The University of Florida Honors Program
Welcome to UF Honors

Fall 2026

.

..

...

....

.....

......

Honors Sections

Honors sections are versions of regular UF courses, typically with a smaller class size and with variations in assignments and expectations.

AGR3303 - Genetics

 

  • Course: AGR3303
  • Class Number: 19804
  • Instructor: Md Ali Babar
ARH2000 - Art Apprec Div & Glob

 

  • Course: ARH2000
  • Class Number: 10474
  • Instructor: TBA
CHM2050 - Hnrs Gen Chem 1 Major

 

  • Course: CHM2050
  • Class Number: 17447
  • Instructor: Daniel Savin
EML2322L - Design & Manufac Lab

 

  • Course: EML2322L
  • Class Number: 11919
  • Instructor: Sean Niemi
HSC2000 - Int Hlth Professions

 

MAC2311 - Analyt Geom & Calc 1
  • Course: MAC2311
  • Class Number: 20963
  • Instructor: TBA

  • Course: MAC2311
  • Class Number: 20964
  • Instructor: TBA
MAC2312 - Analyt Geom & Calc 2
  • Course: MAC2312
  • Class Number: 20970
  • Instructor: TBA
MAC3474 - Honors Calc 3
  • Course: MAC3474
  • Class Number: 13347
  • Instructor: TBA
MAP2302 - Elem Diff Equations
  • Course: MAP2302
  • Class Number: 13145
  • Instructor: TBA
MCB4271 - AMR (Antimicrobial Resistance)

 

  • Course: MCB4271
  • Class Number: 25282
  • Instructor: Daniel Czyz
MCB4403 - Prokaryotic Cell Struc

 

  • Course: MCB4403
  • Class Number: 25260
  • Instructor: TBA
MCB4503 - General Virology

 

  • Course: MCB4503
  • Class Number: 22185
  • Instructor: TBA

MUL2010 - Experiencing Music

 

PHY2060 - Enriched Phy w/Cal 1

 

  • Course: PHY2060
  • Class Number: 17478
  • Instructor: TBA
PHY2061 - Enriched Phy w/Cal 2

 

  • Course: PHY2061
  • Class Number: 15048
  • Instructor: TBA
PHZ3113 - Intro Theoret Physics

 

  • Course: PHZ3113
  • Class Number: 15093
  • Instructor: TBA
POS2041 - American Federal Govt

In this course, students will investigate how the national government is structured and how the American constitutional republic operates. It covers the philosophical and historical foundations of American government, including but not limited to the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution and all its amendments, and the Federalist Papers. The course examines the branches of government and the government’s laws, policies, and programs. It also examines the ways in which citizens participate in their government and ways their government responds to citizens.

This course provides an overview of American politics: its political culture, the attitudes and political behavior of its citizens, the operation of its key institutions, and its enduring debates. We will cover the three main branches of government — executive, legislative, and judicial — and other important political actors such as parties, interest groups, and the media. We will be concerned with several themes, especially the nature and distribution of political power and the role of elections.

Among the questions we will address are: Who has power in American politics and how is that power used? How does the Constitution structure the distribution of power? We will consider the role played in American politics by citizens, elected officials, appointed officials in the bureaucracy, and unelected power-holders outside the government such as journalists and lobbyists. What political beliefs shape citizens’ participation in the political process? How do interest groups wield power? What informal and formal powers do the three branches have? What factors limit their ability to achieve their goals? How do the three branches work together or against each other? How is public policy made?

POS4931 - Poli Sci Under Tyranny

 

  • Course: POS4931
  • Class Number: 25880
  • Instructor: TBA
RUT3601 - The Culture of the Cold War

 

SPC2608 - Introduction to Public Speaking

 

  • Course: SPC2608
  • Class Number: 14686
  • Instructor: Anisah Ari
SPN2201 - Intermed Spanish 2

 

  • Course: SPN2201
  • Class Number: 25479
  • Instructor: TBA
SPN2240 - Intens Comm Skills

 

  • Course: SPN2240
  • Class Number: 24016
  • Instructor: TBA
WST3015 - Interdis Persp Women

 

Quest 1

IDS1468 - Why Tell Stories

Through the lenses of art, philosophy, literature, and film, we will delve into the universal experience of storytelling, a practice that lies at the heart of our existence and humanity. Stories allow us to view life through the perspectives of others, prompting us to reflect on our own place in the world.

 

IDS2935 - Man, Machine, & Meaning: What Makes Us Human?

This course investigates what it means to be human as we study selected chapters from man’s complicated history with technology and automation. From the assembly line and advanced weaponry to the internet and AI, technology has irrevocably transformed the way we live and interact. Machines have freed men and women from tedious physical labor; facilitated communication and travel; and revolutionized health, education and entertainment; at the same time, they have been used to destroy cities, disrupt societal structures, and displace countless individuals, testing the limits of human ethics and empathy. We will approach these developments from a multidisciplinary perspective, drawing from history, philosophy and cultural studies as we explore how art, film, and literature critically engage the Second Industrial Revolution and Information Age.

 

IDS2935 - Relationships Through T. Swift

In an age when love, friendship, and family life unfold not only in person but also across screens, lyrics, and timelines, this course explores how interpersonal communication shapes the ways we create, sustain, and make sense of our closest relationships. Using the music, public persona, and fandom of Taylor Swift as a sustained case study, we will explore how individuals use messages to express emotion, perform identity, negotiate intimacy, and manage relational change in a mediated culture. Ultimately, this course invites students to engage both intellectually and reflectively with the essential questions of this course: How do we communicate vulnerability and power in close relationships? What can popular music teach us about connection, conflict, and repair? And what do our stories of love reveal about the human desire for meaning, identity, and belonging?

 

Course: IDS2935
Class Number: 26163
Instructor: Benjamin Gaddis

Course: IDS2935
Class Number: 26164
Instructor: Benjamin Gaddis

 

Course: IDS2935
Class Number: 26165
Instructor: Benjamin Gaddis

 

ISC1010C - Secrets of Alchemy

Multi-disciplinary exploration of the history of alchemy, the precursor to modern chemistry. Studies the multidimenstional relationships between alchemy and philosophy, religion, and the natural sciences from antiquity to the modern era. Recreation of alchemical recipes in the teaching lab enhance the course content.

 

REL1411 - Why is There Evil in the World?

What is evil? How have monotheistic traditions attempted to grapple with God’s goodness and the problem of evil? Can natural disasters be considered evil? What turns ordinary people into perpetrators? The class will enable students to analyze this question in a written form and orally by drawing on a variety of methodologies from different fields in the humanities including philosophy, religion, history, and art.

Course: REL1411
Class Number: 24688
Instructor: Yaniv Feller


Course: REL1311
Class Number: 24689
Instructor: Yaniv Feller

Course: REL1311
Class Number: 24690
Instructor: Yaniv Feller

 

 

 

Quest 2

AST2023 - Astrophotography: Art & Science

Human activity has dramatically increased the brightness of the night sky in much of the world, which has cultural, biological,
and scientific impacts. We will take a broad perspective in this course and consider some of the consequences, both intentional and unintended, of technical progress upon our understanding and ability to view the Cosmos. We will consider a few specific cases in our discussions. As part of this course, you will acquire the skills to frame and capture your own stunning images of the day
and night sky, while gaining a greater appreciation for our place in the Universe.

 

APK2322 - Exercise as Medicine

To date, a plethora of research has demonstrated countless physiological, psychological, and emotional health benefits provided by an
active lifestyle. Yet given this knowledge, our country continues to face the negative health repercussions given a relatively inactive, sedentary society. This Quest 2 course utilizes the disciplines of applied physiology, health education, medicine, healthcare economics, and government/public policy to explore the challenges associated with exercise as an everyday lifestyle among Americans. In this class, we will identify and investigate the role various entities (i.e. government, healthcare providers, insurance agencies, pharmaceutical companies) play in fostering exercise behavior.

