Welcome Back, Friends!

Vol 2. No. 16

Welcome to the Spring 2018 semester!

We're now two days in (a Thursday start was a little odd, yes?) and I wanted to take this moment to say hello and give you a little update and sneak peek into what we have planned for this semester so far.

Honors Courses and Contracts...
We have 10 sections of Honors courses running this semester, with 117 students enrolled.  We have several contracts that are likely to begin and one that has already bee submitted and approved.  Our courses range from a special topics one called Women Who Kill to two social science electives - one on Gender and one on Love and Romance.  We have psychology and English, literature and music.  It's a good range of classes and I hope that you are all enjoying the classes (Honors and otherwise) that you have been in so far.  I plan to visit all the Honors courses soon to tell you a little more about some things to look forward to.

Events...
We have several events planned already and more on the way.  You can read a bit more about events in general here.  I will also be talking more about them when I visit your Honors classes.  Anyway, we have two scheduled and one more on the way that I know about at this point.  This is in addition to the Honors Dinner and the Honors Convocation as well.  Lots going on!

On April 19th (Activities Day), the Library is hosting a Human Library event from 12-4.  During this event, you can 'check out' Human books and chat with them about the topic they represent.  This is an amazing event and you can expect to hear more about it as we get closer.

One May 3rd, we have an event during college hour that is called Presidential Greatness:  The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.  As you might imagine, this promises to be a fascinating talk with lots of opportunities to ask questions.

Also coming this semester is an event about Chaos and the self-organizing universe.  Wholly interactive, this should be an amazing experience.  More on this when we have it scheduled!

As you can see, we are getting more and more Honors things in the works and we hope to see more and more of you become part of these events.  Bring your friends - we don't have anything that is limited only to Honors Studies Students.  Remember....all you have to be is curious!

That's it for this blog - as I'm sure all are tired from these first couple of days.  I look forward to introducing myself to you in your classes and I hope to see you at Honors events this semester.

Good luck in all your endeavors this semester!
-T-

Dr. Trista Merrill
Director of Honors Studies and Professor of English
Rm 4285
Email:  honorsstudies@flcc.edu -or- trista.merrill@flcc.edu
Facebook:  FLCC Honors Studies

"self-confidence-2121159_960_720" by Alexas_Fotos is licensed under CC0.

Unique Spring Opportunity!

Vol 2 No 13

Looking for a fascinating course this Spring that won't require a huge chunk of classroom time but still gets you that Honors experience?  Consider the Spring 2018 hybrid course on....CHAOS.

Or, more specifically, SCI 137-01 - Chaos:  The Self-Organizing Universe.  Fridays from 2:00 - 4:50 in the Honors House.  Take a look at this amazing course description from Sam Samanta:

Do you ever wonder if the physical world and life seemingly driven by random events makes long-term predictions impossible? The course is an open invitation for developing creative insights through understanding of hidden patterns in the dynamic world around you. We will use visual mathematics to explore art, biology, business ecosystems, music, mountains, clouds, rivers and streams, solar-flares, weather, ecosystems, forest fires, stock-market crashes, flooding, earthquakes, cities, traffic-jams, internet, social-networks, galaxies, crimes, politics, wars, tornadoes, hurricanes, and dynamics of human relationships. You will come to see natural fractal shapes such as trees and network of blood vessels; and chaos in heart-beats as source of adaptability and sustainability. Through writing, discussion, lab experiences, and computer modeling, this course will explore the relevance of Chaos theory to our lives and through individualized research projects demonstrate its impact across scientific disciplines as well as non-science areas such as the social sciences, the arts and humanities.

Honors Under Advisement...

Vol 2 No 6

It’s that time again!  We are moving into those weeks and months where everyone seems to be looking towards next semester – deciding what courses to take and what paths will lead them to their ultimate goals.  Or to determining what those goals are.  Here at Honors Studies, we want to encourage you to come explore what we have.  So many fun things are coming and while you COULD just look them up on WebAdviser, we thought it might be easier to list them here for you!  So, without further ado, here are the Spring 2018 offerings in Honors:

HONORS SEMINARS

HON 200-50 – A Writer’s Retreat -- This course provides a unique opportunity for aspiring, and accomplished, writers to gather in a supportive community to practice and discuss craft and aesthetics. We will meet for four weekends (10:00 am Saturday through 1:00 pm Sunday) at FLCC's inspiring Muller Field Station at the south end of Honeoye Lake where we will nurture, nourish, and revitalize our individual writing practices through weekend workshops and feedback sessions. With an emphasis on poetry and creative non-fiction the semester culminates with the creation of individual manuscripts, a course anthology, and a final public reading. (February 3 & 4, March 3 & 4, April 7 & 8, May 5 & 6 – Nehring Bliss / Palzer)

