All students in the Honors Program are expected to take at least one honors course during their first semester. It is highly recommended that honors students take an Honors FSP. Contact Prof. Maggie Benoit (benoit@tcnj.edu) if you think you may be unable to take an honors FSP.
You should choose three of the following Honors FSPs and place them in your First Semester Worksheet. One of these choices will be assigned as your FSP.
Learn more about the Honors Program
| Class | Name/Description |
|---|---|
| FSP 161 H1 |
Star Wars: Films and Adaptations"Star Wars: Films & Adaptations" will examine the original movie trilogy as well as the prequels and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, at least one Star Wars novel, selected episodes of the animated series (both Clone Wars series and Star Wars Rebels), and other ancillary creations (e.g., video games, collectibles) that make up the Star Warscultural phenomenon. Our analysis will be interdisciplinary: film studies, literature, philosophy, religious studies, history, sociology, anthropology, economics/marketing, and perhaps others. The primary sources to be studied are the fictional works created by George Lucas and others; secondary sources are books and articles in a variety of disciplines. The final project is a research paper on a topic related to Star Wars. Course#: FSP 161-H1 |
| FSP 164 H1 |
The Middle East in Literature and FilmStudents are introduced to Middle Eastern cultures, society, and politics through literature and film from the region, supplemented by a few, short academic works. Organized around several topical themes -- such as gender and development, authoritarianism, the plight of the Palestinians, religious activism -- the FSP will expose students to Middle Eastern perspectives on themes which are both intrinsically important and receive considerable media attention in the West. This exposure, and the discussions that ensue in class, will enrich students' knowledge base and understanding while developing a critical lens regarding the way we talk about other cultures and societies. Course #: FSP 164-H1 |
| FSP 164 H2 |
Afghanistan Beyond Western Media: Historical Cultural PerspectivesIt's hard to read an American newspaper or watch TV news without hearing the mention of Iran, and it is most often in a negative context. However, beyond the sound bites and political rhetoric, how much do you really know about the history, politics, culture and society of Iran, not to mention the history of US-Iranian relations? This seminar will use the lens of history, literature and film to move beyond media-based images to gain a more grounded understanding of the complex history of modern Iran from the late nineteenth century to the present day Islamic Republic through the eyes of those who have experienced that history. Over the course of the semester will examine issues concerning Islam, politics, revolution, gender, modernization, marginality, exile, and popular culture through reading and discussing background historical texts and novels and viewing Iranian films. Course#: FSP 164-H2 |
| FSP 161 H2 |
Incarceration Nation: Literature of the PrisonThis course explores literature by and about prisoners from 600 AD to the present. In addition to reading a variety of sources written across the centuries, we help current-day prisoners in the production of their own autobiographical writings. Interdisciplinary in nature, this course weaves together the study of gender, criminology, psychology, sociology, and, most notably, literary analysis of such groundbreaking, provocative material written by one of the most neglected, silenced, but all-too-critical sectors of our population-the prisoners. Course#: FSP 161-H2 |
| FSP 161 H3 |
Morality, God and Free WillThis seminar is a philosophical examination of humanity's quest to understand what it means to be human. Beliefs in morality, divinity, and free will are three of the things commonly cited as distinctive marks of being human. Most human beings take for granted that some actions are right and others wrong. Most think that they have the power to choose between right and wrong and are responsible for the choices they make. Many, if not most, believe in God or gods of one kind or another and assume that there are intimate connections between divinity, morality, and responsibility. Course#: FSP 161-H3 |
| FSP 164 H3 |
The Beatles and Their WorldThe Beatles’ lives and musical careers reflect profound cultural changes that took place after the Great Depression and World War II. In particular, the extraordinary transformation of this group in a decade and a half from one of many local Liverpool bands to the most influential popular music group of all time and an international cultural arbiter offers insight into the modern cultural world. With the Beatles as its focus, this seminar will explore such topics in modern cultural history as race relations, women’s rights and gender issues, youth culture, counterculture and protest, mass media and public relations, as well as, of course, developments in popular music. This fall 2015 seminar celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the Beatles’ first stadium concert -- at Shea Stadium in Flushing, New York, in August 1965 during the New York World’s Fair -- and the release of one of their greatest albums, Rubber Soul. Course#: FSP 164-H3 |
| FSP 161 H4 |
Morality, God and Free WillThis seminar is a philosophical examination of humanity's quest to understand what it means to be human. Beliefs in morality, divinity, and free will are three of the things commonly cited as distinctive marks of being human. Most human beings take for granted that some actions are right and others wrong. Most think that they have the power to choose between right and wrong and are responsible for the choices they make. Many, if not most, believe in God or gods of one kind or another and assume that there are intimate connections between divinity, morality, and responsibility. Course#: FSP 161-H4 |
| FSP 164 H4 |
Human RightsThis course is designed to provide first year students with an intensive, multidisciplinary introduction to human rights theory and practice. We will examine the topic of human rights from philosophical, historical, legal, political, and multicultural perspectives. The course will be organized into three sections. We will begin with the historical development of the doctrine of human rights highlighting both the philosophical and the political-legal roots of the human rights tradition, and then proceed to a closer examination of the historical development of the idea universal human rights during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries culminating in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. In the second section we will examine the contemporary human rights framework, both in its international law aspect, and also, the major contemporary philo-sophical, political, and legal interpretations of human rights that provide a theoretical framework for our current understanding the nature and basis of human rights. In this section of the course we will also discuss several currently controversial aspects of human rights theory, including the universality and indivisibility of human rights standards, and problems relating to the interpretation and justification of human rights. In the third and concluding portion of the course we will apply our general theoretical account of human rights to the examination of one contemporary human right – the right to education. We will examine the content and implementation of this right both within the USA and internationally. Course#: FSP 164-H4 |