Honors Wednesday Memo
Opportunities and Information for Honors Students
edited by Kelly Dancy
Volume 1, Issue 7
October 25, 2017
Message from Dean Jeff Vahlbusch
Last week I wrote: Choose Honors courses that will “challenge you to stretch and grow—intellectually, personally, and professionally.” This week I say: this is what Honors is for.
Honors choices and experiences—and how you take advantage of them—will help to determine the quality of your life.
Our HON seminar list for spring 2018 is chock-full of extraordinary educational opportunities to learn with and from superb faculty and your Honors College peers from every major on campus.
New Honors Courses
1515: Plato’s Republic and the Just Society (Anna Cremaldi)
2515: Alan Moore: Superheroes, Sedition, Sex, Sorcery, and Sampling (Craig Fischer)
2515: Sustainability Leadership & Agents for Change (Lee Ball)
3515: Native Americans / Indigenous Studies (Dana Powell)
3515: Wrack and Ruin: The Aesthetics of Destruction (Sara Rich)
3515: Victimology (Elicka Sparks)
3515: Queering Institutions: Making Spaces ‘Unstraight’ (Matthew Thomas-Reid)
3515: European Intellectual History (Michael Behrent)
3515: Global Diversity Project (Martin Schoenhals)
Tried-and-True Honors Courses
2515: Art & the Brain (Mark Zrull)
2515: Roles & Representations of Southern Women (Louis Gallien)
2515: Harry Potter & the Quest for Social Justice (Angela Mead)
2515: The Lives of Animals (Michael Dale; open by permission)
2515: Teaching and Learning in Infinite Jest (Chris Osmond)
2515: Food Fights: Cannibalizing Culture (Garrett McDowell)
3515: Tycoons, Titans, & Blaggards (Leigh Dunston)
3515: Physiology, Health, & Culture (Jonathan Stickford)
3515: The Future of Civilization (Howie Neufeld)
3515: Animal Planet (Jeanne Dubino)
3515: Considering the Role of Language [in the construction of human experience] (Bret Zawilski)
3515: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism (Louis Gallien)
3515: Art, Culture, & Politics [Music!] (Nancy Love)
Take two! Here is the link to the details: https://docs.google.com/a/appstate.edu/document/d/1d5mHk-9hhyv41IdzBZyhkFw7fDmOfIWgCJq_LdKyElY/edit?usp=sharing.
Yours,
Jeff
Upcoming Opportunities:
Dr. Vahlbusch will be delighted to assist with applications!
Become an Honors Resident Assistant: If you are interested in becoming an RA, please attend a mandatory informational meeting to learn more about the position and how to apply. Meetings will be held daily between Sunday, October 29th and Sunday, November 5th. Find the meeting schedule and more information here: https://www.facebook.com/events/127029254722650/?ti=as. Help the Honors College, your fellow Honors students, and App State build community, and help yourself learn to be the leader and communicator that you want to be. If you need convincing, please seek a conversation with Jeff!
The Clinton Global Initiative: The Clinton Global Initiative University at App State provides funding to support five vital focus areas of Education, Environment & Climate Change, Peace & Human Rights, Poverty Alleviation, and Public Health. Students are invited to submit funding proposals to support their ideas. Recipients are also supported to attend the national gathering of the Clinton Global Initiative University in the Fall of 2018. $10,000 in funding is available with most awards in the $2,000-$3,000 range. Students seeking more info or help in fleshing out a proposal idea are welcome to attend an info session at 2:00PM on October 31st in Snake Mountain (PSU). For more info and to apply, visit https://engagement.appstate.edu/clinton-global-initiative-university.
Study Abroad Scholarships: The deadline to apply for study abroad scholarships from The Office of International Education and Development is Wednesday, November 1st. Scholarships range from $250.00 to $2,000.00. Visit https://international.appstate.edu/scholarships/oied-scholarships for more information.
Submit to The Peel Literature and Arts Review: Submit your poetry, painting, music, short story, design, choreography, video, photographs, and more to the Peel Literature and Arts Review! The final Fall 2017 deadline for submission is November 3rd at 11:59 p.m. To submit, visit. http://thepeelreview.submittable.com/submit.
