Senior Seminar

492.01 The Art of Listening
Author Adam McHugh wrote, “The sort of people that we become is, in large part, determined by the voices that we choose to listen to.” In this class we will explore listening to the voices of both God and others and learn about the beauty and deep value of silence. We will engage in conversation over cups of tea, and we will listen deeply to the stories of others. Be prepared to check your phone at the door, enter with a curiosity for what you will hear and leave the class with a newfound attentiveness that allows you to, in the words of poet Mary Oliver, “every day see or hear something that more or less kills you with delight."

492.11 Human Rights and Human Wrongs
This course focuses on “human rights and human wrongs” in a global, interconnected world. We look at the various treaties, the different forms of legal avenues available and the impact of human rights and human wrongs on various populations of the world. Students will examine their world views, their philosophy and values in the context of understanding human rights worldwide. In the course of the class, students will look at various faiths and their treatment of human rights. Students will write a life view paper analyzing their traditions, ways of acting, knowing, living and learning, highlighting their values, commitments and convictions all the while demonstrating their understanding of the diverse and life-giving purposes and perspectives by which we talk of human rights and human wrongs.

492.12 Faith and Finance
Civilization existed before money, but an integrated global society would have been unimaginable without it. The invention of money was a revolutionary milestone. It aided in the development of civilizations and has made it easier for human beings to amass wealth. Today, humans use money as an intermediate for exchange of goods and services and as a method for comparing the values of dissimilar objects. The focus of this course will be to provide students with an opportunity to learn some historical and religious perspectives on faith and finances in a modern global society. Students will engage in readings and experiences that will help them frame their worldview through the lenses of faith and finances. We will also explore the role of stewardship and how both faith and finances require human action.

492.22 Thriving in Transitions
Thriving in Transition provides participants the time and space to be able to self reflect on their experience at Hope and where they are headed in life. This 10-12 day experience looks at many of the questions that students have as they begin to think about their transition out of Hope College. What is important to you? Where do you want to be when you leave Hope? What will the transition look like for you as you leave Hope? Spend time processing where God is leading you in your life in one of the most beautiful settings in the world. We spend time asking many questions, building community with those in a similar place as you, and hopefully broadening your world/life view. We also explore some of the best Alaska has to offer.

492.24 Stories of Struggle: Identity, Communication and Politics in “The Hidden Hawaii”
When many people, especially those from the U.S. mainland, think of Hawai’i, they visualize tropical beaches, flower lei, swimming in the ocean, surfing, attending luaus and relaxing in the sun. Vacationers to Hawai’i definitely experience these sorts things, to be sure, owing mainly to Hawai’i’s tourist-driven economy. However, the locals’ experience is quite different. A strong way to learn and understand this “hidden” side of Hawai’i is to live there, not like a tourist, but as a local. To locals, the islands are wrapped in history and spirituality. The flower lei have specific meaning. Surfing is more than a recreational pastime. And celebrations such as luaus mark events such as an infant surviving what were historically its most vulnerable moments of life — its first year. The outer trappings visible to tourists are often rooted in historically practical necessities and spirituality. In addition, the particulars of making a home in Hawai’i influence the social, political, and organizational cultures in ways not common to mainlanders. For example, in order to afford Hawai’i’s high prices on housing, extended families frequently remain together in the same house or on the same plot of land. In contrast to the tourist’s Hawai’i, locals do not live on the beach or even near the waterfront (such prime real estate occupied, of course, by high-rise tourist hotels and condominiums); they live in the interior towns where costs are lower. Equally important, various activist groups, including native Hawaiians, remind listeners that despite the rainbows and sunshine not all is necessarily well. The story of how the United States came to annex Hawai’i is mired in deceit, personal and political struggle, and heartbreak. The decimation and loss of a highly structured political system similar in form to the European feudal system is largely unknown by residents of the United States mainland. The role of former plantation economic engines of growth — specifically, in sugarcane and pineapples — reflects a complex political history and present, rife with racial and national origin/immigration issues, that is often obscured from the picture of Hawai’i projected to the rest of the country. And the nature of the currently dominating tourist economy brings challenges and tensions, as various stakeholders negotiate for power and control. Such a backdrop undoubtedly impacts the islanders’ politics and communication. Short of relocating, a three-week May term offers a taste of the locals’ Hawai’i. Hawai’i is thus a useful lens through which to reflect on one’s own traditions, political dynamics and communication. Our combination of narrative exploration, focus on struggle, political science, communication and Hawai’i culture creates a learning experience that is cross-divisional and interdisciplinary. By thinking reflectively in a multi-cultural location such as Hawai’i, students broaden their global awareness and practice thinking critically while retaining the protections of United States laws, all of which supports Hope College’s mission to promote lifelong learning.

