Fall 2022

An introduction to critical thinking about world culture through selected readings in major literary forms from ancient times to 1700.

In this interactive course, students will use a humanities lens to explore questions about what it means to be human: How and why have individuals throughout history and around the globe sought to make sense of their world through creative expression? How do our interactions with society and the environment around us shape our sense of self? How do we in turn shape society and our environment? Throughout the course, students will engage with examples of cultural products from a range of humanities disciplines, such as art history, literature, religion, music history, theater, film, philosophy, and language and linguistics. In the course of this engagement, students will practice skills that are not only essential for humanities classrooms but extend to any workplace: thinking critically, interpreting evidence, and communicating effectively, all while striving towards a deeper understanding of diversity in order to respond creatively and constructively to the challenge of difference.

Introduction to the fundamental vocabulary, principles, analytical processes, and styles of the creative arts (painting, sculpture, architecture, and the printed image), with an emphasis on the performing arts (theatre, dance, music, film, and television). The course will include a variety of individual and group activities focused on creativity and performance in the classroom and in the community.

Interdisciplinary study of the arts and humanities in contemporary American culture emphasizing the convergence of European, African, Hispanic, Asian, and indigenous cultures, as well as the distinguishing characteristics of each culture as revealed in three of the following areas: fine arts, drama, literature, philosophy, religion, and popular entertainment.

The study of the principal world religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and indigenous traditions) in their cultural contexts.

A survey of the history, beliefs, and sacred literatures of the religions of South and East Asia from the perspectives of the humanities and the history of religions.

A comparative introduction to Western world religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) through a systematic survey of history, scripture and interpretation, doctrine, practice, and aspects of religious material and literary culture.

This course provides an introduction to Jewish diversity and the Jewish historical minority experience through the prism of the arts and the humanities. Five chronologically sequenced units will examine Jewish cultures in different historical periods and geographical regions to communicate the scope of diverse Jewish communities in the past and present. Special attention will be placed on how gender, ethnicity, and demographic realities, such as displacement and migration, influenced the creation, design, and consumption of Jewish literature, art, music, theater, film and media, food, and philosophic tradition.

Introduction to the fundamentals of film form and film content, including narrative, mise-en-scène, cinematography, editing, genre, acting, and sound, with emphasis on relationships between these elements and diverse cultural contexts.

An analysis of American thought and artistic expression since 1900.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

An overview of Islamic religious, cultural, political, and social experience through the centuries.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

This course examines the intersections of religion and culture. It does not focus on religious texts; instead, its focus is on how religion plays a part in people’s everyday lives as a source of meaning and order, as well as by creating a nexus of rituals, communities, spaces, and identities. It analyzes world religion (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism), as well as local and indigenous religious traditions from a cultural perspective.

Study of the outlook of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament in relation to the cultures from which it is derived.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

An overview of Eastern mysticism through a close reading of significant primary texts from Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and Daoist mystical traditions in the light of perennial and contextual theoretical frameworks and current critical scholarships.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

The varieties of religious experience in the United States: native traditions, manifestations and adaptations of Christianity, and other religions practiced in the United States.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

An investigation of the literary fairy tale from the Renaissance to the twentieth century.

This course discusses various African understandings of religion by examining specific traditions, beliefs, and practices from Ancient Egyptians, Yoruba, Dogon, and Dagara, among others. Christianity and Islam are discussed as unique parts of the African religious experience.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

This course explores various religious beliefs, practices, experiences, traditions, and institutions of African-descended people in the United States. Students will be introduced to a range of African American religious traditions and a variety of perspectives within African American religious thought. These traditions and their respective beliefs and practices will be situated within their proper historical, social, and cultural contexts.

Methods and theories in interdisciplinary thinking and research, emphasizing (1) the interrelationships of the disciplines; (2) the importance of synthesizing art, theatre, literature, music, philosophy, and religion in a cultural context; and (3) the critical examination of issues arising from fields outside the humanities that have significant impact on and synergy with the humanities.

Prerequisites: Junior standing; majors only.

Notes: (1) Credit may not be earned for both HUM 509 and HUM 609. (2) Approved for the Arts and Sciences upper-level requirement in written communication (WR). (3) This course fulfills the Culminating Undergraduate Experience (CUE) requirement for certain degree programs. CUE courses are advanced-level courses intended for majors with at least 90 earned credits/senior-level status.

Prerequisite: Junior standing.

Note: Credit may not be earned for both HUM 515 and HUM 615.

Prerequisite: Junior standing.

Notes: (1) May be repeated up to three times under different topics. (2) Approved for the Arts and Sciences upper-level requirement in written communication (WR).

What constitutes queer performance? Is queer who you are or what you do? Is sexuality all we mean by queer? What are the historical, aesthetic, and political aspects of queer performance? Integral to our theoretical discussions will be questions of practice and production: Where is queer performance staged and how is it received? How is it produced, for whom, by whom, and with what funds? Is queer inherently or even necessarily radical? Within rigid Western notions of gender, the “queer performer” is a gender outlaw: an individual who pushed at the edges of gender, forcing us to recognize that gender has little to do with our biological sex. Their performances of their gender(s), race(s), and/or sexuality(ies) challenges our prevailing notions of what it means to be queer and what it means to perform identity. This course will examine the artistic and aesthetic performances of various queer performers to foster an understanding and appreciation of the rich diversity of the forms of performance styles and practitioners that might be called “lesbian,” “gay,” “transgender,” and “queer,” among others. Secondly, it will motivate students to examine the broad social, political, religious, and cultural contexts in which queer performance takes place. Lastly, this course will allow students to contemplate what it means to be a spectator of performance through a queer perspective, regardless of one’s identity, or sexual orientation.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

Methods and theories in interdisciplinary thinking and research, emphasizing (1) the interrelationships of the disciplines; (2) the importance of synthesizing art, theatre, literature, music, philosophy, and religion in a cultural context; and (3) the critical examination of issues arising from fields outside the humanities that have significant impact on and synergy with the humanities.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

Note: Credit may not be earned for both HUM 509 and HUM 609.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

Note: Credit may not be earned for both HUM 515 and HUM 615.

An overview of humanities doctoral studies, from basic doctoral and postdoctoral procedures (seminar and conference papers, journal and book publications, the dissertation, the academic job market, jobs for PhDs beyond academe, and more) through an introduction to the general types of advanced modern and contemporary theory students are likely to encounter in courses that follow.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing; doctoral students only.

Introduction to the basic assumptions, methods, and concepts of studying language, focusing on the way language influences human experience and the organization of human behavior. Examines the nature, structure, and use of language. May apply as elective in either Social Sciences or Humanities, meeting divisional or out-of-divisional requirements.

Prerequisite: ENGL 102 or ENGL 105.

Note: Students with credit for LING 518/ENGL 518 may not take this course.

A comparative survey of languages from three contemporary critical perspectives: (1) language families; (2) language areas; (3) language types. Focus will be on language relationships, similarities, and differences.

An ethnographic perspective to the study of language, investigating how it is used to create and maintain social institutions and rituals and how it is differentiated across genders and ethnicities.

Critical review of recent and current theoretical approaches to syntax and semantics. Focus on revisions of Chomsky’s extended standard theory and emerging theories. Will survey contributions made by other approaches.

Prerequisite: LING 325 or LING 327

Critical review of recent and current theoretical approaches to syntax and semantics. Focus on revisions of Chomsky’s extended standard theory and emerging theories. Will survey contributions made by other approaches.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing