Humanities (HUMA)

HUMA 401 - Introduction to the Humanities

Credits: 4

Introduction to the interdisciplinary study of the humanities. Taking as its entry point a significant work, the course is organized by topics related to that work, selected and arranged to invoke lively intellectual debate among faculty and students alike. Group lectures by the four core humanities faculty members. The instructors teaching the course will provide material for smaller weekly discussion sections led by each of those faculty members. Requirements include lively discussions, papers, and examinations. Not repeatable.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc)

Equivalent(s): HUMA 401W

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 401W - Introduction to Humanities

Credits: 4

Introduction to the interdisciplinary study of the humanities. Taking as its entry point a significant work, the course is organized by topics related to that work, selected and arranged to invoke lively intellectual debate among faculty and students alike. Group lectures by the three core humanities faculty members. The instructors teaching the course will provide material for smaller weekly discussion sections led by each of those faculty members. Requirements include lively discussions, papers, and examinations.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc); Writing Intensive Course

Equivalent(s): HUMA 401

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 411 - Humanities I

Credits: 4

Introduction to the humanities and Western culture through literature, history, philosophy, music, art, and architecture. Examination of selected historical periods from classical Greece through the Renaissance through readings, films, slides, and field trips.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc); Inquiry (Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

Special Fee: Yes

HUMA 412 - Humanities II

Credits: 4

Introduction to the humanities and Western culture through literature, history, philosophy, music, art, and architecture. Examination of selected historical periods from the Enlightenment to the present through the use of readings, films, slides, and field trips.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc); Inquiry (Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA #413 - Dramatic Art and Social Reality: The Many Meanings of Performance

Credits: 4

This course illuminates connections between the performed stories of drama and real aspects of our lives. It considers performances on stages, screen, and in everyday life—like social rituals, “scripted” because performers are expected to follow certain social roles. It examines those rituals, investigating how they were authored and whether participants have been appropriately cast. No credit if student has taken HUMA 412: Humanities II: Dramatic Art & Social Reality: The Many Meanings of Performance.

Attributes: FinePerformingArts(Discovery); Inquiry (Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 440A - Honors/Hooked: Narratives of Addiction, Recovery, and Redemption

Credits: 4

This course explores literature about addiction through both literary an psychological lenses. It focuses on the redemption narrative that structures the understanding of addiction for writers and readers alike. Readings include stories of religious redemption, short fiction, memoirs, self-help texts, and narrative and psychological theory. This course is part of the Honors Symposium "Engaging Addiction". The courses in the Symposium join several times during the semester for common meetings where perspectives can be compared and explored.

Attributes: Honors course; Humanities(Disc)

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 440B - Honors/That Belongs in a Museum! Museums and the Ownership of Antiquities

Credits: 4

Suppose you stumbled upon an artifact from an Indigenous Native American people in your backyard. Do you own it? Or do the heirs of those who produced it? Or does it belong in a museum for all to see? In a series of controversial case studies we will examine what it means to “own” the past, how it should be protected and preserved, and what role museums have had–-and should have—in safeguarding that past.

Attributes: Honors course; Humanities(Disc)

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 440H - Honors/Changing Our Minds: Revolutions in Thought

