American higher education relies on a taxonomy of knowledge stemming from Puritan ways of thinking and knowing--a disciplinary classification system that sorts "questions asked" and "answers possible" into epistemic categories. This paper interrogates the notion of disciplinarity to better understand the arbitrariness of…

A series of courses on the Evolution of Ideas introduces interdisciplinary study, develops collaborative discourse, and promotes a sense of community among first-year honors students. The curriculum encourages faculty to use a range of strategies to help students understand an idea and its history while also fostering awareness as to its social,…

An interdisciplinary honors course titled "Minds, Machines, and Meaning" incorporates the notion of the algorithmic imaginary, which explains how people make use of algorithms to create new information infrastructures and communities and how these algorithms shape us in turn. Describing a culminating writing assignment in speculative…

This essay argues that in order for honors to occupy and transform the academy it must begin by transforming itself. Drawing on Homi Bhabha's notion of "third space," the author argues that the traditional epistemic paradigms in higher education are inadequate for conceptualizing the praxis-driven work required in honors. Honors should…

Engineering and pop-culturist instructors team-teach a first-year experience course exploring science through the lenses of history, literature, film, television, and sequential art. Authors present science fiction discourses as unique for synthesizing fields in the humanities and STEM, and they present curricular and co-curricular design…

It has become increasingly apparent that anti-colonial and antiracist pedagogies are necessary in higher education classrooms, and honors education as an experimental zone is an ideal place to test ideas that can be taken into the wider university community. Honors professors epitomize the teacher-scholar model, and this paper presents a six-year…

Teaching interdisciplinary research methods to honors students across disciplines is complex. A pre-capstone seminar, The Art of Inquiry, centers ethical considerations within and beyond individual research interests, helping junior and senior students of all majors prepare for ethical, scholarly projects.

In response to the issue of why and how the humanities--and more broadly the liberal arts and sciences--have historically dominated honors education and disregarded preprofessional fields, the author finds that the crux of the problem is not the nature or worth of the disciplines involved or why this or that subject area is de facto included or…

Peer review exercises are an essential part of many educational pedagogy models and have been shown to successfully provide undergraduate students with requisite active learning and critical reflection skills. Teaching the peer review process in an interdisciplinary honors research methods course, however, presents its own set of challenges. As…

This study presents perceived advantages of thematic, team-taught interdisciplinary seminars for first-year honors students. Two student cohorts (n = 174) surveyed in two subsequent years (2018, 2019) weigh in on the challenges and benefits of different team-teaching models. Three first-semester offerings on the themes "Food,"…

Sustainability transitions need professionals with specific skills and attitudes that students often do not develop in their regular chemistry education. To foster sustainability change-maker competencies, we suggest augmenting higher education curricula, e.g., chemical degree programs, with transdisciplinary challenge-based learning combined with…

This essay presents common practices for developing faculty in small honors programs and colleges operating with limited financial resources. The author outlines strategies and applications for implementing targeted faculty development, including: transdisciplinary coordinating efforts toward bringing full-time and adjunct faculty together for the…

Successful honors programs inspire and sustain a vibrant and committed faculty. This essay presents an established honors program which demonstrates, through varied faculty commitments over time, honors as a valuable asset in identifying, recruiting, supporting, and rewarding a strong, creative, loyal faculty that benefits the entire institution.…

Humanities have traditionally played a limited role in STEM education, yet their natural connections may be used to enrich academic understanding and student experience. Authors explore their mutuality by presenting an interdisciplinary curriculum, Humanities-Driven STEM (HDSTEM). Unlike other iterations of blended disciplines, HDSTEM provides…

This essay explores and expands the boundaries by which honors is defined and defines itself. By opening a path toward a more expansive and public perception of honors, the author argues for emphasis on the public good as a key element in honors discourse and the broader dissemination of its theories and practices. Drawing from characteristics of…