Honors Freshman Seminars Fall 2018

HC 110-2G Leadership for Social Change

Dr. Mary Wallace Assistant Vice President for Student Experience, Division of Student Affairs

The Social Change Model of Leadership Development will be the model and cornerstone of this Service Learning Course. At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to: identify leadership models, and relate to these models through the personal action plans for their own leadership development; practice leadership skills in a variety of situations, settings, and challenges; Describe the theories associated with leadership development, and apply these concepts to everyday leadership experiences; reflect and make decisions on leadership through serving; analyze responsibilities and commitments in the context of leadership for the common good and for purposeful change; recognize and articulate a set of values which guide leadership potential; and utilize this set of values when making decisions and practicing ethical leadership.

HC 120 Culinary Medicine- A Service Learning Approach to Empower Kids to Enhance Nutrition Literacy

Dr. Krista Casazza Associate Professor Department of Pediatrics, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health, School of Medicine

Undergraduates entering public health and healthcare fields, particularly within the pediatric population, often report discomfort, frustration, and confusion when trying to apply nutrition prescription into disease management and prevention. Applying service-learning to nutrition education creates an opportunity to become more comfortable communicating nutrition as medicine to adolescents. We aim to: Enhance undergraduate proficiency in meeting healthcare nutrition/health literacy needs of the pediatric population (and their parents) using service learning in which they will be guided toward tailoring nutrition) education and dietary prescription, 2)We will capitalize on a mobile kitchen (the Charlie Cart and service learning though this Honors College course to engage undergraduates in the empowerment of children and adolescents to 1) incorporate foundations of diet quality building content knowledge while linking foods with health; 2) Increase understanding of integration of diet quality and disease prevention through experiential learning; to improve dietary behaviors.

HC 111 Engineering Innovation and Design

Dr. Timothy Wick Senior Associate Dean, School of Engineering

The ability to innovate is seen as an essential skill that will create new economies and drive existing ones and, indeed, is necessary to successfully meet the challenges facing our global society. Innovative design is key to the engineering profession and is manifested the evolution of our quality of life. This course provides hands-on learning of engineering design and innovation and provides a relevant context for students pursuing an engineering degree. Students learn a disciplined approach to engineering design and innovation. Course topics include design concept development, decision-making techniques, sustainable design practices, project management and product lifecycle assessment. The skills developed will enable student teams to iteratively develop a product with commercial potential and societal impact. Each team member will have a chance to present the team’s evolving design in several short reviews that highlight the rationale behind design decision, materials choices, and other key decisions. By the end of the course, each student team will be able to succinctly articulate and defend the team’s design concept and prototype invention in the form of an ‘investment pitch’.

HC 113 English is Not Your Language: Immigrants Learn Language of Power in a Xenophobic US

Dr. Josephine Prado Assistant Professor of EL Education, School of Education

Students who participate in this service-learning course will explore the sociopolitical context of critical multiculturalism and language discrimination as it relates to the significance of education. Through in-class discussions, guest speakers, podcasts, and film, students will analyze and evaluate the intersection of language, culture, and identity at the individual level and at the societal level. The service-learning project, Culture Partners, provides students the opportunity to connect theory with practice. Honors College students and INTO-UAB students will pair up and participate in social, cultural, and academic activities of their choosing throughout the semester. Weekly interactions create space for all students to learn more about each other’s culture, about UAB, and about themselves. Students share insights at the UAB Fall EXPO for undergraduate research. Honors Seminars

HC 117 – 2G 100 Things About the Brain

Dr. Robin Lester Professor, Neurobiology, School of Medicine

The media constantly bombards us with exciting new information about our marvelous brains, but the brain remains the least understood, yet most powerful, organ system in the body. Its reach is broad – influencing everything from sleep to love to how we perceive and interact with the world. This course will examine intriguing questions in neuroscience as they are presented to the layperson through TED Talks, video presentations, podcasts, Scientific American articles, and newspaper/magazine science op-eds. The aim is to expose students to a wide range of topics about the brain, some fundamental, some controversial, in ways they may not have thought about before; challenging them to discuss the evidence for and against various theories of brain function. There will be no memorization of information, only the willingness to read, post and discuss scientific opinions on articles/videos. Prerequisites: Must have a brain and be willing to use it!

HC 119 Ethical Issues in Women’s Health

Dr. Lynn Nichols Associate Professor, School of Nursing

How do healthcare professionals advise their patients regarding difficult ethical situations? What information is considered while these ethical situations are considered by the healthcare team? What rights to patients have and how do healthcare professionals respect these important rights? These questions will be explored in this course, while ethical issues in women’s health are explored. This course will focus on ethical issues related to women’s health, including, but not limited to: family planning, prenatal testing, surrogate motherhood, right to genetic information, fetal viability issues, research studies using women as subjects, postpartum depression, domestic violence/abuse, rape/trauma, and pertinent political/legal issues. The course will feature discussion of ethical issues in the writing of Florence Nightingale, a pioneer nurse visionary from the 1860s, and students will visit the Reynolds-Finley Historic Library on campus to interact with the original letters of Florence Nightingale and other historical medical instruments that are related to the course. The format of the course will be an engaging seminar and discussion of the issues to gain an understanding of the complexity of ethical issues present in women’s health.