Honors seminars are the bedrock of Honors@CSU. These are small, discussion-based classes that take an interdisciplinary approach to a topic. The topics are varied, and students are encouraged to select a topic that piques their curiosity. These seminars offer students an opportunity to learn something new, and more importantly, learn how to approach learning by exploring the ways in which multiple disciplines can inform and enrich the understanding of a topic. With enough practice, students will take this transformative acquisition of knowledge into their own disciplines, becoming changemakers, leaders, and innovators in their respective fields. Seminar topics rotate, which means that each semester will feature different topics at different course levels.

Seminars for students on the Track 1 curricular path will satisfy up to 18 of the university’s 31 required AUCC credits. Students on the Track 2 curricular path will register for one sophomore level seminar that can meet one of three possible outstanding AUCC needs. Please confirm with your Honors advisor which sophomore seminar will be of most benefit.

Fall 2026 Honors Seminar Offerings

Seminar offerings for upcoming semesters are posted here during CSU’s Plan Ahead period, which is approximately a month before registration.  RamWeb provides the most accurate information about days/times/instructors.  

Honors 192 Seminars

First-year honors students in Honors Track 1 will choose one of the following seminars for the spring semester.  Seminar titles listed below are linked to a full course description (please be patient if the title is not yet linked).  Please note:  RamWeb is the ultimate source for accurate information such as days/times/instructor–this table is the most accurate for seminar title/topics.  If you have questions, please reach out to [email protected].

Seminar TitleCourseSectionCRNDaysTimeInstructor
What Are You Laughing At?!  How Comedy Communicates Across Difference192167916M W11:00 AM - 12:15 PMAparna Gollapudi
Engineering Catastrophe and How Communication Failures Cost Lives192267919M W03:00 PM - 04:15 PMSam Bechara
Selfies and Selves: Communicating Across Difference192367921M W09:30 AM - 10:45 AMLeah Holz
Sacred Conversations: Finding Your Voice Across Difference192476361M W03:00 PM - 04:15 PMMariah DeGear
Quagmires of Culture192567925T R12:30 PM - 01:45 PMSagarika Sarma
Sustainability in Motion: People, Perspectives, and Progress192667927M W04:00 PM - 05:15 PMDavid Merryman
Bridge-Building Leadership: Dialogue, Identity, & Belonging192767929T R09:30 AM - 10:45 AMJen Johnson
Constructively Communicating Scientific Information Across Difference in Time of Crisis192867931T R03:30 PM - 04:45 PMCarlos Olivo-Delgado
Communicating Science Across Difference: Building a Sustainable Future192967933T R12:30 PM - 01:45 PMAkiko Nakamura
Identity in Action: Communication, Connection and Culture of Care Restorative Practice1921067935T R11:00 AM - 12:15 PMPatricia Vigil
Criminal Conversations – Communicating Across Differences in the Legal World1921167937T R03:30 PM - 04:45 PMNathan Hansen
The Collective Power of Activism1921267939T R02:00 PM - 03:15 PMIvan Mendoza
Identity in Action: Communication, Connection and Culture of Care Restorative Practice1921367941T R2:00 PM - 3:15 PMPatricia Vigil
Your Music, Not Mine: Communicating Across Difference Through Musical Taste1921476362M W03:00 PM - 04:15 PMChase Jackson
Engineering the Common Good: How Decisions Shape Communities1921567945T R11:00 AM - 12:15 PMPinar Omur-Ozbek
Ink-Stained Hands: Narratives in a Post-Digital World1921667947M W12:15 PM - 01:45 PMAndrew Meyer
Cultural Understanding through International Graphic Novels1921768101M W10:00 AM - 11:15 AMAshley Davies
The Ethics of Storytelling: Creative Writing Across Difference1921868778T R09:30 AM - 10:45 AMDana Masden
How Do We Value Wildlife? Reflection and Dialogue across Many Human Voices1921969047M W02:00 PM - 03:15 PMNicole Vieira
Science in Dispute: Communicating Across Difference in Controversial Issues1922069049M W03:00 PM - 04:15 PMLaura Daniels
The Collective Power of Activism1922169050T R12:30 PM - 1:45 PMIvan Mendoza
How We Show Up: Building Community, Care, and Collective Responsibility1922269052M W04:00 PM - 05:15 PMRachel Kiemele
Science in Dispute: Communicating Across Difference in Controversial Issues1922369363M W01:30 PM - 02:45 PMLaura Daniels
Key/Honors section (department approval required)
Civility and Democracy:  Approaches to Manage Difficult Conversations in a Divisive Society
19227M W11:00 AM - 12:15 PMRickey Frierson & Blanche Hughes

Honors 292 Seminars

Honors students (sophomore or above class level) take either HONR 292 A, B, or C in either the spring or fall semester.  292A fulfills 3 credits of AUCC 3A non-lab credit.  292B fulfills 3 credits of AUCC 3B.  292C fulfills 3 credits of AUCC 1C.  Please select the seminar that is most pertinent to your needs (for example, most students majoring in a science field will not need AUCC 3A).  Seminar titles listed below are linked to a full course description (please be patient of the title is not yet linked).  Please note:  RamWeb is the ultimate source for accurate information such as days/times/instructor–this table is the most accurate for seminar title/topics.  If you have questions, please reach out to [email protected].

