Winter 2017 Honors Seminars
Seminars are restricted to students currently enrolled in the College Honors Program through
College of Letters and Science.
These two-unit courses provide an opportunity for research exploration in various disciplines and
consider advanced studies beyond college. To earn honors credit, seminars must be completed
with a letter grade of B or higher. Eligible students may take 8 units maximum of INT 84
seminars and 8 units maximum of INT 184 seminars.
Add Codes for enrollment are made available only by the professor of the course. Please contact
them directly for add codes during your assigned pass time.
All Honors Seminars are 2 units.
Consult GOLD for additional course details.
Please note if your class is not a 10-week course the add/drop deadline
may be earlier.
Lower-Division Seminars:
INT 84ZF: Mathematics of Sudoku
Professor Jeffrey Stopple– Mathematics
Day:
Time:
Location:
Mondays
8:00-9:50 am
GIRV 2129 (note new location)
Enrollment Code:
56077
How many Sudoku solution squares are there? What shapes can serve as acceptable
Sudoku regions? What is the fewest number of starting clues? We will explore the
connections between Sudoku, graph theory, and polynomials; and consider Sudoku
extremes, including puzzles with the maximal number of vacant regions, with the
minimal number of starting clues, and others.
No mathematical background is required for this course.
Professor Stopple's research is in number theory, particularly prime numbers.
[email protected]
November 14, 2016
INT 84ZG: Constantine the Crusader
Professor Elizabeth Digeser, History
Days:
Time:
Location:
Fridays
12:00-1:50pm
LSB 1101
Enrollment Code:
56085
The emperor Constantine was the first Roman ruler to convert to Christianity. He is a
difficult subject to study, however, because views of him have diverged widely--both in
antiquity and now. This course will explore how views of Constantine have changed over
the centuries--so much so that he is both the root of the western Crusader and the Islamic
jihadi.
Professor Digeser is a historian of the late Roman Empire (3rd-4th centuries, CE). She is
particularly interested in Roman religion and politics, including the rise of Christianity
and the reign of the emperor Constantine.
[email protected]
INT 84ZH: Introduction to Mediterranean Studies: Movement and Migration at the
Turn of the Twenty-First Century
Professor Silvia Bermudez – Spanish and Portuguese
Day:
Time:
Location:
Tuesdays
5:00-6:50 PM
GIRV 1108
Enrollment Code:
56093
This Introduction evaluates the Mediterranean Basin in present-times (from the late
Twentieth-Century to 2016) as a shared but contested space where notions of frontier,
(in)security, and policing identity are pitted against the desire to move to find work, safer
political grounds, or/and better opportunities across borders. To attend to the migration
dynamics and narratives traversing the Mediterranean shores we will pay attention to
music, literature, and film from diverse nations and regions.
Professor Silvia Bermudez teaches and researches on Iberian and Latin American
Studies. Her current courses and research projects focus on Iberian/Galician Studies,
Mediterranean Studies, and Cultural Studies, particularly popular music.
[email protected]
November 14, 2016
***FIELD TRIP***
INT 84ZI: Plant and Habitat Diversity: An Introduction to Local Biodiversity
Professor Susan Mazer– Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology
Day:
Time:
Location:
Fridays (February 24 and March 3, 10, 17, 2017)
12:00-4:50 PM
LSB 4307
Enrollment Code:
62257
We will take four field trips to nearby (and stunning) coastal and mountain habitats to
learn about wild plant species and their adaptations. Field trips will include visits to
chaparral, oak woodland, and beach communities in order to sample the botanical
diversity that Santa Barbara has to offer. Bring notebooks and good walking shoes!
Dr. Mazer is a Professor of plant ecology and evolution and the Director of the
California Phenology Project (www.usanpn.org/cpp/). Her research aims to detect the
processes and results of evolution by natural selection, particularly for traits that
contribute to the adaptation of wild plant species to stressful environments. She has
conducted field work with a wide variety of species and plant communities to detect
reproductive and physiological adaptations, ranging from South American tropical rain
forests to the Sierra Nevada and Coastal Ranges of California. She is currently
investigating geographic variation in several wildflower species to detect how they have
adapted to variation in temperature and rainfall, and to make predictions about their
evolutionary responses to climate change.
[email protected]
INT 84ZJ: Tolstoy's Anna Karenina
Professor Sara Pankenier Weld - Germanic and Slavic Studies
Day:
Time:
Location:
Thursdays
12:00-150 PM
PHELP 6320
Enrollment Code: 62851
From its famous opening line to its dramatic ending, Leo Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina
has captivated audiences since the nineteenth century. Set in imperial Russia, it gets at the
heart of profound human experiences and the big questions in life. In this seminar, we
discuss the implications of Tolstoy’s masterpiece.