Credits: 4

This course is inspired by Freud’s idea that human self-understanding advances during great revolutions in thought. We study several revolutions in science and belief, from Marx to Darwin, and consider whether a general model applies to them all. How have ideas about the universe and human beings’ place in it changed dramatically at certain points in history? Do revolutions in thought have a common structure? What revolution are we living in today? This course is part of an Honors symposium titled “The Copernican Lens: Dawn and Limits of Certainty in Physical Science and the Humanities”, which runs concurrently with three other “Copernicus Lens” courses in other fields during the same semester. Taking its point of departure from the revolution in astronomy introduced by Nicolaus Copernicus, the symposium explores the intersections of types of thinking about the universe and humanity across history, especially the relationship between scientific and humanistic thinking. The implications of key transformations in scientific and humanistic thought are traced in the realms of philosophical ideas about humans’ place in the world, and historical understandings of the development of science, belief, and truth itself. The course will be run in a seminar, discussion-based format, meeting twice a week for discussion (Mondays & Wednesdays) and once a week (Fridays) for a shared plenary with the other three “Copernicus Lens” courses. Among the requirements of each course in the Honors symposium is participation in plenary sessions when the students from all four courses meet together. The four instructors (Professors Nathan Schwadron [Physics], Subrena Smith [Philosophy], Rachel Trubowitz [English], and Paul Robertson [Classics, Humanities and Italian Studies]) have planned the plenary sessions around common activities and learning materials, approached from the individual perspectives of their own discipline. By learning from each of the professors, the students in all the courses will gain an understanding of the different disciplinary perspectives that can be applied to the study of science in its cultural and historical contexts. The course qualifies for “Historical Perspectives” credit in the Discovery Program because it introduces students to major developments in the history of science and belief that have significantly shaped contemporary life. Through study of specific episodes and historians’ interpretation of them, students will gain an understanding of the methods of historical inquiry. They will also come to grasp the historical contingency of beliefs and assumptions through entering imaginatively into worldviews different from those of the present.

Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc); Honors course; Writing Intensive Course

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

View Course Learning Outcomes

HUMA 444D - Plague/Literary Histories of Epidemics

Credits: 4

Explores the meanings of epidemics as represented in literature. Topics include mysterious ancient disasters, the Black Death, AIDS, and hypothetical diseases used as thought experiments, as well as current controversies about the spread and prevention of disease. How do disease and its control shape state and social structures? How have the meanings of disease, health, medicine, and the body changed over time? What kind of art does disease give rise to?.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc); Inquiry (Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 444E - What is a Criminal?

Credits: 4

Criminals are people who break the law -- In theory. How do people become criminals (with regard to biological, cultural, and economic influences)? What happens to them in the criminal justice system, and how does the system shape the definition of "criminal"? We will also discuss "criminals of conscience" from Thoreau and Gandhi to Edward Snowden. The course will emphasize reading but will also engage with other media, including films, podcasts, and visual art.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc); Inquiry (Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 444F - Travelers in the Premodern World

Credits: 4

Travel is a fundamental aspect of the human experience. This course explores the human experience of travel using materials originating from across premodern world. Students investigate materials ranging from maps and pilgrimage accounts, to poetry and stories to understand what has compelled people to undertake the often perilous road. In the process, they consider the role of travel in cultural contact, communication, exchange, and the generation an spread of knowledge.

Attributes: World Cultures(Discovery); Inquiry (Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 500 - Critical Methods in the Humanities

Credits: 4

Critical analysis of works in the humanities. Focuses on major texts, evaluation of secondary literature, research writing, criticism. Required of all HUMA majors.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc); Inquiry (Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Equivalent(s): ECS 550

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 505 - Introduction to Religion

Credits: 4

This course provides an introduction to religion, exploring the various ways that this phenomenon has been understood, approached, practiced, and studied across human history. The course will examine the different ways that religion can be defined, drawing from a variety of humanities and other disciplines. Foundational theories explaining the origins, persistence, and continued relevance of religion will be compared and applied to different traditions. Topics include concepts of divinity, rituals, myth, mysticism and spirituality, pilgrimage, death and the afterlife, and ultimate reality.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc)

Equivalent(s): RS 505

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 510A - Ancient Humanities: Cultures and Empires

Credits: 4

Humans are social animals and, from an early period, they organized into cities and empires. How did peoples like the ancient Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Indians, Greeks, Chinese, or Romans view themselves? How did they conceive of the world? Why was power distributed to some and not others? This co-taught course examines art, philosophy, history, and cultures from the ancient world to offer an introduction to the human experience from approximately 3000 BCE to 700 CE.

Attributes: FinePerformingArts(Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Equivalent(s): HUMA 510B, HUMA 510C, HUMA #510D

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 510B - Ancient Humanities: Cultures and Empires

Credits: 4

Humans are social animals and, from an early period, they organized into cities and empires. How did peoples like the ancient Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Indians, Greeks, Chinese, or Romans view themselves? How did they conceive of the world? Why was power distributed to some and not others? This co-taught course examines art, philosophy, history, and cultures from the ancient world to offer an introduction to the human experience from approximately 3000 BCE to 700 CE.

