First Year Seminars
These specialized seminars are introductory courses in the Honors Program curriculum. Most incoming Honors Program students will participate in one of these highly recommended seminars during their first semester at Baylor. These small classes enroll a maximum of 19 students, ensuring close student-faculty interaction and a chance for lively discussion. Honors seminars often satisfy degree requirements for a variety of majors.
Below are some Honors seminar topics that have been offered in the past; selections will differ from year-to-year. The seminars offered for the upcoming year will likely differ from what is listed below.
Crossroads in Medicine
What does it mean to have the power to heal another individual? What ethical lines should not be crossed to save another human life? What would happen if humans could live forever? Medicine is a complicated profession in which science, philosophy, business, sociology, psychology and religion all intersect. Everyday, the modern day physician sits at a crossroads of possibilities trying to determine the best outcome for their patients and their practice. This course will use several literary texts as a context for discussion of the many issues and concerns that physicians must encounter as an aspect of their everyday responsibilities in research and patient care.
Child Migration in the Western Hemisphere
Since 2013, more than 850,000 children and families have fled Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras and sought asylum in the United States. This course seeks to understand the causes, characteristics, and consequences of this migration by examining why these children and families flee, what happens to them along the journey, and their prospects upon arrival in the United States.
Political Philosophy
This course uses canonical texts from the history of political philosophy to teach students how to think about politics in a philosophical rather than an ideological way. Students will engage in intense class discussions on some of the major themes that political philosophers have taken up: What is politics? What is justice? What ends ought politics pursue? What are the possibilities and limits of political association? Students will also write a number of exegetical essays and improve their skills in philosophical writing.
Doubt, Faith, and the Pursuit of Truth
We all want answers but rarely examine the questions we ask. How do we question well? Is there such a thing as a bad question? Is doubt compatible with faith? Can I be confident in what I know? Is faith irrational? In this course, we will look at these and other central philosophical questions, drawing on close readings of classical and contemporary texts as our starting points—works from Plato, Aristotle, and Descartes, and C.S. Lewis, among others. Classes are discussion based—composed of little to no lecture. Instead, we will wrestle with difficult ideas through Socratic dialogue.
Code Blue! Leading as a Physician
This course focuses on the principles of leadership necessary to become a successful physician in today’s rapidly changing world of medicine. Taught by a physician that was himself a Baylor University premed student, students will spend time learning how a physician thinks, the rubric for medical decision making, and the ethical basis for dealing with difficult decisions and mistakes. As the title “Code Blue” implies, physicians are required to make rapid, life-and-death decisions on a regular basis. This course will begin to build the student’s decision-making process that will eventually be frozen into habit. There is no prerequisite medical knowledge required. The ideal class participant is a premed student that knows little about the world of medicine or what it means to be a physician. This course is the first step in developing the student into a leader of character in the world of medicine.
Introduction to Leadership
This course invites students to explore the big questions of leadership: Who is a leader? Who am I? Why do we lead? What happens in leadership? How do leaders lead? And how does all of this contribute to human flourishing? Through an engaging study of leadership theory and practice, students will examine what makes leadership effective, meaningful, and worth pursuing in all areas of life. Along the way, they’ll reflect on exemplary leaders past and present, clarify their own values, and develop a personal philosophy of leadership to guide their growth throughout college and beyond. This course would be of interest to students who are curious about how leadership works and /or who want to grow as thoughtful leaders—whether in student organizations, community settings, or future careers. It’s also ideal for students who enjoy reflecting on big questions, developing self-awareness, and learning how to lead in ways that serve a larger vision of human flourishing.
Philosophy of C.S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis was first trained as a philosopher, but after the war there were no positions, so he gained qualifications to teach English and the rest is history. However, Lewis continued to write philosophical works and to write literature philosophically on such a variety of issues that his work can serve as a fitting introduction to philosophy. In this course we will examine issues in ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics through Lewis’s works of both fiction and non-fiction. We will also get to know C.S. Lewis the man, the soul at the center of the work.
Called Together in an Age of Discord
Ours is an age of discord. Social alienation and political tribalism prevail; racial tensions divide. The tone of social discourse is harsh, often mean-spirited. Ideals like reasoned compromise, political civility, genuine community, and pursuit of the common good seem unattainable, too often replaced by a suffocating cynicism that can manifest itself in violence. For aspiring servant-leaders, the present age calls for something different than a trendy new organizational concept or leadership “tool.” In both word and deed, they must cultivate an imagination that underscores the idea that the world around us is not something to retreat from, but something to encounter with gentle boldness, animated by hope. Through a close engagement of texts that span Aristotle to the present, we will explore how leaders of the present and future might respond to times such as these.