Fall 2020 Honors Classes! 

All Honors Classes meet at the Des Plaines Campus in room 2735 unless otherwise noted. All Honors Classes meet General Education Requirements, unless otherwise noted.

Learning Communities: Honors Learning Communities are the integration of courses from different disciplines around a common theme. They always meet for at least 2 class periods, both professors are always present, the assignments and material are integrated. Learning Communities are recognized to be high impact learning experiences, and Oakton Community College is one of the few places where you can take one.

You must take at least one Learning Community to graduate or transfer with the Honors Scholars designation on your transcript.

 

                                                 Des Plaines Campus

For the fall 2020 semester we are offering one Learning Community*:

Title: Honors: Composition I*

Description:

Course introduces strategies for planning, writing, and revising expository essays based on experience and reading. Content includes purpose, context, genre, and the rhetorical situation as elements in the writing process, as well as critical reading and analysis as the basis for essay writing. The first course in a two-course sequence with EGL 102.

Register for: EGL 102 GH1 (CRN: 31047)

Days & Times: MW 9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. at the Des Plaines campus.

Professors:  Marian Staats & Kristin McCartney

 

Title: Honors: Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies*

Description: 

Course introduces the interdisciplinary field of women’s studies that seeks to understand and challenge gender inequalities. Course traces the philosophical, literary and historical emergence of the women’s studies discipline to explore the many ways it has addressed our cultural experiences. 

Register for: HUM 140 0H1 (CRN: 31985)

Days & Times: MW 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at the Des Plaines campus.

Professors:  Marian Staats & Kristin McCartney

*Students Must Enroll In Both Classes

 

Single Section/Stand Alone Honors Courses: These classes are not part of a Learning Community, but are Honors classes! You should take them!

Title: Honors: Microbiology

Description:

Laboratory course introduces biology of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, protists and viruses. Content includes metabolism, genetics, identification, control, physiology, relationship to health and disease, and host defense. Intended primarily for student in health fields.

Register for: BIO 251 0H1 (CRN: 31501)

Days & Times: TR 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. & 12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. 

Professor: Suzanne Ziegenhorn

 

Title: Honors: Elementary Statistics

Description:

Course introduces statistics for physical, biological and social sciences. Content includes data collection processes, descriptive methods using quantitative and qualitative data, bivariate data, correlation, and regression, probability theory, probability distributions, confidence intervals and hypothesis tests. Technology will be used to perform computations.

Register for: MAT 131 0H1 (CRN: 31990)

Days & Times: MW 12:30 p.m. - 2:20 p.m.

Professor: Bradley Young

 

Title: Honors: Environmental Ethics

Description:

Course studies meaning, value, and moral responsibility in relationship to the environment. Topics include examination of at least four conflicting theories about what constitutes an adequate environmental ethic, and the application of these theories to environmental issues such as climate change, environmental racism, and wilderness preservation.

Register for: PHL 204 0H1 (CRN: 31987)

Days & Times: R 2:00 p.m. - 4:50 p.m.

Professor: Thomas Bowen

 

Title: Honors: World Religions

Description: 

Course uses global perspective to introduce philosophies, traditions, and histories of major world religions. Topics include at least six of the following religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto, the indigenous religions of North America, Africa, or pre-Christian Europe. 

Register for: PHL 205 0H1 (CRN: 31986)

Days & Times: TR 9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.

Professor: Charles Townsend

 

Title: Honors: Urban Sociology

Description: 

Course deals with the study of the social organization and social interaction of people and groups within urban areas. This includes an analysis of the built environment, governmental policy (or lack thereof), major forces like capitalism, globalization and migration, as well as gender, race, and class. Course will highlight both current dynamics and trends in urban spaces as well as the historic forces that shaped the development of urban areas. This semester, we will focus on cities in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Register for: SOC 290 H50 (CRN: 32058)

Days & Times: T 6:00 p.m. - 8:50 p.m.

Professor: Megan Klein

 

Research Honors Courses: These classes are research-based stand alone Honors classes. You should take them!

