identification purposes.
Students registering for 0-1 credits will be graded on attendance, participation and the final paper, which will be formatted for submitting to the Featured Creatures website (Featured Creatures (ufl.edu). The paper will represent as complete profile as possible of one of the insect species that occurs in Florida.
Students registering for 2 credits will need to have an additional research component which they will present during the last class.
Pre-requisite / co-requisite: IDH 2930: Insects and Plants. Apply here
UnCommon Classrooms
UnCommon Classrooms are courses designed around unusual topics with cities, places, and natural landscapes serving as experimental classrooms.
These courses are application-based. Students selected to participate will be registered for a 1-credit course and are responsible for tuition (financial aid may apply). Details about additional fees associate with each course are provided in the description. Students are required to provide their own transportation to and from the location of the course.
Students may be eligible for Wentworth Travel Funding, pending availability.
Experience the most unique wetland in the world in this Uncommon Classroom. Sea kayak through lush mangrove tunnels as you explore the white sandy beaches of the 10,000 Islands the week before the spring semester begins. Learn about the rich history of this remarkable part of Florida, what makes the Everglades and the ecosystem unique, and why preservation of the area matters. Participate in the navigation of your group, develop or strengthen your tent camping skills, and learn from instructors and your fellow travelers throughout the trip. The course will conclude with a service project at Fakahatchee State Park that brings forth the value and importance of the topics discussed. Participation in this Uncommon Classroom includes a mandatory 4-hour skills clinic at Lake Wauburg to learn basic sea kayak skills and a 1-hour pre-trip meeting.
The cost for this course is estimated to be $200 including lodging, activities, transportation to and from Gainesville, and meals. The course will take place from January 6 - 10, 2025. The Florida elements (bugs, sun, sand, etc.) and physical activities associated with this course (long days on the water, nights spent in tents) will be physically demanding, but it will be worth it for the adventure of a lifetime.
All majors and disciplines are welcome to apply.
Location: Florida Everglades-10,000 Islands
Dates: 1/6-1/10/2025
Instructor: Braja Smith bsmith2@ufl.edu
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