Course Offerings
Fall 2012 Seminars
HUM 5000 Pro-Seminar (Mon 6-8 pm, Christian Dean Required Introductory Seminar)
A study of the history of education and the key issues raised in contemporary culture about the humanities. Also provides an introduction to research methods, including use of library resources available for advanced study of the humanities.
HUM 5107 Language in the Visual Arts (Thurs 6-8 pm, Dr. Leslie Ross)
An exploration of the use of written language in the visual arts from ancient to modern times. The relation of text and image in medieval manuscripts, the function of inscriptions and captions in ancient to modern art, the art of fine calligraphy, modern experimental typography, and the works of various artists will be showcased.
HUM 5218 British Literature in Context (Tues 6-8 pm, Dr. Judy Halebsky)
An exploration of key cultural and social issues in 19th and 20th century British Literature. The work of authors such as Charles Dickens, Chinua Achebe and Virginia Woolf will ground our investigations of industrialization, imperialism, and gender. Literary works including novels, poems, and a play will be studied in tandem with scholarship from other disciplines. Through assigned readings and course discussions, students will develop individual research questions to pursue in the response papers and in a conference-length final research paper.
HUM 5306 Women, Gender, and Empire (Wed 6-8 pm, Dr. Martin Anderson)
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, European women played a major role in defining and maintaining the European empires. At the same time empires gave non-European women an opportunity to change their lives from those outlined for them. This course examines the contributions of and influences upon these European and non-European women.
HUM 5603 Science, Religion, and the Human Future (Thurs 6-8 pm, Dr. Phil Novak)
This course is a meticulous inquiry into the nature of science and the nature of religion as human quests for truth. It examines the history of their interaction, their conflict and cooperation in order to envision the nature and extent of their future coexistence.
Spring 2013 Seminars
HUM 5001 Core Seminar (Thurs 6-8 pm, Christian Dean, Required)
An historical and philosophical inquiry into the nature of human being, knowing and acting. The concept of the soul provides a thematic thread that links the selection of readings. Our challenge in this seminar is not just to consider what some have articulated about the soul, but also to reflect upon the human capacity for self-discovery and symbolic expression in the pursuit of understanding what it means to be human.
HUM 5110 Florence: City as Text (Wed 6-8 pm, Dr. Heidi Chretien)
This small city on the river Arno may rightfully boast of its illustrious position both in its enviable geography and as the birthplace so many great names of Western Civilization. Moving chronologically, this course will study the three centuries of the city’s Golden Age, from the 14th through the 16th century. We will investigate this period thematically, drawing on monuments of literature, statecraft and the visual arts, all of which reveal a different image of the city’s unique character. Selective readings in history, popular culture and literature as well as slides and videos will enhance the interdisciplinary nature of the course.
HUM 5211 Chaucer (Tues 6-8 pm, Sr. Aaron Winkelman)
“Except for Shakespeare,” writes Harold Bloom, “Chaucer is foremost among writers in the English language.” In this seminar we journey with Chaucer, as he explores the most significant human concerns, by focusing on three primary texts: The Consolation of Philosophy, Troilus and Criseyde, and The Canterbury Tales.
HUM 5401 The Church and Music (Mon 6-8 pm, Dr. Craig Singleton & Dr. Patricia Dougherty)
Focuses on the relationship between the Church and music in an interdisciplinary manner. Some key issues considered are the regulations and restrictions placed on musicians by the Church, and the impact on music of movements such as the Reformation, the Wesleyan revivals, Vatican II, and contemporary American popular culture.
HUM 5621 Creative Writing Workshop I (Wed 6-8 pm, Joan Baranow)
An advanced writing workshop that invites students to explore their own capacity to surprise, inform, entertain, and provoke readers in one or more genres of creative writing, such as poetry, prose, drama, or screen writing. Special emphasis on using themes and/or researched material to develop well-crafted work that is both artistic and authentic. Through readings, exercises, peer workshops, and conferences with the instructor, a portfolio of revised pieces will be developed.
