Courses

CITYMESTER: City Solutions

Have you ever wondered why there is not enough food in the wealthiest country in the nation? What can we do to prevent climate change? How about taking a deeper dive into larger societal systems that have helped create social issues that require volunteers? This course will allow you to re-examine your values in connection with social issue topics that affect our local and larger community. All while simultaneously getting your hands dirty, having difficult conversations, and deepening a connection with a community partner. The goal of this course is to develop relationships with community partners, critically analyze volunteerism, and examine your journey to becoming a conscientious citizen.

This course fulfills the Service learning requirement

CITYMESTER: City Skills

City Skills is the internship component of Citymester. Placements are based on student career interests with current partners. Through the internships, students and community partners work together to strengthen our local businesses and institutions. https://honors.utsa.edu/programs/utsa-citymester/

This course fulfills the Professional Development learning requirement.

CITYMESTER: San Antonio Seminar

Explore San Antonio and new urbanism is new and exciting ways. Learn directly from city leaders in various industries, critically examine some of the major issues facing the region, and explore several of the area’s most engaging sites. Become San Antonio savvy; learn the area, network with local officials, and develop urban living skills. See: https://honors.utsa.edu/programs/utsa-citymester/

This course fulfills the Interdisciplinary Seminar learning requirement.

HON Sem: Migration & Human Development

This course will examine the relationship between international migration and human development. With a foreign-born population of almost 50 million, the United States is the country with the largest immigrant population in the world. Recent political events have brought a great deal of anti-immigrant rhetoric and attention to the negative impacts of immigration on the quality of life in this country. At the end of this course, the student will be knowledgeable of the historical context of U.S. immigration, understand the importance of human development as a concept and policy tool, and critically review empirical studies on the impact of immigration on the welfare of U.S. society. Students will learn from readings, lectures, documentaries, and class discussions.

This course fulfills the Interdisciplinary Seminar learning requirement.

HonSem: Japan

This field-based course aims at helping students deepen their understanding of Japanese society, business, politics, religions, philosophy, educational system through lectures, visits to various world heritage sites and Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, and experiential learning on a team farm. The field experience will cover Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan, and Osaka, 3rd largest city in Japan, to experience the contrasts of modernism and traditions that co-exist seamlessly in the Land of the Rising Sun.  UTSA Honors Program in Japan video  Disclaimer: Program content varies from one year to another and should only be used as a reference  Contact lead faculty Professor Mimi Yu at mimi.yu@utsa.edu should you have any questions.

This course fulfills the Interdisciplinary Seminar or Cultural Exploration learning requirement.

HONSem: The Dresden Exper Study Abroad

This 30-day program in Dresden, a city that made Lonely Planet's 2023 list of Best Places to Travel, will give students an introduction to living in Germany, with experiential components related to living, studying, working, and culture. The UTSA course combines excursions, reflection, and an individual project tailored to students' field of study.

This course fulfills the Interdisciplinary Seminar or Cultural Exploration learning requirement.

HON Sklls: Writing for TV

Lights, Camera, Action! In this five week course, students will create a pitch document and an outline for an original pilot for a television show. They will also learn the fundamentals of screenplay format so that they can continue working on their projects after the course is over.

This course fulfills 1 of 3 credits for the Skill Development learning requirement.

Honors 101

A series of weekly, one-hour classes and peer coaching on how to excel in the Honors College. Taught by Honors College Dean and Academic Counselors. Each section has the same curriculum and instructors. Classes in the A section are offered during the first 8 weeks of the semester while B section classes are offered in the second 8 weeks. This is a 0 SCH course. Honors 101 is required and at no cost. Sign up on ASAP just as you would for any other course.

This course fulfills the Honors 101 learning requirement

Honors 101

A series of weekly, one-hour classes and peer coaching on how to excel in the Honors College. Taught by Honors College Dean and Academic Counselors. Each section has the same curriculum and instructors. Classes in the A section are offered during the first 8 weeks of the semester while B section classes are offered in the second 8 weeks. This is a 0 SCH course. Honors 101 is required and at no cost. Sign up on ASAP just as you would for any other course.