Seminar TitleCourseSectionCRNDaysTimeInstructor
Climate Change Ecology and Challenges from Plants to People292A170695M W11:00 AM - 12:15 PMJustin Reeves (P)
Exploring and Explaining Animal Behavior292A273518M W12:30 PM - 01:45 PMJustin Reeves (P)
Knowing in Arts and Humanities292B170696T R02:00 PM - 03:15 PMKevin Foskin (P)
Sojourner Lit: An Intellectual Exploration of the Journey292B270697T R12:30 PM - 01:45 PMJohn Kitchens (P)
Art and Revolt: Fighting Regimes, Religion, and Self292B370698T R03:30 PM - 04:45 PMSarah Zwick-Tapley (P)
’Blessed Are The Peacemakers’: Finding Harmony Amidst Strife292B470699M W F01:00 PM - 01:50 PMPamela Vaughan Knaus (P)
Manifest America: Knowing the Roots of Modern America by Looking West292B570700M W F02:00 PM - 02:50 PMDouglas Sheflin (P)
Wildlife Conservation Issues292C170704M W F11:00 AM - 11:50 AMNicole Vieira (P)
Exploring the Foundations of Moral Reasoning Across Cultures292C270705T R11:00 AM - 12:15 PMKeith Jaggers (P)
Wildlife Conservation Issues292C370706M W F12:00 PM - 12:50 PMNicole Vieira (P)

Honors 392 Seminars

Track 1 honors students will take HONR 392 in either the fall or the spring semester (most students take this their junior year).  HONR 292 is a prerequisite course. Seminar titles listed below are linked to a full course description (please be patient if the title is not yet linked).  Please note:  RamWeb is the ultimate source for accurate information such as days/times/instructor–this table is the most accurate for seminar title/topics.  If you have questions, please reach out to [email protected].

Note:  there are several Study Abroad opportunities that count as HONR 392 or HONR 492.   

Seminar TitleCourseSectionCRNDaysTimeInstructor
Dramaturgical Studies Leading to the Creation of Postmodernist Theatre392167949M W01:00 PM - 02:15 PMSarah Zwick-Tapley (P)
Self In/Of Landscape: Expanding the Field of Ecopoetry392279354T R03:30 PM - 04:45 PMJoanna Doxey (P)
Plague Policies: History of Disease, Public Health, and the Law392367951T R11:00 AM - 12:15 PM (tentative...may change)David Korostyshevsky (P)
How to Lead a Meaningful Life392467952T R02:00 PM - 03:15 PMJohn Kitchens (P)
You’d Be Murdered for This: Art, Political Regimes and Morality392567953M W03:00 PM - 04:15 PMSarah Zwick-Tapley (P)
Why Do They Hate Us: Understanding the Myths, Realities and Limitations of the “American Empire”392668019T R12:30 PM - 01:45 PMKeith Jaggers (P)
City as Text392768889M W03:00 PM - 04:15 PMAlyson Huff (P)

Honors 492 Seminars

Track 1 honors students will take HONR 492 in either the fall or the spring semester.  Most students complete this their senior year.  HONR 392 is a prerequisite course. Seminar titles listed below are linked to a full course description (please be patient if the title is not yet linked).  Please note:  RamWeb is the ultimate source for accurate information such as days/times/instructor–this table is the most accurate for seminar title/topics.  If you have questions, please reach out to [email protected].

Note:  there are several Study Abroad opportunities that count as HONR 392 or HONR 492.  There is one that counts as both!

Seminar TitleCourseSectionCRNDaysTimeInstructor
Life in the Matrix: From AI Slop to Foreign Bots…What is Real?492165800M W04:00 PM - 05:15 PMJohn Kitchens (P)
The Greatest Conversation Piece Ever Invented in America: Baseball492265802M W03:00 PM - 04:15 PMPamela Vaughan Knaus (P)
The Cultural Cold War in Literature and Film492365803M W F12:00 PM - 12:50 PMJoseph Brown (P)
Rethinking work in a microbial age492465805T R1:00 PM - 2:15 PMErika Szymanski
Music and the Moving Image492572002T R03:30 PM - 04:45 PMDan Obluda (P)