Honors Thesis Seminar Offerings

One-Semester Honors Thesis Seminars
 

Fall 2024
 

MARKETNG 499J & 499K

Tools for Professional Success and Honors Seminar

Wednesday, 2:30 p.m. – 5:15 p.m., in-person, ALL semester 

-AND-

Thursday, 2:30 p.m. – 5:15 p.m., via Zoom, for September only

Students must co-enroll in MARKETNG 499J (Tools for Professional Success) and 499K (Honors Seminar). MARKETNG 499J and 499K together satisfy the Commonwealth Honors College six-credit Culminating Experience requirement. 

This Thesis Seminar occurs in the fall semester only and does NOT satisfy an Integrative Experience (IE) for Isenberg. This option is for Commonwealth Honors College Marketing majors. In some appropriate situations, non-Marketing Commonwealth Honors College students will be considered.

The seminar focuses on applying the conceptual frameworks of marketing to real-world problems faced by actual companies. Each student, as part of a team, will have a specific marketing problem from a real company that requires investigation and solution over the course of the semester. Company problems will cover a variety of topics and depend on the needs of the intern’s company. 

Course meetings will mimic consulting firm staff meetings, rather than the traditional lecture/discussion format.  There will be significant discussion of marketing procedural issues around the projects during class meetings, helping students to develop proper methodologies, analysis, and presentation skills while laying a foundation for achieving success in the business world. Students will gain a better understanding of themselves and the strengths and weaknesses they bring to an employer as well as the satisfaction of having a true impact on a business organization. All capstones require that a thesis or project manuscript be produced according to the Honors Thesis formatting and submission guidelines.

Instructor: hbailey [at] isenberg [dot] umass [dot] edu (Heidi Bailey)

Credits: 6 credits (3 credits - 499J and 3 credits - 499K) in fall

To Enroll: This experience requires an application. Applications for MARKETNG 499J & 499K will be sent to all Isenberg Marketing juniors in CHC via email in early March. Applications for the Fall 2024 semester must be received by March 29, 2024, using the link below. Students will be informed if they are accepted into the class shortly thereafter. 

MARKETNG 499J & 499K application

You may contact Prof. Heidi Bailey at hbailey [at] isenberg [dot] umass [dot] edu (hbailey[at]isenberg[dot]umass[dot]edu); Thomas Brashear-Alejandro at Brashear [at] isenberg [dot] umass [dot] edu (Brashear[at]isenberg[dot]umass[dot]edu) or Prof. Charles Schewe at schewe [at] isenberg [dot] umass [dot] edu (schewe[at]isenberg[dot]umass[dot]edu) with any questions concerning the MARKETNG 499J & 499K Honors Thesis Seminar. 

Notes: 

• This culminating experience course is open to Isenberg/Commonwealth Honors College juniors and seniors only, Marketing majors are preferred.
• The course is capped at 12 students. Students considering this option should also have backup plans. 

Spring 2025
 

HONORS 499AAR & HONORS 499AAS (students must enroll in both)

Colonialism and Empire: The Making of the Modern World 

Tuesday & Thursday, 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

European colonialism and the establishment of empires have shaped all aspects of contemporary life—from our ecology to our economy, our culture and religion, ideas about sexuality and gender, and our architecture and material lives. In this class we will critically analyze narratives of colonialism and empire, and the ways that colonial histories/ stories are told. We will also read the work of postcolonial writers and consider how the voices of colonized people change the ways we understand colonial histories. In this one-semester thesis seminar, all students will complete a Creative Portfolio thesis project examining the effects of colonialism from multiple perspectives. 

Instructor: moland [at] umass [dot] edu (Maxine Oland)

Credits: HONORS 499AAR + HONORS 499AAS for 6 credits in Spring

To Enroll: moland [at] umass [dot] edu (E-mail Maxine Oland) for instructor consent

Notes: 

• This course is open to Commonwealth Honors College juniors and seniors in all majors
• No prerequisites

HONORS 499ABR & HONORS 499ABS (students must enroll in both)

A Sacred Earth - Ancient Thought and Indigenous Wisdom

HONORS 499ABR, Tuesday & Thursday, 2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

HONORS 499ABS, Tuesday & Thursday, 4:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

This course is a critical, interdisciplinary study of environmental worldviews and ethics—how people think about the earth and how what they think makes them act. We will focus on recent responses to climate change and environmental crisis that seek to recognize or recover the sacredness of the earth as a strategy for survival in the Anthropocene. We will consider what ethical choices present themselves in a world where animals, plants, rivers, and mountains are full of life, intelligence, and agency compared with a world where only (some kinds of) humans really matter. Entertaining other ways of being and knowing, we will explore how spirits and ancestors shape societies. Seminar readings include indigenous thought, religious wisdom, ancient and modern philosophy, ecofeminism, environmental humanities, and the "new animism.” Working closely with the instructor, your research manuscript or creative portfolio may relate to any aspect of the course according to your interest and passion.