 

  • Course: APK2322
  • Class Number: 23931
  • Instructor: Anna Gardner

 

 

IDS2935 - Multilingual AI

The fundamental pressing question that we will investigate in this course is: “what do we lose and gain through the unhindered use of AI in this changing landscape?”  AI tools such as Google Translate or Linguee seemingly make the task of communicating with individuals across languages and cultures an effortless task. Nevertheless, now decades of research in psycholinguistics and cognitive psychology point towards cognitive benefits such as cognitive resilience, improved cognitive control, and even brain adaptations to help delay the onset of dementia. Does replacing the human ability to learn multiple languages with AI remove our access to reaping these cognitive benefits? We will use theories and methodologies from the Social and Behavioral Sciences through readings in ethics, psycholinguistics, cognitive psychology, natural language processing, and sociology to critically evaluate and analyze the role of AI in our lives using multilingualism as the case study. 

 

  • Course: IDS2935
  • Class Number: 26367
  • Instructor: Jorge Valdez-Kroff
IDS2935 - Peace Communication-Dialogue that Bridges Divides

Examines how peace communication fosters resilience in contested cultural and political spaces, especially during times of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA). Through global case studies, experiential learning, and critical reflection, students explore how dialogue—rooted in emotional awareness and ethical engagement can promote justice, healing, and adaptive leadership across diverse contexts.

 

  • Course: IDS2935
  • Class Number: 21068
  • Instructor Anisah Ari
STA2170 - Stats in the Physical World

This course is intended to introduce general ideas involving probability and statistics through thought provoking examples from subject areas in the physical and biological sciences. Students will be expected to think through solutions to problems from the various cases to understand the various statistical methods introduced.  This can lead to questions such as how can we measure and describe climate change based on available empirical data? The course will focus on “big picture” uses of statistical methods and will use statistical computing software as opposed to “hand calculation.” This course affords students the ability to critically examine and evaluate the principles of the scientific method, model construction, and use the scientific method to explain natural experiences and phenomena.

 

ISS2100 - What's Love Got to Do with It?

Introduces social science disciplines and their approach to studying romantic love. From both a sociocultural and personal point of view, students define romantic love, examine its role in society, and analyze their own romantic hopes and pursuits.

 

PLS2030 - Evolution of Eating

This course will explore the history of agricultural innovations while examining their social, political, economic, and environmental consequences within the context of the global food system. Through analysis of how eating evolved, we will formulate ideas on how global food systems will change and function in the future.

  • Course: PLS2030
  • Class Number: 26900
  • Instructor: Rose Koenig
Back to Top

UnCommon Arts + Writes

UnCommon Arts

1 credit discussion-based courses centered around notable artists, artistic performances, and exhibits

IDH2952 - Aesthetics of Biodiversity

Is there an aesthetic to biodiversity? This course examines what we find beautiful and worthy of care, and how these have been shaped by our relationship to the natural world. Combining historical and contemporary readings, close analysis of artistic work, and collaborative field-based art projects, we will examine concepts of nature and beauty and how these have influenced conservation, policy, science, and art amidst global biodiversity declines. Students will critique foundational assumptions about "nature," produce place-based work, and develop clear ways to communicate and transform their own relationships to biodiversity.

 

  • Course: IDH2952
  • Class Number: 26484
  • Day/Period: T/4
  • Instructor: Vaughn Shirey
IDH2952 - The Beautiful Game as Art: Soccer, Performance, and Visual Culture

This Honors course investigates soccer as a form of artistic and cultural performance. Drawing on examples first from Brazil and then the rest of the world, students will explore how movement, sound, and visual display transform athletic competition into aesthetic experience. Topics include fan choreography and stadium spectacle, Tifos, graffiti and murals celebrating players and clubs, soccer in film and photography, and the role of music and chants in shaping the collective emotion of fans and nations.

By treating matches as performances and stadiums as cultural stages, the course asks how art and sport overlap in the construction of national identity, urban space, and popular memory. The themes of discussion will emphasize artistic interpretation of soccer rather than athletic skill. Students will engage in guided viewing and listening, image analysis, and reflective writing, culminating in a short creative work.

Quinn McCoy Hansen is a Senior Lecturer in Portuguese Language and Luso-Brazilian Culture at the University of Florida. He specializes in Brazilian Portuguese and in the study of language and culture in the Portuguese-speaking world. He also teaches the UF Quest course Soccer Explains the World, which explores global issues through sport and popular culture.

 

  • Course: IDH2952
  • Class Number: 26896
  • Day/Period: W/4
  • Instructor: Quinn Hansen

 

IDH2952 - Collage, Junk, and Journaling

This course introduces students to creative practices that integrate collage, mixed-media “junk” art, and reflective journaling as methods for idea exploration, visual storytelling, and personal expression. Each week students will experiment with found materials, repurposed objects, and journaling techniques to develop an individualized creative process. Emphasis is placed on iterative making, low-stakes experimentation, and the ability to translate everyday materials into meaningful artistic compositions. Students will engage in constructive critiques, and complete a final mixed-media portfolio demonstrating growth in craft, and conceptual development.

 

  • Course: IDH2952
  • Class Number: 26482
  • Day/Period: M/4
  • Instructor: Patty Takacs
IDH2952 - Objects of Desire: Why Materials Matter

How do objects shape the way we think, learn, and express identity? Students will explore material culture from throughout the old and new world to understand how people make things and how things make people. Material culture (objects) will not be treated as static bystanders to the world but rather as dynamic catalysts for change in modern and ancient cultures. How did the electric rectangle (telephone) in your pocket start a revolution? Why did a knotted cotton string (khipu) strike fear in the hearts of the Inca? Did a single piece of paper (magical papyri) make ancient Greeks fall in love and be sentenced to death? By connecting objects through time and space, students will become adept at critically and comparatively reading material culture.

 

IDH2952 - Taylor Swift and Arts

Ready for it? In this class, students will move from shades of greige to shimmering gold as we discuss Taylor Swift’s enchanting lyrics and draw golden threads to our own art. Each module will have a week in which you will listen, annotate, discuss, identify, and analyze themes in carefully curated playlists. In another week of the module, you will produce paintings, pottery, photographs, and more in screaming color. As we go through the course, we encourage you to apply clinical scrutiny to the texts and to push your creativity into experimental color. Achievement of the learning outcomes will be assessed through your ability to read between the lines by annotating song lyrics, engaging in class discussions, producing your own artwork, and collaborating on the final class project.

 

  • Course: IDH2952
  • Class Number: 26485
  • Day/Period: W/10
  • Instructor: Melina Jimenez
  • Peer Instructor: Isabel Melendez-Soto
IDH2952 - Poetry in Place: how geography influences poetic practice

Geographical location features prominently in the work of many poets, and part of this course will explore this tradition, where we'll read poems of place, and also excerpts from the collection, "Poets on Place: Essays and Tales from the Road." We'll also cultivate our own practice of writing poetry that's inspired by place. Taking inspiration from poet Linda Gregg's advice for poets to keep record of six daily observations, we'll commit to this simple practice, while also engaging in weekly writing prompts and assignments that will help grow your imagination while grounding you in the practice of paying attention to life where you are at.