492.31 Art, History, and Global Citizenship in Paris

492.32 Celtic May Term: Peace & Justice in Scotland and Northern Ireland

492.33 Creating Community in a Digital Age and International Strategic Communication
Together, we will examine the many ways we connect with one another and create community – face to face, and online. During the spring semester, we will critique our consumer society, consider ways to build community in our own neighborhoods, and reflect on the possibilities of virtual community. In May, we will travel to and throughout the northern U.K. to learn about different types of communities there, including immigrants, sports “tribes,” the arts, and the Anglican parish. Liverpool Hope University will be our home base as we meet in seminar with LHU faculty, write and reflect on our learning about community, and learn about the culture and literature of the communities we visit. Readings, discussion, journaling and a final presentation or paper (world-and-life-view paper or final culture and literature presentation) will provide a framework for reflecting on the key questions of your respective course.

492.34 Vietnam: History, People, Culture
The course will explore the history and culture of Vietnam. Students who take this course will receive either history elective credit or Senior Seminar (SRS) credit. Our prep course will be for zero credit and involve, among other things, watching a widely acclaimed 10-part documentary on the Vietnam War. In addition to either history or SRS credit, students can obtain credit for GLI for general education. The prep course will meet once a week in the spring semester. The weekly meetings will provide a foundation for writing the course assignments that will be turned in after completion of the trip. We will spend 16 days in Vietnam, visiting the following cities/provinces: Ha Noi, Ha Giang, Dong Van, My Lai (tentative), Da Nang, and Saigon.

492.36 Management in British Economy

492.37 Engaging the Other: Who is My Neighbor?
Hope’s mission statement articulates that we will “prepare students for lives of service and leadership in a global society.” What does it mean to be a responsible and engaged member of a global society? How do we make sense of our global experiences and identities in order to have a positive impact on those around us? How does faith influence my actions in my community, both locally and globally? How do we define “service and leadership” in the context of justice issues and what does our responsibility to engage in these critical issues look like as global citizens? This Senior Seminar course will dig into these questions and more as we prepare to step out into all the world. It is designed to help the returned study abroad student or international student tell their global story and make sense of their semester abroad. We will explore global citizenship through the colleges’ global learning outcomes of curiosity, empathy, knowledge, responsibility and self-awareness.

492.V01 Values in Transit
In this Senior Seminar course which originated more than three decades ago, students question the philosophies and life choices articulated by daily speakers. Artists, business people, clergy, diplomats, politicians, teachers, World War II veterans and victims, and recent immigrants from Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine share their life stories. Under the guidance of Dr. Stephen Hemenway (Ph.D. from University of Illinois, professor of English), students interact with speakers and Austrian students and each other, read nonfiction books, write journals and formulate personal views for a “Philosophy of Life” paper. Prerequisite: at least second-semester junior status.

492.11 The Social Dilemma: Finding Community in a Digital Age
Together, we will examine the many ways we connect with one another and create community – face to face, and online. During the spring semester, we will critique our consumer society, consider ways to build community in our own neighborhoods, and reflect on the possibilities of virtual community. In May, we will travel to and throughout the northern U.K. to learn about different types of communities there, including immigrants, sports “tribes,” the arts, and the Anglican parish. Liverpool Hope University will be our home base as we meet in seminar with LHU faculty, write and reflect on our learning about community, and learn about the culture and literature of the communities we visit. Readings, discussion, journaling and a final presentation or paper (world-and-life-view paper or final culture and literature presentation) will provide a framework for reflecting on the key questions of your respective course.

