| Humanities |
HUMA 401 - Introduction to the Humanities
Credits:
4.00
Introduction to the interdisciplinary study of the
humanities. Taking as its entry point a significant work,
the course is organized by topics related to that work,
selected and arranged to invoke lively intellectual debate
among faculty and students alike. Group lectures by the
four core humanities faculty members. The instructors
teaching the course will provide material for smaller weekly
discussion sections led by each of those faculty members.
Requirements include lively discussions, papers, and
examinations. Writing intensive.
HUMA 411 - Humanities I
Credits:
4.00
Introduction to the humanities and Western culture through
literature, history, philosophy, music, art, and
architecture. Examination of selected historical periods
from classical Greece through the Renaissance through
readings, films, slides, and field trips. Special fee.
Writing intensive.
HUMA 412 - Humanities II
Credits:
4.00
Introduction to the humanities and Western culture through
literature, history, philosophy, music, art, and
architecture. Examination of selected historical periods
from the Enlightenment to the present through the use of
readings, films, slides, and field trips. Special fee.
Writing intensive.
HUMA #480A - What a Text Can Teach
Credits:
4.00
Students examine selected classic texts in the humanities
with faculty members representing the arts, music,
literature, and philosophy. Through three modules and a
team-taught symposium, students investigate how each of
these forms of expression contributes to human knowledge and
to an understanding of the human being. Not for HUMA major
credit. Writing intensive.
HUMA #480B - What a Text Can Teach
Credits:
4.00
Students examine selected classic texts in the humanities.
with faculty members representing the arts, music,
literature, and philosophy. Through three modules and a
team-taught symposium, students investigate how each of
these forms of expression contributes to human knowledge and
to an understanding of the human being. Not for HUMA major
credit. Writing intensive.
HUMA 500 - Critical Methods in the Humanities
Credits:
4.00
Critical analysis of works in the humanities. Focuses on
major texts, evaluation, of secondary literature, research
writing, criticism. Required of all HUMA majors. Writing
intensive.
HUMA 510 - Ancient World: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
What is a human being? How should we explain or understand
what happens to us? How ought we to live? This team-taught
course examines these important questions by focusing on the
literature, art, philosophy, and science of ancient Greece
and Rome. Writing intensive.
HUMA 510A - Ancient World: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 510. Writing intensive.
HUMA 510B - Ancient World: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 510. Writing intensive.
HUMA 510C - Ancient World: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 510. Writing intensive.
HUMA 510D - Ancient World: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 510. Writing intensive.
HUMA 511 - Medieval World: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
What is the soul and how is its health related to temptation
and also to specifically Christian virtues? How closely does
the medieval definition of an eternal God determine good and
evil in daily life? To what extent does the hope of
immortality affect the practice of writing literature,
making art, studying philosophy, and investigating science?
This team-taught course examines these important questions
by focusing on the literature, art, philosophy, and science
from the collapse of the classical world to the rise of
capitalism. Writing intensive.
HUMA 511A - Medieval World: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 511. Writing intensive.
HUMA 511B - Medieval World: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 511. Writing intensive.
HUMA 511C - Medieval World: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 511. Writing intensive.
HUMA 511D - Medieval World: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 511. Writing intensive.
HUMA 512 - Renaissance and Early Modern: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
Exploration of the interrelationship of art, literature,
philosophy, and science from the High Renaissance into
the 18th century. Study of the works and ideas of such
influential figures as Shakespeare and Milton, Raphael and
Rembrandt, Galileo, Descartes, Newton, and Hume. Writing
intensive.
HUMA 512A - Renaissance and Early Modern: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 512. Writing intensive.
HUMA 512B - Renaissance and Early Modern: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 512. Writing intensive.
HUMA 512C - Renaissance and Early Modern: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 512. Writing intensive.
HUMA 512D - Renaissance and Early Modern: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 512. Writing intensive.
HUMA 513 - Modern World: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
Explores the central paradoxes of our culture in the modern
age. Is there such a thing as "progress" and if so what is
its nature? What is the relation of conscious and
unconscious? Is the contemporary world devoid of meaning?
Questions such as these are examined in relation to works
since the 18th century in the fields of literature, history
of science, philosophy, and art. Writing intensive.
HUMA 513A - Modern World: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 513. Writing intensive.
HUMA 513B - Modern World: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 513. Writing intensive.
HUMA 513C - Modern World: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 513. Writing intensive.
HUMA 513D - Modern World: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 513. Writing intensive.
HUMA 514 - 20th Century, 1900-1945: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
This course examines the relationships of literature, art,
philosophy, and science in the first half of the twentieth
century. Topics include the rise of modernism in literature
and the arts, the distinctive themes of 20th century
philosophy, and crucial innovations in the sciences.
Students study the works of such figures as Picasso, Woolf,
Einstein, Freud, and Wittgenstern.