Attributes: World Cultures(Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Equivalent(s): HUMA 510A, HUMA 510C, HUMA #510D

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 510C - Ancient Humanities: Cultures and Empires

Credits: 4

Humans are social animals and, from an early period, they organized into cities and empires. How did peoples like the ancient Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Indians, Greeks, Chinese, or Romans view themselves? How did they conceive of the world? Why was power distributed to some and not others? This co-taught course examines art, philosophy, history, and cultures from the ancient world to offer an introduction to the human experience from approximately 3000 BCE to 700 CE.

Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc); Writing Intensive Course

Equivalent(s): HUMA 510A, HUMA 510B, HUMA #510D

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA #510D - Ancient Humanities: Cultures and Empires

Credits: 4

Humans are social animals and, from an early period, they organized into cities and empires. How did peoples like the ancient Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Indians, Greeks, Chinese, or Romans view themselves? How did they conceive of the world? Why was power distributed to some and not others? This co-taught course examines art, philosophy, history, and cultures from the ancient world to offer an introduction to the human experience from approximately 3000 BCE to 700 CE.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc); Writing Intensive Course

Equivalent(s): HUMA 510A, HUMA 510B, HUMA 510C

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 511A - Medieval Humanities: Rise of Global Empires

Credits: 4

The medieval period saw a dynamic explosion in cultural connections. From the Islamic caliphates to the Mongols to the European empires in the Americas and Asia, the origins of global interconnectivity can be found in the period between 700 and 1700 CE. In this co-taught course, we explore the art, philosophy, history, and cultures of the medieval world to see how global connectivity shaped the human experience.

Attributes: FinePerformingArts(Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Equivalent(s): HUMA 511B, HUMA 511C, HUMA 511D

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 511B - Medieval Humanities: Rise of Global Empires

Credits: 4

The medieval period saw a dynamic explosion in cultural connections. From the Islamic caliphates to the Mongols to the European empires in the Americas and Asia, the origins of global interconnectivity can be found in the period between 700 and 1700 CE. In this co-taught course, we explore the art, philosophy, history, and cultures of the medieval world to see how global connectivity shaped the human experience.

Attributes: World Cultures(Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Equivalent(s): HUMA 511A, HUMA 511C, HUMA 511D

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 511C - Medieval Humanities: Rise of Global Empires

Credits: 4

The medieval period saw a dynamic explosion in cultural connections. From the Islamic caliphates to the Mongols to the European empires in the Americas and Asia, the origins of global interconnectivity can be found in the period between 700 and 1700 CE. In this co-taught course, we explore the art, philosophy, history, and cultures of the medieval world to see how global connectivity shaped the human experience.

Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc); Writing Intensive Course

Equivalent(s): HUMA 511A, HUMA 511B, HUMA 511D

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 512A - Modern Humanities: Colonies, Constitutions, and Capital

Credits: 4

The world we know took shape since the 1600s as European empires conquered much of the world; industrialization and capitalism expanded and redistributed power and wealth; and science opened new ways of viewing and changing the world. Humans forged new ideas to justify or challenge these changes. This co-taught course explores the art, philosophy, history, and cultures of the modern world to understand how it came to be.

Attributes: FinePerformingArts(Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Equivalent(s): HUMA 512B, HUMA 512C, HUMA 512D

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 512B - Modern Humanities: Colonies, Constitutions, and Capital

Credits: 4

The world we know took shape since the 1600s as European empires conquered much of the world; industrialization and capitalism expanded and redistributed power and wealth; and science opened new ways of viewing and changing the world. Humans forged new ideas to justify or challenge these changes. This co-taught course explores the art, philosophy, history, and cultures of the modern world to understand how it came to be.

Attributes: World Cultures(Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Equivalent(s): HUMA 512A, HUMA 512C, HUMA 512D

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 512C - Modern Humanities: Colonies, Constitutions, and Capital

Credits: 4

The world we know took shape since the 1600s as European empires conquered much of the world; industrialization and capitalism expanded and redistributed power and wealth; and science opened new ways of viewing and changing the world. Humans forged new ideas to justify or challenge these changes. This co-taught course explores the art, philosophy, history, and cultures of the modern world to understand how it came to be.

Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc); Writing Intensive Course

Equivalent(s): HUMA 512A, HUMA 512B, HUMA 512D

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 513A - Global Humanities

Credits: 4

In this co-taught topics course, students will study art, philosophy, history, and cultures of a particular region of the globe, most often one underrepresented in the traditional study of Western Humanities. Students will consider internal diversity, change over time, and interactions with other regions. Topics may include Africa, the Indian Ocean, Latin America, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, South or East Asia, or associated diasporas. May be repeated if specific topic is different.

Attributes: FinePerformingArts(Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Repeat Rule: May be repeated up to 1 time.

Equivalent(s): HUMA 513B, HUMA 513C, HUMA 513D

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 513B - Global Humanities

Credits: 4

In this co-taught topics course, students will study art, philosophy, history, and cultures of a particular region of the globe, most often one underrepresented in the traditional study of Western Humanities. Students will consider internal diversity, change over time, and interactions with other regions. Topics may include Africa, the Indian Ocean, Latin America, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, South or East Asia, or associated diasporas. May be repeated if specific topic is different.

Attributes: World Cultures(Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Repeat Rule: May be repeated up to 1 time.

Equivalent(s): HUMA 513A, HUMA 513C, HUMA 513D

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 513C - Global Humanities

Credits: 4

In this co-taught topics course, students will study art, philosophy, history, and cultures of a particular region of the globe, most often one underrepresented in the traditional study of Western Humanities. Students will consider internal diversity, change over time, and interactions with other regions. Topics may include Africa, the Indian Ocean, Latin America, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, South or East Asia, or associated diasporas. May be repeated if specific topic is different.

Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc); Writing Intensive Course

Repeat Rule: May be repeated up to 1 time.

Equivalent(s): HUMA 513A, HUMA 513B, HUMA 513D

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 514A - Space, Place, & the Environment

Credits: 4

In this co-taught topics course, students will explore the relationship between people and the spaces they inhabit. How do ideas shape environments, and how do environments shape ideas? How does "place" differ from "space"? Studied through an interdisciplinary lens, topics may include sustainability, environmental humanities, the built environment, and urbanism. Topics may also cover how communities shape and interact with their environments. May be repeated if specific topic is different.

Attributes: FinePerformingArts(Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Repeat Rule: May be repeated up to 1 time.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 514B - Space, Place, & the Environment

Credits: 4

In this co-taught topics course, students will explore the relationship between people and the spaces they inhabit. How do ideas shape environments, and how do environments shape ideas? How does "place" differ from "space"? Studied through an interdisciplinary lens, topics may include sustainability, environmental humanities, the built environment, and urbanism. Topics may also cover how communities shape and interact with their environments. May be repeated if specific topic is different.

Attributes: World Cultures(Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Repeat Rule: May be repeated up to 1 time.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 514C - Space, Place, & the Environment

Credits: 4

In this co-taught topics course, students will explore the relationship between people and the spaces they inhabit. How do ideas shape environments, and how do environments shape ideas? How does "place" differ from "space"? Studied through an interdisciplinary lens, topics may include sustainability, environmental humanities, the built environment, and urbanism. Topics may also cover how communities shape and interact with their environments. May be repeated if specific topic is different.

Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc); Writing Intensive Course

Repeat Rule: May be repeated up to 1 time.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 519 - Classical Greece

Credits: 4

Examination of the culture of classical Greece through the history, drama, philosophy, and art of the period. Open to all students. Recommended for students in the humanities major.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc)

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 525 - Humanities and the Law

Credits: 4

This multidisciplinary course examines the nature of justice, legal systems and law in various historical contexts, including how these have been conceived, how they originated and the role of the professional judiciary, as well as the relationship between law and ethics. Consideration of how legal ideas have changed over time and built upon each other. May be repeated once if specific topic is different.

Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc); Writing Intensive Course

Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 526 - Humanities and Science

Credits: 4

In this interdisciplinary course, students examine the ways in which scientific and technological understanding affects the development of cultural expression. Scientific, technological and environmental factors are sometimes discussed as if they are separate from human beings, but in this course we will consider the myriad direct, complex, and surprising ways that they drive cultural shifts and are then understood in evolving ways by cultures. Topics vary with instructor. May be repeated once if topics is different.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc); Writing Intensive Course

Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits.

