Humanities (HUMN1-UC)

Students learn the fundamental questions to ask in order to analyze visual and written material. Students interrogate ideas, images, and texts within their rhetorical and historical contexts. They learn various tools for analyzing the structure of arguments and logical strategies. At the same time, students read texts that challenge them to reexamine the cultural realities we take for granted.

An introduction to philosophy, using the original writings of several philosophers from the ancient and medieval periods, focusing on the origins and development of Western philosophy among the ancient Greeks. Students typically examine works by pre-Socratic writers, Socrates, Plato, and Artistotle, and move on to the works by modern philosophers such as Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, Hume, and Kant.

The ancient Greek thinker Socrates claimed that philosophy begins in wonder. Yet throughout its 2,500-year history in the west, philosophy has most often begun in crisis. This course examines the central role that intellectual, political, and even personal crises have played in the history of ideas. Students consider whether the activity of thinking must always begin in crisis, and, if so, what this means for the efforts of philosophers to achieve a coherent system of knowledge that is safe from the constant flux of the world. From this thematic perspective students grapple with the fundamental questions of western philosophy: Are we free? What meaning do our lives have? What would a just society be like? Why is there suffering in the world? What are the limits of human knowledge? Students explore these questions by relating philosophical texts to the crises that our world faces today.

The goal of this research methodology course is to enable the student to do humanities research, particularly in the fields of Art History, Literature, and Media Studies. It begins with bibliographic research, emphasizing the full range of available tools: library catalogues, online databases, indices of periodical literature, and archives of the visual media. It also strengthens the student's understanding of the manner in which material is gathered and how it can be critically analyzed, synthesized, paraphrased, compared, and contrasted in the research paper. Finally, it allows the student to identify a topic, develop an argument, and begin the research required for research papers or the Senior Project Seminar.

Students conduct an independent investigation of selected topics outside the boundaries of the classroom. Independent study allows students to pursue specialized interests, within the framework of the curriculum, that are not available in existing courses. Although self-directed, students work closely with a faculty mentor who guides and evaluates their work.

Humanities students may undertake an internship early in their academic career which can be 2 or 4 credits. To qualify for a HUMN internship, students should be in good standing within their program and have the approval of their adviser. Students wishing to consider a HUMN internship should submit a proposal outlining their internship, which must then be approved by the Internship Coordinator. After the proposal is approved, students undertake an internship, which typically entails outplacement in an organization related to the student's interests or academic concentration. A minimum of 100 hours is required over the course of he semester. In addition to the hours at their internship, students meet regularly with the Internship Coordinator and other interns, maintain a weekly journal, and (required for a 4-credit internship) complete a final paper or work portfolio.

Online section offered. Students are assisted in defining and undertaking an individually designed Senior Project. They complete a research paper or a creative project related to their concentration. Students work closely with the Senior Project faculty member and meet regularly with fellow students in discussion groups. The final result is the summation of work done in the Bachelor of Arts Program.

An alternative to the Senior Project Seminar, the Senior Project Internship allows students to apply knowledge from concentration course work to a professional work experience related to their studies. Students should submit a proposal outlining their internship, which must be approved by the Internship Coordinator. A minimum of 100 hours of on-site work is required and should take place over the duration of the fall/spring (15-week) or summer (12-week) semester. This weekly engagement with the internship is important. In addition to hours at their placement, students meet regularly with the Internship Coordinator and attend class meetings with other interns. A written component (a weekly journal and a final paper) is also required. Prerequisites: Completion of 90 units, including eight units of Methods and Theory and 16 units of concentration coursework.