If you’re taking a contract course, make sure to get your Honors Contractcomplete. How do you know if you need to complete an Honors Contract? If any of these apply to you:
Internship for Honors credit,
Undergraduate Research,
Research Assistantship,
Senior Thesis (Not the same as Special Honors in your degree — that’s a different form found here)
Hello! My name is Annie Kadets and I am sophomore in the Honors Program! I have an AMAZING opportunity for everybody and anybody….
If you are anything like me, upon arriving at college you missed being able to cook and bake. But that is soon to change! Please come and join me and a group of others every Thursday night to help cook Shabbat Dinner for Chabad GW. It’s a low key environment with wonderful food and even better people! We need as much help as we can get so bring a friend or two or three!
This does not have to be a weekly commitment; you are welcome to come whenever you can for however long you have! If you are interested or you have any questions about cooking or anything else you may need feel free to shoot me an email at anniekadets@gwu.edu!
Study abroad: a tale of ice and fire and paperwork.
Thinking about study abroad but don’t have the first clue where to start? Got a solid plan for adventure but just want to talk it through?
Learn from the trailblazers in the Honors Program who already made the study abroad journey!
Come to the Honors Program Study Abroad Connection Monday, 9/8 at 5-7pm in the UHP townhouse.
Meet with other Honors students to find out about the experience, find out about academic planning from Catherine, and learn how to connect with the Office of Study Abroad.
It’s a casual affair, so feel free to drop in.
Welcome Class of 2018 and returning UHPers! Now that we’ve all gotten settled, all your things are unpacked, and you finally know where your classes are (sorta), it’s time to start getting into the zone. The college zone. College can be scary, college can be hard, and there are plenty of time that your parent’s couch seems like a much better idea than a Thurston six. So take a deep breath, square your shoulders, crack your knuckles, and keep some of these tips in mind! Zen Gorilla just wants you to breathe. Get Calm.
College is pretty terrifying. Moving out of home to live with people you don’t know and no one knows you. The lack of support networks, friends and family can seem like a total nightmare. But try not to have a panic attack, there are things you can do to keep yourself from having heart palpitations. Step one is to breathe. You aren’t alone. The beautiful thing about college is that everyone is in the same boat as you. It take times to get settled and feel comfortable, so don’t panic if you feel out of place – after a few weeks you won’t! Don’t panic if things don’t work out at first, if you don’t know what you want to major in, or if you get a C on a test (gasp!); it’ll take some time to adjust to college life, but eventually it will feel routine. Which leads me to my next bit of advice…
You probably won’t need a clock like this to get into a routine. Get Settled.
I know I just said this will take some time, but an important part of adjusting to college is getting into a routine. Humans like stability, and the sooner you can figure out the things that will make you feel healthy and confident, the better. Class schedule helps, but picking regular times to wake up, eat, and hit the gym all go a long way toward making the adjustment to college living much smoother. And there’s something to be said for settling into a budget. Knowing how much you’re spending on Chipotle and Starbucks for the rest of the week can be pretty handy — it’s always good to know where you’re money’s going, and how much you have left over for fun. Plus, it’ll help drop some of the stress of living.
It’s okay if this takes a few weeks, getting settled is a slow process, but it will go a long way toward turning your place at GW into a home away from home. You will be at least this awesome. Get Out
Once you get settled, it’s important to remember that you have to spend some time leaving your new little nest. College is a time when you can meet some pretty amazing people, and when making friends is the easiest thing in the world. Hit up the Student Org Fair on August 30th to find a group of people that are interested in some of the same things you are, and get to know the people on your floor. After all, they’re a captive audience.
Also, don’t forget about using the resources on campus. The UHP has tons of connections to other departments, and can patch you through to whoever you need when you need it.
So, stay calm, get comfortable here, and get to know people. The more you do these things, the more comfortable, and awesome, you’ll feel.
Hi all! My name is Jonathan Robinson and I am a UHP Alum (Class of 2012). I work at Catalist, a progressive data and technology company looking for fall interns for a paid position in our Analytics Department where I work.
We are looking for students interested in politics (campaigns in particular), empirical political science (and social science research more generally), data analysis and all sorts of nerdy stuff like that. Folks can definitely email me at my email: jrobinson@catalist.us if they have questions or just follow up with the email given in the job posting. Catalist is an important progressive institution and would be a great entry for someone interested in the world of big data in practice as well as the growing data revolution in politics.
One thing I’ll say is that if you are interested in this gig, apply. We look for lots of things in interns and just because you only know Excel and the a few things in the email don’t make sense (you don’t know what Ruby or a UNIX environment is) it shouldn’t discourage you from applying! Being smart and excited to learn new things, etc is the most important thing here and something I know UHP students have a lot of.
Our offices aren’t too far from Foggy Bottom–off of the McPherson Square Metro.
Thanks,
Jonathan Robinson (c/0 2012)
1090 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 300 | Washington, DC 20005 | www.catalist.us Job Posting: Fall Analytics Internship
Offering an opportunity to get first-hand experience in the intersection of technology and politics. Catalist is a data services company that offers progressive organizations and Democrats a unique and comprehensive database of voting-age Americans. We are presently seeking college students/ recent graduates for paid fall internship positions. Candidates should have a passion for progressive causes. Skills preferred include familiarity with Microsoft Office Suite (especially Excel); good internet/database research experience; comfortable operating in a UNIX environment; familiarity with databases and the database language SQL; familiarity with statistical modeling software (extra credit: candidates who are Rusers); quantitative research experience in social sciences, engineering, computer science, statistics, mathematics, life sciences technology, or similar field. Experience with any of the following a plus: bash scripting, Python, C/C++, Ruby, GIS. Most importantly, though, we’re looking for candidates who are highly motivated self-starters with a solid work ethic and a desire to learn. This position includes the potential for advancement into full time work. For more information on Catalist, including a list of the clients we work with, visit our website: www.catalist.us Internship responsibilities could potentially include:
Researching datasets and merging them with the current Catalist dataset
Constructing database queries
Statistical modeling and regression analysis
Database hygiene, sanitization, and standardization
Writing technical requirements for productization of departmental research projects
Automating data reporting and statistical processes
ETL on a variety of database platforms
Experience would be especially relevant to students studying Political Science, Statistics, Computer Science and related fields, however, interested applicants in all study areas are encouraged to apply. We always make reasonable accommodations around student’s academic schedules and are looking for a weekly commitment between 15-20 hrs. Our offices are located near McPherson Square in downtown DC for easy Metro access. To apply:
Send your resume, including references, job and academic experience, to jobs@catalist.us
Prof. Trullinger in front of the Elgin Marbles. -The following post is written by Assistant Professor of Honors and Philosophy Joseph Trullinger.-
My favorite movie has a scene in which an angel, thoughtfully observing human beings going about their daily lives, reflects on the open-mindedness of childhood.
When the child was a child, it was the time of the following questions:
Why am I me, and why not you?
Why am I here, and why not there?
When did time begin, and where does space end?
Isn’t life under the sun just a dream? Is what I see and hear and smell nothing but an illusion of a world before the world?
Does evil exist, and are there people who are really evil?
How can it be that the I who I am didn’t exist before I came to be,
And that someday the I who I am will no longer be who I am?
I love these sorts of questions, and I believe that, deep down, everybody else does too. At some point, everyone looks up at the stars and wonders if there is a limit to how far up the sky goes, and if so, what happens when one gets there. You can catch the news and, seeing how differently people live all over the earth, feel astonished that other people were born into such radically different circumstances—and, likewise, why you have the life that you do instead of theirs. Or, you might ask yourself what this funny little three-letter word “God” means, and why people keep using it so often. And so on. The questions don’t stop there. The only difference between me and most people—the thing that makes me philosophical—is that I am happy that the world has more questions than I can ever answer. I didn’t become this way because of any extraordinary event or some special quality I possess—and that means you can be this way too, if you want.
All the same, I do have astory to tell about why I feel so confident that thinking about bottomless questions is a good way to spend my life.
I thought to myself as I sat there: “I could think about this for the rest of my life.”
The 9 Muses, plus one.
I can trace my conviction back to the sixth week of my college career, when I heard a lecture on the good life as conceived by Plato and Aristotle. It was as though my own thoughts kept coming back to me through the reflections in this lecture, but in a far clearer form than I could have expressed. I thought to myself as I sat there: “I could think about this for the rest of my life.” That epiphany was the moment I knew this is what I had to do with my life, that I had to go into philosophy, and that there was no possibility of doing any differently. From that point forward, I took every philosophy class I could, and approached my teachers continually about the incredible ideas we were discussing. I started to sense just how far down the rabbit hole goes. To this day, I am still amazed at the breadth and depth of human thoughts on the most basic and fundamental things. From my professors at Bucknell University, particularly Gary Steiner and Pete Groff, I learned how to face the difficulty of unsettling ideas with calm, patience, and diligence. I learned that philosophy thrives in friendly conversation, in which everybody is willing to lose a debate if it means finding the truth. What stayed with me above all is their profound respect for these great texts from across the world and throughout history. With that respect comes the humbling joy that my thoughts are not radically different from thoughts other human beings have been having for eons—and because of that, I am not simply Californian or American, but I am connected to all of humanity. When I was younger I was desperate for recognition and honor; the more time I spend in philosophy, the more I feel that appreciating the human condition is enough.