HON 200-90 – Women Who Kill -- Society seems darkly fascinated and quick to misunderstand the motives and minds of women who kill; we seem to think that murder is a predominately masculine crime. Studies reveal, however, that it is not gendered and female murderers have been around as long as male ones. But there are differences, and so we will spend this semester exploring what drives a woman make this choice and why it seems to enthrall, fascinate, and sometimes amuse society. We will look into positive and negative images connected to the feminine and also explore the psychological links between our myths, the collective unconscious, and the human brain. Opportunities for self-reflection will add context to student thoughts and feelings related to their experiences as critical readers and thinkers. (Tuesdays @ 6:00 – Ross/Merrill)

HONORS IN THE DISCIPLINES

COM 115 – Interpersonal Communication Honors – The course focuses on the development of the interpersonal communication skills necessary for building and maintaining positive relationships in both a personal and professional environment. Topics of study will include an orientation to interpersonal communication, verbal and non-verbal communication in career and personal relationships, perception of self and others, listening, managing conflict, response skills, cultural and gender considerations, characteristics of leadership and effective work groups, and job interviewing. Students will study various theories and practice skill development. (MW @ 2:00 – Flager)

ENG 101 – Composition I Honors - The goals of Composition I are to develop students' abilities to write at a college level and to think critically. Students will learn to make decisions based on rhetorical concerns of a writer's purpose, the readers' needs, and the context in which documents are read. As using sources effectively is one of the goals in the course, research will be interwoven into documents as a way to support ideas and connect with the audience. The course emphasizes process-based writing, student reflection of their learning progress, and it culminates in a learning portfolio.  (MW @ 11:00  - Murphy)

ENG 102 – Introduction to Literature -- ENG 102 introduces students to a range of literary genres that may include poetry, drama, fiction, and creative non-fiction and develops skills in reading, interpreting, and evaluating literature. Students will learn and practice the skills of close reading through discussion and writing.  (MW @ 11:00 – OR- TTH @ 11:00 – Nehring Bliss)

ENG 103 – Composition II Honors -- Continuing the educational goals of Composition I (critical reading and thinking, focused research, reflective writing, and process-based writing), Composition II shifts the focus to the rhetorical concerns of persuasion and argument. The course provides students with increased practice in research, analysis, and genres of writing done throughout college as well as in the professional realm. The course emphasizes academic research-based writing and culminates in a best-works portfolio.  (MW @ 9:30 – Gillio)

MUS 117 – Master Composers II Honors - The complimentary study (with MUS 111) of canonic pieces of Western Music Literature as well as critical issues involved in the assertion of canonicity or "greatness" (MW @ 3:30 – McGuire)

PSY 100 – Introduction to Psychology Honors – This course is a comprehensive overview of the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. It will familiarize students with the scientific methods used in the field of psychology. It will also introduce various topics within the field, such as consciousness, motivation, learning, memory, cognition, development, personality, psychological disorders and their treatments, social psychology, and the biological bases of behavior.  (TTH @ 3:30 – Ross)

SCI 137 -- Chaos Hybrid Honors – An innovative introduction to Chaos which brings the new scientific paradigm to the undergraduate curriculum. Starting from geometric fractals describing trees, leaves, and snowflakes the quantitative understanding of fractals is achieved through laboratory exercises including modeling on computers. Relevance of the Chaos theory is explored across scientific disciplines, and extended to non-science areas such as communications, economics, and arts. This course fulfills a science elective course requirement for students whose primary area of study is other than the sciences; however, interested science/mathematics students can take this course as an elective.  (F @ 2:00 – Samanta / Strieter)

SSC 215-01 Topics in Social Science: Gender and Women's Studies Honors – Gender and Women's Studies examines the social forces that shape our lives by gender, with a particular emphasis on women in the contemporary United States. The course emphasizes awareness of the many forms of diversity among women, and explores issues of race, class, and sexuality, as well as gender. The course will cover areas such as "gender and the body" (including beauty, sexuality, and interpersonal violence),"gender and social institutions" (including family, economy, politics, education, and religion), and "gender and social change" (including feminist, anti-feminist, LGBTQ, and other gender-related movements).  (MW @ 3:30 – Whisman)

Three things to remember:

1. GO SEE YOUR ADVISER!
2. Check Webadvisor for more details
3. If you declare Honors as part of your program, you can gain an Honors adviser who can help even more!

