Humanities Course Descriptions

Division of Humanities

Courses

HUM 101 - Humanities I: The Ancient Greek World

4 credits (Fall and Spring)

A foundation for further study in the liberal arts, developing skills of critical reading, writing, and imaginative thinking through the study of selected works from ancient Greece. Readings include Homeric epic, tragic drama, Platonic dialogues, Thucydides’ History and Aristotle’s Poetics.

Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff

HUM 102 - Humanities II: Roman and Early Christian Culture

4 credits (Fall or Spring)

Major works of Roman and early Christian culture, exploring private and public paths to happiness from Cicero’s ideal commonwealth to the City of God. Readings include Virgil’s Aeneid, Stoic and Epicurean philosophy, satire and drama, Christian scripture, St. Augustine, and Boethius. Emphasis on close reading, discussion, and short essay assignments.

Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff

HUM 131 - China’s Ancient World

4 credits

Cross-listed as: SST 131. An introduction to China’s classic texts of philosophy, religion, history, and literature, from the Yin-Zhou period (ca. 18th c. B.C. to ca. 5th c. B.C.) through the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.). Traditional Chinese cosmology, morals, ethics, and institutions examined; also the various means (philosophical, historical, literary, and musical) of expressing these aspects of traditional Chinese culture.

Prerequisite: None.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Cook

HUM 140 - Medieval and Renaissance Culture: 1100–1650

4 credits (Spring)

Cross-listed as: SST 140. This interdisciplinary course explores European culture and the social and political forces that shaped it between 1100 and 1650, paying special attention to feudalism and the Crusades, the intellectual efflorescence of the 12th and 13th centuries, the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the advent of the Scientific Revolution. In our exploration of medieval and Renaissance culture we will draw on art, science, literature, political theory, philosophy and theology, music, the writings of mystics, and advice manuals for heads of households and would-be courtiers.

Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff

HUM 251 - Theoretical Approaches to Children’s and Young Adult Literature

4 credits (Fall or Spring)

Cross-listed as: GLS 251. This course takes a theoretical approach to canonical and contemporary children’s literature. Content is variable, but may include The Young Adult Problem Novel, Dystopian Fiction for the Young Adult Reader, and Constructions of Race, Slavery, Class and Gender in Children’s and Young Adult Literature. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.

Prerequisite: A course in English or another course in literature.
Instructor: Staff

HUM 295-01 - Special Topic: Modern Russia and the Culture of Revolution and Change

4 credits (Spring)

See RUS 295-01.

HUM 295-02 - Special Topic: Foundations of Disability Studies

4 credits (Spring)

Cross-listed as: SST 295-02. This course examines the social, historical, cultural, and political construction of categories of disability. Through a wide variety of texts and cultural examples, we will explore various meanings of disability. In addition, the class will explore topics including disability rights movements in the United States, different models and theories of disability and disability identities and cultures. In this course, disability is widely defined to include a range of impairments and differences.

Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
Instructor: Gill

HUM 295-03 - Special Topic: Interdisciplinary Publishing II: Enacting the Vision for a Prairie Studies Journal

4 credits (Spring)

See SST 295-06.

HUM 350 - Freedom and Authority: The Control of Reproduction

4 credits (Fall or Spring)

Cross-listed as: SCI 350 and SST 350. How do social, biological, and cultural constraints affect decisions about reproduction? How do social institutions set and enforce the boundaries of what is possible and permissible? How do practices of reproduction generate meaning for human existence? This seminar examines conflicts between the freedom of the individual to make decisions about reproduction and the internal and external authorities of biology, evolution, the family, the state, health care systems, criminal justice systems, and religious hierarchies.

Prerequisite: Third-year or senior standing and completion of a four-credit course at the 200 level or above creditable to a major in the division of registration.
Note: Not offered every year
Instructor: Staff

HUM 395-01 - Special Topic: Queer Cinema/Queer Theory

4 credits (Fall)

See GWS 395-01.