Course Descriptions
Humanities MA Course Descriptions:
HUM 5000 Pro-Seminar (3 units)
A study of key issues raised in contemporary culture about the humanities. Also provides an introduction to research methods, including use of Internet, CD-ROMs, and other library resources available for advanced study of the humanities. Fall, Spring Semesters.
HUM 5001 Core Integrative Seminar: Culture, Symbol, and the Creation of Meaning (3 units)
An integrative philosophical investigation of culture as an evolving web of symbolically construed meaning reflecting fundamental aspects of the human condition. Fall, Spring Semesters.
HUM 5002 Culminating Project Workshop 1 (.5 unit)
Course meeting several times during the semester to assist students in the preparation of a proposal for the culminating project, as well as assisting with research issues associated with the culminating project. Fall, Spring Semesters.
HUM 5003 Culminating Project Workshop 2 (.5 unit)
Part 2 of workshop sequence providing students the opportunity to discuss issues related to research and completion of culminating project. Also provides a supportive atmosphere in which students can assist each other in dealing with issues related to completion of the culminating project. Fall, Spring Semesters.
HUM 5004 Culminating Project (2 units)
Projects are individually designed and developed in consultation with the Director and appropriate faculty members. The project may involve a traditional master’s thesis; a research project expanding on a research paper/project from a particular seminar or class; an interesting, enlightening, persuasively argued essay; or a multimedia presentation on an issue related to the humanities.
Graduate Seminar Descriptions:
Note: Seminars are offered intermittently.
Graduate Seminars based in Art History Course Descriptions:
HUM 5101 The Illustrated Word (3 units)
An introduction to the signs, symbol systems, and alphabets developed by different cultures to convey information through texts, pictures, and messages. The forms, styles, and purposes of written and illustrated materials from antiquity to the Renaissance. Comparisons of systems used in written and visual communication.
HUM 5102 Structures of Faith (3 units)
Focuses on the concept of “sacred space” as embodied in architectural forms developed to meet the needs of different religions; how and why these buildings look as they do. Explores external forms, interior spatial requirements, arrangements of spaces for participants, and liturgical accoutrements, such as statues, paintings, and stained glass.
HUM 5103 The Philosophy of Art (3 units)
An introduction to both the nature of art (aesthetic theory) and specific works of contemporary art (art criticism) enabling students to learn to think critically and creatively about art. Readings include excerpts from Plato, Aristotle, Tolstoy, Beaudelaire, as well as reviews by contemporary art critics, including Alloway, Lippard, and Ratcliff.
HUM 5104 Concerning the Spiritual in 20th Century Art (3 units)
An examination of the expression of spiritual concepts in art of the 20th century. Topics will include Theosophy and Abstraction, Adaptation of Religious Iconography, Dada Alchemy, Mystery and Surrealism, Archetypes and Abstract Expressionism, Zen and the Art of the Fifties, Spiritual Concepts in Conceptual Art, and Post-Modern Mystical Appropriation.
HUM 5105 History of Gardens and Landscape Design (3 units)
A chronological and thematic survey of garden history and landscape design from the ancient/classical period to the present, including Western and non-Western examples. Literary, philosophical/aesthetic, political, scientific, social architectural, and artistic themes are addressed in this interdisciplinary seminar.
HUM 5106 Byzantium to Istanbul: A City Across Time (3 units)
Graduate team-taught seminar (Art History/History) exploring the rich history of this city which has long been a crossroads for West and East. Concentration on the political, religious, and artistic context of the city as it developed over time. Focus on people and events which have influenced or been influenced by this second Rome.
HUM 5107 Language in the Visual Arts (3 units)
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 5108 Civic Imagery and Instant Messaging in Western Art (3 units)
An examination of visual structures and/or monuments from the point of view of their civic content. Some of these are overtly civic in nature, and others, such as the Sistine Chapel, seem to be religious, but upon closer examination, reveal deeply civic and political content. Students will engage reading in the history, popular culture and philosophy of each period targeted.
HUM 5111 Venice: City as Text (3 units)
Venice, Queen of the Adriatic and Most Serene Republic, a city of magic and charm is the subject of this seminar. Primary focus is the visual arts but it will also explore literary images of the city, music associated with San Marco and statecraft of the republic from its founding through the late 19th Century.
Graduate Seminars based in English Course Descriptions:
HUM 5201 What She Wants: Constructing Femininity (3 units)
An examination of the heroine, in fiction, film, and psychology, from the 19th century to the present, through the lens of psychoanalytic theory. Students will explore novels, short stories, film, and essays to examine how psychology and literature have constructed public versions of women’s inner lives.
HUM 5205 Constructions and Crises: Masculinity in American Literature and Culture (3 units)
Like femininity, masculinity is a social construction created, sustained, dismantled, and recreated by art, architecture, literature, and film. Using examples from diverse ethnic groups and narratives by both genders, the seminar analyzes representations of masculinity in American culture, questioning the assumptions behind them, and examines shifts in their cultural construction.