Equivalent(s): HUMA 651

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 527 - Humanities and Religion

Credits: 4

This course examines the role of religion, religious ideas and religious practice in world cultures using a combination of methodologies drawn from different humanities disciplines, with a particular emphasis on comparative approaches and investigating how religion is used to create and express cultural identity around the globe.

Attributes: World Cultures(Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 547 - Introduction to Russian History: Russia and the World

Credits: 4

An introductory survey of Russian history, from the 1200s to the present. Focuses on the rise and expansion of the state based in Moscow, and on the various peoples it ruled. Considers continuities and changes between Muscovy, the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and the Russian Federation, as well as comparisons to other contemporary states. Central themes include imperial expansion, cultural and religious diversity, war and society, and struggles for social justice and political freedom.

Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc)

Equivalent(s): HIST 547

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

View Course Learning Outcomes

HUMA 550 - Budapest Spring Semester: Special Studies in Comparative Ideas

Credits: 4

This course involves periodic offerings in literature, art, history, philosophy and political science designed to stimulate reflection on ideas and issues in Hungarian and Central European history and culture in a larger global context. Topics vary depending upon the expertise of the resident faculty.

Co-requisite: INCO 588

Attributes: Humanities(Disc)

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

Special Fee: Yes

HUMA 551 - Budapest Spring Semester: Field Studies in Art and Culture

Credits: 6

This course is designed to provide students with first-hand experience of art, history, culture, folklore, and traditions of Hungary and Central Europe. The course combines preparatory readings with guided field trips to museums, historical sites, and culturally significant events and locations. Students maintain a weekly blog reflecting on field trip experiences.

Co-requisite: INCO 588

Attributes: FinePerformingArts(Discovery)

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 563 - Introduction to Russian Culture and Civilization

Credits: 4

Interdisciplinary course on the development of Russian culture from its origins through the end of the 19th century. Historical documents, literary works, ethnographic materials, films, slides of Russian art, and music.

Attributes: World Cultures(Discovery)

Equivalent(s): HIST 563

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 698 - Independent Study

Credits: 4

Independent study open only to highly qualified juniors and seniors who have completed at least four humanities courses above the 400 level. Requires original research and substantial writing projects under the direction of a member of the core faculty of the humanities.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA #700 - Seminar

Credits: 4

Provides an opportunity for in-depth reading, viewing, and/or listening to texts and artifacts. Emphasis on the multiple perspectives and methodologies that can be brought to bear upon these works from several humanistic disciplines.

Attributes: Writing Intensive Course

Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA #730 - Special Studies

Credits: 4

Selected topics not covered by existing courses, with subjects to vary.

Attributes: Writing Intensive Course

Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits.

Equivalent(s): HIST 679, HUMA 690, HUMA 695, JUST 695

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA #795 - Study of Creativity

Credits: 4

A study of human creativity through representative lives and works of such figures as daVinci, Einstein, Kathe Kollwitz, Bach, Dickens, and Freud. Lectures, class discussions, films, and slides supplemented by gallery tours plays, and concerts. Open to students with a background in humanities or by permission of the instructor. (Normally offered every other year.)

Attributes: Writing Intensive Course

Equivalent(s): HUMA 690, HUMA 695

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

Special Fee: Yes

HUMA #796 - Study of Contemporary Issues

Credits: 4

Current social and political issues with focus on recent developments in public policy, science, and business, and their impact of social values.

Attributes: Writing Intensive Course

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA 798 - Research Seminar

Credits: 1-2

Provides a context within which students may discuss and receive direction in the course of completing a major research paper. At the end of the seminar, students present their research to the faculty and their fellow students.

Attributes: Writing Intensive Course

Prerequisite(s): HUMA 500 with a minimum grade of D-.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

HUMA #799 - Research Seminar

Credits: 3-4

Provides a context within which students may discuss and receive direction in the course of completing a major research paper. At the end of the seminar, students present their research to the faculty and their fellow students.

Attributes: Writing Intensive Course

Prerequisite(s): HUMA 500 with a minimum grade of D- and HUMA 798 with a minimum grade of D-.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading