Colloquia

By definition, a colloquium is an academic seminar addressing a broad field of study. Typically, it is led by different instructors at each session and the topic changes each session. Here, you will find topic and instructor information for the current and upcoming semesters, if known. Remember, any Honors Degree requires two colloquia be completed before graduation.

FALL 2011

Rhetoric and Ideology

W 5:30 - 7:45

KO101
Instructor: Christopher R. Darr, Assistant Professor of Communication Arts

Rhetoric is a powerful force. It is not just “the art of persuasion,” as Aristotle suggested: it has come to be understood as a power that structures society, reinforces dominant values, and normalizes certain ways of thinking. Rhetoric creates ideologies, reinforces them, and is sometimes used to critique and change them. This applies to political ideologies (conservatism), economic ideologies (capitalism), religious ideologies (Christianity), and many more. This class will explore the central role played by rhetoric in the creation, sustenance, and challenging of the ideologies that structure society and guide people’s behavior.

 This class is open exclusively to Honors Students. As with other H399 courses, the class will be taught as a reading seminar. We will read the works of many modern and postmodern theorists (Marx, Foucault, Gramsci, Nietzsche, etc.) who have written on ideology, rhetoric, and the connection between the two. We will also read scholarly applications of these theories by contemporary authors.

Students will be encouraged to connect course content to topic areas of their choosing and to do independent study, culminating in a term paper. Short papers and discussion will constitute the other major assignments.For more information, contact Chris Darr: darrc@iuk.edu

Spring 2012

What is Intelligence? A Critical Examination of the Varied Perspectives on Brilliance, Genius, and Aptitude
Thursdays 4:00pm to 6:15pm
Dr. Melissa Grabner-Hagen  mgrabner@iuk.edu

In this course we will cover historical, social, educational, and cognitive aspects of intelligence. Topics such as the ethics of intelligence testing, the validity of Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, and the potential of artificial intelligence will be discussed. We will examine and debate research related to the relationship between intelligence and humor as well as intelligence and genetics.