Humanities - Comparative Myth and Literature Concentration (B.A.)

The Humanities Major is a broad yet rigorous program that examines the ideas, values, and creative works of earlier cultures and their later influence, through multiple disciplines of the humanities (literature, history, art, philosophy, religion, music etc.). The cultural importance and continuity of mythology and literature has a central place in this curriculum, but for students who want to focus further on the study of myth and literature, across a range of cultures and periods, the Concentration in Comparative Mythology and Literature brings a special emphasis to their major, and adds a unique distinction to their degree. By taking a small number of additional key courses, students taking this concentration develop a deeper familiarity with the myths and literatures of different cultures, and important tools for understanding, interpreting, and comparing them.

Degree Requirements Overview

New Student Seminar1
SEEDS General Education Requirements30-33
Major Requirements46
Free Electives43-40
Total Credits120

Major Requirements

HUMN 201General Humanities I (to 1400)3
HUMN 202General Humanities II (from 1400)3
HUMN 285Mythology3
HUMN 499Senior Humanities Seminar4
Humanities Electives
Complete the 4 elective requirements from the lists (see below)21
Concentration Requirements
HUMN 151Seminar: Inquiry in the Humanities3
Concentration Electives 1
Select one of the following:3
Myth and Literature
African Myth and Literature
Celtic Mythology
Mythic Traditions
Special Topics in Interdisciplinary Humanities
The Mythology of JRR Tolkien's Middle-Earth
Seminar in Classical Humanities
Principles of Mythic Symbolism
Greek Tragedy
Viking Mythology
Religion and Peacemaking
Select one of the following:3
Russian Culture and Civilization
Reading Asian Cultures
Viking Mythology
Celtic Mythology
Mythic Traditions
Special Topics in Greek and Roman Literature and Culture
History of Criticism
Special Topics in Interdisciplinary Humanities
Imaging Medieval and Early Modern Women
Alexander the Great: Legend and Legacy
Cleopatra
The Mythology of JRR Tolkien's Middle-Earth
Greek Tragedy
Select one of the following:3
Seminar in Classical Humanities
Independent Study in General Humanities
Principles of Mythic Symbolism
Total Credits46
1

 One course may not be used to fulfill more than one area.

Humanities Electives

History

Select two of the following three requirements:6
Earlier Western History
Select 0-3 credits from the following:
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
Later Western History
Select 0-3 credits from the following:
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
Non-Western History
Select 0-3 credits from the following:
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 Credits6

Philosophy/Religious Studies

Philosophy
Select one of the following: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
Religious Studies
Select one of the following: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 Credits6

 Literature

Comparative Literature
Select one of the following: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
Contemporary Irish Literature
Modern Poetry to T.S. Eliot
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
Reading Asian Cultures
Special Topics in Greek and Roman Literature and Culture
History of Criticism
Seminar in Classical Humanities
National Literature
Select one of the following: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 Credits6

Art and Music History

Select one of the following:3
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
On Photography
History of Product Design
Theories of Looking: Critical Theory and Visual Culture
Total Credits3

New Student Seminar

Students in the Adult Learner program must take GNED 100.
Complete one course from the following. Some courses may be restricted by major. Consult with an academic advisor.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.

Foundations
Effective Writing I
Complete one Effective Writing I course.3
Effective Writing II
Complete one Effective Writing II course.3
Interactive Communication
Complete one Interactive Communication course.3
Quantitative Reasoning
Complete one Quantitative Reasoning course.3
Political and Civic Life
Complete one Political and Civic Life course.3
World Languages
Complete two sequential classes in one World Language when starting at the Beginner I or Beginner II level. Complete one class when starting at the Intermediate/Advanced Level. 3-6
Exploration
Complete one course from four different Exploration categories. 12
Analyzing Cultures and Societies
Creative Expression
Ethical Inquiry
Historical Thinking
Literary and Artistic Analysis
Scientific Reasoning
Total Credits30-33