University Honors Program


          University Honors Program
          Hurst Hall, Suite 206
          American University
          4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW
          Washington, DC 20016
          Phone: (202) 885-6194
          Fax: (202) 885-7013
          E-mail: honors@american.edu
          Hours: Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm
          
Contact the Honors Staff

HONORS PROFESSOR OF THE YEAR
Professor Karen O'Connor Political Science Professor of the Year 2006-2007

Professor Naomi S. Baron Language & Foreign Studies Professor of the Year 2005-2006		"Teaching students in this program has genuinely been a privilege…. In your intellectual pursuits, I urge you not to be satisfied with what others think they know but to probe – even get mad if you need to – until you have worked through your own understanding of important problems."

Professor Patrick Jackson International Studies Professor of the Year 2004-2005		Prof. Patrick Thaddeus Jackson has taught courses in the University Honors Program for several years. In Spring 2005, he taught an Honors Colloquia on “Envisioning the Future of World Politics” which examined predictions of the future through the intersection of social science and science fiction. Many Honors students will also recall that Prof. Jackson is an avid Star Wars fan, having defended Yoda in last year’s epic “Yoda v. Gandolf” Honors debate.
Prof. Jackson received his Ph.D. from Columbia University. His research interests include culture and agency, international relations theory, sociological methodology, the role of rhetoric in public life, the concept of ‘Western Civilization,’ and the political and social theory of Max Weber. He is currently completing a book entitled In the Name of the West: Language, Legitimation, and Postwar German Reconstruction that will be published with the University of Michigan Press. When he is not teaching, publishing, or watching the latest Star Wars DVD release, Prof. Jackson indulges in his other passion – the New York Yankees. While providing no specific comments on this year’s World Series outcome, he is ready to extol his thoughts to willing listeners on why “the modern playoff system is essentially random.”

Professor Bair Van Dam Literature Professor of the Year 2003-2004	Professor Bair Van Dam has been teaching in the Honors Program since 1996. She earned her BA from University of Nebraska-Lincoln and her MA from American University. During her time in the Department of Literature's College Writing Program, Van Dam has developed a number of innovative writing courses focusing on politics, ethics, and education. Her scholarly interests include information literacy and contingent faculty issues; more recently, she has been exploring the science and art of responding to student writing. As a dutiful Nebraskan, she devotes her fall to watching Cornhusker football.