Instructor: mroblee [at] umass [dot] edu (Mark Roblee)

Credits: HONORS 499ABR + HONORS 499AB for 6 credits in Spring

To Enroll: mroblee [at] umass [dot] edu (E-mail Mark Roblee) for instructor consent

Notes:

• This course is open to Commonwealth Honors College juniors and seniors in all majors
• No prerequisites

MARKETNG 499J & 499K

Tools for Professional Success and Honors Seminar

MARKETNG 499J, Wednesday, 4:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

MARKETNG 499K, Wednesday, 4:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

MARKETNG 499J & 499K is a two-part Honors Thesis Seminar that occurs in the spring semester only and students must complete both to satisfy CHC’s Honors Thesis requirement. This Thesis Seminar does NOT satisfy an Integrative Experience (IE) for Isenberg. This option is open to all Isenberg Commonwealth Honors students. Section 2 of Tools for Professional Success focuses on applying the conceptual frameworks of marketing and management to real-world problems faced by companies. Each student will have a specific problem that will require investigation individually or collaboratively over the semester. Problems will cover a variety of topics and depend on the needs or a specific company or a problem identified from previous study, conversations with practitioners, industry analysis, personal interest, or literature review. The focus of this research is to produce an Honors quality research project that can be delivered in various formats including case studies, traditional thesis research, or a consulting style project. Each project will have a final presentation that states the salience of the research topic, a review of the research process, and the research findings.

This course’s meetings will focus on reviewing and discussing the progress of the research project. Each project will provide an update on progress and be shared with the class with feedback being provided by the professor and also the class. The objective is collective participation to share and accumulate knowledge from multiple experiences. Students will need to be prepared to explain their ongoing processes. Class meetings will also offer discussion, providing a variety of skills and direction for achieving success in the business world. Students will gain a better understanding of themselves and the strengths and weaknesses they bring to an employer.

This experience requires an application. The course is capped at 15 students. Students considering this option should also have backup plans. Applications for MARKETNG 499J & 499K will be sent to all Isenberg Marketing juniors in CHC via email in early October. Application deadline is October 29. Interested students should follow the instructions provided in the email they will be receiving from the Marketing Department.

Instructor: Brashear [at] isenberg [dot] umass [dot] edu (Thomas Brashear-Alejandro) 

Credits: MARKETNG 499J + MARKETNG 499K for 6 credits in Spring

To Enroll: Brashear [at] isenberg [dot] umass [dot] edu (Email Thomas Brashear-Alejandro) for instructor consent and an application

Notes: 

• This culminating experience course is open to Isenberg/Commonwealth Honors College juniors and seniors only, Marketing majors are preferred.
• For additional information contact: Thomas Brashear Alejandro brashear [at] umass [dot] edu (brashear[at]umass[dot]edu).

Year-Long Honors Thesis Seminars
 

COMM 499CA & 499DA

Media Effects

Fall 2024, 499CA - Monday & Wednesday, 1:25 p.m. – 2:40 p.m.

Spring 2025, 499DA - TBD

In this Honors capstone class, students will theorize and read about media influence on individuals as well as conceptualize and carry out an original research study on a specific topic of their choosing within the broad research tradition known as "media effects." The first semester of this two-semester, 6-credit experience will feature the introduction of theories and relevant research findings on the ways in which television, video games, the Internet and/or social media, print media and other media forms shape the thoughts, attitudes, emotions, values, and/or behavior of individuals of various ages. Principles and practices related to quantitative research methods traditionally used to carry out inquiries regarding media effects will be introduced and discussed, as well. By the end of the first semester, students will have produced literature review/theory sections of their original research papers as well as a detailed methodology section and the materials they will need (e.g., a questionnaire) to collect their data. The second semester will mainly be organized as a research methods workshop, in which students will continue to develop their Honors thesis research projects, conducting their studies, writing up their findings in a formal Results section, and creating a Discussion section to draw more generalized conclusions. Students will learn the basics of SPSS, a statistical computer package, to analyze their data. The end result will be a comprehensive, rigorous Honors thesis that students will present at the annual Undergraduate Research Conference on campus that satisfies the requirements of the Commonwealth Honors College.

