Curriculum & Tracks

The Humanities MA at UofL presents a focused, flexible curriculum and the possibility to choose among three specialized concentrations (or career tracks) designed to provide a broad grasp of the arts and humanities with special strengths in selected areas:

Interdisciplinary Humanities

Advisor: Kathryn Kleinkopf

The traditional yet innovative Interdisciplinary Humanities concentration is for students oriented toward scholarly or creative interdisciplinary work, who might consider pursuing graduate studies at the doctoral level.

Linguistics and the Humanities

Advisor: Hilaria Cruz

The Linguistics and the Humanities concentration is for students with an interest in understanding both language structure and language’s mediating role in society and the arts through rigorous, interdisciplinary coursework in linguistics, language sciences, and the humanities. Students are encouraged to explore diverse, creative projects for their research and work with faculty with expertise on topics including Indigenous language revitalization, verbal art and performance, constructed languages, and multilingual media.

Public Humanities

Advisor: Felicia Jamison

The Public Humanities concentration is for students interested in bringing the ideas of academic debate into the public sphere. This track combines a compact scholarly curriculum with a practical training in a specific field. It is ideal for professionals, as well as for students interested in our joint degrees: JD/MAHUM program (in collaboration with the Law School) or MA/MBA program (in collaboration with the School of Business).

Students take a combination of required courses and concentration courses depending on the track in which they specialize. Each semester, courses are listed on a form called the Degree Plan (available in Documents & Forms).  Students work with their advisor to discuss the courses to take and their relation to their broader goals.

REQUIRED COURSES

Theories and Methodologies

One of the following:

HUM 609. Interdisciplinary Theory: Arts & Humanities
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 the synergy with the humanities.

or

HUM 610. Methods and Theories in the Study of Religion
A survey of major theories and methodologies in the academic study of religion from a historical perspective.

AND one of the following (if not fulfilled in undergraduate coursework)*:

HUM 590. ST: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Humanities - WR
Interdisciplinary topics to be announced in the Schedule of Courses. May be repeated up to three times under different topics.

or

HUM 595. Principles of Cultural Studies - WR
The study of major systematic views of the development on Western culture.

* Students without either HUM 590 or HUM 595 in their undergraduate coursework (or a course in the HUM 591–596 sequence, if taken prior to Fall 2021) may be required to take one of these as part of their required courses.

These courses, offered by the Department of Comparative Humanities, focus on the interdisciplinary study of fundamental aspects of culture, from the Middle Ages through the twenty-first century, by means of individual readings and critical writing projects.

CONCENTRATION COURSES

Core Areas Courses

These are the courses that vary based on the specific concentration.

INTERNSHIP

Graduate Internship

HUM 650-03: A Graduate Internship is strongly recommended to all students in our Program. It is a program requirement ONLY for the concentration in Public Humanities. In this course, students work independently, with supervision, with a campus or community institution or organization on a short-term basis to share and further develop their specific knowledge and skill-sets. More information is provided in the appropriate section in the following pages.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT

Foreign Language Competency

Our Program rests on the recognition of the importance of foreign language competency and translation for Humanities scholarship. Every student in the Interdisciplinary Humanities and the Linguistics and Humanities tracks must demonstrate basic proficiency in one foreign language. More information is provided in the appropriate section in the following pages.

FINAL PROJECT

Directed Study or Thesis

HUM 655. Directed Study (3 credit hours)
A Directed Study Project is worth 3 credit hours and is carried out over the course of a semester under the supervision of one faculty member. It requires an oral defense.

or

HUM 645. Thesis Guidance (6 credit hours)
A thesis is worth 6 credit hours and is carried out over the course of two semesters under the supervision of a three-member committee.  It requires an oral defense.