HUMA 514A - 20th Century, 1900-1945: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 514.
HUMA 514B - 20th Century, 1900-1945: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 514.
HUMA 514C - 20th Century, 1900-1945: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 514.
HUMA 514D - 20th Century, 1900-1945: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 514.
HUMA 515 - 20th Century, 1945-1999: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
This course examines the relationships of literature, art,
philosophy, and science since the middle of the twentieth
century. Topics include the philosophical and literary
implications of the Holocaust and nuclear weapons, movements
in the arts and literature since World War II, the rise of
the sciences of life and information, and postmodernism.
Students study the works of such figures as Arendt, Turing,
Beckett, and Pollock.
HUMA 515A - 20th Century, 1945-1999: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 515.
HUMA 515B - 20th Century, 1945-1999: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 515.
HUMA 515C - 20th Century, 1945-1999: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 515.
HUMA 515D - 20th Century, 1945-1999: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
Credits:
4.00
See description for HUMA 515.
HUMA 519 - Classical Greece
Credits:
4.00
Examination of the culture of classical Greece through the
history, drama, philosophy, and art of the period. Open to
all students. Recommended for students in the humanities
major. Special fee.
HUMA 520 - Age of Mozart
Credits:
4.00
Introduction to the literature, political writings, and
historical developments of the period 1756-1791, the years
of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's life. Materials from different
fields--music, literature, theatre, film, political theory,
and philosophy--to explore the life and work of the composer
and the times in which he lived. Examines topics such as
individualism, political revolution, the beginnings of
romanticism, the revolution in science and technology, and
changes in economics and economic theory in readings and
appropriate video and audio materials. No background in
classical music is needed.
HUMA 592 - Special Topics in the Humanities
Credits:
2.00 to 4.00
Special topics; offered occasionally. May be repeated up to
a maximum of 8 credits.
HUMA #607 - American Character: Religion in American Life and Thought
Credits:
4.00
Interdisciplinary study of American religious experience and
its relationship to other aspects of American culture,
taught by a team of three specialists, each in a different
discipline: American intellectual and cultural history,
American literature and American church history.
Central emphasis on several transforming themes of the 19th
century and their effects upon the interplay of religion and
society. (Also offered as ENGL 607, HIST 607, and RS 607.)
Writing intensive.
HUMA 608 - Arts and American Society: Women Writers and Artists, 1850-Present
Credits:
4.00
Team-taught course studying the impact of gender definitions
on the lives and works of selected American artists.
Considers lesser-known figures such as Fannie Fern, Lilly
Martin Spencer, and Mary Hallock Foote as well as
better-known artists such as Willa Cather and Georgia
O'Keeffe. Prereq: permission or one of the following:
WS 401, HIST 566, ENGL 585 or 586, ENGL 685 or 785, or a
600-level art history course. (Also offered as ARTS 608,
ENGL 608, and HIST 608.) Writing intensive.
HUMA 609 - Ethnicity in America: The Black Experience in the 20th Century
Credits:
4.00
Team-taught course investigating music, literature, and
social history of black America in the period of the Harlem
Renaissance, the Great Depression, World War II, and in the
1960s. Special attention to the theme of accommodation with,
and rejection of, dominant white culture. (Also offered as
ENGL 609 and MUSI 609.) Writing intensive.
HUMA 610 - Regional Studies in America: New England Culture in Changing Times
Credits:
4.00
Team-taught course investigating some of the major
contributions New England has made to American life.
Focusing on three periods: the Puritan era, 1620-90; the
Transcendental period, 1830-60; and the period of emerging
industrialism in the late 19th century. Prereq:
second-semester sophomore. (Also offered as HIST 610,
ENGL 610, and ARTS 610.) Not for art studio major credit.
Writing intensive.
HUMA 622 - Studies of Freedom and Liberty
Credits:
4.00
Principles of freedom and liberty that helped to form
Western culture from the Renaissance to the present.
Topics include concepts of human nature, theories of
government and society. Readings include Machiavelli, Locke,
Paine, Mill, Marx, Freud, Sartre, and Marcuse.
HUMA #625 - Social Justice in America
Credits:
4.00
Introduction to theories of social justice and examination
of historical examples of the law, economy, society, and
public policy affecting social justice from the Colonial
period to the present.
HUMA 630 - Development of Early Christianity
Credits:
4.00
Examines the emergence of Western Christianity. Explores
primary literature relating to religious concepts and
theological positions during the first centuries of the
Church from the Pauline letters, through the period of
Roman Emperor Constantine, culminating in the writings of
Augustine, Bishop of Hippo. Considers both Christian and
non-Christian texts and assesses the forces that helped to
shape the fledgling religion. Gives special attention to
social, political, and cultural influences.
HUMA 632 - Beginning and the End of the Western World: Genesis and Revelation in Western Humanities
Credits:
4.00
Genesis and Revelation examined for the biblical views of
history and time in general and then an exploration of
various interpretations of this material in Western thought.
