Please Note: The program requirements listed below are for students entering in the catalog year 2011-2012.  Students who entered in previous catalog years should refer to the program requirement sheets in the Advising area of MyWheelock. Students entering in future years should follow the requirements in that catalog year.

The Humanities major is a multidisciplinary major based in history, literature, and philosophy. The major introduces the origin of the idea of “humanities” as human centered inquiry, and explores its broadened meaning in our time. The major enables students to consider a variety of responses to questions of value, identity, and meaning as expressed in the histories, literature, philosophies, religions, and arts of different cultures. An aim of the Humanities major is to develop in students an appreciation not only of their own intellectual heritages but also of the cultural legacies of other peoples. In Humanities courses, students are encouraged to explore the changing lives of women, people of color, and working people throughout the world.

The Humanities major complements professional preparation for the fields of teaching, social work and child life. It provides a lens through which students can view, reflect on, and understand human experience.

Course Requirements (20 credits)

HUM 201 Introduction to the Humanities (4 credits)
One Global Perspectives Course (4 credits)
One Humanities or Art History course at the intermediate or advanced level (4 credits)
One Integrated Course (4 credits)
HUM 450 Research Seminar in the Humanities (4 credits)

Global Perspectives Courses:
(These are courses based in Asian, African, or Latin American cultures.)

• AST 290 West African History, Culture and Spirituality (4 credits)
• HIS 210 Encounters Between East and West in World History (4 credits)
• HIS 215 Africa and its Global Encounters (4 credits)
• HIS 270 Human Rights as World History (4 credits)
• LIT 226 Literature and History of the Caribbean (4 credits)
• LIT 225 African Literature (4 credits)
• MUS 240 World Music Traditions (4 credits)
• PHL 215 Asian Thought (4 credits)
• THE 305 African and Caribbean Theater (4 credits)

Integrated Courses
(These are courses that integrate at least two disciplines.)

• AST 160 American Identities (4 credits)
• AST 215 Political and Social Change in America (4 credits)
• HIS 194 Europe in the Age of Discovery (4 credits)
• HIS 208 Twentieth Century European History (4 credits)
• HIS 240 The Holocaust (4 credits)
• HUM 210 Russian History through Literature (4 credits)
• LIT 226 Literature and History of the Caribbean (4 credits)
• LIT 225 African Literature (4 credits)
• LIT 240 The English Renaissance (4 credits)
• LIT 270 The American Renaissance (4 credits)
• LIT 262 Shakespeare (4 credits)
• LIT 263 The Epic: Heroes and Monsters (4 credits)
• LIT 301 Medieval Literature: Epic and Romance (4 credits)
• PHL 240 Great Ages and Ideas of the Jewish People (4 credits)

Focus (16 credits)

Students select a focus in one of the following disciplines: literature, history, or philosophy. At least 4 credits in the focus must be at the advanced level.

Humanities Major Without Professional Major (40 credits)

Students who choose to major in the Humanities without a professional major follow the requirements for the 36-credit major as listed above and must also complete an one additional course in the focus at the intermediate or advanced level.