Instructor: scharrer [at] comm [dot] umass [dot] edu (Erica Scharrer)

Credits: COMM 499CA for 4 credits in fall and COMM 499DA for 4 credits in spring

To Enroll: scharrer [at] comm [dot] umass [dot] edu (Email Erica Scharrer) for instructor consent

Notes:

• This course is open to Commonwealth Honors College seniors

ECON 499C & 499D

Corporate Power, Elites and the Super-Rich

Tuesday & Thursday, 11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.

How do powerful groups in society get what they want? Are the groups in society that seem powerful, actually powerful? This two-semester, eight-credit Honors Thesis seminar examines the theory and empirical research behind the study of corporate power, the role of elites in society, and the super-rich in global context. The seminar examines how these powerful groups can shape economic policies through corporate lobbying campaigns, business associations and other interest groups, and the influence of national and global elite networks. The class will combine readings and methods from economics and other social sciences to investigate these themes, with a particular emphasis on the research challenges and opportunities associated with these topics. Students will also learn a variety of practical research methods that they can deploy in their own thesis research, such as focused comparative methods, process tracing, experimental research designs, and network analysis. Students will write a thesis relating to the key themes of the class and conduct original research, becoming an expert on an aspect of corporate power, the study of elites, and the study super-rich in contemporary society.

Instructor: keviny [at] econs [dot] umass [dot] edu (Kevin Young)

Credits: ECON 499C for 4 credits in fall and ECON 499D for 4 credits in spring

To Enroll: keviny [at] econs [dot] umass [dot] edu (E-mail Kevin Young) for instructor consent

Notes: 

• This course is open to Commonwealth Honors College seniors in all majors
• No prerequisites

ENGLISH 499C & 499D

Foundations and Departures in Creative Writing: Fiction, Poetry and Literary Nonfiction

Fall 2024, 499C - Monday & Wednesday, 4:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

Spring 2025, 499D - Wednesday, 4:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Foundations and Departures in Creative Writing: Fiction, Poetry, and Literary Non-Fiction is a multi-genre, two-semester course in creative writing designed to help students complete a Capstone project within the genre of their choice. Both a class in contemporary literature and a writing workshop, Foundations and Departures will offer students a wide variety of reading assignments and writing exercises from across all three genres. At the end of the first semester, students will submit a portfolio of original work; in the second semester, students will finish drafting and revising their Capstone projects. Textbooks will include The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop, collections of poetry by Nathan McClain and Denise Duhamel, a wide selection of novels for the students to choose from, an anthology of contemporary short stories, and non-fiction by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Studs Terkel, Joan Didion, and others. 

Instructor: jjhennes [at] english [dot] umass [dot] edu (John Hennessy)

Credits: ENGLISH 499C for 4 credits in fall and ENGLISH 499D for 4 credits in spring.

To Enroll: Interested students should submit a personal statement; 1-2 pages, list and briefly discuss your reading preferences: your favorite books, writers, poems, poets, etc.; also, tell me your major and whether or not you are a student in Commonwealth Honors College (CHC)—priority will be given to CHC students. Also include a writing sample—one complete story or essay, or 5-10 poems. Some combination of poetry and prose is also permitted. SEND TO: jjhennes [at] english [dot] umass [dot] edu (jjhennes[at]english[dot]umass[dot]edu) by APRIL 26.

Notes: 

• Open to Commonwealth Honors College seniors and juniors only. Priority will be given to English majors who are pursuing departmental honors

HONORS 499CC & 499DC

Honors Thesis: Debating Globalization

Fall 2024, 499CC - Monday & Wednesday, 2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

Spring 2025, 499DC - Tuesday & Thursday, 2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

Globalization will serve as the cornerstone of our study in this two-semester seminar as students undertake their honors thesis. Globalization meaning the increasingly integrated nature of our world’s economy, culture, and consciousness. Some of the main issues of globalization that the course will explore are: strengthening borders against outsiders (refugees, immigrants); increasing borderlessness of technology, which reaches into all corners of the globe, and the relationship between globalization and the distribution of income across countries. Within these broad topics, the course will investigate how and why people have access to more goods and a better life in some parts of the world (China, India) and the escalation of poverty in other parts (Jamaica). We will also explore the social impact of globalization on solidarity movements for human rights—for example, the World Social Forum and the Arab Spring. Another significant feature of globalization is the homogenization of cultures (the popularity of McDonald’s) and increased awareness of different cultures (eating sushi). The course will evaluate this effect of globalization from the perspective of its impact on human welfare in several countries. In short, the seminar will explore how globalization can foster increased inclusion and participation in some cases and exclusion in others.

Instructor: deepikamarya [at] umass [dot] edu (Deepika Marya)

Credits: HONORS 499CC for 4 credits in fall, and HONORS 499DC for 4 credits in spring

To Enroll: deepikamarya [at] umass [dot] edu (Email Deepika Marya) for instructor consent

Notes:

• This course is open to Commonwealth Honors College seniors in all majors; CHC juniors as space permits

HONORS 499CE & 499DE

The Evolution and Meaning of the American Home

Tuesday & Thursday, 1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.

In this two-semester, 8-credit honors thesis seminar, students will learn about the myriad of psychological and historical forces that have shaped house and home in the United States, where there evolved dominant norms that other nations and cultures must variously mimic, alter or resist. We will examine issues such as the meaning of “home” individually and collectively; ideas about land and home ownership that emerged during colonization and solidified through westward expansion; the vast landscape of 19th century “traditional” houses that were actually industrially manufactured; the invention of the mortgage and the middle class; the role of gender and the women’s movement; the overwhelming impact of racism; emergent technologies, and efforts to “reinvent the wheel” in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. The course will begin with readings that are as engaging as they are informative: Witold Rybczynski’s Home: A Short History of an Idea; Alain de Botton’s Architecture of Happiness; Ta-Nehisi Coates’ article in The Atlantic, "The Case for Reparations". Such writings draw wholly unexpected connections across a host of themes, from the individual to the societal; from the past to the future; from the everyday to the global—while giving students a glimpse of how much fun it can be to research, write and brainstorm. Various majors welcome. Students will develop research proposals in the Fall and complete their honors thesis in the spring.

Instructor: rkmann [at] umass [dot] edu (Ray Mann)

Credits: HONORS 499CE for 4 credits in fall and HONORS 499DE for 4 credits in Spring

To Enroll: rkmann [at] umass [dot] edu (Email Ray Mann) for instructor consent

Notes: 

• This course is open to Senior Commonwealth Honors College students

HONORS 499CG & 499DG

American Struggles: Immigration and Mass Incarceration

Tuesday & Thursday, 2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

This two-semester, eight-credit honors thesis course focuses on two of the most intractable structural issues confronting contemporary American society: immigration and mass incarceration. Because of the multiple ways in which they affect virtually every individual in this country, either directly or indirectly, countless policymakers, journalists, academics, and activists have studied the two issues over the decades, and have offered various fixes, some radical and some incremental. Most of our contemporaries, however, would agree that both the immigration system and the criminal justice/mass incarceration system are ineffective, unfair, and all-around broken. This course will place these two issues in historical context through a variety of academic, journalistic, and autobiographical texts and documentaries, which will allow students to see how the contemporary phenomena of immigration and mass incarceration have common ideological underpinnings and common historical roots. In addition to tracing the development of these “wicked problems” through the different eras of American history, the course units will also address such secondary issues as media representations of immigrants and convicts; cultural attitudes, assumptions, and expectations; the intersections of journalism, activism and public policy; the ethnography of marginalized communities, such as immigrants and incarcerated children, men and women; and “radical” fixes versus more “traditional” fixes. Students will develop research proposals in the fall and complete their honors thesis in the spring.

Instructor: razvan [at] comm [dot] umass [dot] edu (Razvan Sibii)

Credits: HONORS 499CG for 4 credits in fall and HONORS 499DG for 4 credits in spring.

To Enroll: razvan [at] comm [dot] umass [dot] edu (Email Razvan Sibii) for instructor consent

Notes: 

• This course is open to Commonwealth Honors College seniors

HONORS 499CM & 499DM

Uncertainty, Risk, and Decision Making

Monday, Wednesday, & Friday, 11:15 a.m. – 12:05 p.m.

