Summer 2023

Humanities Courses

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.

Course/Section Session Days/Times Instructor
HUM 105-20 Summer 2 (May 30–July 6) MTWThF 11:20am–12:50pm R. Ismaila
HUM 105-50 Summer 2 (May 30–July 6) DISTANCE EDUCATION P. Wessels
HUM 105-51 Summer 2 (May 30–July 6) DISTANCE EDUCATION H. Salo
HUM 105-52 Summer 3 (July 7–August 10) DISTANCE EDUCATION E. Lewis
HUM 105-53 Summer 3 (July 7–August 10) DISTANCE EDUCATION F. Schildknecht

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.

Course/Section Session Days/Times Instructor
HUM 151-30 Summer 3 (July 7–August 10) MTWThF 11:20am–12:50pm D. Wilder

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.

Course/Section Session Days/Times Instructor
HUM 224-50 Ten Week (May 30–August 10) DISTANCE EDUCATION J. Richie
HUM 224-51 Summer 3 (July 7–August 10) DISTANCE EDUCATION A. Bittner

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 religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism), as well as local and indigenous religious traditions from a cultural perspective.

Course/Section Session Days/Times Instructor
HUM 310-50 Summer 2 (May 30–July 6) DISTANCE EDUCATION M. Moazzen

A film theory course that introduces students to theoretical approaches to cinema that may include structuralism, semiotics, psychoanalysis, feminism, and post-structuralism, as well as historical, cultural, and gender theory.

Course/Section Session Days/Times Instructor
HUM 324-50 Summer 3 (July 7–August 10) DISTANCE EDUCATION L. Mercer

Analysis of sex roles as embodied in classic works in philosophy, literature, history, drama, and art in ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary times.

Course/Section Session Days/Times Instructor
HUM 331-51 Summer 1 (May 8–26) DISTANCE EDUCATION S. Bertacco
Note: Cross-listed with WGST 303-51.

Mythology of Greek gods and goddesses through the study of ancient texts, major sites of worship, and ancient representations of these deities.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

Course/Section Session Days/Times Instructor
HUM 338-50 Summer 2 (May 30–July 6) DISTANCE EDUCATION S. Watkins

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

Course/Section Session Topic Days/Times Instructor
HUM 361-51 Summer 2 (May 30–July 6) Race, Gender, and Human Behaviors DISTANCE EDUCATION L. Anthony

The course is an elective that examines human behaviors in relation to race and gender from psychological, sociological, and technological perspectives. These perspectives will be viewed in terms of contemporary societies throughout the African diaspora. At the end of the term, students will demonstrate their knowledge by creating a presentation for an adverse audience while taking a supportive position of a social issue relating to race and/or gender.

Note: Co-listed with PAS 300-51 and WGST 390-52.

Prerequisite: Junior standing.

Course/Section Session Topic Days/Times Instructor
HUM 561-50 Summer 3 (July 7–August 10) Biopolitics DISTANCE EDUCATION A. George

The term biopolitics concerns the ways in which political power impacts, regulates, and controls the lives of individuals. It addresses the direct and indirect effects of political power and social control on human thinking, acting, and making life choices, as well as on factors such as health and illness, mental health, disability, sexuality, race, and immigration. This course discusses philosophical theories that examine, analyze, and offer critical perspectives on the forms and extents of biopolitical power over human life.

Notes: (1) Co-listed with HUM 673-50, BETH 605-50, PHIL 505-50, PHIL 605-50, and SCHG 500-50. (2) Register for this section if you are an undergraduate student.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

Course/Section Session Topic Days/Times Instructor
HUM 673-50 Summer 3 (July 7–August 10) Biopolitics DISTANCE EDUCATION A. George

The term biopolitics concerns the ways in which political power impacts, regulates, and controls the lives of individuals. It addresses the direct and indirect effects of political power and social control on human thinking, acting, and making life choices, as well as on factors such as health and illness, mental health, disability, sexuality, race, and immigration. This course discusses philosophical theories that examine, analyze, and offer critical perspectives on the forms and extents of biopolitical power over human life.

Notes: (1) Co-listed with HUM 561-50, BETH 605-50, PHIL 505-50, PHIL 605-50, and SCHG 500-50. (2) Register for this section if you are a graduate student.