“Do the gods love certain actions because they’re good, or are those actions good because the gods love them?”
Entitled “Tulipmaniac” The first philosophical text I read was Plato’s Euthyphro, in a large book entitled The Trial and Death of Socrates (with that wonderfully musty old book smell), which I happened upon in a used bookstore when I was sixteen. I was drawn in by the story: the philosopher Socrates bumps into his old friend Euthyphro on his way to court, and the two have a conversation about the nature of reverence and the gods. They quickly find their views have to answer a dilemma: do the gods love certain actions because they’re good, or are those actions good because the gods love them?
Little did I know that the dilemma with Euthyphro would eventually form the basic parameters of my research as a professor all these years later, studying why the 18th century philosopher Immanuel Kant says true reverence springs out of a genuine commitment to moral principles we know independently of any religious tradition or scriptures.
I went to the University of Kentucky to get my doctorate in philosophy, with a desire to understand the twophilosophical movements I felt most at home in: Platonism and German idealism. Over time, as I turned idea after idea over, I narrowed my attention to Kant’s subtle yet powerful theory that free will is at the heart of morality, of nature, God, and the whole of existence itself. I titled my dissertationThe Hidden Life of God: Kant and the German Idealists on Ethical Purity, in order to capture this idea that God, if he exists, would have to be identical with the essence of perfect goodness.
The wonder Kant describes is what makes teaching and researching philosophy worthwhile for me.
Prof. Trullinger Kant’s tombstone has his most enduring and beautiful statement carved into it: “Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the more often and steadily we reflect upon them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.” The wonder Kant describes is what makes teaching and researching philosophy worthwhile for me. At Mississippi State University, I had the chance to teach wonderful students for four years, in which we carefully studied great books and talked about them for hours in reading groups (fueled by plenty of coffee! sweet, glorious caffeine!)
Words cannot express how much I am looking forward to teaching at George Washington, and I cannot wait to see what you make of these ideas that have taken hold of me. There is no teaching without learning, and that applies as much to me as it does to you. So come by and wonder with me. My office is in room 101P of Ames Hall, and I love having visitors. You might find me listening to music, reading something obscure, or talking with someone, but you are welcome to join in. As I learned a while ago, it is always the right time for the following questions:
Why am I me, and why not you?
Why am I here, and why not there?
When did time begin, and where does space end?
Isn’t life under the sun just a dream? Is what I see and hear and smell nothing but an illusion of a world before the world?
Does evil exist, and are there people who are really evil?
How can it be that the I who I am didn’t exist before I came to be,
And that someday the I who I am will no longer be who I am?
—
(The movie, by the way, is Wim Wenders’ 1987 masterpiece, Der Himmel über Berlin, which literally means “The Heavens over Berlin.” This title was rather badly mistranslated for English-speaking audiences as “Wings of Desire.” It is an excellent, unusual, and dreamlike movie—but stay far, far away from the horrible 1998 remake with Nicholas Cage, City of Angels. You have been warned.)
Friends, faculty, and finger food!
Stop by the University Honors Program’s Open House to welcome the new academic year.
We’ll see you from 2pm-4pm at 714 21st St. NW on Wednesday, 8/27. All Honors students and faculty are welcome.
This is a casual mill-about-and-snack-and-chat event, so feel free to drop in!
Hike with professors! Binge watch Sherlock with SPA! Eat lunch with the director! Take over a Chinese restaurant in DC with the whole Program!
The Honors Program has a never ending supply of fun, educational, and chillaxing events all year long. Don’t miss out! Subscribe to the UHP calendars today so that you never miss a pumpkin carving, gingerbread house decorating, or SPA sponsored party!
(There are also important deadlines, for things like graduation requirements and research award applications.)
Do you want to be that person who hears about all the fun from their friends after it’s already happened? Or, do you want to be the one who your friends thank for telling them about all the best events before they happen? Subscribe to the UHP calendars to ensure your happiness on campus and to never miss an opportunity for free food!
The Student Peer Advisors are ready to jump back into the school year with the kind of advice that only experience can offer! Whether you’re a new freshman or a seasoned vet ready to take on your senior year, the SPA are here for you!
Put names to faces and faces to names by checking out this year’s collection of bio posts from the Student Peer Advisors!
(Pro tip, hit “previous page” to make sure you see the other two pages of Student Peer Advisors ready to help out!)
If you’ve got a question that needs the advice of a person with first-hand experience, or you’d just like to say hello, you can email any of the SPA directly, or you can email their general account at uhpspa@gwu.edu.
If you’re taking a contract course, make sure to get your Honors Contract complete.