 

  • Course: IDH2952
  • Class Number: 27421
  • Day/Period: W/3
  • Instructor: Kristine Crane
IDH2952 - Pop Music after 2008

This course examines United States pop music after 2008 as a cultural, technological, and economic formation shaped by profound structural change. The year 2008 marks a decisive historical threshold, coinciding with the global financial crisis, shifting conditions of labor and cultural precarity, the rapid normalization of smartphones, and the consolidation of the internet as a dominant media environment. Together, these forces reconfigured how popular music was produced, circulated, categorized, and experienced, as media consumption moved away from analog and broadcast forms toward digital, platform-based, and streaming systems. Students examine how pop music after 2008 evolved through the emergence of highly mediated pop personas and artist-brands, shifting genre boundaries, and new modes of fan participation shaped by social media and online platforms, with attention to major figures such as Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Adele, Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, Drake, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, and Lorde. The course also traces how rap and hip-hop moved from a parallel mainstream into the gravitational center of pop culture through artists such as Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Kendrick Lamar, Cardi B, Azealia Banks, Megan Thee Stallion, and Doja Cat, while also examining the internet-native affect and circulation models associated with SoundCloud-era artists such as Lil Uzi Vert and Playboi Carti. In addition, the course addresses the post-2008 emergence of hyperpop and experimental internet-native aesthetics associated with artists such as SOPHIE, PC Music, Charli XCX, and 100 gecs, which make the logic of digital platforms and compression audible within pop form. The course situates these developments within a global media ecosystem, examining the internationalization of pop culture through phenomena such as K-pop and Latin pop, including artists such as BTS, BLACKPINK, and Bad Bunny, highlighting how U.S. pop increasingly operates within a multilingual and transnational soundscape. Finally, the course explores how streaming platforms, algorithmic recommendation systems, shortened song forms, and TikTok-era attention economies have reshaped musical structure, visibility, and the meaning of success in pop music, enabling students to analyze post-2008 pop music as a fluid media system rather than a fixed genre and to situate contemporary popular music within broader historical, technological, and cultural formations.

Kevin Artiga has worked as a technical communication professional for a variety of organizations in medicine, software development, and cultural resource management. His doctoral research is in technical and business communication, computational media theory, and migration studies.

 

  • Course: IDH2952
  • Class Number: 27092
  • Day/Period: M/9
  • Instructor: Kevin Artiga

UnCommon Writes

1 credit themed writing workshops taught by University Writing Program faculty

Back to Top

UnCommon Reads

1 credit discussion-based courses centered around books of all genres.

History + Biography

IDH2930 - Family Business Dynasty

Much has been written and said about the Rothschild family. This book is a good place to start exploring this financial dynasty and the histories, legends, myths and theories associated with it. Written with the eye and ear of a novelist, this book portrays the origin story, family cohesion, fierce competition, business acumen, political clout, legendary wealth, and the impact on personal lives within this closely knit clan and the business empire it has successfully maintained for over 200 years. A rare combination of family history, business history and sheer entertainment, this tale of power and vulnerability offers an opportunity to examine multiple elements of storytelling, business strategies and survival, entrepreneurship, historical investigation, imagination and misrepresentation, family and dynastic structures, conspicuous consumption and extravagant display, philanthropy and patronage.

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 26683
  • Day/Period: R/5
  • Instructor: Yehoshua Ecker
IDH2930 - Medical Bondage: Enslavement and the Roots of U.S. Medicine

This one-credit course introduces students to the history of American medicine through Deirdre Cooper Owens’s Medical Bondage. The course explores how slavery, race, and gender shaped early medical knowledge, with a focus on the experiences of enslaved Black women in the development of gynecology. Through discussion-based classes and guided readings, students will examine key questions about ethics, consent, and power in medical practice. The course also encourages students to connect this history to present-day issues in U.S. health care, including health disparities, patient trust, and medical decision-making. Students will be assessed based on their participation in class discussions, completion of assigned readings, and four short (one-page) reflective writing assignments.

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 26899
  • Day/Period: W/5
  • Instructor: Alyssa Cole

 

IDH2930 - Slave Narratives and the American Experiment: Practicing Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding in 2026, this Honors seminar invites students to reflect on the nation’s founding ideals by engaging one of the most influential bodies of writing in American history: slave narratives.

The ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness stand at the center of the American founding. This course explores how those ideals were understood, experienced, and expressed by enslaved and formerly enslaved people through first-person accounts that illuminate everyday life under slavery. Far from existing outside the American story, slave narratives were widely read, debated, and circulated during the nation’s formative years, shaping public conversation and contributing to how freedom was defined in practice.

Through close reading and discussion, students will engage these narratives as historical documents, literary works, and reflections on American ideals as they were lived and pursued. Emphasis is placed on careful interpretation, historical context, and respectful engagement with first-person sources. Students will examine how enslaved authors narrated their lives, addressed their audiences, and articulated aspirations that resonated deeply with the nation’s founding values.

Designed as a discussion-based Honors course, this seminar offers students the opportunity to deepen their understanding of American origins by listening closely to voices that experienced those ideals in profound and formative ways. By the end of the course, students will gain a richer appreciation for the meanings of liberty and citizenship in the United States and for the role of narrative in shaping American history.

 

IDH2930 - Untold Stories from the Archives: The History of the University of Florida

Why are we called the Gators? What is Century Tower’s purpose? What are the oldest buildings on campus? How did UF begin? The University of Florida has a long, storied history that begs to be explored. In this course, we will do a deep dive into materials held in the University Archives to explore how these materials tell the story of UF, including those silent, undocumented stories that were excluded from the narrative. We will explore how these materials create the story of community and identity for the students at UF. You will be able to discuss your own story here at UF, and think of ways to share your story for the future. How will your experiences today be reflected in UF’s future? What kinds of stories will be told and how will they be told? How can we fill in the gaps in the archival record to ensure all aspects of a story are told? These are some of the many questions we will explore in this course. The course will include short reflections, discussion posts, and a final project. No previous archives experience or knowledge is necessary, and this course is open to anyone with an interest in learning more about the history of UF. 

Sarah Coates, CA, is the University Archivist at the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida. As University Archivist, she saves, secures, and shares the story and history of the University of Florida. To achieve this goal, her work includes acquiring and processing records of enduring historical and administrative value from institutional units, faculty, staff, students, and campus organizations at UF. She has worked at the University of Florida’s University Archives since 2018, becoming University Archivist in 2022. Prior to coming to UF, she worked at Oklahoma State University’s Special Collections and University Archives and taught freshman composition at several universities in Ohio and Oklahoma. She received her Master’s in Library and Information Studies from the University of Oklahoma and her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in English Literature from Wright State University in Dayton, OH. She is also a Certified Archivist through the Academy of Certified Archivists.

Class meets in Smathers 208

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 21380
  • Day/Period: W/4
  • Instructor: Sarah Coates

Science (Non-Health) + Science Fiction

IDH2930 - Invasive Species Today: Challenges and Opportunities

Whether you love them or hate them, invasive species are here to stay! So, what do we do about it? In this course, we will read the latest research and opinion articles on invasive species theory, reality, and management. Not only will we discuss the impacts of the invasive species themselves, we will also explore the impacts of management strategies. When and how do we intervene? Should we intervene? In a world of shrinking resources, how do we prioritize species, ecosystem, and human needs? Enroll in this course to learn more.

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 26672
  • Day/Period: W/5
  • Instructor: Nicole Quinn
IDH2930 - Tamed: Ten species that changed our world

In this course we will cover the book Tamed: Ten Species that Changed Our World by Alice Roberts, which explores the fascinating history of domestication of ten key species and their influence on us, humans. From the early domestication of wolves to the cultivation of wheat, the rise of potatoes, and the genetic modification of chickens, students will examine the connections between genetics, anthropology, and cultural history. During weekly discussions (from book readings, visits to museum collections, and invited speakers) we will learn about the scientific, cultural, and ethical views of domestication. By the end of this course, students will have a better understanding of how humans and these species have influenced each other, and what that means for the future of biodiversity. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
• Appreciate how domesticated species have shaped human societies and ecosystems,
• Understand the scientific methods used to study domestication,
• Recognize the impacts of domestication on biodiversity and culture.

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 23389
  • Day/Period: T/7
  • Instructor: Mariela Pajuelo
IDH2930 - VE Schwab's Vicious: Exploring a World of Super Heroes and Villains Through a Scientific Lens

This course will explore and discuss the novel Vicious, the first book in the series Villains by VE Schwab, though it can be read as a standalone. The story of friends-turned-enemies and the havoc ensuing from their self-experimentation takes place in a world where superpowers are developed based on near-death experiences. The course will explore how Schwab incorporates real-world scientific, medical, and psychological concepts into the novel and how these ideas connect with the story’s themes. Students will learn critical thinking and research skills in order to understand the interplay between science and fiction.

