Because colloquia courses are focused around the professor's current research interests, students are exposed to the fundamental methodologies of research that are associated with their field of study; and faculty members bring to their classrooms the enthusiasm and excitement generated by the pursuit of their scholarly passion. It is a winning combination that produces some of the most popular courses offered by the Fulbright Honors Program.
Each semester, students are able to select from a range of colloquia in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences. Colloquia requirements are dependent upon a student's degree program:
Below is a sampling of the colloquia that we have offered over the past several semesters.
CLST 4003H, Greek Tragic Theater
Professor Daniel Levine
We read from the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides,
and consider the works as literature, and as performances in the physical setting of the Theater of Dionysos at Athens. We look at
contemporary Athenian history and politics, and consider dramatic conventions and the archaeology of Greek theaters.
Students will present several oral reports, read and write every week, and present a major research paper at the end of the semester.
Knowledge of ancient Greek is a plus, but not a pre-requisite.
COMMUNICATION 3923H, Honors Colloquium in Health Communication
Professor Patricia Amason
The Health Communication seminar examines common issues and concerns about communication within the provision of health care services. Of significant focus will be patient-provider communication through the 
exploration of common issues and concerns affecting successful and satisfying communication within the provision of health care services such as the psychosocial approach to health care delivery, the uniqueness of the physician-patient relationship, patient communication skills, legal and ethical implications of communication in health care settings, the medical interview, patient compliance, the conveyance of bad news, and methods and trends for training physicians effective communication skills. Additionally, we will examine communication among health care professionals, negative consequences of poor communication in health care delivery, and the use of technology in health-related information dissemination.
The overarching objective of the seminar is to examine, in depth, seminal and current research concerning the link between effective communication and the provision of health-care services. The specific objectives are to cover a "survey" of information in the beginning of the semester, focus specifically on issues concerning specific interpersonal and group communication skills, and engage in in-depth independent research from myriad topics in regard to communication in health-care settings. Specifically, students will do short presentations and lead class discussions of readings, conduct research from a variety of related topics in the form of a paper, and will work in teams identifying extant strategies used in the dissemination of health-related information via the Internet.
CHEM 3923H, Science as a Source of Inspiration
Professor Lothar Schafer
Every society patterns its political, social, and private order in accordance with its views of reality: that is, in accordance with its science. It is the purpose of this course to explore the nature of science and the foundation of our views of the nature of physical reality. Some of the extraordinary features of reality that have emerged in our century will be discussed--wave-particle duality, Heisenberg's uncertainty, Bell's inequality, and similar topics show that the foundations of reality are often quite dissimilar from the reality of human experience.
ARCH 4023, St. Peter's and the Vatican
Prof. Kim Sexton
This seminar considers the history of sacred space and architecture surrounding St. Peter's Basilica in Rome from antiquity to the present with particular emphasis on the Renaissance/Baroque church and its early Christian predecessor. From the presumed tomb of St. Peter two storeys below ground, the course explores the religious, political, class, and gender factors that generated diverse architectural experiments over time on and around "the Rock," as Christ famously appointed Peter. Beginning in the late antique world and focusing first on the early Christian basilica built by Constantine the Great, the course proceeds to sixteenth- and seventeenth-century when Europe's most visionary architects brought forth the present-day basilica, a monument as much to the memory of the martyr Peter as to the Vatican's vision of itself as a Counter-Reformation victor and a New World colonial power. The seminar concludes with the 20th-century changes at the Vatican initiated under the fascist regime of Mussolini. The course offers a capsule history of ecclesiastical architecture in reference to the Petrine sanctuary.
THE AZTECS AND THE SPANISH (HIST 3923H)
Professor Robert Finlay
The encounter between the Aztecs and the Spanish in the years after the discovery of America is one of the most dramatic events in history. This course begins by examining the values of the Aztec people and the expansion of the Aztec empire in the century before contact with the Spanish. The conflict between the Aztecs and the conquistadors is then analyzed to determine how a small group of Spanish soldiers could defeat the formidable Aztecs. Finally, the course focuses on the nature of the society that developed into the generation after the Conquest in order to see how both native Americans and the Spanish collaborated in creating a unique American culture.
