Humanities

Martha Bayless, Program Director
118 Prince Lucien Campbell Hall
1287 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1287
541-346-3911
humanities@uoregon.edu

The Humanities Program offers general-education courses to students across the University. It also provides the opportunity for motivated and independently minded students to craft an individualized major with a humanistic orientation. Students working toward a Humanities major, which is designed in consultation with the program advisor, pursue their interests in a systematic and coherent way across several disciplines.

The curriculum of the Humanities Program provides opportunities for the student seeking intellectual coherence and integration, awareness of cultural contexts and traditions, and the connection of humanistic theory to practice. The program is pluralistic and multicultural in its vision and interdisciplinary in its approach. It is designed to provide essential skills and understanding for intelligent action and preparation for a wide range of careers.

The Humanities Program is committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse campus. Study of the humanities draws upon the many voices of the world in all their diversity, in time, in place, in gender, race, class, and age. The program welcomes all students and encourages the rational analysis of works of art and literature, and the reasoned expression of diverse points of view.

Program Committee

Katya E. Hokanson, comparative literature 

Mary Jaeger, classics

Jeffrey S. Librett, German and Scandinavian  

F. Regina Psaki, Romance languages

George J. Sheridan Jr., history

Michael Stern, German and Scandinavian 

Lisa Wolverton, history

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Read critically and analyze texts from a variety of periods and cultures.
• Analyze critically a variety of cultural artifacts such as paintings, sculpture, architecture, and music.
• Show familiarity with the cultures that produced these texts and artifacts.
• Do research, write clearly, develop a coherent argument, and substantiate that argument with relevant evidence (citations of texts, references to cultural artifacts, etc.).
• Identify ideas that unite different disciplines.
• Understand issues of historical contingency and enculturation and, accordingly, be able to reflect critically on the thought systems (e.g. economic, political, religious) inculcated in our own culture.

Bachelor of Arts in Humanities

The humanities major is an interdisciplinary bachelor of arts (BA) degree program. Proficiency in at least one second language, a requirement for the BA degree, is central to the humanities major. Although majors are not required to do more than meet the BA requirement, it is strongly recommended that they continue language study in upper-division courses.

Grades of mid-C or better must be earned in courses taken to satisfy major requirements. For graduation, humanities majors must maintain at least a 2.00 grade point average (GPA) in required courses. No upper-division course may be used to satisfy more than one major requirement.

Humanities Major Requirements

Courses from Other Departments

Arts: Any course with an ARH, ART, MUP, MUS, or TA prefix.

Philosophy: Any course with a PHIL prefix excluding course(s) applied to Ancient World.

Ancient World: Any course with a CLAS prefix, (HIST 101), World History (HIST 104), Foundations of East Asian Civilizations (HIST 190), Precolonial Africa (HIST 325), History of Philosophy: Ancient and Medieval (PHIL 310), Early Judaism (REL 211).

History: Any course with a HIST prefix excluding course(s) applied to Ancient World.

Honors

Honors in humanities allows a student to focus on an area of concentration in a written thesis. Requirements are as follows:

1. Satisfaction of the requirements for the major
2. A grade point average of 3.50 or better in courses taken to meet the upper-division requirements of the major
3. A senior thesis of substantial quality, approved by the thesis director and at least one member of the program committee

Four-Year Degree Plan

The degree plan shown is only a sample of how students may complete their degrees in four years. There are alternative ways. Students should consult their advisor to determine the best path for them.

Bachelor of Arts in Humanities