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 26505
  • Day/Period: T/7
  • Instructor: Chloe Hough

Health

IDH2930 - Drug Addiction – the hell on earth and how to not lose hope

Drug dependence & addiction may often seem far away, unless it gets personal and affects somebody close by. We will be reading the books “Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey through his Son’s Addiction” and “Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town”, discussing the various aspects of how drug addiction affects the individual, their loved ones, friends, and society. Some of the topics will include the underlying biological mechanisms of addiction, the impact of addiction on society, treatment approaches, with a major part spend on sharing our views on what can be done moving forward to find solutions. This class is taught entirely online over a 12-week period using Canvas, Zoom for weekly synchronous 1-hour meetings, and VoiceThread.

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 17268
  • Day/Period: M/5
  • Instructor: Oliver Grundmann
IDH2930 - Exploring Adverse Childhood Experiences - The Deepest Well

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are stressful or traumatic events that affect children and can have a lasting impact on health and well-being. Early experiences have a broad and profound impact on an individual’s development and subsequent emotional, cognitive, social and biological functioning throughout the life cycle. Extensive research indicates that childhood trauma can lead to the adult onset of chronic diseases, depression and other mental illness, violence and being a victim of violence, as well as financial and social problems (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). In The Deepest Well, pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris writes about her first encounter with the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study by Drs. Felitti and Anda. 

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 26595
  • Day/Period: M/8
  • Instructor: Martie Gillen
IDH2930 - The American Trip: Set, Setting, and Psychedelic Experience in the Twentieth Century

This Fall 2026 UF Uncommon Reads will explore case studies documented by the Israeli researcher Ido Hartogsahn in his book The American Trip: Set, Setting, and Psychedelic Experience in the Twentieth Century. These case studies offer a perspective on "psychedelic culture" that dispels myths and stereotypes in an effort to battle with the stigmas associated with mental health and mental healthcare in the United States. This course, and the concurrent developments in research and FDA trials in the United States, is a timely engagement with emerging and re-imagined forms of treating pathologies related to PTSD/anxiety and some forms of depression. Dr. Smith, the faculty member for the course, is actively engaged with healthcare companies and state government officials at this time working towards the legal, humane, and ethical treatment of patients utilizing developing data on psychedelic therapies.

Craig Smith is the Chief Culture Officer of Control-Z Health, a healthcare business specializing in guided psychedelic therapy and holistic wellness, based in Boston MA. Dr. Smith is a senior faculty member in the College of the Arts at the University of Florida. He has taught Uncommon Reads sections for more than ten years at UF.

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 26908
  • Day/Period: W/8
  • Instructor: Craig Smith
IDH2930 - Beyond the Brain: The Mystery of Life After "Death"

What happens when science meets the unknown? Using Bruce Greyson’s "After" as a foundational text, this course will invite students to explore the mysteries of consciousness through the lens of near-death experiences (NDEs). Together, we will journey through neuroscience, philosophy, literature, and spirituality to ask the questions about life and death that we often avoid. Students will not only analyze research but also grapple with the personal and cultural implications of what happens when we brush up against the edge of mortality.

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 26710
  • Day/Period: M/8
  • Instructor: Meredith Beaupre
  • Peer Instructor: Jake Wooley
IDH2930 - Drawing COVID: Pandemic Impacts on Comics and Healthcare

This course focuses on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on two distinct but related areas: graphic medicine (and comics more generally), and health care, through the lens of The COVID Chronicles: A Comics Anthology, edited by Kendra Boileau and Rich Johnson. This anthology captures the experiences of members of the general public, patients, providers, and historians during the COVID-19 pandemic; the variety of content and different visual styles within the medium of sequential art complement these diverse voices. This course will include supplementary readings that expand on the themes introduced by The COVID Chronicles, helping students develop a deeper visual vocabulary and understand the complex nuances of a historic event through which they themselves also lived. Through the lens of comics on personal narratives and historic accounts of the pandemic, we will discuss themes including public health and personal response, mental health, death and dying, isolation and community building, health education and literacy, history of medicine, and provider burnout.

 

IDH2930 - Effective Altruism

As the world faces increasingly complex problems – from pandemics to global poverty – how do we decide where to concentrate our efforts and resources to do the most good possible? Effective Altruism by Jacob Bauer offers a way to do just that, focusing on evidence and rational arguments to identify crucial issues and the most impactful ways of solving them.  The course will make a critical examination of effective altruism and evaluate the theory's strengths and potential weaknesses.   

Note:  This course is departmentally controlled and limited to those who are participating in the Honors Altruism Learning Community. 

Full for Fall 2026 

 

IDH2930 - Exploring Medicine Through Streaming Media

In this 1 credit seminar course, students will be introduced to a variety of topics in contemporary medicine such as health care delivery reform, ethical challenges, the evolution of medical science, and major healthcare crises. The course materials will be drawn from streaming media including podcasts and TED/Youtube videos. Class time will be used to explore the topics in open discussion with the course director and selected guest faculty from the College of Medicine and other institutions

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 20338
  • Day/Period: W/6
  • Instructor: David Winchester
IDH2930 - The Ghost Map

The Ghost Map guides us through the 1854 cholera outbreak in London, an event that ultimately transformed how we understand disease, data, and public health.  Part storytelling, part social history, the book follows the outbreak, how infrastructure impacted the crisis and the introduction of medical theory that we still use today. More than a historical account, this text raises enduring questions about evidence, belief, and the role of communities in responding to crisis. 

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 26514
  • Day/Period: M/7
  • Instructor: Meredith Beaupre
IDH2930 - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks explores the extraordinary story behind one of the most important medical breakthroughs of the modern era, while centering the often-overlooked human life connected to it. A combination of science, history, and personal narrative, we will grapple with issues of consent, inequality, and the power dynamics of medicine. This course uses the text as a starting point for discussion about who benefits from scientific discovery, whose stories are remembered, and how the past continues to shape present-day debates in healthcare and research.

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 26510
  • Day/Period: M/6
  • Instructor: Meredith Beaupre

 

IDH2930 - Man and Microbes

I have been teaching this course every year since 2022. It is based on the book “Man and Microbes” by Arno Karlen, a wonderful book, and a very timely one to read, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. It describes the history of humanity as viewed through the prism of epidemics and pandemics. The book deals with questions of how diseases arise, frequently jumping from animals to humans, how they evolve and why. The book also places the disease as a central actor in history. It is written by an erudite, who is not only a writer but also a scientist. The book is written in a clear and easy language, making it a page-turner, despite sometimes gruesome details that are inevitable considering the subject matter. The book is very affordable and is available from Amazon for $15 new, and numerous used copies are also there for sale for as low as $2. I greatly enjoy teaching this course and it seems that all students who took the course also enjoyed the experience.

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 23341
  • Day/Period: T/7
  • Instructor: Andrei Sourakov
IDH2930 - The People's Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine

The People's Hospital is a book written by Dr. Ricardo Nuila, which focuses on the experiences of uninsured patients at Ben Taub Hospital, which is a public hospital in Houston, Texas. The book follows five individuals and their narratives in the American healthcare system, highlights the challenges and injustices they face. There is an emphasis on the lack of healthcare access for those who lack insurance. This course will examine health care disparities and take a look at the human cost of healthcare. We will also take a comprehensive look at policy and its impact on humans.

Taylor Pierson is a senior majoring in Health Science and minoring in Anthropology. She enjoys playing sports, volunteering at the hospital, cooking, and spending time in the community. She loves the book The People’s Hospital due to the perspective it provides and its emphasis on the human aspect of healthcare. 

