Fall 2022 Honors College Retro Reading Seminars to Explore 'Ozarkers' and 'Ten Really Bad Emperors'

Peter Aaron

Gearhart Hall, home of the Honors College

Honors College Retro Readings courses focus on seminal texts viewed through a contemporary lens. Past and current offerings have invited close readings of Tolkien, the Bible and presidential speeches, but the course isn't limited to internationally recognized authors. Next fall, honors students will dig into works by writers from the Ozarks as well as the historiography of some really bad emperors throughout history.

The weekly 75-minute, seminar-style discussions were designed to fit into even the busiest schedules. "Our retro readings give students an opportunity to try something new or to return to a much-loved text or topic in a small-class format of no more than 16 students that encourages discussion," said John Treat, director of interdisciplinary and curricular learning. Though these courses no longer require an application, interested students must register as early as possible to ensure they get a seat.

Courtesy of the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History

Ozarkers: The Ozarks is a place often described by outsiders: hillbillies, moonshiners, regressive, insular and more. But how have Ozarkers thought about themselves over the years? What are these descriptions really saying? And how is this region redefined in the age of Walmart and Netflix?

Jared Phillips, a fifth-generation Ozarker and teaching assistant professor in the International and Global Studies Program, will lead students in exploring classic texts from the Arkansas and Missouri uplands (spanning folklore to science fiction) with healthy doses of history, nature writing and anthropology, to understand how Ozarkers have engaged in meaning-making in this place — and maybe help redefine these old hills. This class will meet Thursdays, 2-3:15 p.m. Visit the Ozarkers course web page for more information.

Courtesy of Charles Muntz

Ten Really Bad Emperors: They fiddled while their kingdoms burned. They imposed reigns of terror while building entire armies to guard them in the afterlife. Their personal lives were so decadent that they have become bywords for depravity. Now Charles Muntz, associate professor of history, will explore some of the most infamous rulers in history across time and space, from Roman caesars and Muslim caliphs to Ottoman sultans and Chinese emperors.

Each week 12 honors students will examine a different bad emperor in depth in a seminar discussion with sources ranging across thousands of years of history and multiple perspectives, from both those they oppressed and those who supported and even loved them, to gain the fullest view of these emperors. Students will look at how deserved their reputations really are, and how much may be propaganda and later legend. This course will meet on Mondays from 5-6:15 p.m. Visit the Ten Really Bad Emperors course web page for more information.