Humanities (HUMN)
HUMN 100. The Humanities Now!. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3; Repeatable
A multi-section course in the humanities that introduces students to the humanities world through use of latest tools and methods of analysis. Open to first-years and sophomores only.
HUMN 128. Myth, Reason, Faith. 1 Credit.
Offered Both Fall and Spring; Lecture hours:3
An introduction to the most significant works (literature, poetry, theatre, philosophy, religious texts) in the Western and Asian intellectual traditions, extending from ancient Mesopotamia and Greece through late medieval Europe and/or East Asia. Not open to students who have completed RESC 098 "Myth, Reason, Faith". Seniors by permission only.
HUMN 150. Making the Modern World. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
An interdisciplinary study of art, music, literature, science and philosophy from the European Renaissance through the late 19th century. The student will learn to relate these works to one another, to non-Western cultures, and to contemporary experience. Not open to students who have taken ENLS 150.
HUMN 215. Hebrew Bible and Modern Literature. 1 Credit.
Offered Alternate Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
The course examines how materials from the Hebrew Bible are reworked in modern literature and culture, focusing on Hebrew and American traditions. Crosslisted as HEBR 215.
HUMN 250. Modernism and Crisis. 1 Credit.
Offered Fall Semester Only; Lecture hours:3
Traces the development of "modernity" (and its discontents) by looking at selected interdisciplinary texts and documents - from philosophy, literature, psychology, film, art, and other related disciplinary fields - that reflect or directly address cultural transformation during the 20th century. Crosslisted as ENLS 230.
HUMN 260. Introduction to Translation Studies. 1 Credit.
Offered Spring Semester Only; Lecture hours:3
An introduction to the history, theories, and development of the field of Translation Studies. Facility in one language other than English is strongly recommended. Crosslisted as EAST 205.
HUMN 266. Chinese Philosophy. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
An introduction to Chinese thought, including: the major schools and thinkers of the classical age, Chinese Buddhist philosophy, early modern Neo-confucianism, and Chinese philosophy since the Communist Revolution of 1949. Crosslisted as EAST 266 and PHIL 266.
HUMN 270. Data Visualization for the Digital Humanities. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
An introduction to the techniques and issues of data visualization for the humanities. Interdisciplinary and comparative study, using both theoretical study and concrete examples.
HUMN 271. Advanced Text Analysis: Redefining How We Read. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
This course will teach students how text analysis allows digital humanists to interpret textual data in new ways. Students will learn how computer languages (such as XML-compliant TEI) help to pursue analysis of literary and historical texts and reveal new ways words signify.
HUMN 272. Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities. 1 Credit.
Offered Alternating Fall Semester; Lecture hours:3
Comparative study investigating different cultures, historical epochs, narrative forms, media and traditions. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.
HUMN 273. Evolution of Digital Media. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
This course will trace the origins and development of the digital media products and practices that surround us in contemporary life. Although digital media are often represented as unprecedented and entirely "new," their growth follows patterns that were established in the industrial revolution and that this course will analyze.
HUMN 275. Greece and Turkey: East and West. 1 Credit.
Offered Summer Session Only; Lecture hours:Varies
This course is based around a three-week summer study abroad experience in Greece and Turkey. Themes and materials will vary from year to year. Prerequisites: interview and permission of the instructor. Crosslisted as CLAS 275 and ENGL 275.
HUMN 280. Buddhist Philosophy in Comparative Perspective. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
A comparative introduction to the major texts, schools and figures of Asian Buddhist traditions, including the early Discourses, the Abhidharma, the Mahayana Sutras, and the works of Nagarjuna, Santideva, Zhiyi, Dogen, and contemporary Engaged Buddhism. Prerequisite: PHIL 100 or permission of the instructor. Crosslisted as PHIL 280.
HUMN 2NT. Humanities Non-traditional Study. 1 Credit.
Offered Fall, Spring, Summer; Lecture hours:Varies,Other:3
Non-traditional study in Humanities. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.
HUMN 301. Brain, Mind, Culture. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
An interdisciplinary study of the intersections between the humanities and neuroscience in the history of thought and contemporary culture. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.
HUMN 303. Buddhism in American Culture. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
An examination of the transmission of Buddhism to the U.S., with focus on the literature and cultural impact of the writers of the Beat Generation. Prerequisites: RELI 200 or permission of the instructor.
HUMN 305. Utopias: Past, Present, Future. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
This seminar course critically investigates the utopian imagination as manifested in various influential texts throughout Asian and Western history, and considers the problems and possibilities of utopian thinking with regard to the present and future.
HUMN 306. US: Fever/Fantasy/Desire. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
Seminar on American literature between 1770-1861 with an emphasis on psychoanalytic approaches to literary and cultural study. Authors may include Brown, Sansay, Poe, and Melville. Crosslisted as ENLS 306 and ENLS 606.
HUMN 310. Dante and Milton. 1 Credit.
Offered Alternating Fall Semester; Lecture hours:3
An intensive comparative study of Dante's "Comedy" and Milton's "Paradise Lost" as exemplars of medieval and late Renaissance understanding of human experience. Crosslisted as ENGL 350.
HUMN 319. Independent Study. .5-1 Credits.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:Varies,Other:3; Repeatable
Individual project of study supervised by instructor. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Crosslisted as HUMN 619.
HUMN 320. History of Sexuality. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
A cross-cultural and interdisciplinary examination of the signification of sexuality in literature, philosophy, scientific discourse, and the visual arts. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Crosslisted as WMST 325.
HUMN 325. Dostoevsky and Tolstoy: Literary Philosophy. 1 Credit.
Offered Alternate Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
An introduction to the major philosophical ideas of the great Russian writers Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy. In English. Crosslisted as RUSS 325 and HUMN 625.
HUMN 330. Studies in Autobiography. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
A critical, cross-cultural and trans-historical examination of the "writing of the self". An examination of inflections of race and gender in the writing of autobiography. Readings from Augustine, Rousseau, Olaudah Equiano, Ruth Klüger, Christa Wolf, Simone de Beauvoir, and Marjorie Shostak, among others.
HUMN 333. Modernity, Metropolis, Machine. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
Surveys a wide range of cultural production in the US, Europe and the Soviet Union from the mid-19th century to the 1930s, providing a balance of close textual analysis with “distant” reading. Examines types of cultural appropriation and transmission, evolution and revolution, continuity and change, tradition and innovation.
HUMN 338. Seminar in Film and Digital Media Studies. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3; Repeatable
A seminar in film and digital media studies. Topics may include the history of digital media, their relation to other media forms, the relations between critical reflection and media practice/production, and other relevant topics. Prerequisite: ENFS 130 or permission of the instructor. Crosslisted as ENFS 338.
HUMN 340. Seminar in Translation Studies. 1 Credit.
Offered Spring Semester Only; Lecture hours:3
Advanced seminar in the history, theory, and practice of translation, including investigation of the role of translation in intercultural communication and comparative studies. Facility in a language other than English is strongly recommended. Crosslisted as ENLS 362.
HUMN 350. Senior Thesis Workshop. 1 Credit.
Offered Both Fall and Spring; Lecture hours:Varies,Other:3; Repeatable
A colloquium on issues arising from the writing of a scholarly thesis. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.
HUMN 351. Honors Tutorial and Senior Thesis. 1 Credit.
Offered Both Fall and Spring; Lecture hours:Varies,Other:3
Independent study and research leading to the writing of a thesis as approved by the Honors Council. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.
HUMN 3NT. Humanities Non-traditional Study. 1 Credit.
Offered Fall, Spring, Summer; Lecture hours:Varies,Other:3
Non-traditional study in Humanities. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.