Anika Mellacheruvu is a senior studying Public Health with a minor in Pathogenesis. She enjoys reading, cooking, and spending time with her friends. She is strongly interested in understanding health outcomes from a variety of perspectives, one being patient care delivery, which drew her to The People’s Hospital. She is excited to engage in collaborative discussion on the stories presented in this book, as well as how we, as future healthcare professionals and patients, can work to build better, more equitable systems of healthcare. 

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 26745
  • Day/ Period: R/7
  • Instructor: Adrienne Strong
  • Peer Instructor: Taylor Pierson
  • Peer Instructor: Anika Mellacheruvu
     
IDH2930 - Understanding the reaction to polio and other infectious disease outbreaks in America

A key question for this class is “Whose face is on a dime, and why?” This class will explore the answer to this question and so much more as it looks at the impact of disease outbreaks on American society as it examines the rise and fall of polio in America in the 20th century and several other epidemics.
Infectious disease has had a powerful impact on history- toppling governments, shaping the outcomes of battles, transforming medical practice, fostering artistic and scientific discovery, putting political systems at odds, and so much more. Of these diseases, polio was one that confounded expectation, because it was a disease transmitted through poor sanitation that increased in frequency as cities in America were cleaned. It struck mostly children, although an American president caught polio as an adult, and that shaped his life, presidency, and American society. It brought people together in a search for a cure, although search for a vaccine also resulted in divisions among scientists. During the summer when polio outbreaks were at their height, families lived in terror- but now that impact is mostly forgotten. Through the study of polio this class also will explore how people respond and how society has been shaped in the past and present.

 

IDH2930 - The Unseen Body

For the pre-med student, biological science major, naturalist, or simply interested reader, Jonathan Reisman, M.D.―a physician and adventure traveler―takes us along on an odyssey that navigates the inner workings of our anatomy akin to an explorer discovering a new world in his debut novel: The Unseen Body.

Through his unique insight into life, culture, and the natural world, Reisman challenges us to see our body in a completely new light. He shows us how understanding mountain watersheds can help to diagnose heart attacks, how a hike through the Himalayas reveals the boundary between the brain and the mind, and how eating animal organs can serve as a lesson in empathy. With his captivating and lyrical prose, Resiman teaches us how our organs are inextricably intertwined with the natural world–taking the familiar inner workings of our body and metamorphosing them into an internal ecosystem that reflects the natural world around us.

 

Society + Culture + Politics

IDH2930 - Franny and Zooey: Seeing Faith with New Eyes

Religion is a ubiquitous force throughout human history, driving the development of culture in countless ways, yet for some today it means little more than reciting memorized prayers and mechanically going through rituals. What does it mean to not just practice one’s religion, but to live out its tenets in one’s daily life? This question is explored in the novel Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger, in which the titular siblings discover the impacts of faith on their lives after one of them suffers an existential crisis. Franny and Zooey were raised on the teachings of all the major religions of the world by siblings who wanted to fill their lives with wisdom and purpose, but instead these teachings have left them aimless and confused. Together, through dialogues both comedic and deeply introspective, they build their faith back up from its foundation of compassion. This course will examine how this novel explores themes of detachment, the pursuit of knowledge, and equality all in the practical context of its fascinating characters and their exceptional lives.

Gabriela Matzen is a junior majoring in Anthropology and Political Science and minoring in Religion. Her interests include examining the impacts of religion on political and social change as well as the complex moral philosophies ingrained in each of these faiths. An avid reader, she believes that fiction can alter our perception of the world and of those around us in intangible yet profound ways, and she hopes that by teaching this course she can impart this effect upon her students.

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 26743
  • Day/Period: T/9
  • Instructor: Jeyoul Choi
  • Peer Instructor: Gabriela Matzen
IDH2930 - Keeping Score of Your Life

Nothing is more appealing than games. Staring obsessively at a chess board, rooting for a Hail Mary to fall incomplete, and defending a ping-pong serve all have something in common: a rapt commitment to a clearly-defined goal. But we love games not only because their goals are breathtakingly easy to understand in a complex world; the act of pursuing these goals is endlessly inventive and creative. Indeed, the process makes us alive.

In this class, we tackle philosopher C. Thi Nguyen’s "The Score: How to Stop Playing Somebody Else’s Game" (2026). Nguyen, himself a game addict, explains not only why playing games is so appealing but why their biggest influence upon greater society (the ‘scoring system’) is so harmful. Virtually every facet of modern society uses metrics to assign value: rankings, outcomes, benchmarks, objectives. Pursuing these steps – indeed, ‘playing the game’ – can make us lose hold of our own, distinct values. Our class will use Nguyen’s study as an open-ended forum to discuss a variety of questions, big and small, but they’ll always be centered around the most important one: what do you really want out of your life, and why? When it’s all said and done, are you glad you kept score?

 

IDH2930 - Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile

Do you drive a car? Could you imagine life in the United States without personal access to an automobile? While a very small number of US cities have been planned around daily life without cars (and many college students are forced to survive without one by necessity!), we live in a country that has largely been built around the existence of the automobile. Our cities, our daily lives, and our personal senses of freedom of often inextricably linked to the car. Yet, concern about the impacts of cars on society has been growing in recent years, including issues such as greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution, the safety and violence of driving, and sprawling development and paving of the natural world. The authors of Life After Cars argue that cars are not only unsustainable but are in part responsible for the inequitable and unjust foundations of American society. 

Using this book as our guide, we’ll consider the role of the car in environmental, economic, and social contexts of the United States. We’ll also examine the future of transportation as it may manifest during our lives, from car alternatives to autonomous transportation. 

Coursework will include weekly Socratic discussions, occasional short reflection essays, and a final presentation.

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 26577
  • Day/Period: T/8
  • Instructor: Ryan Good 
IDH2930 - Open Socrates

"Who are you, and what are you doing here? These questions may sound simple, but they open into the deepest uncertainties of life. In a world marked by division and distraction, it's easy to avoid asking them, or to cling to quick answers that leave us unsatisfied. Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life by Agnes Callard challenges us to take those questions seriously, and to live more philosophically in our everyday choices.

This one-credit Uncommon Reads course invites students to put philosophy into practice. Together, we will explore Callard’s idea of “untimely questions,” the fundamental issues of purpose, value, and identity that tend to arrive too late, and consider how confronting them can reshape our lives. Through weekly readings, conversations, and reflections, we will practice Socrates’ method of “persuade or be persuaded,” learning how open-minded dialogue can cut through polarization and open new possibilities for connection.

What does it mean to live an examined life in today’s world? How can embracing uncertainty become a strength? And what happens when we try to bridge divides by asking “why” rather than retreating into certainty? This course aims to show that philosophy is not a distant academic exercise, but a tool for living more intentionally, more honestly, and more fully. The course is ideal for students who enjoy big questions, spirited discussion, and reflecting on how timeless ideas apply to modern challenges.

Lucy Pellenbarg is a senior at the University of Florida majoring in Public Health with a focus on medical anthropology. Her academic and professional experiences range from finance and biotechnology to engineering, as well as clinical and global health research, reflecting a curiosity-driven path shaped by exploration across disciplines. Guided by Mary Oliver’s question, “What will you do with your one wild and precious life,” Pellenbarg turned to Open Socrates to help her ask difficult questions about purpose, identity, and meaning. As a peer instructor, she is passionate about fostering thoughtful dialogue and helping others reflect on their values, challenge assumptions, and discover their sense of purpose.

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 26545
  • Day/Period: R/6
  • Instructor: Michael O'Malley
  • Peer Instructor: Lucy Pellenbarg

 

 

 

IDH2930 - Power, Identity, and Society in Divergent Trilogy

This seminar examines the Divergent trilogy as a lens to analyze political authority, social stratification, identity formation, and economic control in dystopian settings. Through guided discussion, close reading, and brief analytical activities, students will interrogate how Veronica Roth’s worldbuilding reflects and critiques real-world political institutions, social norms, and economic incentives. The course explores faction governance and legitimacy; surveillance and state power; inequality and labor structures; the politics of fear and security; and the construction of identity within rigid social frameworks. Students will engage in weekly seminar-style conversations, rotate facilitation duties, and produce a final reflective analysis connecting themes from the series to contemporary political, social, or economic issues. The course emphasizes critical reading, collaborative discussion, and interdisciplinary thinking.