November 14, 2016
Sara Pankenier Weld is an assistant professor of Russian and Comparative Literature at
UCSB. She teaches and researches Russian literature, comparative literature, and
children’s literature. She has traveled extensively in Russia, including as far north as the
Arctic Ocean and traveling across this vast, fascinating country on the Trans-Siberian
Railroad.
[email protected]
NEW ADDITION
INT 84ZK: Introduction to Linear Programming: The Simplex Method
Professor Gustavo Ponce, Mathematics
Day:
Time:
Location:
Wednesdays
1:00-2:50 pm
PHELP 3519
Enrollment Code:
69161
Operation Research (OR) was developed early in World War II, as there was a need to
allocate scare military operations in an efficient manner. After the war OR had a very
rapid development, as linear programing, dynamic programing and inventory theory
among others were developed at the end of the 1950's. Later, the computer revolution
provided a great impulse to the growth of the OR. Large amounts of computations often
required in the complex problems typically analyzed by OR could be easily handled. An
example of a problem which can be solved by using linear programing is the
Transportation Problem: A company has stocks of goods allocated in k different
storehouses. The goods have to be delivered to n different customers, each of which is
requesting a certain quantity of goods. The transportation cost of one unit of the good
from the storehouse i (for i=1 to k) to the customer j ( for j=1 to n) is known. The aim is
to design a transportation strategy which satisfies the customers demand and minimize
the total transportation costs.
Professor Ponce completed his PhD at Courant Institute NYU in 1982, and since 1991
has been a professor at UCSB. His research interest is the study of partial differential
equations arising as physical models in wave propagations and fluid mechanics. The goal
is to describe the qualitative behavior of solutions to these models by developing
techniques coming from harmonic analysis.
[email protected]
November 14, 2016
Upper-Division Seminars:
INT 184JP: Law and Disobedience
Professor John Park – Asian American Studies
Day:
Time:
Location:
Fridays
10:00-11:50 am
see GOLD for details
Enrollment Code:
27979
This seminar explores various forms of disobedience in American public law, primarily
in circumstances involving people of color. We begin with a discussion of disobedience
as the topic appears within theories of law, and then we examine why disobedience poses
special problems in constitutional democracies committed to the rule of law. We will
discuss, in turn: slavery; white supremacist rules in the United States and abroad;
segregation and desegregation; and contemporary immigration laws.
John Park is Professor of Asian American Studies at UCSB. His professional life will
flash before you if you click here: http://www.asamst.ucsb.edu/people/john-s-w-park
[email protected]
INT 184PD: Introduction to Clinical Medicine
This course is designed to provide students interested in a medically related career an
introduction to clinical medicine. Upper-division standing and consent of instructor
required. The selection process is competitive. Honors students interested in INT 184PD
should review the course requirements (see link below) and if eligible, email Dr. Stephen
Blain, [email protected]
http://www.duels.ucsb.edu/honors/advantages/health
INT 184DH: Introduction to Clinical Medicine
(This course is for those who have already taken INT 184PD)
This course is designed to provide students interested in a medically related career an
introduction to clinical medicine. Upper-division standing and consent of instructor
required. The selection process is competitive. Honors students interested in INT
184DH should review the course requirements (see link below) and if eligible, email Dr.
Stephen Blain, [email protected]
November 14, 2016
http://www.duels.ucsb.edu/honors/advantages/health
Students: Please remember to read through the course requirements for INT 184PD
and INT 184DH prior to contacting our office about enrollment.
COURSE HAS BEEN CANCELLED
INT 184ZM: The Problem of Memory
Professor Stan Klein, Psychology
Memory is perhaps the most commonly recruited mental faculty -- used by neuroscience
and psychological science to explain human thought and behavior. Yet, despite sustained
empirical exploration, we know remarkably little about memory.
INT 184ZS: Cuban Imaginaries: Slavery, Revolution, Dystopia
Professor Juan Pablo Lupi– Spanish and Portuguese
Day:
Time:
Location:
Wednesdays
8:00-9:50 am
LSB 1101
Enrollment Code:
59287
Few places have captured the world’s imagination like Cuba: slavery, tropical paradise,
US colony, Mafia haven, Che Guevara, nuclear war, revolutionary utopia, postapocalyptic dystopia. We will explore Cuba’s history and culture through these themes,
using materials ranging from slave narratives to a zombie film and sci-fi.
Professor Lupi's teaching and research focuses on contemporary Latin American
literature, history of ideas, and the intersections between literature, philosophy and
science.