Randomness and uncertainty exist in our daily lives, as well as in every scientific investigation. Our intuition is often wrong when assessing uncertain situations, leading us to make wrong decisions. The goal of this honors thesis seminar and the projects is to better understand randomness and uncertainty and develop tools to make better decisions under uncertain situations, either by humans or AI. In the first semester, the instructor will cover fundamental and relevant concepts from probability, decision theory, psychology, and machine learning. The presentation will be made in a way accessible to students from all majors and no advanced knowledge will be required. The goal is to lay the foundations for deeper investigation by students in their theses. In the later parts of the course, students will focus on specific topics in this wide area based on their interests and backgrounds. As the topic of decision-making under uncertainty can be studied from many different perspectives, it is expected that it could be appealing to a wide variety of honors students. For example, students in humanities (e.g., philosophy majors) can investigate the connections to morality and ethics. Students in psychology and neuroscience can investigate the psychological aspects—for example, the evolutionary aspects, human biases, etc. As probability is a major component, students in fields such as engineering, mathematics, statistics, and computer science can focus on the probabilistic aspects. Similarly, students in finance, management, and economics can study the relevant topics in their fields—for example, from the point of view of investments, decision theory, or risk management. The topic is naturally relevant to the AI and big data revolution from two perspectives: First, as probability is essentially the foundation of almost all machine learning algorithms, interested students can choose their thesis in the area of machine learning. Second, as we are moving toward an era where more and more decisions will be made by robots/machine learning algorithms, there are many questions that can be investigated from societal impacts, as well as moral and ethical considerations.

Instructor: pishro [at] engin [dot] umass [dot] edu (Hossein Pishro-Nik)

Credits: HONORS 499CM for 4 credits in fall and HONORS 499DM for 4 credits in spring

To Enroll: pishro [at] engin [dot] umass [dot] edu (Email Hossein Pishro-Nik) for instructor consent

Notes: 

• This course is open to Commonwealth Honors College seniors

HONORS 499CP & 499DP 

Student Health, Wellbeing & Campus Spaces

Tuesday & Thursday, 1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.

This two-semester, 8-credit Interdisciplinary honors thesis seminar, we will explore current thinking on health and wellbeing in the built environment, with a focus on campus environments. Consideration of the impact of the built environment on health and well-being is an increasingly important priority in the design fields as well as in conversations concerning equity, public policy, public health, and education. These concerns are interrelated with issues of sustainability, resilience, and planetary wellbeing. We will read scholarly and practice literature, and examine case studies that center these topics, examine how different entities define, assess, and evaluate wellbeing in the built environment, and critically consider the challenges and opportunities for inclusively shaping campus environments. We will apply environmental theories, inquiry methods, and assessment strategies to understand the ways in which campus community members use and inhabit higher educational spaces and to propose improvements that support diverse student learning, development, and wellbeing.

Students from various majors are welcome - there are many topics ripe for student exploration, through writing, archival research, design and creative projects, and qualitative and quantitative studies. Workshops associated with research methods, writing, graphics, presentation skills, and other topics will be organized to align with honors thesis and Undergraduate Research Conference deadlines. Students will develop individual research proposals in the Fall and complete their honors thesis in the Spring.

Instructor: cjbrause [at] umass [dot] edu (Caryn Brause)

Credits: HONORS 499CP for 4 credits in fall and HONORS 499DP for 4 credits in spring

To Enroll: cjbrause [at] umass [dot] edu (Email Caryn Brause) for instructor consent, and state the reason for your interest in the course and provide a one-page writing sample

HONORS 499CQ & 499DQ

Conquest by Law: The Use of Law to Subjugate and Marginalize in the U.S.

Tuesday & Thursday, 10:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.

This two-semester Thesis Seminar considers current and past legal structures that have marginalized certain groups in the U.S., including American Indians, immigrants, African Americans, and the poor, while perpetuating inequality. It also looks at how state and federal laws have been used over the centuries to perpetuate inequalities while addressing the potential to legislate equality and social justice. From the time Europeans first arrived on this continent, there was competition for resources and control. First the colonies, then the U.S. government, enacted laws to ensure that resources and control remained in the hands of a select few. Even today, the top 1 percent of Americans own 40 percent of the wealth in this country, while the bottom 80 percent owns just 7 percent. However, marginalization affects more than just wealth. Its effects are also evident in access to health care, access to a healthy space to live and work, and access to clean air and water. While there are state and federal laws in place that address some of these issues, not every aspect of social justice can simply be legislated. In addition to looking at the legal aspects of social justice, this course considers the potential for other means of leveling the playing field. Students who register for HONORS 499CQ in the fall are expected to take the 4-credit continuation course in the spring (HONORS 499DQ).