This course fulfills the Honors 101 learning requirement

Civic Ethos

A weekly, one-hour course that covers different approaches, philosophies and ethics to civic engagement. This course introduces the primary ethos of the UTSA Honors College curriculum. Classes in the A section are offered during the first 8 weeks of the semester while B section classes are offered in the second 8 weeks. This is a 1 SCH course. This course counts as the Civic Ethos requirement in the Honors College curriculum.

This course fulfills the Civic Ethos learning requirement

Civic Ethos

A weekly, one-hour course that covers different approaches, philosophies and ethics to civic engagement. This course introduces the primary ethos of the UTSA Honors College curriculum. Classes in the A section are offered during the first 8 weeks of the semester while B section classes are offered in the second 8 weeks. This is a 1 SCH course. This course counts as the Civic Ethos requirement in the Honors College curriculum.

This course fulfills the Civic Ethos learning requirement

Civic Ethos

A weekly, one-hour course that covers different approaches, philosophies and ethics to civic engagement. This course introduces the primary ethos of the UTSA Honors College curriculum. Classes in the A section are offered during the first 8 weeks of the semester while B section classes are offered in the second 8 weeks. This is a 1 SCH course. This course counts as the Civic Ethos requirement in the Honors College curriculum.

This course fulfills the Civic Ethos learning requirement

Civic Ethos

A weekly, one-hour course that covers different approaches, philosophies and ethics to civic engagement. This course introduces the primary ethos of the UTSA Honors College curriculum. Classes in the A section are offered during the first 8 weeks of the semester while B section classes are offered in the second 8 weeks. This is a 1 SCH course. This course counts as the Civic Ethos requirement in the Honors College curriculum.

This course fulfills the Civic Ethos learning requirement

Freshman Comp II: Environmental Issues

In today’s argument culture, rife with partisan sound bites, how do we make our own voices heard? How can we move beyond “us-versus-them” language and build real common ground? This persuasive writing course invites you to research social and environmental issues (think climate change, environmental injustice, zoonotic disease, and others) through a rhetorical lens. It asks you to take a position on the issues you care about, and to consider how your audience’s values and beliefs—as well as your own—shape your stance. Perhaps most importantly, it calls you to consider how the best arguments involve both persuasion and truth-seeking. You will compose both written and oral arguments in the course, including an op-ed/commentary, a TED talk-style video presentation, and two researched academic essays. Prerequisite: WRC 1013.

This course fulfills the Honors Requirement (& Communication Core) learning requirement

Freshman Comp II: Environmental Issues

In today’s argument culture, rife with partisan sound bites, how do we make our own voices heard? How can we move beyond “us-versus-them” language and build real common ground? This persuasive writing course invites you to research social and environmental issues (think climate change, environmental injustice, zoonotic disease, and others) through a rhetorical lens. It asks you to take a position on the issues you care about, and to consider how your audience’s values and beliefs—as well as your own—shape your stance. Perhaps most importantly, it calls you to consider how the best arguments involve both persuasion and truth-seeking. You will compose both written and oral arguments in the course, including an op-ed/commentary, a TED talk-style video presentation, and two researched academic essays. Prerequisite: WRC 1013.

This course fulfills the Honors Requirement (& Communication Core) learning requirement

CSH 1213 Honors: The Art and Politics of Wandering: Migrants, Marchers, Pilgrims, Madmen

Wild things happen when we place one foot in front of the other. Strangers meet, kingdoms fall, and lives are changed. The history of humankind is a history of wanderlust, that particularly human propensity to wonder what’s on the other side of the horizon and determine to find out, come what may. It’s the basic stuff of everything from Biblical adventures to horror movies. In this course we will consider the world-changing power of the simple act of walking, of hopping on a bike, taking a road trip, or traversing a border. We will follow the footpaths of epic heroes, medieval pilgrims, and shipwrecked conquistadors, and march in metaphorical step with political revolutionaries, bereft mothers, and desperate immigrants. We will read, we will write, and, yes, we too will walk. And we will reflect on the art and the politics of those walks, on the apparently endless capacity of human movement across space to change lives and change the world. Building on weekly communication exercises (writing, speaking, etc.), this “workshop” seminar will culminate in a series of walks that encourage you to engage with your world, past, present, and future.