Apply to be a SOUL: Student Orientation Undergraduate Leader (SOUL) applications are due by November 10th. The SOUL application will open on October 16th.This is a paid position! Check out https://workfororientation.appstate.edu/soul for more information.
Appalachian Global Symposium: Appalachian Global Symposium proposals are due by November 15th. Share your recent activities that contribute to the university’s global mission at International Education Week! For more information and to submit a proposal, please visit https://international.appstate.edu/get-involved/appalachian-global-symposium.
Undergraduate Student Education Research Training Workshop: The American Educational Research Association (AERA) Undergraduate Student Education Research Training Workshop will take place Friday, April 13th through Sunday April 15th in New York, New York. Students in their sophomore, junior, or senior year of college who are interested in pursuing a graduate or professional degree that can lend itself to education research areas such as children and youth, school and schooling issues, higher education, education policy, student achievement, curriculum and instruction, education psychology, or education leadership are encouraged to apply. Applications are due on November 15th. For more information and to apply visit http://www.aera.net/Professional-Opportunities-Funding/AERA-Funding-Opportunities/Undergraduate-Student-Education-Research-Training.
Upcoming Events:
Black Minds Matter: A Focus on Black Boys and Men in Education
The Reich College of Education will be hosting a multi-part online series, “Black Minds Matter: A Focus on Black Boys and Men in Education.” The series addresses the experiences and realities of black males in education, encourages discussion of issues facing black male students, and offers research-based strategies for improving their success. Sessions are free, open to the public, and will take place in room 124 B/C on Monday evenings from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The sessions take place every Monday from October 23rd to December 11th. For more information, visit https://honors.appstate.edu/black-minds-matter-focus-black-boys-and-men-education.
World Renowned Alley II Dance Performance
On Thursday, October 26th at 7:00 p.m., the dancers of Alley II will perform in the Schaefer Center. In addition to the performance, the company will spend two days on campus engaging in a series of master classes and residency activities with university and community dance students.
Translation and Poetry
"Beat Generation's Castile Landing,” a session on translation and poetry with Spanish poet and publisher Antonio Cordero and Appalachian professors Andrés Fisher, Benito del Pliego, and Bruce Dick will take place in the Office of Multicultural Development (PSU). The event is happening TODAY (October 25th) at 6:30 p.m. Cordero will be presenting on the agenda of his publishing company regarding the promotion of US contemporary poets in Spain. For more information, visit https://honors.appstate.edu/beat-generations-castile-landingla-generai%C3%B3n-beat-desembarca-en-castilla.
Education Abroad Fair
The Office of International Education and Development will be hosting the annual Education Abroad Fair on Wednesday, November 1st in Grandfather Mountain Ballroom (PSU). For more information, visit https://international.appstate.edu/get-involved/education-abroad-fair. To enter into a scholarship drawing that will take place at the fair, complete the Google form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAlpQLSc-lAys8z30PA.
Pre-Health Conference
The Appalachian State Pre-Health Conference will take place on Saturday, November 4th from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Plemmons Student Union. The conference will provide dozens of hands-on sessions, profession specific sessions, and sessions that provide useful information regardless of which career you wish to pursue. The event is sponsored by PHI CHI Pre-Medical and Pre-Dental Society. To register, visit https://orgsync.com/104644/forms/276755.
Honors Alumni Spotlight
Check out this story from the Appalachian Magazine highlighting Appalachian Honors alumna and former Chancellor's Scholar Laura Parker and her husband Matt Parker's work: "Thwarting Human Traffickers: Alumni Matt and Laura Parker run a nonprofit that helps find and free slaves." http://appalachianmagazine.org/stories/id/774
Honors Student Spotlight
Honors student, political science major, and Arabic minor Shaina Katz spent the summer in Morocco studying Arabic, thanks to a Critical Language Scholarship. The scholarship is highly competitive, and according to Appalachian’s Office of International Education and Development, the last time that an Appalachian student received a CLS was in 2013. For more information on Shaina’s scholarship and summer abroad, visit http://www.news.appstate.edu/2017/05/11/shaina-katz/.
Don’t forget to “like” us on Facebook at Appalachian Honors: https://www.facebook.com/Appalachian-Honors-482157301971520/.
Submissions to honors@appstate.edu should be received by 5:00 p.m. on Thursdays for the following week’s issue.