492.12 Human Rights and Human Wrongs
This course focuses on “human rights and human wrongs” in a global, interconnected world. We look at the various treaties, the different forms of legal avenues available and the impact of human rights and human wrongs on various populations of the world. Students will examine their world views, their philosophy and values in the context of understanding human rights worldwide. In the course of the class, students will look at various faiths and their treatment of human rights. Students will write a life view paper analyzing their traditions, ways of acting, knowing, living and learning, highlighting their values, commitments and convictions all the while demonstrating their understanding of the diverse and life-giving purposes and perspectives by which we talk of human rights and human wrongs.

492.31 Mental Health Policy in the UK and USA
Students in this June term course will study and contrast the mental health policies and practices in the U.S. with those in the U.K. The first two weeks of the class will take place at Hope College where students from Hope College and Liverpool Hope University will learn about the laws, civil liberties, treatment and funding for mental health care in the U.S. The second two weeks will take place at Liverpool Hope University where students will similarly learn about laws, civil liberties, treatment and funding for mental health care in the U.K. Students will learn through readings, visits to mental health facilities, and presentations by mental health professionals and individuals with a chronic mental illness. Learning will be assessed by engagement in classroom discussions, small reaction papers, presentations and a large integrative paper comparing the two mental health systems.

492.V01 Values in Transit
In this Senior Seminar course which originated more than three decades ago, students question the philosophies and life choices articulated by daily speakers. Artists, business people, clergy, diplomats, politicians, teachers, World War II veterans and victims, and recent immigrants from Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine share their life stories. Under the guidance of Dr. Stephen Hemenway (Ph.D. from University of Illinois, professor of English), students interact with speakers and Austrian students and each other, read nonfiction books, write journals and formulate personal views for a “Philosophy of Life” paper. Prerequisite: at least second-semester junior status.

492.11 The Social Dilemma: Finding Community in a Digital Age
Together, we will examine the many ways we connect with one another and create community – face to face, and online. During the spring semester, we will critique our consumer society, consider ways to build community in our own neighborhoods, and reflect on the possibilities of virtual community. In May, we will travel to and throughout the northern U.K. to learn about different types of communities there, including immigrants, sports “tribes,” the arts, and the Anglican parish. Liverpool Hope University will be our home base as we meet in seminar with LHU faculty, write and reflect on our learning about community, and learn about the culture and literature of the communities we visit. Readings, discussion, journaling and a final presentation or paper (world-and-life-view paper or final culture and literature presentation) will provide a framework for reflecting on the key questions of your respective course.

452.01 Education and Christian Ways of Living
As future teachers, you serve a long and intensive “apprenticeship of observation.” Since kindergarten, you have watched teachers do what you yourself will do. In addition, you have seen teachers portrayed in movies, plays, books and a variety of other mediums. Given these observations and portrayals, this seminar will explore thinking around the central question, “In whose image do you see yourself as a teacher and how does this impact your teaching?” Related questions will revolve around contemporary images of teachers, as well as those that reflect power, spirituality, social justice, the life of the mind, vocation and teacher reform. In short, what is the image of “teacher” that you claim and what do you aspire to?

492.01 Vocation and Health Care
This course is designed to explore the meaning of vocation, especially in the context of health care — but in other parts of our lives as well. The concept of vocation suggests several questions that might be addressed:

What would it mean to be “called” as a care-giver or healer?
How would health care be different if one approached it as a vocation rather than if one considered it simply a career?
How do theology, spirituality and ethics become an integral part of the vocation to care for those who are sick?
How does the problem of human suffering impact our life and work?
And how do big questions like these relate to the rest of our lives?

Our life is more than our work, and our sense of calling can inform all of life: our relationships, leisure, citizenship, and our service to the wider communities we live in. Students will be invited to formulate their responses to these and other questions as they grapple with these topics in class and as they work toward completing their life view paper. A variety of readings, video presentations, classroom guests and creative learning activities will provide the basis for an honest and sometimes intense semester-long conversation among students.

492.02 Composing a Life
How does one become the person one is meant to be? How do we become ourselves? How do we live, in the words of Parker Palmer, “the life that wants to live in me?” This seminar will reflect on what it means to become a self and the process of becoming a self. We begin with the assumption that each one of us is led or called to be a unique self. But what is meant by a “calling”? And called by whom? In this seminar we will consider the traditional Christian view that each of us is called by God, through an inner leading, to become our true self, a unique image of God, expressed through a life of service in the world. We will also consider alternative views on selfhood and how to live a meaningful life. And we will consider how we might hear this call, this inner leading, by becoming better listeners to ourselves and others. Self and other, inner and outer, spiritual and secular — these are some of the tensions that arise in the journey toward selfhood. We will reflect on how these tensions manifest in our lives, and how we might be able to harmonize them into one undivided life. By the end of the seminar each of us should have a better sense not only of the person one is, but the person one is called to be.