This course fulfills the Honors CSH 1213 (& Language, Philosophy & Culture Core) learning requirement

CSH 1213 Honors: The Language of the Fairy Tale

Fairy tales, as myths, and dreams have their own universal, symbolic language, different from our everyday expression, something that the German psychoanalist, Erich Fromm, called The Forgotten Language.” Most of the time, they are based on ancestral religious beliefs, myths, and legends. They have their own symbolic patterns that need to be desciphered and interpreted. Through the reading and analysis of traditional Russian „magical tales” (volshebnye skazki) we will analyze the ancient ideas they contain in order to understand and unravel their deep meaning, and be able to interpret these and other tales from diverse traditions. Students will learn to interpret tales and dreams, and will reach out to their family and community in order to gather fairy tales from their own cultures, and collectively create a “UTSA archive of local fairy tales.”

This course fulfills the Honors CSH 1213 (& Language, Philosophy & Culture Core) learning requirement

CSH 1213 Honors: Korean Pop Culture: Korean Culture through Korean Films

Recently, the movie Parasite won 5 Academy Awards including Best Film as well as, the Palme D’Or, which is the highest film award in the Cannes film festival. Also, Squid Game was the number one series on Netflix for several weeks, covering the topic of social issues in Korea. Korea’s film and TV series industry has been thriving, and through this, students can learn Korean culture depicted from Korean films and TV series. They can be a great tool to understand a country’s culture and the people’s lives including their outfits, language, food, relationship, architectures, social issues, politics, and so on. This course is designed to strengthen students’ understanding and knowledge of Korea, Koreans, and Korean culture through Korean films. Specifically, students will learn and understand Korean culture through group projects, engaging activities such as cooking Korean cuisine together, immersing themselves in culture through authentic Korean architecture and traditional Korean instruments, and having in-class group discussions.

This course fulfills the Honors CSH 1213 (& Language, Philosophy & Culture Core) learning requirement

CSH 1213: Language Problems in the Real World

Have you ever thought how many situations in real life have to do with language? From chatting with friends to writing legal documents, from learning to say our first word as babies to improving voice recognition technology for a tech company, from diagnosing a patient during a visit to the doctor’s to examining linguistic evidence while solving crime, the list is endless... A lot of what people do in their private and professional lives has to do with language. Addressing language-related problems/issues in the real world is a complex and dynamic task that requires not only knowledge about what language is and how it works, but also the use of interdisciplinary knowledge and resources. This course will introduce students to the study of language and will explore language problems that arise in different areas of society, including professional and institutional settings where students currently participate or will take part in one day through the exercise of their profession. The course will end with a project where students will be able to investigate a language-related problem of their interest, explore what the latest research says in relation to that problem, and come up with possible ways of addressing it.

This course fulfills the Honors CSH 1213 (& Language, Philosophy & Culture Core) learning requirement

CSH 1213 Honors: What’s So Funny?: The Art and Science of Humor

This course fulfills the Honors CSH 1213 (& Language, Philosophy & Culture Core) learning requirement

Academic Inquiry (HON) Language & Culture of the University Experience

Whether interacting with peers and professors, learning about important questions and issues in an academic discipline, or developing a sense of community at UTSA, becoming acclimated to life in college is a cultural experience. As with any culture, understanding the culture of higher education entails recognizing how language is used in different contexts, perceiving social dynamics and patterns, and identifying an institution's values, customs, and traditions. In this course, students will explore how language, social interaction, and culture intersect in a college environment to adapt to various academic cultural contexts, from a single classroom community to the broader university landscape. Through first valuing how students' own cultural backgrounds enhance their learning, we will contextualize UTSA's cultural history, examine the language of higher education, differentiate between academic disciplinary practices and perspectives, and shed light on hidden curriculum, or "unwritten" skills and knowledge students are often expected to possess. Students will also have the opportunity to serve their community through a semester-long service-learning experience. This course will not only prepare students to become astute observers of the language and culture of their university experience, but they will also be equipped with the cultural competence to be active participants within and beyond their journey at UTSA.