Instructor: brown-perez [at] honors [dot] umass [dot] edu (Kathleen Brown-Pérez)

Credits: HONORS 499CQ for 4 credits in fall and HONORS 499DQ for 4 credits in spring

To Enroll: brown-perez [at] honors [dot] umass [dot] edu (Email Kathleen Brown-Pérez) for instructor consent

Notes: 

• This course is open to Commonwealth Honors College seniors in all majors

HONORS 499NA & 499OA

Truth/Telling: Creative Nonfiction in its Many Guises

Section 01, Monday, 2:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Section 02, Wednesday, 10:10 a.m. - 1:10 p.m.

This honors project seminar is a two-semester interdisciplinary course. Interested in doing a creative honors thesis? Would you like to develop a multimedia project, photojournalism, documentary? Or perhaps you are interested in writing literary journalism, memoir, biographical profiles, feature articles, or some other creative nonfiction project you’ve always hoped to get to. If creativity is at the heart of your honors thesis, this seminar will assist you in developing a concept, as well as refining and reflecting on the process for archival purposes. The honors seminar will establish a collaborative community and provide generous guidance, constructive critique, and mutual mentorship. Drawing on creativity and imagination, as well as research and reporting, we will incorporate narrative nonfiction techniques, such as scene and setting, character and complication, dialogue, and thematic resonance.

Students will present work in progress over the course of two semesters in a writing workshop style. The seminar culminates in a portfolio of creative nonfiction writing or production of a multimedia project accompanied by an analysis for archiving.

Instructor: cgriffin [at] honors [dot] umass [dot] edu (Connie Griffin)

Credits: HONORS 499NA for 4 credits in fall and HONORS 499OA for 4 credits in spring

To Enroll: cgriffin [at] honors [dot] umass [dot] edu (Email Connie Griffin) for instructor consent

Notes: 

• This course is open to Commonwealth Honors College seniors in all majors

POLISCI 499CD & 499DD

Honors Thesis - Health and Health Care Inequality in the United States

Tuesday, 4:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

This course will help students develop capstone research topics concerning health inequality in the United States. Disadvantaged populations—racial minorities and people of lower socioeconomic status— face a higher burden of disease and death than their white, and more affluent, counterparts do. After an overview of the health care system in the United States compared to those of four other advanced, industrial democracies, this course will then consider insights from social epidemiology about the factors that drive disparities in health outcomes. Social epidemiologists show that lower social status consistently predicts health status today and in the past. The mechanism is thought to be the deleterious consequences of chronic stress, which impairs immune function over time. Numerous studies also show that the subjective experience of racial discrimination is bad for health. Students will have an opportunity to develop research topics that consider the relative health disadvantage of blacks and other minority populations, as well as why white Americans tend to do worse than their European counterparts. The answers reflect problems of the US health care system, and relate to the broader “social determinants” of illness and disease. These, in turn, ultimately reflect political inequalities that affect the pattern of health for Americans in general. The focus material for this part of the class will emphasis political and policy determinants of health and other indicators. We will facilitate this discussion by first revisiting the health disadvantage Americans experience relative to their wealthy nation counterparts.

Instructor: deanr [at] polsci [dot] umass [dot] edu (Dean Robinson)

Credits: POLISCI 499CD for 4 credits in fall and POLISCI 499DD for 4 credits in spring

To Enroll: deanr [at] polsci [dot] umass [dot] edu (Email Dean Robinson) for instructor consent

Notes:

• This course is open to Senior and Junior Commonwealth Honors College students

PUBHLTH 499N & 499O

PUBHLTH 499N, Public Policy and Citizen Action, Fall 2024

Tuesday, 2:30 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

Public Policy and Civic Action is the first in a two-semester sequence that makes up your capstone year of the Community Scholars Program (formerly the Citizen Scholars Program) under the auspices of the Civic Engagement and Service-Learning Office. While this semester will deal mainly with policy as a tool for social change and next semester the focus will be on community organizing, at their core these courses together deal with the power and complications of different frameworks for change. An important part of the year will be examining the dominant stories that are told about the U.S., the counter narratives that are an important part of exposing and disrupting those stories, and how understanding both of these is essential for anyone engaged in the work of social justice.

In the fall semester, students will explore the ways that U.S. public and social policy forms a critical part of the context of our social and political life, the complexities and contradictions of policy as a tool to ameliorate (as opposed to eradicate) social inequity and, given those complexities and contradictions, the degree to which policy has or has not been able to create lasting social change.

Students will explore the foundations of government in the U.S., and how policy is created and shaped at the local, state, and national levels. Students will each identify a specific public policy issue that is related to the work of your community partner. Students will research the issue, including its historical foundations, and report on how it is being addressed via public policy using a provided framework. Students will also examine different "issue areas" of policy such as mass incarceration, housing, and others.

Finally, the fall semester will be used to collaborate with a community partner to determine what the thesis/capstone project is going to be, and write a proposal of the project that includes a schedule of implementation for the spring semester. For Commonwealth Honors College students, this course serves as Part I of your Commonwealth Honors College Project experience.

Students who graduate from the Community Scholars Program fulfill the Foundations, S-L, Capstone, and four of the five content areas required to earn the interdisciplinary Certificate in Civic Engagement & Public Service (CEPS). Please ctravis [at] umass [dot] edu (contact CEPS advisor Candice Travis), if you have not yet applied to earn the certificate.

PUBHLTH 499O, Organizing: People, Power & Change, Spring 2025

Tuesday, 2:30 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

Organizing: People, Power & Change is the second course in a two-semester sequence that makes up the capstone year of the Community Scholars Program (CSP).

This class is a UMass designated service-learning course in which students agree to continue to engage in substantial and significant work in the community (on or off-campus), build upon the relationships developed with a community partner, and engage in reflection to integrate service experience with course content. This class provides an opportunity to understand the role of community organizing in social change, how organizing is connected to movement building, and how it differs (or overlaps with, or is connected to) advocacy and activism. The goal of this course is to provide students with the basics of the theory of organizing as well as case study examples of organizing, in practice, throughout history. Students will examine specific organizing cases including the Labor Movement, Indigenous movements for “Land Back,” the United Farmworkers Movement and the Reproductive Justice Movement. In addition, this class will provide an opportunity to practice the skills students have learned throughout the two years of the CSP in some sort of action, advocacy or organizing project with their community partner organization.

Finally, this course requires the submission of a thesis/capstone project. Early on the in the semester students will review the project proposals created in the fall and will receive structured support to complete their projects.

Instructor: dkeisch [at] umass [dot] edu (Deborah Keisch)

Credits: PUBHLTH 499N for 4 credits in fall and PUBHLTH 499O for 4 credits in spring

To Enroll: dkeisch [at] umass [dot] edu (Email Deborah Keisch) for instructor consent

Notes:

• For Commonwealth Honors College students.

RESECON 499CA & 499DA

Honors Thesis Seminar: Economics of the Renewable Energy Transition

Monday & Wednesday, 2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

Transitioning our energy system to one that is supplied primarily by clean and renewable energy sources is arguably one of the most important challenges of the 21st century. Modern society depends on reliable and affordable energy supply, and energy markets affect all economic sectors including corporations and households. The success of the energy transition will depend on the development and deployment of new technology, as well as market mechanisms and policies to support this renewable energy transition, including the costs and benefits of electricity from solar and wind, and policies to support market growth and technology adoption. We will also cover topics related to equity in energy markets and how the renewable energy transition can contribute to social welfare and equity. Course content will also include topics related to research development, writing, and presentation. Students will develop research proposals in the Fall and complete their honors thesis in the spring.

Instructor: ccrago [at] resecon [dot] umass [dot] edu (Christine Crago)

Credits: RESECON 499CA for 3 credits in fall and RESECON 499DA for 3 credits in spring

To Enroll: ccrago [at] resecon [dot] umass [dot] edu (Email Professor Christine Crago) with a brief essay that discusses their:

1. Coursework and experience in economics and other fields related to renewable energy
2. Motivations for taking the course

Notes:

• For Senior Commonwealth Honors College students of all majors.

SCH-MGMT 499C and 499D

Honors Thesis Seminar: Business Strategy and Entrepreneurial Leadership

Fall 2024, 499C - Tuesday, 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

In this seminar, we integrate concepts from across the business disciplines so as to develop 1) integrative concepts and frameworks for business analysis, and 2) a working understanding of how such concepts and frameworks manifest themselves in practice. The first part of the semester is organized around a business simulation, through which students review and apply knowledge learned in the functional business courses they have taken. The second part of the semester is organized around hands-on research in which students apply the concepts and frameworks for business analysis to thoroughly evaluate the competitive positioning and strategy of publicly traded corporations. 

Spring 2025, 499D - Tuesday, 4:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

(Prerequisite 499C)

In this seminar, we build on the teamwork and research skills developed in the prequel course, 499C, during the semester last fall. Students will identify a business area of interest, read up on it extensively so as to pose clearly defined research questions, execute collaborative research to gain expertise on the interest area, and submit an honors thesis - a written document that demonstrates their critical thinking, a mastery of disciplinary material, and written communication of complex ideas. The completion of an honors thesis concludes with a final presentation.

Instructor: sharma [at] isenberg [dot] umass [dot] edu (Anurag Sharma)

Credits: SCH-MGMT 499C for 3 credits in fall and SCH-MGMT 499D for 3 credits in spring

To Enroll: Department consent is required. Apply online to enroll. sharma [at] isenberg [dot] umass [dot] edu (Email Anurag Sharma) for instructor consent

Notes: 

• This course is open to Isenberg School of Management/Commonwealth Honors College seniors only

SCH-MGMT 499E & 499F

Applied Research Methods in Services Management

Monday, 4:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

This course is a two-part honors seminar (three credits per semester) that occurs over the academic year and students must complete both to use the completion of this seminar to fulfill the honors research and thesis requirement. The first part of the honors seminar is designed to introduce the methods and approaches utilized to conduct research in services management with an emphasis on current and timely business challenges and issues from the perspectives of management and business functions. Students will learn how to formulate a research question, construct a bibliography, review, and synthesize the relevant literature, and identify and develop the appropriate analytical methods that can guide their research projects. By doing so, students will be able to develop proposals by the end of the fall semester. In the spring semester, the students who completed the first part of the honors seminar will conduct the proposed research projects under the supervision of the faculty member teaching the seminar.

Instructor: muysal [at] isenberg [dot] umass [dot] edu (Muzzo Uysal)

Credits: SCH-MGMT 499E for 3 credits in fall and SCH-MGMT 499F for 3 credits in spring

To Enroll: muysal [at] isenberg [dot] umass [dot] edu (Email Muzzo Uysal) for instructor consent

Notes:

• This course is open to Commonwealth Honors College seniors

SPP 499C & 499D

Tackling Today's Big Problems: Policy Methods

Fall 2024, 499C, Tuesday & Thursday, 10:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.

Spring 2025, 499D, Tuesday & Thursday, 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.

What are your community’s most pressing problems? Policing? Housing? What are the world’s? Ending global hunger? Climate? How might we address this problem today?
 
In this two-semester, seven-credit honors thesis seminar you will identify and tackle a current problem facing a community or mission-driven enterprise today. Throughout the two-course sequence, students will first learn about different approaches to research culminating in solidifying a design for their project, which they then implement and execute the following semester. Further, they will reflect and synthesize their experiences, knowledge, and skills developed throughout their undergraduate careers. The end product is a thesis written by the student relating to a policy or management problem today.
 
This is the first course in the two-course honors thesis capstone within the School of Public Policy, with the end product being a research proposal and design that will be carried out in the Spring semester. This course is an introduction to methodologies for analyzing, implementing, and evaluating public policy. Topics include research methods, participant observation survey research and questionnaire construction, research design, measurement theory and practice, and framing categories.

Instructor: %20b [dot] davis [at] umass [dot] edu (Bridgette Davis) for fall and kshoub [at] umass [dot] edu (Kelsey Shoub) for spring

Credits: SPP 499C for 3 credits in fall and SPP for 4 credits in spring

To Enroll: Please complete the Enrollment Form to be considered for enrollment.

Notes:

• This course is open to Commonwealth Honors College juniors and seniors and SPP majors

SRVCLRNG 499C & 499D

Community Action for Social Change

Monday, 4:00 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.

This two-semester honors thesis seminar is designed for seniors in the Commonwealth Honors College with recent experience in service-learning and/or community engagement who wish to deepen their praxis – the combination of theory and practice – within their chosen area of community work. Throughout the Fall and Spring semesters, students work both in the classroom and with a self-selected community partner and develop a collaborative civic/community engagement project. The civic/community engagement project will address a real-world issue or problem associated with the work of the community organization, group, or constituency. Guided by their community partner, students will complete a project that addresses an issue of justice, equity, or social support for a particular constituency. Through the auspices of the class and under the direction of the community partner advisor, students will

define and address the issue or problem, as well as communicate its significance to a public audience.

Instructor: ecorrea [at] umass [dot] edu (Ellen Correa), Senior Lecturer, Civic Engagement & Services Learning (CESL)

Credits: SRVCLRNG 499C for 4 credits in fall and SRVCLRNG 499D for 4 credits in spring

To Enroll: Instructor Consent required. Please ecorrea [at] umass [dot] edu (email Ellen Correa) to schedule a meeting to discuss your experience and background in civic/community engagement.