HUM 5207 Dante’s Divine Comedy (3 units)
John Ruskin called Dante “the central man of all the world.” This “central man,” Dante Alighieri, is the focus and delight of our study. We journey with him, the poet and pilgrim, through the "Inferno," "Purgatorio," and "Paradiso" of his Divine Comedy. Our main goal is to know the Divine Comedy as literary art in itself and in its literary contexts.
HUM 5210 On Pilgrimage: The Art and History of Transformative Travel (3 units)
Examines selected biographical accounts of pilgrimages, from the haiku journal of Basho to the Tuscan memoir of Frances Mayes and how transformative journeys changed their authors. Students will consider questions of genre, psychology, and theories of self-presentation through inter-disciplinary lens.
HUM 5211 Chaucer (3 units)
“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 5251 Prose Writing (3 units)
Practice in the craft of writing prose (essays, short fiction, or a novella) through discussions, exercises, peer workshops, and conferencing with the instructor. Special emphasis will be given to technical aspects of writing, such as characterization, structure, dialogue, and narrative tension.
HUM 5252 Writing Themes and Techniques (3 units)
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.
HUM 5253 Personal Writing: Art and Soul (3 units)
Workshop in developing artistic writing from life experiences. Through readings, discussion, and exercises, students will create and revise their own work. Special emphasis on voice, organization, the narrative persona, and suggesting character motivation through distinct details.
HUM 5254 Postmodern Writing Techniques (3 units)
An advanced writing workshop that introduces students to postmodern writing techniques—interruption, fragmentation, collage, changes in voice, perspective, and tone—so that students can strengthen and extend their own work using contemporary writing strategies. Through readings of published postmodern texts, exercises, and peer workshops, students will develop a portfolio of original writing.
HUM 5299 Creative Writing Tutorial (3 units)
Private instruction in creative writing.
Graduate Seminars based in History Course Descriptions:
HUM 5301 Gender Through History (3 units)
Focuses on how the concepts of sexual difference contributed to early modern scholarly debate concerning “natural” versus “unnatural” sexuality, the differences between humans and animals, and the nature of “hysteria” and other medical problems. Readings include primary source documents, anthropological and literary theory, as well as psychological and medical literature.
HUM 5302 Women, Work, Politics and Education, c. 1880–1950 (3 units)
Focuses on the arguments and the changes made in women’s civil, political and economic situation from c. 1880 to 1950 as women (singly and united internationally) addressed inequalities and disadvantages in law, education, economic opportunity and politics in Europe primarily and in the United States.
HUM 5303 19th Century Paris, City of Light (3 units)
Focuses on Paris, on the women and men (both notable and notorious) who lived, worked, wrote, painted, and died there; also on the monumental architecture which changed the look of the French capital (e.g., Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur, and Eiffel Tower) during the 19th century.
HUM 5304 Women’s Struggle for Civic Equality (3 units)
Explores the struggle for civic rights (with a focus on suffrage) from the French Revolution through the Seneca Falls Convention and the 1848 Revolutions to enfranchisement in the 20th century.
HUM 5306 Women, Gender, and Empire in the Nineteenth Century (3 units)
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 5307 Pleasures of the Imagination: The Historical Context of Historical Novels (3 units)
Examines selected historical novels in reference to their historical context and the context of the times of their authors. Students evaluate the contributions of representative authors such as Stendhal, Tolstoy, Joseph Conrad, Kaye, and Samkange. Themes include history and popular culture; imagined history as a consumer industry; novels as historical evidence, gender, and class.
HUM 5309 Biography as History (3 units)
Examines biography as a historical genre. Biographies will be selected from different humanities’ fields and from different historical eras. Students will study various forms of biography to evaluate biography’s usefulness as an historical research technique and for learning history. Students will also study the role of individuals in history.
Graduate Seminars based in Music Course Descriptions:
HUM 5401 The Church and Music (3 units)
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 5402 Bay Area Music Study (3 units)
The San Francisco Bay Area benefits from exceptional musical programs presented by outstanding organizations such as the San Francisco and Marin Symphony Orchestras, the San Francisco Opera, Chanticleer, and the American Bach Soloists. Students will attend performances and study the music performed, reviewing performances and venues in light of preparatory study.
HUM 5404 Musical Women and Womanly Music (3 units)
This seminar will include two main themes: 1) the ways in which women have interacted with Western music as composers, performers, patrons, and teachers—from the Middle Ages to the present; and 2) how the “feminine” has been represented in instrumental works and film images/soundtracks.
HUM 5405 Composer, Singer, and Poet (3 units)
Composers have often found inspiration for their compositions in poetry. This course is an examination of representative compositions of “art song” which utilize poetry in the English language. Students will study and evaluate the poetry and poets set by the composers. The seminar will culminate in a public recital and reading of selected poetry and song.
HUM 5451-5489 Applied Music (3 units)
Graduate level study in an instrument or voice. Each student will receive one hour of private instruction per week. Contact the Director of the Music Department for the appropriate number.
Graduate Seminars based in Political Theory Course Descriptions:
HUM 5501 Citizenship and Rebellion (3 units)
This course has two principal goals. The first is to explore in disparate political contexts a single theme summarized by the single question: Why Obey? The second goal is to encourage a skeptical and critical approach to the arguments presented in the materials. You will be invited to work out your own interpretations of the issues.