This course fulfills the First Year Experience (& University Requirement) learning requirement

Academic Inquiry (HON) Sci Fi and the Social Sciences

In this course, students will explore the social sciences through the lens of science fiction. Students will read sci fi novels, and a number of short stories and few essays. All of these works revolve around how social sciences have been imagined by sci fi writers or how these disciplines have influenced their writings in other ways. We will discuss what the social sciences are, what they can do and can’t do, what they say about the future of humanity and what role they might have in stimulating real-world future research. Novels will include Foundation by Isaac Asimov, Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin, and Who Fears Death? By Nnedi Okorafor. We will explore sci fi from different periods in its history from a diversity of authors.

This course fulfills the First Year Experience (& University Requirement) learning requirement

Academic Inquiry (HON) Global Community

The events of the past few years have emphasized the significance of global connections. The pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, climate change: these are challenges that cross borders and necessitate global responses. And, in a more mundane sense, we are all part of global society, from the clothes we wear, to the coffee we drink, to the ideas we think about, and the culture we take part in. While all Academic Inquiry and Scholarship courses seek to orient first-year college students to university life and their fields of study, this course goes further by examining academic debates and current events concerning the consequences of globalization, including global cultural, economic, and political interactions, and ending with a look at enduring global challenges, such as crime, corruption, and climate change.

This course fulfills the First Year Experience (& University Requirement) learning requirement

Academic Inquiry (HON) PhD, or The “Other” Doctor

A PhD, or doctorate, is the highest degree you can earn in the Sciences, and it requires a deep, long-term investment in research. This course is for students who are interested in a PhD in the Biomedical Sciences. Biomedical scientists from a variety of backgrounds explore the underlying causes of illness, enhance treatments, and develop technologies that can improve people’s health. Taught by Gail P. Taylor, the training specialist of several of UTSA's most prestigious pre-PhD training programs, this AIS course will be a deep dive into professional and academic development required for future PhDs. Students will have the opportunity to explore paths and planning resources for a PhD in the Biomedical Sciences, connecting coursework, science-related outreach, science writing and presentation, graduate school identification and funding, and individual plans for success. Since many great discoveries in the biomedical sciences have resulted from collaborations between biologists, physicists, chemists, engineers, computer scientists, and psychologists, people in these majors are invited to take this course. This AIS course is not for premeds, unless they intend to get a PhD in Biomedical Sciences in addition to their medical degree. Questions? Email Dr. Taylor: gail.taylor@utsa.edu

This course fulfills the First Year Experience (& University Requirement) learning requirement

Academic Inquiry (HON) PhD, or The “Other” Doctor

A PhD, or doctorate, is the highest degree you can earn in the Sciences, and it requires a deep, long-term investment in research. This course is for students who are interested in a PhD in the Biomedical Sciences. Biomedical scientists from a variety of backgrounds explore the underlying causes of illness, enhance treatments, and develop technologies that can improve people’s health. Taught by Gail P. Taylor, the training specialist of several of UTSA's most prestigious pre-PhD training programs, this AIS course will be a deep dive into professional and academic development required for future PhDs. Students will have the opportunity to explore paths and planning resources for a PhD in the Biomedical Sciences, connecting coursework, science-related outreach, science writing and presentation, graduate school identification and funding, and individual plans for success. Since many great discoveries in the biomedical sciences have resulted from collaborations between biologists, physicists, chemists, engineers, computer scientists, and psychologists, people in these majors are invited to take this course. This AIS course is not for premeds, unless they intend to get a PhD in Biomedical Sciences in addition to their medical degree. Questions? Email Dr. Taylor: gail.taylor@utsa.edu

This course fulfills the First Year Experience (& University Requirement) learning requirement

Academic Inquiry (HON): Science in Society

Since the dawn of man, there seems to have been an innate sense of curiosity and drive to explain to natural world. Man’s search for answers has directly shaped the beliefs and norms of societies for millennia. Reciprocally, the beliefs and norms held by a given society have directly shaped the kinds of questions asked, as well as the kinds of answers that were considered acceptable at the time. Exploring the nature of this two-way interaction reveals histories that can be quite unexpected and often amusing. For example, who would have thought that the first institution of modern science, The Royal Society of London, devoted much of their research effort to proving the existence of witches? One hundred later, the investigation into the mystery of electricity led to an unfortunate (and certainly underpaid) lab technician serving as a human conduit in an experiment on electrical conductance. Ouch. On the other hand, historical exploration of the relationship between science and society also exposes some of the darkest episodes in human history. For example, the ‘new science’ of eugenics inspired one of the most horrific episodes in history, the Holocaust. And one of the most remarkable feats in science, speaking strictly from a scientific achievement standpoint, led to the devastation of two Japanese cities with over 200,000 deaths in a matter of minutes. From the humorous and fascinating, to the tragic and transformational, this class explores episodes that illustrate the intertwined relationship between science and society. Because the very nature of this class is multidisciplinary, it offers something of interest for every major with ample opportunity for deep dives into personal projects to enrich any student’s career path.