After a careful reading of the texts, students examine how
themes in these biblical works have influenced art and
architecture, literature, science, history, and culture.
Advantageous for students in English, literature, history,
and humanities as well as for individuals who want a
nondoctrinal reading of selections from one of the most
influential literary works in the West. Special fee.
HUMA 640 - Birth of Rock and Roll
Credits:
4.00
An interdisciplinary study of the cultural forces that
brought the birth of rock and roll in the 1950's. This study
of prerock music and culture will be further enriched by
art, literature, and photography which focuses on the roots
of rock and roll. Writing intensive.
HUMA 645 - American Culture and Communication Through the Life and Work of F. Scott Fitzgerald
Credits:
4.00
Investigates the development of 20th Century American
culture and communication through the prism of F. Scott
Fitzgerald. A major writer, social observer, employee of the
advertising and film industries and prominent public figure,
Fitzgerald's life and work provide a rich context for
examining various dimensions of American culture and for
exploring the nature of authorship as an aspect of
communication. Topics covered include: modernity, the rise
of mass media, consumerism, social class, imperialism,
mechanization, gender, youth culture and generational
identity. Prereq: One 400- or 500-level HUMA course.
HUMA 650 - Humanities and the Law: The Problem of Justice in Western Civilization
Credits:
4.00
Interdisciplinary modular course examines interpretations of
the nature of justice, its origins, the role of the
professional judiciary, and the relationship of law and
ethics. Students take three successive five-week modules
during the semester. (Not offered every year.) Writing
intensive.
HUMA 651 - Humanities and Science: The Nature of Scientific Creativity
Credits:
4.00
Interdisciplinary modular course examines the historical and
intellectual foundations of the physical, biological, and
human sciences. Students take three successive five-week
modules during the semester. (Not offered every year.)
Writing intensive.
HUMA 660 - Moral Dimensions of Economic Life
Credits:
4.00
Interdisciplinary examination of the moral implications of
economic decisions, practices, issues, and events from
ancient and modern perspectives. Topics include morality of
trade, interest, profit, entrepreneurship, corporate
takeovers, poverty, and wealth. Materials include
philosophical and religious works (Aristotle, St. Thomas
Aquinas), drama (Shakespeare), art and literature (Andy
Warhol, Theodore Dreiser, F. Scott Fitzgerald), economics
and history (Adam Smith, Jacob Viner), and films (Werner
Herzog).
HUMA 680 - New England Culture: Roots and Branches
Credits:
4.00
Interdisciplinary examination of the richness, variety, and
significance of selective periods of New England culture
using literature, history, art and photographic images,
music, artifacts, and oral histories. Subjects include
Native American lore, European American contributions to
regional culture, New England's literary tradition and
influence on American culture.
HUMA 698 - Independent Study
Credits:
4.00
Independent study open only to highly qualified juniors and
seniors who have completed at least four humanities courses
above the 400 level. Requires original research and
substantial writing projects under the direction of a member
of the core faculty of the humanities. Prereq: HUMA junior
or senior majors; four HUMA courses above the 400 level.
HUMA 700 - Seminar
Credits:
4.00
Provides an opportunity for in-depth reading, viewing,
and/or listening to texts and artifacts. Emphasis on the
multiple perspectives and methodologies that can be brought
to bear upon these works from several humanistic
disciplines. Writing intensive.
HUMA 730 - Special Studies
Credits:
4.00
Selected topics not covered by existing courses, with
subjects to vary. May be repeated for credit. Prereq: one
400- or 500-level HUMA course or junior standing. Writing
intensive.
HUMA 795 - Study of Creativity
Credits:
4.00
A study of human creativity through representative lives
and works of such figures as daVinci, Einstein, Kathe
Kollwitz, Bach, Dickens, and Freud. Lectures, class
discussions, films, and slides supplemented by gallery tours
plays, and concerts. Open to students with a background
in humanities or by permission of the instructor. Special
fee. (Normally offered every other year.) Writing intensive.
HUMA 796 - Study of Contemporary Issues
Credits:
4.00
Current social and political issues with focus on recent
developments in public policy, science, and business, and
their impact of social values. Prereq: junior status or
permission. (Normally offered every other year.) Writing
intensive.
HUMA 798 - Research Seminar
Credits:
1.00
Provides a context within which students may discuss and
receive direction in the course of completing a major
research paper. At the end of the seminar, students present
their research to the faculty and their fellow students.
Prereq: senior standing; permission. Writing intensive.
HUMA 799 - Research Seminar
Credits:
3.00
Provides a context within which students may discuss and
receive direction in the course of completing a major
research paper. At the end of the seminar, students present
their research to the faculty and their fellow students.
Restricted to majors. Prereq: HUMA 798; senior standing;
permission. Writing intensive.