[email protected]
INT 184ZT: Of Human Bondage
Professor Paul Sonnino– History
Day:
Mondays
November 14, 2016
Time:
Location:
5:00-6:50 pm
HSSB 2251
Enrollment Code:
62158
Most communication between people is based on the assumption that we are all in touch
with something called REALITY without considering that there is absolutely no
agreement among philosophers as to what REALITY is. This leads to an immense
amount of miscommunication, or as the song goes, “Everybody’s talkin at me, Don’t
know what their sayin!” It is my opinion that that there is only one philosopher who has
confronted this confusion squarely with a minimum of illusions, and that philosopher was
David Hume who lived from 1711 to 1776 and who was so hesitant to tell us what he
REALLY thought that he disguised it in the form of a friendly discussion between
friends, and even so, he locked up his account of the discussion in his desk and it was not
published until after his death.
For a number of years now Professor Sonnino has offered an Honors Seminar on the
book he was writing titled “The Search for the Man in the Iron Mask: A Historical
Detective Story” which was a feasible project because he could keep his solution of the
mystery a secret until the end of the quarter while the class worked through the
documents that gradually led us to my conclusion. Last year, however, he finally
published the book. As a result, the class can no longer play that game. However, Dr.
Sonnino will teach the kind of critical thinking which permitted him to reach his
conclusions in this book. As anyone who has taken his classes knows, Professor
Sonnino does not treat my students like children. It’s more like psychotherapy. Some
like it, some don’t.
[email protected]
NEW ADDITION
INT 184ZU: Principles and Applications of Terrestrial LiDAR
Professor Ed Keller, Earth Science
Day:
Time:
Location:
Wednesdays
5:00-6:50 pm
WEBB 1030
Enrollment Code:
69138
Students will be assisting with a project that aims to measure rates and patterns of coastal
erosion using laser scanning technology called terrestrial LiDAR . Students will learn
how perform Terrestrial LiDAR surveys of sea cliffs and beaches in Santa Barbara
November 14, 2016
County, as well as learn how to process and perform measurements on the collected data.
Types of measurements students will perform include: calculation of seacliffs retreat rate,
determining patterns of erosion, investigating cliff stability, and determining volume
loss/gain of beaches. Students will also be required to read several papers as well as write
a report on their work that will be turned in at the end of the quarter. The proposed work
is being done in conjunction with an ongoing research project within the Earth Science
department and will be overseen by Professor Ed Keller and graduate student, Paul
Alessio.
Professor Keller earned his Ph.D. from Purdue University, Indiana in Geology. He has
served as Chair of both the Environmental Studies and the Hydrologic Science programs.
Author on some 100 articles in international journals, governmental reports and
professional volumes, in addition to a number of textbooks including two on
Environmental Science and Geology. Dr. Keller has received several honors and awards
for his contributions to the profession.
[email protected]
NEW ADDITION
INT 184ZV: Addressing Social Problems with Psychological Science
Professor David Sherman, Psychological & Brain Sciences
Day:
Time:
Location:
Wednesdays
10:00-11:50 am
BUCHN 1934
Enrollment Code:
68932
Climate change. The spread of infectious disease. Achievement gaps. From the
environment to health to education, there is no shortage of social problems for research to
address. This seminar will discuss social psychological research that uses the scientific
method to apply well-developed theorizing in real world settings to both understand and
address societal issues.
David Sherman is a professor in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at the
University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a social and health psychologist whose
research centers on how people cope with threatening events and information. He is the
president of the International Society for Self and Identity. Professor Sherman’s research
has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation.
[email protected]
November 14, 2016
NEW ADDITION
INT 184ZW: Using Effective Communication Techniques in the Courtroom
Professor Daniel Linz, Communication
Day:
Time:
Location:
Wednesdays
4:00-5:50 pm
HSSB 2202
Enrollment Code:
68999
This course will require students to observe attorneys in the courtroom at trial in the
Santa Barbara courthouse. The students may choose to focus on a number of topics
relevant to effective communication. This may include making effective opening
statements, visual presentation of evidence, inverting witnesses in the stand, and
increasing jury persuasion. The course instructor will facilitate meetings and discussions
with attorneys and the judge participating in the trial. This course may be especially
useful for students considering a career in the legal system.
Professor Linz’s research and teaching focuses on communication and law. One area of
concentration is communication in the courtroom. In his teaching he emphasizes
community and practical experience. Dr. Linz encourages students to observe legal trials
and meet with the attorneys and the judges involved in the trial. Students later meet with
the instructor of the course and each other to discuss their experiences.
[email protected]
We encourage you to continue to check our website for additions
to our Honors Seminars offerings.
http://www.duels.ucsb.edu/honors/curriculum/courses
Please see the Section list online Winter 2017 Honors Sections.
November 14, 2016