| 253.535.8125 | www.plu.edu/honors/ | dowland@plu.edu |
| Seth Dowland, Ph.D., Director |
International Honors Requirements
7 courses, 25 semester hours distributed as follows:
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- IHON 111 – 112: Origins of the Contemporary World
8 semester hours
- IHON 111 – 112: Origins of the Contemporary World
In these courses, students wrestle with enduring human questions captured in transformative texts from around the globe and across time, while developing their capacity to engage critically and empathetically with each other, with the texts, and with their own thoughts.
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- IHON: Three 200-level courses
12 semester hours
- IHON: Three 200-level courses
Students may take any combination of 253, 257, 258, 259, or 260 to satisfy IHON requirements.
A wide range of these courses is offered every semester and often during J-term.
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- IHON: 300-level:
- IHON 328 (4 semester hours)
- IHON 329 (1 semester hours)
- IHON: 300-level:
Policies and Guidelines for International Honors
The three levels of IHON courses are built sequentially upon one another in terms of content and learning objectives. At the IHON 100-level, students cultivate their capacities to engage enduring human questions captured in transformative texts from across the world, while also developing their abilities to converse both critically and empathetically with each other, with what they’re reading, and with themselves. At the IHON 200-level, students engage with themes and questions which lie beyond disciplinary boundaries, while 300-level IHON courses prepare students to become more thoughtful, self-critical, and ethically responsible participants in the human conversation. Exceptions to this sequence of courses and levels can be made by the IHON Director in appropriate situations. In addition, one semester-long Study Away course may be substituted for one 200-level IHON course, with prior approval by the IHON Director. Multiple sections of IHON 111 and 112 are offered each semester; varying IHON 200-level courses are offered every semester and often in J-term; IHON 300-level course are offered every semester. Students are encouraged to complete the required courses in the IHON Program up to IHON 328 by the end of their junior year in order to focus on completion of majors, minors, and other work during their senior year. IHON students cannot pass/fail an international honors course.
GPA Requirements
Students in the International Honors Program must maintain a cumulative overall GPA of 3.00. Names of students who fall below a 3.00 will be forwarded to the student’s IHON advisor. Students have one semester to bring their GPA up to a 3.00. If the 3.00 GPA is not achieved, students will be disenrolled from the program. Procedures for assignment of general education credits are in place for students who do not complete the Honors Program.
International Honors (IHON) - Undergraduate Courses
IHON 111 : Transformative Texts from Ancient Worlds - H1
Explores transformative texts from across the globe up to 1492, with a special focus on critically examining foundational texts and their customary interpretations. Texts may include Gilgamesh, the Hebrew Bible, the Popol Vuh, and early philosophy, among others. Central themes include: What is a human? What is the right way to live? How should humans relate to nature, animals, other humans? The course centers collaborative learning via conversation, encouraging students to approach education as an open-ended, cooperative journey. (4)
IHON 112 : Transformative Texts in a Globalizing World - H1
IHON 112 explores a variety of literary, philosophical, artistic, and historical documents that register individual and collective responses to the problems and promises of the globalized world which emerge after 1500. Possible themes may include: How should we respond to 'strangers'? Are human beings a part of nature, or separate from it? In which ways do humans exhibit resilience? What role does creativity play in human life? What is the right form of collective life and how should we bring it about? Prerequisite: IHON 111 or instructor's permission. (4)
IHON 253 : Gender, Sexuality and Culture - H2
Uses multicultural, international, and feminist perspectives to examine issues such as socialization and stereotypes, relationships and sexuality, interpersonal and institutional violence, revolution and social change in the U.S. and in other selected international contexts. (4)
IHON 257 : The Human Experience - H2
The Human Experience course is a multidisciplinary study of selected topics that illuminates what it means to be human. Topics will vary by instructor and term but each section of the course will draw from one of the following disciplines: English, philosophy, religion, or languages & literatures. (4)
IHON 258 : Self, Culture, and Society - H2
This course is a multidisciplinary study of specific international topics that illuminate aspects of individual and collective human behavior, history, culture and institutions., Topics will vary by instructor and term, but each section of the course will draw from one of the following disciplines: anthropology, economics, history, political science, psychology or sociology. (4)
IHON 259 : The Natural World - H2
This course utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to explore the natural world around and within us and to provide expression of our human inclination to order what we see and to think in quantitative terms. Topics will vary by instructor and term but each section of the course will draw from one of the following disciplines: biology, chemistry, computer science and computer engineering, geosciences, mathematics, or physics. (4)
IHON 260 : The Arts in Society - H2
This course is a multidisciplinary study of selected topics that represents the breadth and influence of arts in society. Topics will vary by instructor and term, but each section of the course will draw from one of the following disciplines: art, communication, music or theatre. In addition to the primary discipline of the course, the second discipline may be drawn from the College of Professional Studies or from outside of the school. (4)
IHON 291 : Directed Study
To provide individual undergraduate students with introductory study not available in the regular curriculum. The title will be listed on the student term-based record as DS: followed by the specific title designated by the student. (1 to 4)
IHON 328 : Exploring Justice - H3, GE
In IHON 328, the first course in IHON's culminating experience, students wrestle with contemporary social problems via a wide variety of voices and texts from around the globe. Building on international, transhistorical, and interdisciplinary analysis from IHON 111-112 and 200-level courses, students will evaluate responses to contemporary social problems, while foregrounding potential tensions and contradictions in their own understandings of justice. Theme varies. Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment or completion of three 200-level IHON courses. (4)
IHON 329 : Public Thinking - H3
In IHON 329, the second course in IHON's culminating experience, students put into practice capacities they have developed in the program by crafting their own response (essay, blog post, dramatic dialogue, podcast, etc.) to a book, film, or other work which is part of the present public conversation. The one credit, 7-week course is offered four times per year. Students may register after or concurrently with IHON 328. Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in or completion of IHON 328. (1)
IHON 491 : Independent Study
To provide individual undergraduate students with advanced study not available in the regular curriculum. The title will be listed on the student term-based record as IS: followed by the specific title designated by the student. (1 to 4)