Spring 2008 Honors Seminar Topics

Welcome to your Second Life

Milmon Harrison
Executive Summary

In this seminar we will critically examine the world of Internet social gaming by engaging in the 3-D virtual world known as “Second Life.” Since 2003, the growth of Second Life has been phenomenal. The inhabitants of this mass mediated, virtual world participate from all over the real world. Players create online identities that are represented by their own personal figure (or “avatar”). With real money they may purchase clothing, property, and other items. Players actually own these items and retain the right to will, trade, or sell them should they choose to do so. Some questions we will seek to answer include: who are the people most attracted to this type of activity, how does social gaming influence face-to-face interaction, and what effect has the transfer of money in a virtual environment had on the U.S. economy as well as those of other countries? The primary objective of the seminar is to gain greater understanding of the multiple meanings of such an explosively emergent social trend as Second Life.

The Truth and Consequences of Documentary-style Independent Films

Isabel Montanez
Executive Summary

Movies have long influenced pop culture in the U.S. and western Europe through their impact on fashion, lifestyles and social attitudes. This ‘sphere of influence’ has rapidly increased with globalization and the expansion of the entertainment industry outside of Hollywood. Fact-based documentary films, however, have rarely penetrated this sphere of social influence. The past few years have witnessed a new generation of documentary-style independent films that are gaining significant popularity – films such as ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, ‘Farenhiet 911’, ‘Supersize Me’, and ‘The Great Warming’ are contributing significantly to the public perception of current environmental and political issues. The awarding of the ‘triple crown’ of an Emmy, Oscar and Nobel Prize to Al Gore and his movie ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ would appear to firmly establish the place of such independent films in the movie entertainment’s sphere of public influence.

Yet despite the perceived influence of this form of media, the measurable social and political consequences of such films are less well defined. How can we best evaluate to what degree these high profile independent films are providing vehicles for social and political change both in the U.S. and abroad, and by what means? What historical moments have occurred over the past decade that make us so receptive to the messages offered by such politically charged documentaries? And can we predict how long-lived their influence will be and whether it can be sustained sufficiently long to impart permanent change? In this seminar, we will examine such issues and attempt to chart the path via which the independent film industry influences public perception, grass root efforts and public policy.

Credit Card Culture: Power or Bondage

Krishnan Nambiar
Executive Summary

Students are frequently bombarded with offers of easy credit from various credit card companies.
Students most of whom are living on their own for the first time when they enter the University are
easily tempted by such offers and get carried away in their spending habits. Such unchecked spending could lead to catastrophic outcomes such as bankruptcy or even suicide. In this seminar we will explore the underlying motives and tactics used by credit card companies and collection agencies, student vulnerability and how credit spending habits carry on into adult life. We will also investigate the economic, social, political, peer pressure, and cultural religious factors that influence human behavior and try to develop possible ways to help students cope with such pressures.

Is Britney Spears hotter than global warming?

Rance LeFebvre
Executive Summary

America seems to be more interested in what J. Lo is doing, than Global warming. More interested in American Idol, Tyra Banks and our next top model, and the tabloid newspapers and magazines, than the national deficit, the war in Iraq, immigration, and health care for all citizens. Nobel Prize winners and medical breakthroughs receive less attention than the MTV or Emmy awards. Genocide, and human rights issues often take a back seat to who is pregnant, whose dating or breaking up with whom, and Botox.

Is this a trend that we, as a country, should be concerned about, or is it a harmless diversion from the grind of daily living? Why are we so fascinated with the lives of mere mortals just because they are famous? Who made them famous? Why do we care? How is it that some celebrities escape the ever watchful eye of the Paparazzi?

This seminar will address this American mindset in the contexts of its origins, its history, its psychology, and its ramifications.

"I'm not paranoid. They are out to get me!"

Ann Orel
Executive Summary

The CIA and Lyndon Johnson arranged the assassination of JFK. Princess Diana was killed by the British royal family. The government is hiding aliens from UFOs that crashed at Roswell. No plane hit the Pentagon - 9/11 was a plot by the government so they could invade the Middle East. Conspiracy theories abound! Where is the truth? What is truth? How can we tell? This seminar will focus on conspiracy theories. Why are they prevalent? What do you believe? How can the public distinguish fact from fiction?

Does the universe have a purpose? and other perplexing questions: exploring the relationship, or lack thereof, between religion and science

Dan Potter
Executive Summary

Which of the following best describes the appropriate relationship between science and religion? 1) They are distinct and incompatible views of the universe; individuals, and ultimately society, must choose one of them over the other. 2) They are distinct views of the universe that address distinct human needs; they are both necessary but no attempt should be made to unite them. 3) They are distinct and complementary views of the universe and efforts should be made to find areas of compatibility and synergy between them. 4) They are parts of the same whole that should be combined into a unified view; only then can a true understanding of the universe be achieved. If you subscribe to the first view and you favor religion over science, how do you account for the evidence that supports some well-established scientific theories that are apparently incompatible with some religious traditions? If you subscribe to the first view and you favor science over religion, does that mean the universe, and by extension human lives, are without purpose and, if so, does that bother you? If you subscribe to the second view, are you not consigning yourself to maintaining two disconnected and sometimes conflicting views of life? If you subscribe to the third view, do you have to compromise the principles of both science and religion? If you subscribe to the fourth view, how do you reconcile the sometimes dramatic differences between particular religious traditions? People have been asking themselves these questions, and numerous others like these, for centuries, but recently there has been renewed attention to them from scientists, theologians, philosophers, and even politicians. What are the potential consequences of these debates, and can they ever be resolved?

A World Without Sea Food?

Matt Traxler
Executive Summary

From the Grand Banks of Nova Scotia to the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, fish are in trouble. At current catch rates, all species of fish that are currently taken commercially will be wiped out within our lifetimes (Worm et al., Science, 2006). Such a collapse will have substantial negative effects on millions of people worldwide who depend on seafood as a primary source of protein. Our seminar will assess how quickly fish populations are declining, what factors are contributing to the collapse, and what can be done to reverse the trend.

DHC Home

Back to the top