Fall Honors College Forums to Explore Topics From Taylor Swift to Public Health to Presidential Vote

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Next semester, honors students will examine the changing landscape of public health, the upcoming presidential election and the sociocultural context behind Taylor Swift's music. These 75-minute, one-credit-hour Honors College Forums bring star faculty and top administrators together with honors students to discuss timely topics. 

One of the courses is Public Health and You, where students will examine the various environmental, social and infectious hazards that surround us and learn to promote the well-being of our communities.

"To be informed is to be empowered; if we don't know what the risks are, how can we make a change?" noted Dr. Huda Sharaf, medical director of the Pat Walker Health Center, who will lead the course. The class will also provide key insights for students in a variety of majors who may go on to shape the public health in their communities. "Our students are our future leaders and activists who will hopefully promote programs, community education and legislation to lessen the public health risks facing us today," she said. 

Additionally, associate dean of enrollment for the Honors College Noah Pittman will lead Campaign 2024, a course following the upcoming presidential election.

"It's hard to believe that for the first time in almost 70 years, we are likely going to see a repeat of a previous presidential election matchup, this time between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump," he observed. "Their 2020 race focused so much on the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on American society. This time around, I expect there to be intense policy debates on issues such as: abortion, immigration, inflation and the Middle East. On top of this, we expect to have third party candidates with significant name recognition who could complicate any predictions on who will win the Electoral College. Suffice to say, we will have a lot of material to cover throughout the fall semester."

Another Forum is Taylor Swift (Arkansas' Version) taught by Christa Bentley, an assistant professor of musicology. Her course will show students how to assess Swift's music from a cultural perspective by analyzing her artistic career.

"I hope students learn about the number of questions you can ask about the music you listen to," Bentley noted. "Looking at Swift's work and career opens up questions about copyright, fan culture, social media, allyship, authorship, performance practice and genre — that's just as a starting point. I'm excited for students to be able to pull so many different threads from one artist." 

Fall 2024 Honors College Forums

Editor's note: Two of the forums — Campaign 2024 and Taylor Swift (Arkansas' Version) — have reached capacity.

Public Health and You: The university's chief medical officer, Huda Sharaf, M.D. and director for the U of A's Pat Walker Health Center, will lead this course educating college students on health-related issues that can impact them individually as well as our campus at large. The course will broaden the knowledge of infectious diseases both nationally and globally and how these infections could potentially affect student lives. The course aims to educate students in becoming good healthcare consumers and more proficient in navigating the healthcare system. This course will encourage active dialogue between the instructor and class and may also give more insight into a medical career but is not limited to only those pursuing medical career paths, as these topics span multiple disciplines.

Campaign 2024: Honors College associate dean of enrollment Noah Pittman will lead this forum focusing on the upcoming presidential election. The class will begin with a foundational study of the presidency, focusing on the nature of the office and the process through which we elect our presidents every four years. Next, students will learn a number of important skills for election analysis, including topics such as campaign fundraising law, political geography and how to read polling reports. Considering this election cycle includes an incumbent president, the class will also analyze President Trump's first term in office along with what will be the major policy issues being debated in the campaign. Each student will  be assigned a battleground state to track throughout the semester, periodically reporting to the class about the state of the race. In addition to this, students will also track key congressional races that could determine the balance of power in both the House and the Senate. Throughout the semester, students will produce essays for the Honors College blog, predicting what will happen before Election Day, followed by an analysis of the final results and what they mean for the next four years of the United States.

Taylor Swift (Arkansas' Version): Assistant professor of musicology Christa Bentley will lead this course bringing fans and scholars together to think about Swift's music and what it can tell us about ourselves and the world. First, students will learn the tools that scholars use to form an interpretation of her songs. The course will then examine how to assess Swift's music from a cultural perspective, analyzing and contextualizing her music, her career and the narratives surrounding her work. Students will then utilize Swift as a window into contemporary issues, exploring her work to comment on identity formation, international fans, social media, the music industry and more.