This course fulfills the First Year Experience (& University Requirement) learning requirement

HON: Making the Leap from College to Career: Essential Skills for your Job Search and Beyond

Students develop a career portfolio, do a Group Mock Interview, attend career events, and complete informational interviews with professionals in their field. A portion of the course would be devoted to skill building for success once they've been hired: research, writing, communications, workplace conflict resolution, etc. I would likely develop a community based research option for the experiential component.

This course fulfills the Professional Development learning requirement

Special Studies: Contemporary Musical Styles

Have you wondered what makes a certain Beatles chord progression so catchy? How rappers like Kendrick Lamar or Chance the Rapper use flow to increase a track's rhythmic energy and musically enhance the meaning of their words? How video game composers like Austin Wintory compose looping musical layers that dynamically respond to player interaction? Or how digitally-produced music from Beyoncé to BTS builds on pre-existing samples as a meaningful premise for a new track? "Exploring Contemporary Music Styles" will guide students through answering these and more questions about many of the most current and relevant music artists of recent decades, from Nobuo Uematsu and Taylor Swift to Lizzo and Jacob Collier. Students will learn concepts and language for talking about contemporary music styles, demonstrating their skills through various projects and presentations exploring tracks or songs of their choice and interest. No music theory knowledge needed! Prior music experience is helpful, but not required.

This course fulfills the Intellectual Achievement & Research learning requirement

HON Storytelling for Life

We are utterly shaped by the stories we hear, and the stories we tell. It has been said that while there have been great societies that did not use the wheel, there have been no societies that did not tell stories. During the semester we will explore stories at UTSA from students, faculty and staff as way to study the human experience, cultivate empathy, actualize identity, preserve history, provide social testimony, encourage social responsibility, and generate knowledge through engaging and sharing narrative. Special emphasis will be given to cultivating the skills of interviewing, transcription, script writing/creative writing, editing, and storytelling in the oral tradition. The final project for this course will be live performances of the students’ original creative work, engaging with a local elementary school. No prior experience necessary.

This course fulfills the Intellectual Achievement & Research learning requirement

HON Sem: Medical Gross Anatomy

Imagine caressing a human femur in your hand and examining the delicate bony prominences where human flesh once anchored a human being’s movements. Gross Anatomy examines the form and function of the human body at a macroscopic level. This course offers a uniquely immersive opportunity for students to appreciate the human body, replete with state-of-the-art technologies, including virtual reality that offers a fascinating 3D perspective of the human body’s anatomical architecture. The gross anatomy lessons will be buttressed with guest practicing physicians who will assess the anatomical skill level of the students, nephrology nurses, who will humanize the growing chronic kidney disease epidemic, which will reinforce the lessons in renal anatomy, mortuary science professionals, that will present a unique embalming perspective that will highlight the different tissues of the human body, and medical ethicists that will discuss the timeless value of the altruistic acts of those who have donated their bodies for the furtherance of medical knowledge to truly appreciate the meaning of the words Mortui Vivos Docent.  

This course fulfills the Interdisciplinary Seminar learning requirement

HON Sem: Serpent, Goat, Hex

Satan. The Devil. Old Scratch. Beelzebub. Leviathan. Lucifer. Whatever name is invoked, Satan haunts our collective social imaginations. Satan has appeared in sacred religious texts, popular literary works, historical studies, in films and on the stage, music and popular fictional accounts. The figure of damnation, the presider over the fires of Hell and the epitome of all that is evil, Satan signifies important cultural, social, political, religious and literary representations. Tied to Satan, the Witch presides, lurking in the shadow of the woods, hexing unwary souls, only to be hunted, tried and burned at the stake. This course will examine a wide variety of texts and representations of Satan, the Devil and the Witch, marking their appearances in Western European historical accounts, occult texts, indigenous manifestations, North American colonial history up through the Satanic Panic of the 1980’s. Join me for a rigorous interdisciplinary exploration as we engage with primary sources, academic texts and popular culture representations.