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 26481
  • Day/Period: M/3
  • Instructor: Patty Takacs
IDH2930 -Humankind & Beyond: Reflecting on Hope and Humanity

Reflecting on Hope and Humanity invites you to explore one of the most uplifting narratives about humanity—Rutger Bregman’s Humankind: A Hopeful History. In this Honors seminar, we’ll challenge assumptions about human nature, uncover stories of kindness and resilience, and reflect deeply on what it means to live with hope in today’s world.
Through engaging discussions, interactive activities, and personal reflection, you’ll connect the book’s ideas to your own experiences and future aspirations. This isn’t just a reading course—it’s a journey to rethink humanity and your role in shaping a better world.

If you’re curious, optimistic, and ready to explore big questions about who we are and who we can become, this class is for you!

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 26488
  • Day/Period: M/7
  • Instructor: Kate Fletcher
IDH2930 - A Severance Package for the Future: Narrative and Work in Ling Ma's Novel

We interrupt your regularly scheduled grind to bring you a course about work.

Work—what we do, how much we do, where we do it, and how we’re compensated for it—remains top of mind for many activists, employers, journalists, scholars, writers, and, above all, workers. Daily news is littered with updates on efforts toward unionization; social media influencers preach the gospel of hustle culture; academic workforces continue to suffer from adjunctification; and artificial intelligence (AI) promises automated efficiency. Moreover, work also proved a complex issue during the Covid-19 pandemic. Businesses large and small were temporarily closed; workers were categorized and divided as “essential” and “non-essential;” and white-collar workers in the U.S. enacted the Great Resignation and “quiet quitting.”

Taking work—as well as related terms like labor, logistics, and reproduction, as its guiding theme, this course turns to study Ling Ma’s novel Severance (2018). A work of dystopia and alternate history, Severance follows Candace Chen as she navigates a post-apocalyptic world overtaken by Shen Fever. Described as a fungal infection, Shen Fever infects hosts and drives them to perform repetitive tasks until death. In other words, the novel’s fungal antagonistic condemns hosts to the repetitive motions of work. However, Severance also offers a meditation on the work of storytelling, literary production, and commodification. Candace, for example, is a former Bible product coordinator for a multinational publishing company, which is a repetitive job that is tasked with perpetually reproducing the same commodity. Thus, this class will explore questions about creative labor, literary production, genre, anti- or post-work, globalization, and the potential futures for work we might imagine (also a type of work) in the age of AI. Furthermore, we will pair our readings of Ma’s novel with other texts, such as news stories, scholarly literature, and episodes from the Apple TV’s unrelated series Severance (2022-present).

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 27474
  • Day/Period: T/4
  • Instructor: Nicholas Orlando
IDH2930 - Tastes Like War: Unpacking Identity, Family, and the Truths We Carry

Grace Cho’s Tastes Like War is a widely acclaimed memoir that blends food, memory, mental health, and family history into a powerful story about identity and belonging. In this UnCommon Read course we will use her book as a way to think about culture, resilience, and caregiving, while also noticing the smaller ways food and memory connect people across generations. At the same time, we will take on the challenge of studying narrative bias. Some readers, including members of Cho’s family, have questioned her version of events, which opens up important discussions about how memory works, how personal stories can differ, and how we decide what counts as truth in a memoir. Each week we’ll read and talk through different parts of the book, share our own perspectives, and connect Cho’s story to bigger social issues and to our own lives. This course is for anyone interested in memoirs, identity, mental health, or the ways storytelling can be both deeply personal and open to interpretation.

Rujuta Kansara is a junior majoring in Microbiology and Cell Science on the pre-med track. She volunteers on the Shands pediatric unit and conducts research at the McKnight Brain Institute. Outside of academics, she enjoys dancing, tutoring, and trying new recipes; she hopes to explore the connection between culture and food through this UnCommon Reads. As a Tampa native, she loves watching sunsets and soaking up the Florida sunshine.

Maya Sirivelu is a junior majoring in Economics with a minor in Mathematics. Interested in management consulting, she is involved with a pro-bono consulting organization on campus, working with local Gainesville businesses and startups. Having attended a boarding school in India for the majority of her upbringing, Maya developed a strong interest in cultural identity, independence, and adaptability. She is excited to engage in meaningful discussions through this Uncommon Reads class and connecting literature to broader social experiences. 

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 26680
  • Day/Period: W/3
  • Instructor: Liesel Hamilton
  • Peer Instructor: Rujuta Kansara
  • Peer Instructor: Maya Sirivelu


 

IDH2930 - More than a Dreamer: Martin Luther King, Jr, Where Do We Go From Here? Chaos or Community

This year is the 40th anniversary of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday and from 1955-1968, he was a leading figure in the civil rights movement. Kiing published five books and gave thousands of speeches and interviews, but most Americans have only read “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and “I Have a Dream Speech.” When King was assassinated, he had a 75% disapproval rating because of his views on the Vietnam War and poverty. Using his book Where Do We Go From Here? Chaos or Community we will examine King’s ideas on racism, Black Power, the Vietnam war, poverty, and capitalism.

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 26602
  • Day/Period: W/4
  • Instructor: David Canton
IDH2930 - The Wonderful World of Nonprofit Organizations

This course explores the nature, roles, operations, and impacts of Nonprofit Organizations on societies across the globe. The course will provide students with a foundation in understanding nonprofits within the geographical, social, political and economic realities under which they operate. The course is based on assigned readings and class discussions from the required “uncommon” textbook.

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 21376
  • Day/Period: W/6
  • Instructor: Muthusami Kumaran

Business + Economics

IDH2930 - Creativity, Inc.: Lessons from Pixar for Designing Your Leadership and Innovation

Pixar movies have captivated audiences across generations. How does an organization consistently innovate and produce excellence? Creativity, Inc. tells the Pixar story, highlighting key lessons integrating leadership, storytelling, culture, and innovation. In this course you will explore, reflect, and play with these lessons, providing perspectives and tools you will use long into the future.

Tony Middlebrooks, Ph.D., creates programs and tools, designs learning experiences, and explores the intersection of leadership, innovation, creativity, and design. He is Clinical Full Professor of Leadership in the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida. An award-winning professor, he has created and taught more than 40 different courses for all collegiate levels; as well as designed programs for youth, international students, professional and executive education, and experiential abroad programs. He presently teaches courses in leadership theory and practice, and creativity and innovation. 

Dr. Middlebrooks previously served as Director of Graduate Programs and Director of the Siegfried Leadership Initiative for Horn Entrepreneurship at the University of Delaware, where he also codeveloped the undergraduate major and minor in Leadership and minors in Integrated Design and Social Entrepreneurship.

He is lead author of the textbook Discovering Leadership: Designing Your Success, now in its second edition; has published numerous articles and book chapters, delivered hundreds of presentations. He is also co-author of Public Sector Leadership, co-creator of the Idea Fan Deck and Design Thinking Cards and serves on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Leadership Studies. 

A firm believer that leadership and creativity can benefit everyone and every field, Dr. Middlebrooks consults and facilitates workshops for a wide variety of organizations. His current scholarly interests focus on methods of leadership education and the integration of leadership, creativity, and design thinking. Dr. Middlebrooks has a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. 

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 23394
  • Day/Period: W/7
  • Instructor: Anthony Middlebrooks

Literature

IDH2930 - Death & the King's Horseman: Reading an African dramatic text fictionalizing historical reality

This UnCommon Read delves into ways a script written for performance can be studied as a literary text. This course will explore a number of cross-cultural issues related to African mode of story-telling and metaphysical dimensions about death and tragedy. Furthermore, we will address the question “is tragedy a universal experience?” Finally, the course will reflect on how reality is mediated on stage.

