Honors Seminar: Ideas That Shaped the Modern World

Instructor Information

• Instructor: Prof. Sofia Lindgren (Professor of Philosophy)
• Email: slindgren@university.alkimi.ai
• Office: Lovell Hall 246
• Office Hours:
  • Monday & Thursday: 3:30–5:00 p.m. (In person, Lovell Hall 246)
  • Friday: 10:00–11:00 a.m. (Virtual via Zoom; link posted in Canvas)
  • Also available by appointment.

Course Description

Interdisciplinary exploration of foundational intellectual, political, and philosophical transformations that shaped modern thought, examined through seminal primary texts, seminar discussion, and analytical writing. HON 201 is an intensive interdisciplinary honors seminar exploring the foundational intellectual, scientific, political, and philosophical transformations that constructed the modern world. Through close reading of seminal primary sources, vigorous seminar discussion, and rigorous analytical writing, we interrogate how human beings redefined truth, authority, individual rights, reason, and social order from the early modern scientific revolution through the twentieth century. Guided by the curricular commitments of the University Honors Program, students engage classic treatises not merely as historical artifacts, but as living arguments that continue to define contemporary culture, ethics, and democratic governance.

Prerequisites

Admission to the University Honors Program.

Measurable Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of HON 201, students will be able to:

1. Interrogate Foundational Primary Texts: Perform close textual analysis of seminal primary philosophical, scientific, and political treatises from early modernity to the contemporary era.
2. Trace Conceptual Revolutions: Analyze how shifting paradigms regarding epistemology, the social contract, individual liberty, and secularism transformed human societies.
3. Conduct Rigorous Seminar Dialogue: Lead and sustain collaborative seminar discussions through evidence-based arguments, thoughtful counter-examination, and active listening.
4. Construct Advanced Analytical Essays: Formulate compelling, thesis-driven scholarly essays that synthesize multiple primary texts and articulate reasoned philosophical arguments.
5. Evaluate Enduring Legacies of Modernity: Critique the triumphs, internal contradictions, and exclusions—particularly regarding gender, race, and colonial expansion—inherent in Enlightenment ideals.

Required Course Materials & Approximate Costs

1. René Descartes. Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy. Trans. Donald A. Cress. 4th ed., Hackett Publishing, 1998. Approx. $10 print purchase.
2. John Locke. Second Treatise of Government. Ed. C. B. Macpherson. Hackett Publishing, 1980. Approx. $8 print purchase.
3. Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The Basic Political Writings. Trans. Donald A. Cress. 2nd ed., Hackett Publishing, 2011. Approx. $14 print purchase.
4. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The Marx-Engels Reader. Ed. Robert C. Tucker. 2nd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 1978. Approx. $25 print purchase.
5. Alkimi Honors Primary Source Reader: Wollstonecraft, Kant, Mill, Nietzsche, Du Bois, Arendt, and Fanon. Free digital collection provided via Canvas.
6. Total estimated cost: $40 to $57.

Generative AI Policy (AI Level 1: AI Not Permitted for Graded Work)

In accordance with Alkimi University Academic Policies (Student Handbook §5.8), HON 201 operates under AI Level 1.

• What is permitted: You may use generative AI tools strictly for looking up historical publication dates, biographical timelines of authors, or standard dictionary definitions of unfamiliar terminology.
• What is prohibited: You may not use generative AI to interpret primary texts, generate thesis statements, outline or write analytical essays, formulate discussion questions, or compose seminar reflections.
• Disclosure: Every submitted paper must conclude with a signed honor statement affirming that all textual interpretations, arguments, and prose represent the student's own intellectual work without generative AI assistance.

Grading Components and Weights

• Primary Source Analytical Essay 1: Reason and Sovereignty: 20% (Due Thursday, October 1 at 11:59 p.m.)
• Seminar Discussion Leadership & Provocation: 15% (In class, Thursday, October 22)
• Comparative Analytical Essay 2: Freedom, Class, and Equality: 25% (Due Thursday, November 12 at 11:59 p.m.)
• Weekly Primary Text Reading Briefs: 15% (Weekly analytical briefs (500 words) interrogating the primary source argument submitted in Canvas on Tuesdays by 8:30 a.m.)
• Honors Seminar Colloquy & Deliberative Engagement: 10% (Informed, constructive, and respectful daily contributions to primary text seminar deliberation and collective inquiry)
• Comprehensive Seminar Final Examination: 15% (Tuesday, December 15, 2026, 8:00–10:00 a.m.)

Grading Scale (Alkimi University Standard)

• A: 93–100% | A-: 90–92%
• B+: 87–89% | B: 83–86% | B-: 80–82%
• C+: 77–79% | C: 73–76% | C-: 70–72%
• D+: 67–69% | D: 60–66% | F: Below 60%
• Extra credit: None is offered.

Course Schedule (Fall 2026)

Course Policies

Attendance Policy

The University Honors Program seminars function as intellectual communities centered on collaborative inquiry and close textual dialogue. Regular, punctual attendance at every Tuesday and Thursday meeting is mandatory. Students are granted two excused absences for illness or documented emergencies. Each subsequent absence reduces your final course grade by one-third of a letter grade. Missing more than four seminar meetings will result in dismissal from the seminar and a failing grade. Students who miss the first two class meetings without notifying the instructor may be dropped. Students may miss class for religious observance without penalty if they notify the instructor in writing within the first two weeks of the semester (by Wednesday, September 9, 2026). Absences for university-sponsored activities (athletics, performances, conferences) are excused with a letter from the sponsoring office at least one week in advance.

Late Work Policy

Analytical essays submitted past the deadline incur a penalty of one-third of a letter grade per 24 hours of delay. Submissions will not be accepted after three days past the deadline. Weekly reading briefs cannot be submitted late, as their purpose is to prepare students for live seminar discussion; however, each student's lowest brief score is dropped at the end of the semester.

Final Exam Policy

The final examination (Tuesday, December 15, 2026, 8:00–10:00 a.m.) is scheduled by the University Registrar and can't be moved without the Dean's written approval (Faculty Handbook §5.5). A student with three or more final exams on the same calendar day may reschedule one of them. Requests go to the instructor of the middle exam by the last day of classes. For this term, send the request by Wednesday, December 9, 2026 (Student Handbook §6.4).