This course fulfills the Interdisciplinary Seminar learning requirement

HON Sem: Trailblazers & Disruptors

Students will explore the various theories and scholarship to identify characteristics of individuals whose life and actions align with established definitions of creativity and giftedness. Students will conduct a case study to explore diverse manifestations of complex thinking.

This course fulfills the Interdisciplinary Seminar learning requirement

HON Sem: The Desert Series

Attention mountains and desert lovers! Would you like the chance to take a class get that combines experience-based learning with your love of the wide-open spaces and expansive night skies of the mountain desert? This course is your chance! With a panoramic approach to our experience-based studies, we will explore the West Texas desert to gain a deep and wide appreciation of this unique geographical gem of Texas. The Desert Series course will include a total of two trips out west to include adventures in the quirky desert town of Marfa, Big Bend, and the beautiful Fort Davis Mountains, home of the McDonald Observatory. Our visits will complement our in-class explorations of the history of the West Texas desert, including its cultural, geological and natural history. Special attention will be paid to the unique ecology of the Chihuahuan Desert that graces this part of our state. A trip to the research microscopes of the McDonald Observatory will be juxtaposed to discussions of ancient cosmologies from past indigenous peoples. Many of our discussions will take place while on hikes and around a campfire under the must-see-to-believe desert night skies. Emphasis in this class will be on experience. Through our desert treks, the creation of film, podcast discussions with desert locals, artistic endeavors, and literature deep-dives, we will explore the many aspects of the Chihuahuan Desert that have both enchanted and challenged man since his arrival to this land.

This course fulfills the Interdisciplinary Seminar learning requirement

HON Socially Sustainable Public Spaces

In Socially Sustainable Public Spaces adapts an interdisciplinary lens to explore the creation of socially-sustainable urban public spaces around the globe. We begin by questioning whether the concern for the social sustainability of cities is anything new. Through a critical historical and contemporary review of the ways in which the concept of social sustainability has been developed and practiced in international contexts, we identify and appreciate various relations to making socially-sustainable cities and community-powered public spaces. We experience public spaces first hand – in San Antonio, San Marcos, and Austin. Relying on our own lived-experiences and the theoretical framework learned in this class, together, we explore, examine, and evaluate the fundamental elements that bring such places to life and equip people to fuel lasting change.

This course fulfills the Interdisciplinary Seminar learning requirement

HON Intro Clinical Med & Pathology

Mankind has endured human diseases for thousands of year. However, the past 100 years have brought on an explosion in our understanding of the mechanisms of human diseases fostered by revolutionary techniques such as molecular biology, clinical imaging, and gene therapy, and we have found many new ways to treat them. This honors course is designed as an introduction for students interested in human health into the world of clinical medicine and the pathology of important human diseases. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about basic pathological mechanisms of human diseases at the level of the cells, organs, and organ systems, and how to recognize these diseases and current treatments. Requirements for this course are a sharp mind, compassion, and willingness for active participation. It may just happen that after this course you may want to become a health care worker or a clinical researcher.

This course fulfills the Interdisciplinary Seminar learning requirement

HON Sem: Feminist Cartographies

This special topic course is collaborative and experiment-driven where students will explore and critically analyze a wide variety of border women’s literature and border issues with geographical materials and digital tools having an emphasis in the Texas-Mexico borderlands within various genres and its intersectional, geographical, and historical contexts. Students will enhance in close and distant reading and literary critic through a transnational feminist framework to comprehend, identify, discuss and analize different narrative forms of women’s experiences living and perceiving borderland spaces and geography. Similarly, students will explore a series of methods to convert these excerpts into multilingual geohumanities data to create multilinear narratives using digital storymap techniques and platforms. Relevant social, historical, cultural readings, digital material, visual aids and interviews with writers, critics and creators will be included to help students in their comprehension of the distinct perspectives from which these works were written and their relationship with border cultures, as well as technical workshops of the digital technologies that will be used during the course. Overall, students will engage in interdisciplinary and innovative thinking and knowledge production at the intersection of border and feminist studies, literary analysis, and digital mapping.

