Eric Jones is an Associate Professor in the Department of History. This fall, he taught, “Spies, Lies, and Secret Wars CIA.”
Why were you attracted to offering an Honors seminar?
“Honors students are amazing to work with. They come from across the university and are eager to
jump into challenging and exciting course material. It’s the idealized version of why I wanted to be a professor.”
How do you teach your subject or specialty to an interdisciplinary group of Honors students?
“This can be a challenge, but it’s one that I’ve done a bit of thinking about. Coming from an area studies background, I think the key is to be more flexible than you would be in your own discipline’s specific courses and to come up with [new] approaches and engaged learning opportunities that allow a variety of skill sets from students to be deployed in your honors course.”
What are some of your tricks of the trade to engage students in the course materials?
“I think the “trick” is genuine excitement. And you should not be teaching an honors course that you wouldn’t be willing to talk someone’s ear off about. Pick a subject in an approach that you are genuinely enthusiastic about, and these honors students will follow you.”
What’s the best thing about teaching Honors students?
“First and foremost, it’s about the money…that’s [a] little patented Jones humor. But seriously the best thing about teaching an honors course is the chance to really dive into course material with a group of students who will drink up all of the knowledge you throw at them. It reminds me of what I was like as a student and why I went into academia. Sometimes in administration or even in your own research that can be hard to remember, but teaching an honors course brings it back.”