Title: Honors: Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Laboratory Research

Description: 

Course provides undergraduate research experience. Interdisciplinary course colisted with CHM 240. Team-taught by faculty from several disciplines. Content includes active participation in selected research experience: performing experiments, collecting data, analyzing results, interactive research with other students and professors; reading and critiquing research articles in selected area of research, and presenting results at end of semester. This course can be repeated once for credit.

Register for: BIO 240 0H1 (CRN: 31983)

Days & Times: M 12:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. & W 12:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

Professors: Suzanne Ziegenhorn & Gary Mines

 

Title: Honors: Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Laboratory Research

Description: 

Course provides undergraduate research experience in an interdisciplinary course co-listed with BIO 240. Team-taught by faculty from several disciplines. Content includes active participation in a research experience that involves performing experiments, collecting data, analyzing results; interacting with other students and professors in their research; reading and critiquing research articles in the same research area and presenting at the end of the semester. Course can be repeated once for credit.

Register for: CHM 240 0H1 (CRN: 31984)

Days & Times: M 12:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. & W 12:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

Professors: Suzanne Ziegenhorn & Gary Mines

 

                                                    Skokie Campus

 

Single Section/Stand Alone Honors Courses: These classes are not part of a Learning Community, but are Honors classes! You should take them!

Title: Honors: Introduction to Life Sciences (lab section)

Description:

Laboratory course introduces life science. Content includes cell structure and function, cell division, nucleic acids and proteins, biodiversity and evolution, and selected human systems. Intended for non-science majors, and those who desire an understanding of fundamental life processes, or intends to pursue higher biology courses. 

Register for: BIO 101 0H5 (CRN: 32122)

Days & Times: TR 8:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.  R 9:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Professor: Harper Mazock

 

Title: Honors: Introduction to Business (Hybrid/Late-Start)

Description:

Course introduces students to the study of business. Content includes issues and topics related to business and economics in the United States and globally; business careers; key components of a business plan; and the ethical, legal, and social responsibilities of business. 

Register for: BUS 101 YH1 (CRN: 31991)

Days & Times: W 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Professor: Tracy Fulce

 

                         Honors Fall 2020 Courses and Your AA/AS Degree

https://www.oakton.edu/academics/special_programs/honors/courses/

AREA A--Communications
EGL 101 (w/HUM 140) Honors: Composition I 

AREA B--Mathematics
MAT 131 Honors: Elementary Statistics 

AREA C--Science, all lab courses
BIO 105 Honors: Human Genetics
BIO 251 Honors: Microbiology
BIO 240 and CHM 240 Honors: Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Laboratory Research

AREA D--Social and Behavioral Sciences
Elective
SOC 290 Honors: Urban Sociology

AREA E--Humanities/Fine Arts
HUM 140 Honors: Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies
PHL 205 Honors: World Religions
Electives
PHL 204 Honors: Environmental Ethics

AREA F--Global Studies
PHL 205 Honors: World Religions

AREA G--U.S. Diversity
HUM 140 Honors: Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies

Courses that Meet Your Concentration Requirements
Environmental Studies: EGL 101/HUM 140, PHL 204
Global Studies: PHL 205
Great Books: EGL 101
Peace and Social Justice: HUM 140
Women’s and Gender Studies: EGL 101/HUM 140

 

Additional Opportunities for Honors Students

Honors Contracts allow Honors students the opportunity to earn Honors credit for classes we are not currently offering as Honors sections. In order to do so, the Honors' student works one-on-one with their professor outside of class on an Honors project designed by the student and instructor. Last year, students and faculty completed over 100 Honors contracts! Email your professor before registering or talk with them in the first weeks of the semester to see if this option might be right for you. Apply to the program by going to www.oakton.edu/honors and clicking on "Apply".

The Honors Scholars Designation represents the highest distinction available through the Honors Program. When transferring and applying for scholarships, the Honors Scholar Designation sets you apart from other students with high GPAs, and it is taken as a mark of serious academic achievement. The Honors Designation is awarded to Honors students who have 1) maintained a 3.25 GPA and 2) completed at least 18 credit hours in Honors classes. This includes at least 6 credits from an Honors Learning Community, and no more than 6 credits earned through Honors Contracts. After the Honors Program has verified your course record, the designation is added to your college transcript. Email honors@oakton.edu for more details.