Honors classes at WWCC are open to community members as graded or audited courses Spring offerings include classes on Native American Literature, Comparative Religions, Death and Bereavement, and more

Honors classes at WWCC are open to community members as graded or audited courses Spring offerings include classes on Native American Literature, Comparative Religions, Death and Bereavement, and more

A student on a recent field trip sponsored by the Western Wyoming Community College Honors Program tries his luck in a creek near South Pass City. Honors courses often feature field trips or other special learning opportunities.

ROCK SPRINGS – Are you interested in Native American legends and literature, or in the ways that different peoples worship? Would you like to learn how the earth works, or what can be done about society’s most troubling issues? Would you like to understand the nature of death and bereavement, or to explore the lives of iconic American women?

A full list of courses offered this spring by the Western Wyoming Community College Honors Program will provide opportunities for learning about these diverse and exciting subjects. Enrollment in these Honors courses is open to community members, and the classes may be taken as an audit, on a pass-fail basis, or for a letter-grade.

“I want to especially invite older members of our community to take one of these courses,” said WWCC Honors Program Director and Associate Professor of English Rick Kempa. “The life experiences they bring to these discussions are a wonderful contribution.”

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Honors Native American Literature (ENGL 2340 HP), a course being taught by WWCC Instructor of Composition Lora Meredith, will introduce students to some of the most notable works by American Indian peoples. The class will meet on Mondays and Fridays from 11:30 p.m. until 12:45 p.m. in Room 1306 beginning Monday, Jan. 13.

“Our territory will range from early myths and stories in the oral tradition to modern novels by such writers as Momaday, Silko, Welch and Erdrich,” Meredith said.

Honors Comparative Religions (PHIL 2315 HP) “ought to be of interest to any open-minded individual,” according to course instructor and Associate Professor of English Rick Kempa. In the class, students will study the great religious traditions that have guided and continue to guide mankind, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, as well as indigenous beliefs from North America and Africa.

The three-credit class will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. in Room 1330 beginning Tuesday, Jan. 14.

Two other three-credit honors courses at WWCC also have seats available.

Honors Introduction to Natural Resources (G&R 1050 HP) will “examine how earth works: the cycling of energy, elements, and nutrients on our planet,” said WWCC Professor of Earth Science/Engineering Craig Thompson, who will lead the class. “We will also consider the all-important questions of how humankind should manage planetary resources.”

The course will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. until 9:45 a.m. in Room 1223 beginning Jan. 14.

Honors Social Problems (SOC 1100 HP), to be taught by WWCC Associate Professor of Sociology Stephen Miraglia, will examine society’s most pressing issues.

“We will aim to be difference-makers,” Miraglia said, “with each participant engaged in activities to make the world a better place to live. Come make a difference.”

This class will meet on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:30 p.m. until 3:45 p.m. in Room 1436 beginning Jan. 13.

The WWCC Honors Program is also offering a pair of two-credit psychology seminars on Tuesday nights from 5:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. In Grief and Loss (PSYC 2485 HPE), Instructor of Psychology Marissa Vishnu-Mack will lead students in an exploration of human death and bereavement, and of the roles that our private and public values play in that process. In Female Icons Through Film (PSYC 2485 HPF), to be taught by WWCC Assistant Professor of Psychology Susan Bates, students will explore the lives of women who have influenced American culture and shaped our views of gender.

Grief and Loss will run from Jan. 14 through March 4, and Female Icons of Film will run from March 18 to May 8. Both classes will be held in Room 1445.

Honors courses at WWCC provide special opportunities for learning in small-group settings.

“They are conversation-based,” Kempa explained. “Students learn as much from each other as they do from the instructor. Best of all, these classes often feature field trips or other special learning opportunities, mostly at the college’s expense.”

A highlight of the Natural Resources class, for example, will be a field trip to Western Nebraska to witness the spring migrations of the whooping cranes. Students in the Comparative Religions class, meanwhile, will travel to Salt Lake City, “a cosmopolitan city where many religious traditions flourish,” Kempa said.

All of these Honors courses may be taken as an audit, on a pass-fail basis, or for a letter-grade.

“Auditing is an especially attractive option for some,” Kempa said. “You can participate fully in class activities and be spared the pain of papers and tests.”

No special permissions are needed to take Honors courses. Those interested in taking these classes should contact the Office of Registration and Records at (307) 382-1637 for more information on how to register.

For more information on the Honors Program classes, contact Kempa at (307) 382-1731 or email him at rkempa@wwcc.wy.edu. Contact information for other Honors instructors may also be found at www.wwcc.wy.edu.