HUM 5502 Political Theory and the Moral Imagination (3 units)
Literature provides the canvas and the sketch of what is possible in the realm of human choice and action, while political theory provides the analytic, theoretical tools used to explore human activity as it relates to the public realm. This course will examine signal works in political theory and literature to analyze and to explore the moral dimensions and possible ramifications of human activity.
HUM 5503 Images of the Self in Moral and Political Philosophy (3 units)
Moral and political philosophy is grounded in the projection or presupposition of some notion of what it is to be, of some image of the human self. This seminar will explore the fascinating array of images of the self presented within the history of Western moral and political philosophy and will consider the bearing that these images have had on our understanding of the nature of morality and politics.
HUM 5504 Virtuosity: Moral/Political Character (3 units)
What does it mean to be virtuous? This seminar will explore a range of moral and political responses to the question of virtue, paying particular attention to the notion that moral and political virtue ought to be understood as a kind of intellectual and practical expertise, or virtuosity.
HUM 5505 Political Philosophy of Statesmanship (3 units)
An investigation of the ideas of key political philosophers from Aristotle to the 20th century who have helped us understand the important possibilities, difficulties, and limitations of statesmanship and leadership. Students will read Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, “Publius” of the Federalist Papers, Tocqueville, Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, and several literary pieces in which authors from different periods of time have aided us in our investigation of key issues/problems of statesmanship.
HUM 5506 The New (American) Humanism and its Influence on Contemporary American Conservative Thought (3 units)
The New Humanism (or American Humanism) is a conservative intellectual movement that was developed in the early 20th century by Irving Babbitt and Paul Elmer More. Its primary purpose has been to criticize the development of an “expansive” quality of imagination that has taken hold in politics, ethics, and aesthetics and to develop a quality of “moral imagination,” which is grounded in classical Western and Buddhist thought. This seminar explores the basic ideas and concepts developed by American Humanism and investigates its influence on contemporary conservative thought and culture.
Graduate Seminars based in Religion Course Descriptions:
HUM 5601 The Buddhist Tradition (3 units)
A rigorous engagement with Buddhism’s central ideas and their major permutations against the background of its long pilgrimage across Asia and into the West.
HUM 5602 The Jesus Debate: Who Was He Really, and What Difference Does it Make to Me? (3 units)
Various groups both within and outside the church have painted drastically different portraits of Jesus and used those portraits to help support their own differing world views. We will briefly review the history of the debate about who Jesus was and look at some diverse contemporary portraits, asking whether these portraits are historically defensible and socially useful today.
HUM 5603 Science, Religion, and the Human Future (3 units)
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.
HUM 5604 Biographical Theology: The Encounter of the Particular and the Universal in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (3 units)
Through the window of “life story” students will explore the personal struggles of people of faith in their journeys with the question of the “one” and the “many.” Pluralism will be the context, and biographies that weave together the actualities of politics, social issues, and religious adversities will help students focus on an inter-religious dialogue free from the debates of formal and sympathetic theology.
HUM 5605 The Psychology of Religion (3 units)
This seminar explores the work of the great early theorists in the psychology of religion, including James, Freud, Jung, and Adler, and then considers developments over the last sixty years. Students will investigate the works of Allport, Maslow, Erikson, and Becker, as well as Buddhist psychology, transpersonal psychology, psychology of religious violence, and recent theorizing in neuro-theology.
HUM 5606 Religious Pluralism and its Christian Critics (3 units)
“Religious pluralism” is the argument that humankind’s religions are, in principle, equally effective, culturally variant responses to a single spiritual reality (John Hick). Some Christian critics argue vociferously against this pluralism. This course is a sustained engagement with this vital debate, a debate that will play a role in shaping the future of religious co-existence on this planet for a long time to come.
HUM 5607 Christian and Muslim Faith (3 units)
What do Christians and Muslims mean by faith? To explore this question we will study writings by Wilfred Cantwell Smith, an eminent Christian scholar of religious history and Islam: Faith and Belief - The Difference Between Them, Believing - An Historical Perspective, On Understanding Islam, and his essay "Is the Qur'an the Word of God?"
HUM 5608 Religion in Public Life (3 units)
The debate about religion as a public expression or the expression of religion in the public arena is common in the Western tradition and particularly in the United States. Other cultures have resolved this issue in different ways. In this seminar we will address the various ways this issue has been and is currently lived-out in several religious traditions and nations. We will examine the assumptions about American civil religion in relationship to “secular” France, Latin American Catholicism and various national manifestations of Islam and Hinduism.
Expanded Undergraduate Courses:
Graduate students taking these courses work with the faculty member on an individual or group tutorial basis to “expand” the course to graduate credit via additional reading, research, writing, and/or oral presentations. Course descriptions may be found in the Catalog under the particular department in which the course is offered (e.g., ENGL 5001: Linguistics is listed in the English section under ENGL 3001). Courses are selected each semester by Chairs of departments and instructors and are published in the Course Schedule for that semester.
