The major in Humanities critically examines the culture, ideas, and values of earlier cultures, western and non-western, both in their original time periods and as they have been appropriated and transformed by later ages. In particular, the program seeks to develop a critical awareness of how the classical past has been utilized as a symbol or an ideal by modern cultures, including American, and how western culture has developed its own particular views about itself as being distinctly different from non-western cultures.
The major is especially recommended for students who have a broad interest in the liberal arts either for their own sake or as preparation for business and the professions. The Humanities program is unique in allowing students the opportunity to select a wide spectrum of courses from a multiplicity of different disciplines (history, literature, philosophy, religious studies, art history, music history).
120 credits of coursework is required for the baccalaureate degree with a minimum 2.0 overall GPA, and a minimum 2.0 major GPA.
Degree Requirements Overview
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Credits |
| 1 |
| 30-33 |
| 37 |
| 52-49 |
| Total Credits | 120 |
Major Requirements
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Credits |
| HUMN 201 | General Humanities I (to 1400) | 3 |
| HUMN 202 | General Humanities II (from 1400) | 3 |
| HUMN 285 | Mythology | 3 |
| HUMN 499 | Senior Humanities Seminar | 4 |
| 24 |
| Total Credits | 37 |
General Humanities Electives
History Electives
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Credits |
| 6 |
| |
| Greek Civilization | |
| Roman Civilization | |
| Women, Gender, and Sexuality in the Ancient World | |
| Special Topics in Ancient History (Greece, Rome, W. Asia, N. Africa, Europe) | |
| Imaging Medieval and Early Modern Women | |
| The City in Antiquity | |
| Alexander the Great: Legend and Legacy | |
| The Roman Republic | |
| Cleopatra | |
| The Roman Empire | |
| Special Topics in Mediterranean Archaeology | |
| Field Methods in Mediterranean Archaeology | |
| Africa in Classical Antiquity | |
| Introduction to Roman Law | |
| Medieval Times | |
| Age of Renaissance, 1350-1517 | |
| |
| Social History of the United States | |
| Economic History of the United States | |
| United States Foreign Relations | |
| United States Women’s History | |
| African American History | |
| Feminist Ideas in Western Thought | |
| Historical Geography of the United States | |
| History of Russia to 1917 | |
| Russia Since 1917 | |
| United States Immigration History | |
| Cultural and Intellectual History of the United States Since 1880 | |
| European Social History | |
| The Reformation Era, 1500-1650 | |
| The Nazi Third Reich | |
| The Holocaust, 1939-1945 | |
| The Civil War and Reconstruction Era, 1845-1877 | |
| Gilded Age and Progressive Era | |
| The Rise and Decline of the New Deal Order: United States Politics and Society, 1920·1980 | |
| America in the Sixties: The Crisis of Consensus Liberalism | |
| Urban Politics | |
| Black Politics in the United States | |
| The American Presidency | |
| Contemporary Western European Politics | |
| |
| African History | |
| Early Latin American History | |
| Modern Latin American History | |
| Modern Japan: A History of Japan From the Meiji Through the Showa | |
| Introduction to Indian Civilization | |
| Introduction to Chinese Civilization | |
| Modern Chinese Civilization | |
| Communist Revolution in China | |
| History of Brazil | |
| Women and Gender in the Middle East: Past and Present | |
| Revolutions in Latin American History | |
| Government and Politics of Africa | |
| Government and Politics of China and Japan | |
| Government and Politics of the Middle East | |
| Total Credits | 6 |
Philosophy/Religious Studies Electives
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Credits |
| 3 |
| Lucretius and Ancient Science | |
| Rights, Liberties and American Justice | |
| Ethics and Community Engagement | |
| Ethics and Business | |
| Philosophical Issues in Biomedical Ethics | |
| Philosophical Issues in Law and Justice | |