Course objectives: At the end of this course, students will understand the nature of African story telling in written form. In addition, students will develop the ability to closely interpret a text outside of their own cultural and socioeconomic background. The course also focuses on the ability to closely read a text using historical and cultural analytic tools.

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 26489
  • Day/Period: T/9
  • Instructor: Kole Odutola
IDH2930 - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Step into the glittering, cutthroat world of Old Hollywood through Taylor Jenkins Reid’s best-selling novel: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. This semester, we’ll peel back the layers of fame, power, love, and personality as we follow the enigmatic Evelyn Hugo, a silver-screen star whose carefully curated image hides as much as it reveals. Why does Evelyn choose a struggling journalist, Monique Grant, to tell her story? And what does this shocking story reveal about truth, ambition, and the cost of reinvention?

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 26712
  • Day/Period: T/4
  • Instructor: Olivia Tyler

 

IDH2930 - Unreliable Objectivity: Knowledge, Realism, and the Novel

This course examines how novels interrogate objectivity. Through works by James Hogg, Wilkie Collins, George Eliot, and Iris Murdoch, we will explore how fiction grapples with questions of truth, evidence, belief, and judgment. Each of these writers stages encounters between competing forms of realism: literary realism’s attention to social detail, psychological realism’s exploration of interior life, scientific realism’s reliance on observation and explanation, and philosophical realism’s claims about moral and metaphysical truth.

Readings will include Hogg’s The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, Collins’s The Moonstone, Eliot’s Impressions of Theophrastus Such, and Murdoch’s The Black Prince. These texts foreground unreliable narrators, fractured perspectives, confessions, investigations, and acts of interpretation that complicate any simple account of objectivity. Rather than treating error as a failure, the course considers how being wrong—about others, about oneself, about the world—reveals the ethical stakes of knowing.

By reading closely, comparatively, and through different theoretical lenses, students will investigate how novels test the promise—and expose the limits—of objectivity.

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 26898
  • Day/Period: T/3
  • Instructor: Scott Thompson
     

Other

IDH2930 - "Love as Thou Wilt:" Ethics, Desire, and Becoming in Kushiel's Scion

This 1-credit Honors seminar uses Jacquline Carey’s Kushiel’s Scion to explore what it means to be good when your past, desires, and family legacy pull you in conflicting directions. Through weekly discussion and short reflections, we will examine love as a philosophy of life, the responsibilities of privilege and power, journeys away from home, and the complexities of family, friendship, and erotic relationships. No prior familiarity with the series is required; content includes mature themes that will be engaged analytically and critically.

 

  • Course: IDH2930
  • Class Number: 26915
  • Day/Period: W/7
  • Instructor: Dustin S. Hall
Back to Top

Interdisciplinary Courses

1-3 credit courses that are interdisciplinary in focus and typically not offered elsewhere on campus.

Back to Top

Professional Development

1 credit courses focusing on leadership, career development, and other professional development topics.

Intro to Honors Professional Development

Limited to 1st year students

GEB2015 - Business & You: WW

How can you best use your experience in the Warrington College of Business to prepare you for academic and professional success?

Business and You, (also known as Warrington Welcome) a one-credit course for first-year business and accounting majors, will guide you to answer this question by:

  • Facilitating your transition to the Warrington College of Business and University of Florida.
  • Providing a foundation for academic, career development, and personal growth.
  • Providing relationship building and networking opportunities with your instructor, peers, and student leaders.
  • Helping you build foundational skills in teamwork, career management, and critical thinking.

 

 

  • Course: GEB2015
  • Class Number: 17311
  • Instructor: Amber Bollinger

  • Course: GEB2015
  • Class Number: 20077
  • Instructor: Renee Clark
IDH1700 - Pro-Dev Engineering

In this course, we will work with engineering honors students to develop an action plan for careers, internships, research, and engagement on campus. Students will work in small groups with a peer leader and develop resumes, elevator pitches, and cover letters. We'll discuss student organizations and how to get more involved with engineering, honors, and general student groups across campus. Students will learn time management skills, how to approach faculty via email and during office hours, and study techniques for engineering classes. We will also help students find research and identify faculty with similar interests.  

Register to gain professional skills and meet some of your fellow first-year students.  We will meet once per week in a large group and have four times for smaller group discussion. There are four sections to choose between when registering: Three are open to any and all students, and the fourth is reserved for women students only. This configuration helps ensure our larger class meetings reflect current gender demographics of the engineering industry.

 

  • Course: IDH1700
  • Class Number: 18821
  • Day/Period: W/8  R/9
  • Instructor: TehQuin Forbes

 

  • Course: IDH1700
  • Class Number: 18820
  • Day/Period: W/9  R/9
  • Instructor: TehQuin Forbes

 

  • Course: IDH1700
  • Class Number: 18824 (Women Only)
  • Day/Period: R/7  R/9
  • Instructor: TehQuin Forbes

 

  • Course: IDH1700
  • Class Number: 19776
  • Day/Period: R/8  R/9
  • Instructor: TehQuin Forbes

 

 

 

IDH1700 - Honors Professional Development: General

How do you make the most of your time at UF and in the Honors Program? How do you decide what to do both while you’re at UF and after graduation?

This course for first-semester Honors students of all majors (including exploratory) will address these questions through readings, reflections, and discussions on the purpose of a university education as well as through skills-based workshops and assignments intended to produce deliverables with real-world application (resume, elevator speech, interview skills, etc.). The course is casual but heavily discussion based and will include several group presentations led by students.

 

  • Course: IDH1700
  • Class Number: 23206
  • Day/Period: R/4-5
  • Instructor: Michael O'Malley

 

IDH1700 Honors Professional Development: Pre-Med

This one credit course is intended for honors students in their first year who are interested in pursuing admission to medical school. All information in the course will be framed around medical school admission.

This course is not designed for students pursuing other pre-health tracks.

The course will provide information on how students can begin to prepare for being a healthcare professional and applying to health graduate programs. Topics covered include: statement of purpose, resume building, meaningful involvement, professional communication and building a competitive application.

 

 

 

  • Course: IDH1700
  • Class Number: 19151
  • Day/Period: W/3
  • Instructor: Meredith Beaupre

 

  • Course: IDH1700
  • Class Number: 26517
  • Day/Period: W/4
  • Instructor: Meredith Beaupre

 

 

 

 

 

IDH1700 - Honors Professional Development: Scholars

This course is mandatory for first-year Lombardi and Stamps Scholars and will allow those students to interact with and learn from other highly motivated students. This course is an introduction to the life of a scholar-leader and to the many resources available at UF. Students will develop a plan to apply for a variety of opportunities, emphasizing the skills and strategies necessary for a successful academic, community, and personal life.

 

  • Course: IDH1700
  • Class Number: 18826
  • Day/Period: TBA
  • Instructor: Regan Garner

Advanced Pro Dev Topics

IDH3931 - Harnessing the Enneagram for Professional Development

Dr. Lundy is a Professor and Certified Enneagram Coach. The Enneagram is a personality typology that outlines nine core personality types, each defined by a central motivation, set of fears, and behavioral patterns. Rather than placing individuals in rigid categories, the Enneagram offers a dynamic framework for understanding personal growth, emotional intelligence, and relational behavior. Each type has a distinct worldview and strategy for navigating life, along with specific strengths and growth opportunities. This course aims to help honors students understand the Enneagram as a developmental tool. This course will encourage self-awareness and introspection, helping students understand why they respond to stress, success, or interpersonal conflict in particular ways. Each student will learn about their own Enneagram type, and we will spend time as a group learning about each other’s styles as a sort of laboratory for understanding people around us.

 

  • Course: IDH3931
  • Class Number: 26866
  • Day/Period: M/4
  • Instructor: Lisa Lundy
IDH3931 - Seven Habits of Successful Transfer Students

This one-credit interactive course is designed for honors transfer students during their first year at UF. Throughout this seven-week course, students will learn about theory-based habit models, and college success strategies and services to help them make a successful transition to the University of Florida and the University Honors Program, gaining knowledge and skills for academic, career, and life planning.

This course will run from August 26 - October 7.

 

  • Course: IDH3931
  • Class Number: 23802
  • Day/Period: W/8-9
  • Instructor: Renee Clark

 

Back to Top

Signature Courses

Signature Seminars and Course-based Honors Signature Experiences

Signature Seminars

Feature cutting-edge research or of-the-moment hot topics

IDH3931 - Assessing Emerging Biotechnology: From U.S. Security to Global Opportunities

This undergraduate Signature Seminar course equips students with the strategic insight and communication skills needed to assess biotechnology and synthetic biology start-ups (leveraging microbes and plants) in the context of U.S. policies and global market needs. By evaluating start-up companies that have attracted national or international attention, students will explore how emerging biotech can address global challenges. Emphasis is placed on understanding the science behind biotech products, identifying market opportunities, and evaluating business models, funding strategies, regulatory challenges, and commercialization pathways to ultimately advise the audience if the company is worth investing in. By the end of the course, students will be prepared to critically assess start-up potential and contribute to innovation-driven ecosystems in biotechnology, life sciences and agriculture.

 

IDH3931 - Literature as a Healing Art

At a time of trouble (anxiety, unrequited love, feeling lost, imminent death, illness, rapid changes in our accustomed social and natural environments) we turn to works of literature that address similar problems and states of mind or start creating our own narratives (something that professional writers do on a regular basis). Literature can heal and help us to come up with narratives that allow us to go on living against all odds. Literature as a form of medicine is a relatively new discipline that is often referred to as Narrative Medicine. Narrative medicine, a field that integrates the study of literature and medicine, utilizes storytelling to enhance healthcare practices. It emphasizes the importance of listening to and understanding patients' narratives to improve patient care, empathy, and overall well-being. Ultimately, narrative medicine seeks to humanize medicine and enhance the holistic care of patients. This course will be interesting to students of literature and those who want to pursue medical careers in the future. Format: informal lectures and discussions. One test (final), occasional complete/incomplete creative assignments. All texts will be read and discussed in English. Special attention will be paid to development of critical skills of close reading, analysis and interpretation.
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) assessed through homework/participation, discussion assignments, and exam papers:
• SLO1 (N/Content): discover the powerful impact of narrative and story-telling on our understanding of other people and ourselves; identify the links between literary and medical/diagnostic narratives; demonstrate knowledge of the content of specific literary works and discuss their correlation to Narrative Medicine.
• SLO2 (H/Critical Thinking): demonstrate critical thinking and analytical skills by assessing the correlation between works of fiction and medical discourses, relevant for literary works in question. Students will develop their capacity to “think medically” while reading literature.
SLO3 (N/Communication): become aware of medically and culturally sensitive issues and language to avoid conflicts, biases, and misunderstandings; acquire “cultural competence” in literary textual analysis and Narrative Medicine; discuss Narrative Medicine’s vernacular, skills, premises, and limitations; improve ability to engage in meaningful intellectual deliberation with your peers.

 

  • Course: IDH3931
  • Class Number: 27169
  • Day/Period: T/8
  • Instructor: Galina Rylkova
IDH3931 - A History of Materials discovery as a Primary Driver of Science Discovery

Graphene, Quantized Hall Effect, Superconductivity, Transistors, Carbon Nanotubes, Quantum Materials _ these are just a short list of how new materials have driven our knowledge and, of course, the accompanying technology.  This course attempts to show students how discoveries are actually made in a broad range of disciplines in Physics, and the process by which a laboratory wonder becomes everyday devices.  Examples will be taken from both the lecturer’s own experience and from assorted Nobel Prize work, including Giant Magnetoresistance (Fert and Grunberg 2007) to Graphene (Geim and Novoselov 2010).  At U of F, we continue to push the frontiers of discovery in new materials of interest (from body armor to new superconductors.)  Come learn about how new materials discoveries have brought us to where we are today.

 

  • Course: IDH3931
  • Class Number: 26620
  • Day/Period: R/7
  • Instructor: Gregory Stewart

 

IDH3931 - Nature and the Human Mind: Psychoactive Natural Products that shaped Human History

Throughout human history, natural products have been used as therapies and to expand the human mind. Since ancient times, cannabis, tea, coffee, tobacco, coca, and opium have been used to treat disorders but also to induce an altered state of mind, which is often described as a “high”. These naturally occurring substances have shaped human history, whether it be for good or in a detrimental way. In modern times, natural substances with psychoactive properties have led to the development of many therapeutic drugs that are the foundation for modern medicine. In recent years, some natural products, such as “magic mushrooms”, peyote cactus, and semi-synthetic products like LSD and MDMA are resurging for their potential benefits in treating mental health conditions, including depressive and anxiety disorders.

This course introduces students to the history of natural products with psychoactive properties, their pharmacology and modern applications of their use. Part of the course will focus on discussions around the ethical and moral uses of drugs with psychoactive properties within the societal context.

 

  • Course: IDH3931
  • Class Number: 24764
  • Day/Period: T/5
  • Instructor: Oliver Grundmann
  • Online

UnCommon Classrooms

UnCommon Classrooms are 1-credit Honors courses designed around unusual topics with cities, places, and natural landscapes serving as experimental classrooms. 

These courses are application-based. Students selected to participate will be registered for the course by the Honors office and are responsible for tuition (financial aid may apply). Additional fees associated with each course are provided in the description. Unless otherwise stated, students must arrange transportation to and from the course location. A substantial portion of the cost of UnCommon Classrooms is supported by private funding to the Honors Program for experiential learning.

Course-Based Camps

IDH3931 - AI Odyssey: Tours, Tools, and Skills for Tomorrow

Welcome to the future! UF’s AI Across the Curriculum initiative is opening new doors for students in every major to build the AI skills, competencies, and literacies that will shape the future of work. In this course-based camp, you’ll discover what’s possible through behind-the-scenes tours and conversations with the students, faculty, and staff already using AI in meaningful ways across campus. You’ll get hands-on experience using Navigator, and you’ll team up with a partner to compete in a generative AI art contest — to get an early idea of the real AI Days student competitions. Along the way, you’ll officially begin the AI Medallion program and earn credit for select experiences, including attending an AI² workshop, attending an AI lecture, and completing a mock interview with Quinncia. 

 

IDh3931 - Chemistry of Harry Potter

Mix a glowing lumos potion, whip up your own Honeydukes sweets, synthesize dyes for your own invisibility cloak—do all this and more at HP Camp 2026! This 1-credit course aims to interpret and explain some of the magic of Harry Potter in a way we muggles can understand. Through engaging lectures and hands-on experiments, the science behind potions, spells, and enchantments will be illuminated. While most of our time will be devoted to studying Potions, this course will also feature other subjects such as Herbology, Astronomy, and Confectionery. By the end, students will develop a greater understanding of the unique connections between our world and the wizarding world!

 

  • Course: IDH3931
  • Class Number: 23863
  • Instructor: Amelia Bunnell
  • Instructor: Ashlyn Hale
IDH3931 - The ERAS Camp

The ERAS Camp is offered to first-year Honors students interested in exploring this new era of their life through Taylor Swift lyrics as inspiration. This isn't just a seminar; it is a mastermind exploration of our campus cultural kingdom, moving from the clinical scrutiny of the classroom to the incandescent glow of the Gainesville stage. We will learn from faculty members, use the resources on campus, and venture into the broader city. In this course, students will focus on learning and exploration in four main areas: education, recreation, artistry, and storytelling.

 

Back to Top

University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611
UF Operator: (352) 392-3261

Learn More

Experience

Get Involved

Back to top button