WELCOME!

At the beginning of this academic year, 16 honors-eligible students elected to join the 23 students who were continued in the honors program from spring 2007. We look forward to working with all honors students during the 2007–2008 academic year.

AUTUMN HONORS LECTURES

The first lecture in the 2007–2008 honors lecture series will be presented by Dawn Ferris, Assistant Professor of Environment and Natural Resources, on Tuesday, November 20, from 12:10 to 12:50, in 229 Riedl Hall. Dr. Ferris will report on her recent research trip to Iceland.

AUTUMN HONORS BOOK SEMINAR

The honors book seminar for autumn quarter will focus on a new book by Joe Mackall: Plain Secrets: An outsider among the Amish.  The seminar will be at noon on November 19 in 229 Riedl Hall. We are excited to have the author with us to lead the discussion.

This book has received super reviews: 

From Publishers Weekly
In an engaging personal memoir, Mackall, an Ohio-based writer and professor of English, describes the close-knit relationship he has cultivated over more than a decade with a neighboring Amish family. This is neither an exposé nor an outsider's fanciful romanticization of the Amish. By focusing on the loves and losses of one large Amish clan, Mackall breathes life into a complex group often idealized or caricatured … [It] is a deeply respectful account that never veers toward sensationalism.

Booklist, ALA, Starred Review: "Wonderful and enlightening . . . This is a loving portrait, warts and all, of an often-misunderstood people."

Boston Globe: "Plain Secrets is a moving exploration of a little-known world and friendship across a cultural divide . . . Mackall explores this paradox with rare honesty and insight . . . Another strength of the book is that while maintaining a personal narrative voice, Mackall folds in a succinct and engaging history of the Anabaptist religious tradition and the polity of the Amish church. This added context greatly enhances the more personal stories."

Christian Century: "Mackall describes the details of family, farming and church life with sympathy, accuracy and good will… His particularistic description of one family is a welcome addition to what had often been a sociological literature."

Professor Mackall was interviewed at length on National Public Radio in June. Here is a link to the interview: NPR interview with Professor Mackall

WINTER FIELD TRIP

We need your thoughts and suggestions about a field trip in winter quarter. Last year, we visited the Cleveland Museum of Art to see “Barcelona and Modernity” in November toured the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame in May. Our trips are typically scheduled for Fridays during the day and the campus pays for all but a small portion of the cost. Have an idea for an interesting and educational trip next quarter? Please contact Dr. Ellis at 755-4278 or ellis.10@osu.edu.

HONORS EVENTS, AUTUMN 2007

The University requires that honors students be involved in learning that goes beyond the classroom. For this reason, honors students are required to attend at least one approved honors event during each quarter. In addition to the honors book seminar and lecture previously described, several additional events have been approved as honors activities for autumn quarter. They include:

• The October 27 th concert by the Mansfield Symphony Orchestra (8:00pm, Renaissance Theater). Honors students can get student tickets for $5 but you will have to let Dr Ellis know as quickly as possible.
• The presentation “Plato’s Theory of Erotic Desire” by renowned Plato scholar David Halperin, the 2007 Distinguished Diversity Speaker, on Thursday evening, November 8, 7:00 pm, in Founders Auditorium. Free.
• The lecture “Art in the Age of Plato” by H. Daniel Butts, Lecturer in Art History on Monday evening, November 5, 7:00 pm, in the Performance Hall in Riedl. Free.
• The OSU Mansfield Theatre production of Twelfth Night on November 9-11 on campus and November 16-18 at the Mansfield Playhouse. Tickets are free to students but call the box office (419 755-4045) well in advance.

Are there events you believe should be approved for honors credit? Please contact Dr Ellis. And don’t forget to report your attendance at these events.

HONORS COURSES, WINTER 2007

The following courses have been listed as honors-option courses for winter quarter:

Bio 101 (Intro Biology) - Ferris
Bio 101 (Intro Biology) - Bradley
Eng 367 (The American Experience) - Richmond
Mus 251 (History of Western Art Music) - Ellis
Mus 341 (American Popular Music) - Ellis
Psych 100 (Intro Psychology) – Lindsey

Contact instructors for information about the honors requirements in these courses and to secure permission to enroll.

Honors-equivalent courses are 500- and 600-level courses which, when satisfactorily completed by freshmen and sophomore honors students, count as honors courses for the purpose of accessing a student's level of participation in the honors program. There are no additional course requirements. Although honors-equivalent courses usually have no or minimal prerequisites, students are strongly advised to check with instructors to be certain of what is expected in terms of background. The following will count as honors-equivalent courses for winter quarter:

Eng 520.01 (Studies in Shakespeare)
Eng 573.01 (Studies in Rhetorical Thought and Analysis)
Eng 582 (Studies in African-American Literature)
Eng 583 (Special Topics in World Literature in English)
Geog 597.01 (World Urbanization)
Hist 538 (History of the Soviet Union)
Hist 564 (Gilded Age to Progressive Era, U.S. 1877-1920)
Psych 551 (Adolescence)
Soc 630 (Medical Sociology)
Soc 666 (Political Sociology) 

The complete winter course schedule is available here: OSU-M Winter Schedule

HONORS EXPECTATIONS

All honors students are reviewed at the end of spring quarter to determine their eligibility to continue in the honors program. In accordance with university honors requirements, honors students who begin at OSU in autumn 2006 or later must complete six honors or honors-equivalent courses over their first two years of study. These means that an honors student must average one honors or honors-equivalent course per quarter. In addition, honors students must participate in at least one honors-related activity (lecture, seminar, field trip) each quarter.

Honors students who have difficulty meeting this requirement because of programmatic and curricular issues should contact Dr. Ellis. Our campus and the University are working together to create more opportunities for honors students to meet the six-course standard.

OTHER IMPORTANT HONORS INFORMATION

We hope that all honors students will want to graduate with academic distinction. Here are some of the standards to keep in mind:

Latin Honors

• Cum laude: 3.5-3.69 cumulative grade-point average and completion of 90 graded hours at The Ohio State University.
• Magna cum laude: 3.7-3.89 cumulative grade-point average and completion of 90 graded hours at The Ohio State University.
• Summa cum laude: minimum 3.9 cumulative grade-point average and completion of 90 graded hours at The Ohio State University.

Graduation “with distinction in research”

Minimum 3.3 cumulative grade-point average, 90 graded hours at The Ohio State University, successful defense of an honors thesis or project, and successful completion of any departmental grade-point, course-work, and examination requirements. At least eight credit hours of thesis are required, and the forms must be completed the quarter before the course work begins.

Graduation “with honors” in the Arts and Sciences

Minimum cumulative 3.3 grade-point average, 90 graded hours at The Ohio State University, and completion of an approved Honors Contract. The contract specifies all course work to be completed after the first two years and must be approved by the ASC honors office and committee.

THE HONORS COMMITTEE

The members of the Honors Committee are Stavros Constantinou, associate professor of geography, Ted Dahlstrand, associate dean and associate professor of history, Tom Gregory, associate professor of mathematics, Dennis Shaffer, assistant professor of psychology, Mark Ellis (chair), professor of music, Faith Wyzgoski, assistant professor of chemistry, Richard Stewart, academic advisor/staff assistant, and honors students Cheryl Fry and Michael Bear.

Have a productive quarter!