| Social and Political Philosophy | |
| American Philosophy | |
| Contemporary Philosophers | |
| Asian Philosophy | |
| Existentialism | |
| Philosophies of Art | |
| Philosophy of Religion | |
| Critical Reasoning and Arguments | |
| Philosophy of Science | |
| Philosophy of Mind | |
| Philosophy of Sport | |
| Philosophy of Technology | |
| Special Topics in Fields in Philosophy | |
| Special Topics in Periods and Movements | |
| Special Topics in Periods and Movements | |
| Knowledge, Belief and Truth | |
| Existence and Reality | |
| Legal Reasoning | |
| Legal Reasoning |
| Philosophy and Death | |
| History of Philosophy: Ancient Philosophy | |
| History of Philosophy: Modern Philosophy | |
| Special Topics in Fields of Philosophy | |
| Special Topics in Periods of Movements | |
| Special Topics in Periods of Movements | |
| Seminar in Philosophy | |
| U.S. Race and Ethnic Politics | |
| American Political Thought | |
| American Constitutional Law: Civil Rights and Liberties | |
| 3 |
| Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures | |
| New Testament/Christian Scriptures | |
| American Religious Texts | |
| Buddhism | |
| Introduction to Greek and Roman Religion | |
| Introduction to Greek and Roman Religion |
| Asian Texts | |
| Hinduism | |
| Taoism | |
| Death, Dying and Afterlife | |
| Religion and Culture | |
| Religion in the United States | |
| Religion and Social Activism | |
| Asian Religions | |
| Islamic Religious Traditions | |
| Native American Religion | |
| Religion in Latin America | |
| Women and Religion | |
| The Holocaust: Religious Perspectives | |
| Spirituality and Mysticism | |
| Philosophy of Religion | |
| Psychology of Religion | |
| Total Credits | 6 |
Myth Studies Electives
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Credits |
| 3 |
| Myth and Literature | |
| African Myth and Literature | |
| Celtic Mythology | |
| Viking Mythology | |
| Mythic Traditions | |
| Special Topics in Interdisciplinary Humanities | |
| The Mythology of JRR Tolkien's Middle-Earth | |
| Greek Tragedy | |
| Seminar in Classical Humanities | |
| Principles of Mythic Symbolism | |
| Myth, Meaning and Self | |
| Total Credits | 3 |
Literature Electives
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Credits |
| 3 |
| Images of Muslim Women in Twentieth Century Literature and Culture | |
| Art of Poetry | |
| Art of Fiction | |
| Art of Drama | |
| Contemporary U.S. Literature of Immigration | |
| Irish Literary Revival: 1890-1939 | |
| Introduction to Native American Literature | |
| African, Asian and Caribbean Literature in English | |
| Victorian Popular Fiction | |
| Contemporary African Literature | |
| Women Prose Writers | |
| Literary Modernism | |
| Contemporary European Drama | |
| Modern Drama: Ibsen to O'Neill | |
| Modern European Novel | |
| Speculative Fiction: Fantasy | |
| Science Fiction | |
| Autobiography | |
| Seminar in Comparative Literature | |
| Russian Culture and Civilization | |
| Russian Culture and Civilization |
| Reading Asian Cultures | |
| Special Topics in Greek and Roman Literature and Culture | |
| History of Criticism | |
| Seminar in Classical Humanities | |
| 3 |
| American Drama | |
| Black Writers in the United States: A Survey | |
| Social Protest Literature in America | |
| English Literature I: Beginnings to 1660 | |
| English Literature II: 1660 to Present | |
| Special Topics in English or American Literature | |
| English Novel to 1900 | |
| Women Poets | |
| The Novels of Toni Morrison | |
| American Poetry to 1940 | |
| American Poetry: World War II to Present | |
| Early American Literature | |
| Literature of American Renaissance | |
| American Literary Realism | |
| Modern American Fiction | |
| Recent American Fiction 1990 to Present | |
| Literature of the Long Eighteenth Century | |
| Milton | |
| Chaucer | |
| Medieval English Literature | |
| 19th Century English Romantic Literature | |
| Victorian Poetry | |
| Renaissance Literature | |
| English Drama: Beginnings to 1642 | |
| Shakespeare: Comedies-Histories | |
| Shakespeare: Tragedies-Romances | |