This course fulfills the Interdisciplinary Seminar learning requirement

HON Sem: Peace and Justice

How can peace and justice be most effectively pursued both personally and communally? Is peace primarily the absence of conflict or something more? To what extent is justice a process, an outcome, or an objective standard? By studying approaches to conflict transformation, restorative justice, and transformative justice, students will explore models for pursuing peace and justice in situations of conflict and in the aftermath of severe harms. Students will participate in a learning exchange with students at Dominguez State Jail as part of the UTSA Philosophy and Literature Circle. This course counts as an Interdisciplinary Seminar Experience in the Honors College curriculum.

This course fulfills the Interdisciplinary Seminar learning requirement

HON Sem: Collaborative Web Mapping

Mapping allows for social and environmental issues to be better understood, and for better solutions to be proposed. This is especially true when the mapping is interactive and on-line, so that stakeholders (which in some cases may be every person living in a region) can add observed data, propose solutions, and can see all information and proposals in real-time. Case studies include the homelessness crisis in Modesto, California; barriers to hate crime and hate incident reporting in urban areas of the United States; child well-being in various parts of the world; air pollution due to local combustion processes; urban noise pollution, and more. The student will learn the science behind on-line mapping, the capabilities of relevant open source software, and how to use ESRI proprietary software for developing maps on-line. The student will have the opportunity to develop a collaborative on-line mapping website for a region and issue they have identified, or that they select from a list provided by the instructor. The student must obtain consent of the instructor to register. The student is to consult with their degree program regarding the possibility of counting the course as credit towards an elective. 

This course fulfills the Interdisciplinary Seminar learning requirement

Hon Sem: Texas, A State of Many Worlds

Despite long-prevailing stereotypes of Texas as the land of cowboys, cattle and oil, for thousands of years, the lands that now comprise the Lone Star state have been a dynamic crossroads of the world’s peoples and nations. Texas history, along with expressions of diverse identities have recently been vigorously argued over. Using history, literature, journalism, art, and media, this seminar will explore the global narratives of humanity that have populated, shaped, and transformed Texas into a land of many nations that will play an integral role in modeling the future of the United States.

This course fulfills the Interdisciplinary Seminar learning requirement

Mexican American Music Performance Practicum: MAS Corazón de San Antonio

Ensemble course specializing in Afro-Latinx and all genres of Mexican American music. This Course focuses on refining performance technique and style, examines the historical development of Afro-Latinx and Mexican American music genres, their cross-cultural interactions and influences in their migration into the US, and music as an integral part of Latinx/Chicanx society, culture, education, and economy. Repertoire will vary from semester-to-semester, ranging from: Mariachi, Conjunto, Tejano, Chicano/a/x Hip Hop, and modern fusion, and will incorporate each ensemble’s respective instrumentation. Open to students interested in production and industry, distribution of Latinx music, recording, marketing, public relations, performance/event planning.

This course fulfills the Cultural Exploration learning requirement

HONCultExpl:SexGenderHistoryUS

What is culture? Who "belongs" in U.S. culture? Who does not? How do you know? In No Shame, students will examine how cultural attitudes toward sex, gender and race are made visible through advertisement, comic books, television and film, and other mediums. We will also investigate how those manifestations create and affirm social expectations of behavior and identity and how groups outside of those expectations historically create cultures of their own. Topics include, but are not limited to consent, Hip-Hop, ideas of God, the "Cult of Domesticity", Drag, and intersections in between.

This course fulfills the Cultural Exploration learning requirement

HON Eng Lvg: Day of the Dead

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is not Halloween. It’s a lavish multi-day celebration of remembrance to honor loved ones who have passed. This course will use the study of Dia de Los Muertos to explore cultural and psychological themes of grieving and remembrance customs, as well as it’s sharp rise in modern popularity, and the commodification and commercialization of tradition. Interactive course materials include videos, movies, online courses and readings, site visits, guest speakers, and a class creation of an ofrenda display for the university and San Antonio community. Students will have the opportunity to gain skills in project management, cultural preservation, research, program development, and creative innovation. This course does not have prerequisites, and is open to all majors.

This course fulfills the Engaged Living learning requirement

HON Eng Lvg: Intentional and Sustainable Living in Costa Rica

Meet a red-eyed tree frog, a blue morpho butterfly, and a blooming a bird of paradise. Learn and practice sustainable farming and yoga in the tropical rainforest! Our ten-day international experience (August 11-20) gives students the opportunity to learn and practice intentional and sustainable living on a working agro-ecological ranch on Lake Arenal, Costa Rica. Our destination is Rancho Margot: www.ranchomargot.com, where students will be hands-on with the biodiversity of the rainforest, renewable energy systems in practice, and mind-body experiential learning. The goal of the course is to immerse students in different approaches of what it means to live intentionally and sustainably in local and global communities. We will return to San Antonio just in time for the start of Fall classes, reconvening for the first Saturday afternoon each month of the semester to explore sustainability, mindfulness, and other kinds of intentional living in San Antonio. These afternoons have taken us to events, organizations, and places like Siclovia, Compassionate San Antonio, Confluence park, Gardopia Gardens, and Yoga in the Park. Subsidy by Honors College and the Alvarez International Study Fund means that the program cost of just $500 is inclusive of air fare, in-country travel, lodging, and meals.

This course fulfills the Engaged Living learning requirement

Growing Our Own: Gardening for Resilience

What can a garden grow? In this course, we’ll cultivate answers together. We will visit community gardens across the Alamo City, exploring how they are addressing food insecurity and inequity within neighborhoods, on school campuses, and beyond. We will meet and interview leaders in the local food movement, work hands-on at an established garden or urban farm, and investigate how local gardening intersects with global environmental issues. Through discussions and reflective journaling, we will consider the possibilities and challenges of small-scale gardening to address these large-scale problems. By the end of the semester, you will complete a project (e.g., a short film, podcast episode, a policy proposal, or advocacy campaign) that answers the question that started the course: what can a garden grow?

This course fulfills the Engaged Living learning requirement

Cook. Eat. Write. Repeat.

Why spend time watching cooking shows when you can create your own cooking experiences? "Cook. Eat. Write. Repeat." (WRC 4123) provides the setting for you and your fellow chefs (read: classmates) to plan the menu, kitchen-test the recipes in the UTSA Rec Center Demo Kitchen, and then write, design, and produce a customized cookbook. And then there's the 15 minutes of fame as you star in your own cooking segment hosted by The Paisano's YouTube channel. You may not be able to create culinary masterpieces, but you'll create a semester of memorable cooking and writing experiences. Bon appetit! This course counts as a Skill Development Experience.

This course fulfills the Skill Development learning requirement

Beyond Instagram and TikTok: Real World of Making News

Are you a news hound? Like to keep up with the latest trends? Visualize yourself in front of the camera or behind it? If so, this course is for you. “Beyond Instagram and Tiktock: The Real World of Making News” is a hands-on, real-world experience in interviewing, writing, designing, and producing news and human- interest content. Students will write, design, and produce their own publication. In this course, they will also collaborate with The Paisano student journalists to produce articles for the print and online editions of The Paisano newspaper and Paisano Plus magazine, and they will have the opportunity to develop content for web podcasts, and create multimedia on-the-scene reports and interviews. Students will also tour the presses where the publications are printed, and they will learn from professionals in the fields of law, design, and commercial publications.

This course fulfills the Skill Development learning requirement

Community Health

Building on the basic community health course and redesigned for Honors students, this course will provide an in-depth understanding of community health problems and how organizations -- public, private and voluntary health agencies -- work together to improve the health and wellbeing of communities. Students will learn to apply health theories and models to solve community health issues.

This course fulfills the Honors Elective (HCAP) learning requirement

Principles of Accounting I

See Undergraduate Catalog

This course fulfills the Honors Elective (& ACOB CBK) learning requirement

Principles of IS for Mgmt

See Undergraduate Catalog

This course fulfills the Honors Elective (& ACOB CBK) learning requirement

Intro:Org Theory, Behav & Mgmt

See Undergraduate Catalog

This course fulfills the Honors Elective (& ACOB CBK) learning requirement

Principles of Marketing

See Undergraduate Catalog

This course fulfills the Honors Elective (& ACOB CBK) learning requirement