 Come to Wednesday's dinner to learn more!  Check your registration date and then come explore (more) Honors in the Spring!

Gender, Curiosity, and Spring 2017

Vol 1. No. 15

A guest blog this time around.  It may be a short blog - but it really packs a punch.  I hope you'll consider joining this important conversation with Dr. Vera Whisman:

You've heard statements like these, haven't you?  

You just need to man up!

         Hey, I'm just being friendly!  What are you, some kind of feminist?

    She had it coming, dressed like that.

                                     God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.

              Grab 'em by the pussy.  

     Hey, sweetheart, you'd be so much prettier if you'd smile!

Do you find these offensive?  Funny?  Puzzling?  Interesting?

Join SSC 215-01, Gender and Women's Studies (Honors), where we'll talk about all this and more.  It meets Monday and Wednesday, 3:30-4:50, Honors House.  

Image borrowed from "Genderqueer and Non-binary Identities"

Chaos Matters! (Guest)

Vol 1. No. 13 - Guest blogger:  Dr. Sam Samanta

This week, as the Fall 2016 semester winds down, I thought it would be fun to look ahead to a whole new semester, a whole new year, and a whole new world of Honors courses to explore.  So, I give you a sneak preview of one of the best kept secrets at FLCC - a class in Chaos.  I don't know about you, but I have a lot of Chaos in my life, and it would be amazing to learn how it works in our world!  Consider taking this class which, Dr. Samanta assures me, should not be looked at as "too hard" for any of our students.  If you can Honors, you can do it.  Give it a try!

SCI 137 01 CHAOS: The Self-Organizing Universe  (Writing Intensive)

Dr. Sam Samanta: Fridays 2-4:50 pm Honors House  (Plus 2 hours On-line work) 

Sam.Samanta@flcc.edu    https://twitter.com/InvariantChaos 

Check out #SCI137 and #ChaosDuJour            

CHAOS MATTERS!

Do you ever wonder if the physical world and life driven by random events makes long-term predictions impossible? Scientists have found hidden patterns in solar-flares, weather, forest fires, stock-market crashes, flooding, earthquakes, cities, traffic-jams, internet, social-networks, galaxies, crimes, wars, tornados, hurricanes, and dynamics of human relationships. The temporal patterns of chaos are characterized by equations that can explain the apparent randomness. Through writing, discussion, lab experiences, and computer modeling, this course will explore the relevance of Chaos theory to our lives and demonstrate its impact across scientific disciplines as well as non-science areas such as communications, economics, the arts and humanities.

Now, more than ever before, we need a unified quantitative universal framework for making sense of the world; in order to communicate across disciplinary boundaries and undertake actions through which we affect change in our lives and world at large. We will identify Complexity as intersection of Chaos, Fractals, and Self-organization.

The core values focused at our college are: Inquiry, Interconnectedness, Perseverance, and Vitality. You will exemplify best practices of Inquiry through exploring Interconnectedness of issues that relate your major and/or life-long interests to the concepts and techniques of the Chaos course. We will exhibit Perseverance through the steps we undertake to overcome barriers to quantitative understanding of models and improving articulation of our synthesis through cycles of feedback on both written papers and verbal presentations (using PowerPoint/Prezi.). Through final public presentations to the community at large; we will exhibit Vitality of our intellectual journey and present actionable prescriptions for addressing the concurrent challenges we face at multiple scales: form personal lives, to lives of institutions, nation and world at large.

Your individual project work on this course could become basis for individualized major for baccalaureate and graduate studies or unique specialization in your professional career. This course is not about any singular destination. Your individual journey begins here for discovering new patterns of orderly disorder in the mind and the world; and finding effective strategies for harnessing creative forces from the chaos of life!

    

           

Honors Event!

Vol. 1. No. 5

TO:  FLCC STUDENTS

RE:  HONORS DINNER, Sponsored by the FLCC Student Corps.

DAY:  October 18th, 2016

TIME:  5:00 - 7:00

WHERE:  Stage 14

WHAT:

I have wanted, since mid-summer, to have an event that was open to both Honors students and students CURIOUS about Honors.  In my mind, I was thinking a room, some pizza, and a lot of mingling.  I didn't have a lot of ideas as to how to go about planning such an event, however, so I set up a meeting with Jennie Erdle, Director of Student Life and Dreamer of Big Dreams.  That was when everything exploded into this event to which I am now inviting FLCC students.

