Humanities Program
Humanities: HMN
Lower-Division Courses
HMN 101. Community Service.
Tutorial course, in which the student submits a report based on a community service project and appropriate supplementary reading. Conference course. Prerequisite: Consent of the humanities adviser.
HMN 305. Freshman Seminar.
Reading, discussion, writing, and oral reporting on various humanities topics. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Humanities 305 and Liberal Arts Honors 305 may not both be counted unless the topics vary. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Advanced placement credit for Rhetoric and Writing 306 or the equivalent.
Topic 1: Epic Journeys.
HMN 110, 210, 310. Internship.
Students work in a professional environment, applying analytical, communication, and other academic skills to practical work. For each semester hour of credit earned, one lecture hour and ten hours of fieldwork a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Consent of the humanities director.
HMN 116, 216, 316. Topics in the Humanities.
Intensive lecture or seminar course addressing topics in various disciplines in the humanities. For each semester hour of credit earned, one lecture hour a week for one semester. Humanities 116 and Liberal Arts Honors 103H may not both be counted. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Consent of the humanities adviser.
HMN 318Q. Supervised Research.
Individual instruction. Prerequisite: Consent of the humanities adviser.
Upper-Division Courses
HMN 321. Humanism and Western Civilization: The Ancient World.
A history of humanism in ancient Greece and Rome. The contributions of humanism to the values we place on the individual and human potential, democratic government, the arts, religion, and the family. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or consent of instructor.
HMN 322. Humanism and Western Civilization: The Renaissance.
A history of humanism during the European Renaissance, the thirteenth through the sixteenth century. The contributions of humanism to the values we place on the individual and human potential, democratic government, the arts, religion, and the family. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or consent of instructor.
HMN 323. Humanism and Western Civilization: The Enlightenment.
A history of humanism during the Enlightenment. The contributions of humanism to the values we place on the individual and human potential, democratic government, the arts, religion, and the family. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or consent of instructor.
HMN 125K. The Arts, Sciences, and Social Sciences.
Analysis of topics in the arts, sciences, and social sciences through reading, discussion, and lectures. One lecture hour a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Consent of the humanities adviser.
HMN 350. Topics in the Humanities.
Study of the values underlying humanistic disciplines. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Varies with the topic.
Topic 2: Daily Life in Northern Europe.
Topic 3: Geography and Religion. Same as Geography 358E. Ideas about the relationships among the natural world, myth, and ritual; principal focus on Christianity, Islam, and Judaism and their offshoots and antagonists in the Western world. Only one of the following may be counted: Geography 358E, Humanities 350 (Topic 3), Middle Eastern Studies 322K (Topic 15: Geography and Religion). Additional prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
Topic 4: Reading Images: Icons and Beliefs. The content (not the aesthetics or the technical, compositional features) of selected Renaissance paintings, sculptures, and prints. Additional prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
Topic 5: Great Trials in Western History. The intellectual and historical importance of a variety of significant trials in Western history. Humanities 350 (Topic 5) and Liberal Arts Honors 350 (Topic: Great Trials in Western History) may not both be counted.
Topic 6: In Search of Meaning. Restricted to Plan I majors in the College of Liberal Arts. Intensive lecture course exploring various disciplinary perspectives and values underlying humanistic disciplines. Concepts include: monotheism, the nature and personality of this god, the soul, chosen people, linear time, history as divine classroom, original sin, heaven, hell, salvation, etc. Establishes how and when these and a host of other features came into existence and created Judeo-Christian reality, and contrast the reality created therein with other realities, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Islam. Only one of the following may be counted: Humanities 350 (Topic: In Search of Meaning), 350 (Topic: The Quest for Meaning), 350 (Topic 6), Liberal Arts Honors 350 (Topic: In Search of Meaning), 350 (Topic 10). Additional prerequisite: Upper-division standing and a University grade point average of at least 3.50.
Topic 7: The Enlightenment.
Topic 8: Sites, Structures, and Images of Italy. Examination of the historical factors of religion, politics, economics, and local culture that define the significance of selected late medieval and Renaissance (twelfth through fifteenth century) buildings and the visual art they formerly housed and displayed. Taught in Italy. Additional prerequisite: Upper-division standing and consent of instructor.
Topic 10: Literature of World War I. Same as Liberal Arts Honors 350 (Topic 4). Selected readings from autobiographies, poetry, fiction, and memoirs, primarily about the Western Front, by German, British, and American authors; a short history of World War I; readings of a central book of literary analysis; exploration of the nature of war, the experience of combatants, and the legacy of the war itself and its unique literature. Only one of the following may be counted: Humanities 350 (Topic: Literature of the Great War), 350 (Topic 10), Liberal Arts Honors 350 (Topic: Literature of the Great War), 350 (Topic 4).
Topic 11: Russia and Its World. Same as Comparative Literature 323 (Topic 21) and Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies 325 (Topic 21). Survey of the political, cultural, and social history of Russia, from its prehistoric origins to the installation of communist rule in 1917. Emphasis on the arts and on enduring themes of cultural identity, imagination, and conflict with neighboring peoples and within Russia. Only one of the following may be counted: Comparative Literature 323 (Topic: Russia and Its World), 323 (Topic 21), Humanities 350 (Topic: Russia and Its World), 350 (Topic 11), Russian 330 (Topic: Russia and Its World), 330 (Topic 11), Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies 325 (Topic: Russia and Its World), 325 (Topic 21). Additional prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
Topic 12: Twentieth-Century Russian Culture. Same as Comparative Literature 323 (Topic 22) and Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies 325 (Topic 14). Survey of the political, social, and cultural history of Russia during the Soviet period, from the revolutionary events of 1917 until the dissolution of the Soviet government and political system in December 1991. Only one of the following may be counted: Comparative Literature 323 (Topic: Twentieth-Century Russian Culture), 323 (Topic 22), Humanities 350 (Topic: Twentieth-Century Russian Culture), 350 (Topic 12), Russian 330 (Topic: Twentieth-Century Russian Culture), 330 (Topic 7), Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies 325 (Topic: Twentieth-Century Russian Culture), 325 (Topic 14). Additional prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
HMN 358Q. Supervised Research.
Individual instruction. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Consent of the humanities adviser.
HMN 370. Senior Tutorial Course.
A tutorial program of supervised reading and writing, including an individual paper or papers in which the student draws together the central directions and discoveries of his or her studies in the humanities. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Humanities 370 and 679HB may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Consent of the humanities adviser.
HMN 379. Conference Course.
Individual instruction in a topic approved by the instructor and the humanities adviser. Conference course. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and consent of the humanities adviser.
HMN 679H. Honors Tutorial Course.
Directed reading and research, followed by the writing of a report or the creation of a project. Conference course for two semesters. Humanities 370 and 679HB may not both be counted. Prerequisite: For 679HA, admission to the Humanities Honors Program and consent of the humanities adviser; for 679HB, Humanities 679HA.