492.04 Making Good on Your Dreams...With Creativity and Grace
In this class, we’ll think about the ways we define our perfect worlds on several levels: personal, political, global. We’ll talk about our responsibilities in shaping this utopian adventure, and we’ll examine what our ideas of “the perfect world” mean within the context of the Christian faith. We'll consider how we respond when the world we live in doesn’t meet our expectations. (Not just, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” but, “Why do bad things sometimes happen to me, and how do I deal with them?”) Energetic class discussion will be our goal. Disagreement and rebellion will be encouraged. Writing assignments will include short essays which will culminate in the Senior Seminar “Life View” paper.

492.05 Sport, Faith, and Life
Sport has often embraced the religious and spiritual attitudes that participants and spectators bring to it. The Christian faith, on the flip side, has had a much less uniform response to its adherents engaging in sport. In this course, we will discuss a number of specific facets of the relationship between sport and Christianity such as legal issues, evangelism, prayer, character development and many others. And within each facet, we will reflect on students’ own experiences related to sport/physical activity and Christianity.

492.06 The Art of Listening
Author Adam McHugh wrote, “The sort of people that we become is, in large part, determined by the voices that we choose to listen to.” In this class we will explore listening to the voices of both God and others and learn about the beauty and deep value of silence. We will engage in conversation over cups of tea, and we will listen deeply to the stories of others. Be prepared to check your phone at the door, enter with a curiosity for what you will hear and leave the class with a newfound attentiveness that allows you to, in the words of poet Mary Oliver, “every day see or hear something that more or less kills you with delight."

492.07 Female, Male, Human
How have you come to be the person you are? This course uses memoirs (Maya Angelou, Eboo Patel, Kevin Jennings, Lewis Smedes, Roberta Bondi, Malcolm X, Barbara Brown Taylor) to explore the role of gender, race, class, sexual orientation and religion in shaping our lives.

492.11 Run For Your Life
This course will examine the intersection of running and worldview. Students will create their own life view by drawing on their personal experiences from running and that of other runners. The course will take a holistic approach to this process by having students explore the historical, cultural, physical, social, psychological and spiritual aspects of running in relation to life. Students in this course will discuss a variety of questions together in seminar format:

How is running a metaphor for life?
What life lessons does running teach us?
Should we view life as a race to be won or a run to be cherished?
How might running teach us to deal with adversity, suffering and pain?
What have others learned about life from running and what can we learn from them?

Students should expect to run during the semester both individually and with other students in the course. Students will journal about their running experience. Runners of all levels from beginner to expert are welcome.

492.12 Friendship and Community
Drawing on the humanities, social sciences, arts and even a little bit from the natural sciences, we will explore the importance of friendship and community to flourishing human life, especially in troubled times. We will reflect on our experiences of friendship and community and how to be more intentional about them. Readings will range from classic philosophical essays, such as Cicero’s “On Friendship” and C. S. Lewis’s The Four Loves, to novels such as Wendell Berry’s Jayber Crow, to work by social scientists such as Sherry Turkle and the interdisciplinary frameworks of René Girard’s mimetic theory and James P. Carse’s Finite and Infinite Games. Written requirements will include daily responses and a lifeview paper.

492.13 Human Rights and Human Wrongs
This course focuses on “human rights and human wrongs” in a global, interconnected world. We look at the various treaties, the different forms of legal avenues available and the impact of human rights and human wrongs on various populations of the world. Students will examine their world views, their philosophy and values in the context of understanding human rights worldwide. In the course of the class, students will look at various faiths and their treatment of human rights. Students will write a life view paper analyzing their traditions, ways of acting, knowing, living and learning, highlighting their values, commitments and convictions all the while demonstrating their understanding of the diverse and life giving purposes and perspectives by which we talk of human rights and human wrongs.

Hope College

Associated Student Learning Outcomes

IDS 452/492 level courses (3 Credits)

Course Descriptions