| Contemporary Poetry | |
| Old English Language and Literature | |
| Seminar in American Literature | |
| Seminar in English Literature | |
| Digital Transformations in the Humanities | |
| Total Credits | 6 |
Art and Music History Electives
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Credits |
| 3 |
| African-American Art | |
| Greek Art | |
| Roman Art | |
| Early Medieval Art: Early Christian, Byzantine Early Medieval | |
| Introduction to Music | |
| Introduction to Jazz | |
| Rap and Rock as Cultural Phenomena | |
| The History of Broadway | |
| Influence of Afro-American Culture on Music | |
| Introduction to Music in World Cultures | |
| Special Topics in Global Art Cultures | |
| Modern Philosophies of Art | |
| History of Contemporary Art | |
| History of Product Design | |
| Theories of Looking: Critical Theory and Visual Culture | |
| Total Credits | 3 |
New Student Seminar
Course List | Code | Title | Credits |
| |
| 1 |
| Pathways to Success | |
| Freshman Seminar in Chemistry | |
| First Year Seminar | |
| Adult Academic Success Seminar | |
| New Student Seminar | |
| Freshman Seminar in Health and Physical Education | |
| Pathways to Adult Learning | |
| New Student Seminar | |
| New Student Experience for Mathematical Sciences | |
| Freshman Seminar for Music Majors | |
| Introduction to Nursing | |
| Freshman Seminar in Political Science and Law | |
SEEDS General Education Requirements
Click here for a listing of courses that fulfill the SEEDS requirements.
Course List | Code | Title | Credits |
| 3 |
| 3 |
| 3 |
| 3 |
| 3 |
| 3-6 |
| 12 |
| Total Credits | 30-33 |
Recommended Roadmap to Degree Completion
This recommended degree plan is provided as an outline for students to follow in order to complete their degree requirements within four years and 120 credits. This plan is a recommendation and MUST be used in consultation with their academic advisor. Important note: Students should be aware this plan assumes no pre-requisite coursework is required. If pre-requisite coursework is needed, students may have additional requirements to fulfill which do not appear on the plan.
| First Year |
|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
|---|
| New Student Seminar | 1 | SEEDS: Effective Writing II | 3 |
| SEEDS: Effective Writing I (Recommend HUMN 160, fulfills National Lit Elective in HUMN Major) | 3 | SEEDS: World Language II (if needed; recommend LATN/GREK sequence) | 3 |
| SEEDS: World Language I (Recommend LATN/GREK sequence) | 3 | SEEDS: Interactive Communication | 3 |
| SEEDS: Political and Civic Life | 3 | HUMN 202 or 201 (Fulfills SEEDS: Exploration 2 – Analyzing Cultures and Societies) | 3 |
| SEEDS: Quantitative Reasoning | 3 | Free Elective | 3 |
| SEEDS: Exploration 1 (Recommend Literary and Artistic Analysis: HUMN 285, required in HUMN Major) | 3 | |
| | 16 | | 15 |
| Second Year |
|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
|---|
| HUMN 202 | 3 | Comparative Lit Elective in HUMN Major | 3 |
| SEEDS Exploration 3 (Recommend Historical Thinking: HUMN 281 or 282, fulfills Early West History Elective in HUMN major) | 3 | Religious Studies Elective in HUMN Major | 3 |
| SEEDS Exploration 4: (Recommend Scientific Reasoning: HUMN 181 or Ethical Inquiry: HUMN 115) | 3 | Second History Elective in HUMN Major | 3 |
| Art/Music History Elective in HUMN Major | 3 | Free Elective | 3 |
| Free Elective | 3 | Free Elective | 3 |
| | 15 | | 15 |
| Third Year |
|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
|---|
| Philosophy Elective in HUMN Major | 3 | HUMN 499 | 4 |
| Myth Studies Elective in HUMN Major | 3 | Free Elective | 3 |
| Free Elective | 3 | Free Elective | 3 |
| Free Elective | 3 | Free Elective | 3 |
| Free Elective | 3 | Free Elective | 2 |
| | 15 | | 15 |
| Fourth Year |
|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
|---|
| Free Elective | 3 | Free Elective | 3 |
| Free Elective | 3 | Free Elective | 3 |
| Free Elective | 3 | Free Elective | 3 |
| Free Elective | 3 | Free Elective | 3 |
| Free Elective | 3 | Free Elective | 2 |
| | 15 | | 14 |
| Total Credits 120 |