Honors Bulletin
All the Honors News that's Fit to Print
Your Annual Honors Scary Story: A Long Walk
Before I get into this, FREE HOT BEVS TOMORROW @ 9AM in the lounge!
As is tradition, I get to write one short horror story* a year and share it with you guys on Halloween. So here goes:
It rested on a small country knoll. The first house we'd call home. It was a long way from New York, here in Virginia. And it was all we could afford. Being a history buff, I loved the fact that it dated to pre-Civil War times as a working farmhouse. As our packed Chevy Vega pulled in the driveway for the second time, I felt a rush of excitement.
My wife, Jean, and our firstborn, James, were the first to cross the threshold. It was draftier than I'd expected for that warm August morning. We immediately set up the baby's crib in a room near ours in the upstairs bedroom. Until we couldn't keep it there anymore.
While I worked two jobs, Jean took care of our 7-month old James, set up the house, and prepped a nice dinner. Tree leaves changed, the weather turned and as it did, something else shifted. We knew it was an old house, but it creaked and moaned a little more than you'd expect and the air grew cooler than you'd expect. Until one day when it happened.
I was off reporting on a story for the local rag, while Jean was at home preparing dinner. James was down for a nap. As time passed, Jean realized that James was down for a very long nap. She went to check on him and the crib was empty. (CONTINUED BELOW)
- Honors Peer Mentor Applications
- THA Applications
- Honors Courses of the Day
- Professional & Academic Development
- Events
Honors Peer Mentor Applications are LIVE!
We are now accepting applications for next year's Honors Peer Mentor (HPM) Network
If you are interested in being an HPM, complete the application found here. Applicants should be
Current Honors students in good standing (3.25 cumulative GPA of higher)
Students who have completed at least three semesters at Temple by spring 2020.
Applications must be submitted by November 7th.
Please note: All eligible applicants will be invited to interview for the position. If accepted, you will register for a 0 or 1-credit training seminar that runs in the spring on Wednesdays from 4 to 5:10 PM.
Questions? Email Jackie at jackie@temple.edu.
THA APPS ARE DUE SUNDAY AT THE LATEST!
It is my distinct pleasure to announce this year's Honors Appalachia Application is now live for participants.
Created in 2008, this week-long excursion immerses students in the life, beauty, and struggles of the Appalachian region with the aim of enriching the lives of the students and the communities they serve. At each site, teams of students build homes, assist with community projects, and explore the local environment while building community and taking time to reflect. Students return with a better sense of themselves, the world around them, and the energy to contribute locally.
Participants will need to raise $450 throughout the spring semester to come on the trip. Please don't let this deter you from applying.
The application is due November 3rd at MIDNIGHT.
Mandatory* Kickoff Meeting with $25 deposit will be 3-4 PM on December 11th.
Questions? Email Seth at sethfinck@temple.edu.
Course(s) of the Day
AMERICAN CULTS (Religion 2900.01)
Days/Times: Monday, Wednesday & Friday, 2pm to 2:50pm
Professor: Elizabeth Alvarez
CRN: 40440
About: What’s the difference between a “cult” and a religion? And what can we learn about ourselves from the new religious movements (NRMs) that have arisen in America? This course will examine the relationship between groups the public has, to varying degrees, considered “cults” and the perceptions and experience of community members themselves. We will delve into the history, origins, beliefs, and practices of American NRMs including the Universal Friend Movement, Shakers, Peace Mission Movement, Oneida Community, Christian Science, Mormonism, Unification Church (Moonies), People’s Temple, ISKON, Branch Davidians, Source Family, and Wicca, examining the meaning and boundaries of “religion.”
About the Professor: Elizabeth Hayes Alvarez’s research and teaching interests include American religious history, religion and gender, and cultural studies. She received her Ph.D. in History of Christianity from the University of Chicago, Divinity School. Her book, The Valiant Woman: The Virgin Mary in Nineteenth-Century American Culture (University of North Carolina Press), explores Marian imagery and the female ideal in American popular culture. She also published an edited collection, Religion in Philadelphia. She’s at work on a new book on Christianity and mental illness in America.
HAUNTED AMERICA (English 0902.01)
Days/Times: Monday & Wednesday, 10am to 11:40am
Professor: Rachael Groner
CRN: 23956
About: This course will focus on literary ghost stories and novels. In most cases, ghosts appear in literature as potent metaphors for historical and cultural events that haunt us—as individuals and as a nation—in the present-day US. We will also consider ghosts and hauntings as literary devices that allow for stories to be told by people who live in the margins of mainstream US culture and history. Rather than going back into history to look for ghost stories, we will spend our time reading and thinking about late 20th/early 21st century literature and film, and we will ask questions about these texts such as: What or who is haunting us? What do these ghosts want? What do we owe literary ghosts when we encounter them? Because this is a First Year Writing course, you will research and write three papers about our course texts and themes, and you will have plenty of space to choose your own topics and themes as long as they relate to the course theme. We will also do plenty of ungraded in-class writing to prompt your thinking and practice writing in a variety of genres.
About the Professor: Rachael lives just outside of Philadelphia with her partner, two kids (ages 8 and 10), and an old dog named Alexander Hamilton. She enjoys reading, walking on Forbidden Drive, and binge-watching Netflix and Hulu when she has a few spare hours (ha!). She strongly dislikes being scared by ghost stories, but she is endlessly intrigued by the function of ghosts in our cultural imagination. She has a PhD in American Studies from Purdue University and a BA in American Studies from Penn State. She has been at Temple University for 15 years.
Professional & Academic Development
Submit your research for publication!
Events
Language Nerds UNITE for Temple Lingo!
Thursday, November 7th, 1-2:30 PM
Student Center 200AB
Come find out how learning a language can help you personally and professionally. Travel around the room and practice languages from all over the world with native and fluent speakers. No prior langauge learning experience necessary. Snacks, prizes, and resources will be available!
A LONG WALK CONTINUED
If you've ever had your heart physically leave your body, you know how she felt. See, to this point, James had never gotten out of his crib. In fact, he was barely crawling.
Jean ran into our bedroom, no James. She tore down the stairs, panic growing. Into the living room, the kitchen, the bathroom. Nothing. As she went to the phone to call me she saw the front door slightly ajar.
She ran to it. He wasn't on our porch. Down the driveway, she saw him taking his first steps. Toward the highway. She was never an athlete, but at that moment, she could have raced our greatest sprinters. And won.
When she reached him, she safely scooped him up. Tears flooded her eyes.
He wouldn't take another step for two more months.
That was the last day we spent in that house.
Contact Us
Email: honors@temple.edu
Website: honors.temple.edu
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