Forums

AI Speech & the Law

This forum explores the complex legal questions raised by emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and algorithmic promotion. As these tools create novel fact patterns and blur traditional boundaries, students will examine how they intersect with multiple areas of law, including free speech, copyright, defamation, content moderation and tort liability. Through case studies and discussion, the course will challenge students to consider how the legal system is adapting—or failing to adapt—to rapidly evolving digital landscapes.

HNRS 300H1
Kim Petrone
Spring 2026
T 11a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
GEAR 129

No application required.

Kim PetroneKim Petrone is a teaching assistant professor in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. She earned undergraduate degrees from Southern Methodist University, completed the General Course at the London School of Economics, and received her law degree from Northwestern University School of Law.

Petrone currently serves as course coordinator for BLAW 2003: Legal Environment of Business, overseeing more than 50 sections each year. She also teaches each summer with the CIMBA program in northern Italy. She began her work with the University of Arkansas in the College of Engineering, where in 2011 she developed the online course Law and Ethics for the Master of Science in Operations Management program.

Petrone has twice been named a finalist in the Academy of Legal Studies National Master Teacher Competition. In 2023, she received the Walton College Teaching Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award.

 

Psychiatry: Past, Present, Future

Psychiatry is one of the most complex fields of medicine, intersecting biology, psychology, culture and politics. Neuroscience continues to unravel how the mind functions within the brain, and how genetics, life experiences and environment can profoundly affect both.

This course explores various aspects of psychiatry, including its history, evolving diagnoses, and treatments ranging from psychotherapy and medications to transcranial magnetic stimulation and ketamine infusions. Students will also engage with experts across psychiatric specialties and related fields, with opportunities to explore areas of personal interest.

HNRS 300H1
John Spollen
Spring 2026
TH 5-6:15 p.m.
GEAR 129

Course application due October 9th

John SpollenJohn Spollen began his career as a lab assistant at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he gained experience in neuroscience research, shadowed psychiatrists in a hospital setting, and met the man who coined the term "psychedelic." After completing his psychiatry residency at the Medical University of South Carolina, he joined the faculty at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

Spollen has worked for more than 25 years at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, providing care in outpatient clinics, inpatient units, emergency rooms, medical-surgical consults and addiction medicine. He also specializes in electroconvulsive therapy and ketamine infusions for treating severe depression.

He currently serves as associate dean for the UAMS College of Medicine’s Northwest campus in Fayetteville.

 

Frank and Fay

This course examines the evolution of the American house through the work of internationally renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright—designer of iconic buildings such as the Guggenheim Museum in New York City and the Robie House in Chicago—and his one-time protégé, celebrated Ozark architect Fay Jones, known for Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and numerous residences across the country.

HNRS 300H1
Greg Herman
Spring 2026
TH 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
GEAR 243

No application required.

Wright’s and Jones’s approaches to design, and their broader views on American culture, provide a rich foundation for study and discussion. The course begins with an overview of 19th-century residential design trends, including a visit to the University of Arkansas Special Collections to study rare books, and traces the design philosophies that shaped American architecture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Emphasis will be placed on the overlapping ideas of both architects, with a focus on modern domestic architecture and their shared pursuit of organicism and “dwelling.”

Students will also explore contemporaneous movements in American and global architecture to situate Wright and Jones within a broader cultural context. The course includes two field trips: one to Wright’s Bachman-Wilson House (1954), now located on the grounds of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, and another to the Fay and Gus Jones House (1956) in Fayetteville, Jones’s own residence.

Students will be expected to complete assigned readings for each class, participate in discussions, and develop a visual essay in response to the work of both architects as a final project.

Greg HermanGreg Herman has taught in the Architecture Department of the Fay Jones School of Architecture + Design since 1991. A registered architect, he practiced for several years in Boston, Massachusetts. Herman has taught at every level of the school’s curriculum, including core courses, advanced design studios and seminars.

His research focuses on curatorial histories, ranging from farm resettlement housing in Arkansas built by the WPA during the Great Depression to hands-on projects with students constructing low-income housing. He also explores American house culture in the Arkansas Ozarks, particularly during the mid-20th century.

Herman serves as the inaugural director of the Fay and Gus Jones House Stewardship, a curatorial position dedicated to managing the historic house and advancing scholarship on architect Fay Jones and his Arkansas contemporaries. Recently, he has taught second-year design studios and a course on Critical Regionalism. In spring 2025, he led an advanced studio aimed at identifying an unbuilt design by Fay Jones for potential construction at a major American museum campus.

He is enthusiastic about collaborating with the Honors College on this seminar course.

 

World Cup

This forum explores the history, popularity and evolution of this global sporting event. Since the first World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930 with just 13 teams, the tournament has grown into a massive spectacle held every four years, now featuring 48 national teams and drawing billions of viewers worldwide.

In summer 2026, the World Cup will be hosted for the first time by three countries—the United States, Canada and Mexico—and it will mark the first time since 1994 that men’s World Cup matches are played in the U.S.

HNRS 300H1
Todd Cleveland
Spring 2026
W 12:30-1:45 p.m.
GEAR 243

No application required.

The course examines the tournament’s long and sometimes tumultuous history, which will reach its 100th anniversary in 2030; the dramatic changes it has undergone, including the introduction of the Women’s World Cup; and the political dimensions—both discreet and overt—that have shaped the event. It also explores why the World Cup captivates audiences globally as the world’s most popular mega-sporting event.

Students will be prepared to engage knowledgeably with the World Cup in summer 2026 and to fully enjoy this extraordinary sporting occasion.

Todd ClevelandTodd Cleveland is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of History, where he teaches courses on African history and sports history. He has taught the Honors College Signature Seminar SOCCER multiple times and has published extensively on the subject, including Following the Ball: The Migration of African Soccer Players across the Portuguese Colonial Empire, 1949–1975 (Ohio University Press, 2017). The book was translated into Portuguese as Seguindo a Bola: A Importância dos Futebolistas Africanos no Império Colonial Português (Infinito Particular, 2022).

A former soccer player and camp counselor and coach, Cleveland is an avid fan who has attended matches worldwide, including at the World Cup, European Championship, Olympics and various domestic leagues. He supports Arsenal in Great Britain and Benfica in Portugal and roots for African nations, Portugal and the U.S. during international competitions.