By the time our meeting ended, my pizza mixer was wholly and truly transformed and I couldn't be happier.  The precision and grace with which Jennie took my idea from me and rewrote gives me the feeling that this is how Jennie always looks at the world.  So, if you are imagining sitting in a classroom eating pizza, think again.  Replace the classroom with Stage 14 and replace the desks in a circle with round tables with real linens and tableware.  No more pizza -- instead, think pasta (gluten free) and sauce (meatless red and alfredo) with breadsticks, salad, and cake.  Instead of awkward conversations and small pockets of people that you know from class, think instead of speakers who will share with you their stories about Honors. Instead of posters leaned up against the white boards, we will have real people talking about the courses they plan to teach in Honors in the spring.  And instead of badly drawn pictures with dry erase markers, we will have Honors T-shirts for the first 50 students who come.

I am lining up some folks to talk to us -- not about numbers and requirements or credits and schedules, but instead about passion and curiosity, about intellectual adventures and the value of real learning.  You'll see faculty who are excited about teaching, enthusiastic about subject areas, and excited to learn from their students just as their students learn from them.  You'll hear about the fascinating courses we have up and coming in Honors in the Spring.  You'll read the words of Honors students who came before you and listen to college administrators as they talk about what makes Honors special and important to them beyond just enrollment and educational mandates.  You'll hear from people who very much care about students in general and about Honors in particular.  And, of course, you'll have time to talk with the people at your table about your own experiences in Honors.

All in all, I'm grateful that Jennie took my small idea and exploded it into something about which we can really get excited.  I've already invited all the students in Honors courses to come and I hope that this will act to reinforce that.  I hope also that this blog will find its way to those who might be curious about Honors and they will find their way to us that evening as well.  Whether already enrolled or just curious about it, this is a great way to learn about Honors and to celebrate the amazing things that faculty and students alike are coming together to do.

Come join us for food, fellowship, and fun.  Honors - where all you have to be is curious...and hungry!

"I would like to help others rediscover....wonder -- to want to engage with it, to want to learn, to want to share what they've learned, what they've figured out to be true and what they're still figuring out." - Sarah Kay

Honors Matters!

Vol 1. No. 1
6 September 2016


Hello and welcome to the first FLCC Honors Studies blog!

Finger Lakes Community College is now in its second week of classes for the Fall 2016 semester and there are so many exciting things happening in Honors.  We have eleven Honors in the Disciplines courses running, with a total of 160 students enrolled in these classes. There's another handful of students engaged in Honors contracts and we are already making plans for the spring.

We are working on a number of things this semester sort of 'behind the scenes' as well, to help ensure that the Honors experience is as fulfilling as possible for all students who partake of Honors classes. It will also help us to show those outside Honors just what kind of work we are doing and the impact that work is having.  In a future blog, I'll tell you more about this.

As Director, I'm also making sure I stay up to date on what Honors means both regionally and nationally.  This October, I'll be heading to the National Collegiate Honors Council conference in Seattle to meet with Honors Administrators, Directors, Deans, Faculty, and even students to see what other colleges do in terms of Honors.  I expect to learn a lot again this time; in fact, this blog is actually one idea that was born out of the same conference last year.  Dr. Linda Ross, psychology faculty and a member of the Honors Advisory Board will be going with me so we have two sets of eyes and ears to take in everything we can.  A couple of weeks before that conference, I will be attending a SUNY Honors Directors and Deans meeting at SUNY Oswego to find out what our brother and sister campuses are doing and to talk with them about what we can be doing on our own campus to make the most of Honors for those who transfer to a SUNY Four Year.  Keep an eye out for blogs about both of these events!

In the next few weeks, we will be planning a party for Honors students and faculty to get together, share stories and experiences, have a meal, and generally get to know each other and Honors even more than we already do.  And who knows, perhaps there will be some sneak peaks at our Spring 2017 offerings, as well!

That, in a nutshell, is what Honors has been up to of late.  There are some other things I will be telling you about as soon as we have some more information, but in the meantime, please remember that my door is open and my inbox has lots of room in it.  I welcome any ideas you have for Honors, blog topics, guest blogs or bloggers, requests for information, questions about Honors, and any sort of general comment about anything related to Honors.

I will leave you with some helpful links and contact information for important things related to Honors Studies.

FLCC Honors Studies Facebook:  Head over and give us a Like!
FLCC Honors House Facebook:  The House and Honors Studies are not the same thing!

Honors email:  trista.merrill@flcc.edu or honorsstudies@flcc.edu

Thank you for reading and remember........stay curious.

-T

"I have no special talents.  I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein