UHP is adding two new Honors Seminars to its repertoire for the 2023-24 academic year, and each promises new, unique experiences around specialized subjects that stray away from traditional ways of teaching.
Read on to hear these new courses: a course that hones in on the intersection between ecology and creative writing and a course that promises to unravel the intricacies of starting a business. Both are great for any UHP student hoping to expand their horizons and make the most of their Honors experience.
HSEM 2026V: The Watershed Workshops
Taught by: Kathryn Nuernberger, Assistant Professor of Creative Writing; Marlene Zuk, Regents Professor & Associate Dean for Faculty, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
Liberal Education themes: Arts/Humanities, Writing Intensive
The Watershed Workshops combines the natural world and creative writing through exploring the watershed that our campus is located in: that of the Mississippi River. Taught by Assistant Professor of Creative Writing Kathryn Nuernberger and Regents Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Marlene Zuk, this course is meant to encourage curiosity and foster a sense of familiarity and community with the natural environment around us here at the U of M.
“After taking this course, a walk to class will no longer be a frantic dash from parking lot to building and back again. Instead it will be a chance to check on whether your favorite native flowers have gone to see yet or to take the long way home via the river to see if dragonflies have hatched.” Professor Nurenberger said.
That familiarity includes acknowledging the environment’s history, too.
“We'll take walks along the river and consider what it means to write about being a human in the environment while living and working on contested and stolen lands.” said Nuernberger.
Neurnberger said she had thought about teaching a class on environmental writing and that an Honors Seminar would be the perfect format for it. As unique, discussion-based courses, Honors Seminars are just the place for faculty members to share their specific interests with equally passionate students.
“I think that scientists and writers have a great deal to share with each other, and I have also always felt that knowing the science behind things we see only enriches the creative kinds of output that emerges,” Professor Zuk of CBS said “I also absolutely love taking people outdoors and showing them the incredible biology that exists under our noses.”
Nuernberger and Zuk became friends over their shared interests in science and nature writing and, as Nuernberger put it, “checking out bugs and plants in the many pocket biomes around our campus.” They decided to teach the course together to give students insight into research and science writing as well as more lyrical and imaginative writing.
Experiences in The Watershed Workshops will include creative writing, field trips to natural and laboratory spaces on campus, and reading, discussing, and thinking about texts including Robin Wall Kimmerer’s “Braiding Sweetgrass” and Aldo Leopold’s “A Sand County Almanac.”
Interested in taking The Watershed Workshops? Nuernberger said the course is great for “anyone who loves looking at flowers, listening to birds, watching how light scatters across the water. Also anyone who loves the sciences but wants to incorporate more creative practices into their education. And anyone who has a creative practice but wants to infuse that work with more accurate scientific content.”
“And anyone who is interested in not being at the center of the picture, but letting the natural world take its place,” Zuk added.
This course will start being offered Fall 2023, and spots are still open! Check out the course listing for more information.
HSEM 3809H: Starting Up a Startup
Taught by: Nolan Hudalla, adjunct professor, UMN Law School
Liberal Education Theme: none
Anyone can have a good idea for a business, regardless of what they’re studying. Not everyone knows how to navigate the process. That’s where HSEM 3809H: Starting Up a Startup comes in.
“This class is a practical seminar that will teach the first few steps of starting a business and establishing proper corporate governance,” Professor Nolan Hudalla, who teaches the course, said.
Hudalla, who has been teaching business transactions as an adjunct professor at the UMN Law School as well as advising clients as a private practice corporate attorney, told of the intimidation and confusion of hopeful business owners when trying to navigate the startup process.
“I've seen profitable companies with a quality product get into legal trouble, lose money on a sale of the company, or not be able to access new capital because the company didn't pay proper attention to establishing proper corporate documentation and practices when it started,” Hudalla said.
Hudalla said he loved sharing his knowledge as an adjunct professor and enjoyed all of his seminars as an undergraduate Honors student at the U, which inspired him to submit a seminar proposal for Starting Up a Startup.
The seminar is meant to put what students learn about starting a business into practice using hands-on experience. This includes working together to form a new company by filing actual Articles of Organization with the Minnesota Secretary of State and conducting hypothetical contract negotiations.
The class will also host a panel of guest speakers specializing in early-stage business financing, and observe a meeting of a real corporation’s Board of Directors.
Through all of this, Hudalla said, “students will gain knowledge critical to preparing a business for success and avoiding common pitfalls.”
“They will hopefully also gain enough confidence in their understanding of startups to assist others with the entrepreneurial process or participate in it themselves!” he said.
Starting Up a Startup is meant to foster a basic understanding of business operations that any student can benefit from. What’s more, each topic and hands-on experience can be tailored to the student’s specific interests; anything they’d like to learn is fair game.
“For example, if a computer science major has an idea for an innovative new application, the class can attend a board meeting at a software company,” Hudalla said.
Naturally, however, Hudalla said Starting up a Startup will be particularly helpful for business students.
“Students interested in starting their own companies or advising business clients (for example lawyers, investment bankers, and certain financial advisors), will hopefully receive immediate and directly applicable benefits from the class,” he said.
Starting up a Startup is a worthwhile experience, whether you have big plans for starting your own business someday, you’re thinking of incorporating one into your areas of study, or it’s been a thought at the back of your mind. The course’s flexibility promises something unique and enjoyable for anyone considering taking it.
This seminar is going to be offered starting Fall 2023, and there are still spots left. Check out the course listing for more information!