2010 SHP Course Descriptions
All courses offered through the Summer Honors Program are designed to be dynamic, interactive explorations by the students and professor into the course topic.
Classes meet Monday through Friday between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM for classes chosen by the student, and again between 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM for Honors Core. All classes are conducted by IUP faculty: students enrolled will be working with full-time IUP professors.
Honors Core
Required afternoon class for all students.
All students will tackle some of the most basic and debated questions of human existance such as "How do we discern the good from the bad?" or "What do we know? What do we believe? Is there a difference?" in the Interdisciplinary Honors Core Course. Working with professors from literature, philosophy, history and the fine arts provides a unique opportunity for a synthesis of ideas. You will be challenged to develop critical thinking skills through the analysis of great scholars' arguments, group discussions, writing and group presentations.
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MAJOR CLASS CHOICES:
| Biochemistry | Business | Chemistry I |
| Chemistry II | CSI/Forensics | English/Education/Writing |
| Law | Journalism | Physics |
| Psychology |
Genetic Engineering: Techniques and Application
Covers nucleic acid properties, structure, and functions. The lecture part of the course will cover the principles and techniques of recent developments and findings in recombinant DNA technology. The laboratory component will provide the opportunity to learn and apply hands-on recombinant DNA procedures and the technologies of spectrophotometer analysis of nucleic acids and proteins; restriction enzyme digestion, gel electrophoretic analysis of mutant genes, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis.
Program Prerequisites: High School Biology, Chemistry or Physics
Instructor: Dr. N. Bharathan
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Entrepreneurship for Everyone
Entrepreneurs are the rock stars of the business world. Young, technologically savvy, passionate, and keen to make their mark, many entrepreneurs start their careers while still in high school. Come to the Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership in the Summer Honors Program and learn the skills that will help you to someday start your own business. Learn about the innovation, creativity, and dedication that it takes to become a successful entrepreneur. Spend two weeks formulating your own business plan and then present that plan to business professionals in a competition to win cash! Think outside the proverbial box and take on a class that will truly test your critical thinking and leadership skills.
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The Real World of Chemistry
All of the drugs we use to treat disease are extracted from plants or animals or are synthesized in the laboratory by chemists. What about aspirin? Where does it come from? Actually, aspirin can be made from ingredients in your kitchen and we will show you how. You will also analyze the structure and purity of aspirin and the other compounds you make utilizing current scientific equipment featuring visible and infra-red spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance and high- performance liquid chromatography. Discover how the substances we use in our everyday lives originate from a chemist's investigative and creative skills!
Program Prerequisites: Successful completion of high school Chemistry is recommended.
Instructors: Dr. Wendy Elcesser, Dr. Larry Kupchella, Dr. Nathan McElroy and Dr. John Woolcock
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Chemistry of Terror
In today's world, with the threat of terrorist activity at an extreme level, the ability to correctly identify the nature of a suspect substance is quite critical. This course, run by faculty who train first responders for missions around the world, presents an overview of the nature of chemical weapons and the means of identifying them. Learn to use advanced methods chemistry that can be applied to issues of national security.
Program Prerequisites: Successful completion of one year of high school Chemistry (two years is preferred).
Instructors: Dr. Roberta Eddy and Dr. John Wood
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Examining the Culture of Education in the Writing Classroom
Many leading educationists, compositionists, and historians decry a culture of education that has become increasingly focused on "accountability." They limn a business model system of education that commodifies teaching and learning by restricting curricular choices and standardizing instruction and assessment. Some assert that this system creates a culture of education that devalues teachers' professionalism and students' agency in their own educational lives. Others observe the system's failure to deliver on its promise of increased educational equity and access to historically under-represented students. This course is designed to engage students in critical analysis of how this culture might have affected their experiences in the writing classroom, their attitudes toward education, and their plans for college and career. In doing so, we'll examine both sides of the accountability debate, envision classrooms of the future, and draft our own educational policy. The culminating project will be an autobiography of our writing lives.
Instructor: Dawn Fels
CSI - IUP
Just how realistic are the crime-scene television shows? Spend two weeks as a member of a crime solving team investigating the disappearance of Professor Porter. You will learn how to create a search warrant, search different types of crime scenes, collect evidence and then analyze it in lab, interview witnesses and suspects and then put it all together to identify and arrest the perpetrator. There will also be special presentations by detectives, fire investigators and other forensic professionals. You'll never see crime- scene TV shows the same way again!
Program Prerequisites: High School Biology, Chemistry or Physics
Instructor: Mike Baker, Indiana County Coroner
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It's Not Just Your Father's Newspaper Anymore
Are you interested in writing, social media, magazines, photojournalism, public relations, entertainment, newspapers, online publications, layout and design, event planning, community relations, strategic communication? Come and explore the endless job opportunities in the journalism profession today. Students will sit in on a real production meeting at The Indiana Gazette and later visit to watch the presses roll. We will visit WIUP Radio and WIUP TV and practice being on the air. In addition to learning basic news writing and covering a real story or two on campus, students will also experiment with social media (like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube, etc.) in our state-of-the-art lab and learn how these tools are quickly revolutionizing the journalism and public relations career fields.
Instructor: Dr. Michele Papakie
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Amend the Constitution!
Whether it is the issue of same sex marriage, the right of the unborn to enjoy the status of full personhood, or the limits of the executive branch to push the boundaries of civil liberties in a time of national crisis, the United States Supreme Court struggles daily with the need to balance the rights of its collective citizenry against the individual rights of its citizens, as defined by the Constitution. Justices appointed to this task must wrestle daily with the words of our founding document as they define and interpret the cases that come before it.
You will explore the process of judicial review. We will begin with an examination of several very complex and emotional legal issues that threaten to rend the fabric of our national unity. You will investigate a controversial topic from a constitutional and legal perspective. You will also undergo the very process of judicial review that takes place in the US Supreme Court. After researching and developing positions, the course will culminate in a presentation of a brief that interprets the case and sets the precedent for all future litigation surrounding the issue.
Instructor: Dr. David Chambers and Dr. Gwendolyn Torges
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Erasing Our Carbon Footprint
Toxic mercury levels in tuna…increase in acid rain…hole in the ozone layer… greenhouse has emissions from SUV’s…environmental issues need solutions that work; spend two weeks finding them. Use the application of physics’ most important principles to analyze current energy and environmental problems. In active laboratory settings, this course will utilize concepts of kinetics, electromagnetism and optics along with others to engage issues of the environmental world. Hybrid cars use their inertia to generate power (kinetics) in custom batteries (electromagnetism). Our environment has problems. Physics has answers.
Instructor: Dr. Stan Sobolewski
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How to Think Like a Psychologist
Isn’t psychology all just common sense? Why don’t psychologists believe in punishment? How can psychology be a science when every person is unique? Why do psychologists compare the human brain to a machine; people aren’t machines! The course will address questions such as these to broaden the understanding of psychology as a science. Classic psychological experiments will be reviewed and students will have the opportunity to design their own research study. Students will also learn about the extensive applications of psychology to various aspects of personal life and various careers.
Instructor: Dr. Lisa Newell
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