Course Catalog

 

Spanning the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Judaism, and the rise of early Christianity, this course looks at how the interrelationships between mythology, literature, religion, art, and philosophy provide insight into some of the most fundamental aspects of the human condition: origins of democracy, conceptions of beauty, ideas of God/gods, the rise of empires, fate versus free will, among many others.

This course focuses on the cultural rise of world religions, including Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism, and indigenous Mesoamerican and North American religions. The course also includes a cultural study of the early and late Middle Ages in Europe. With a focus on primary texts and the cultures that produced them, students develop an intimate familiarity with foundational sacred texts, mythology, and epics from around the world. 

Focusing on the cultural developments in Europe and the Americas between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, this course looks at major developments in art history, literature, philosophy, politics, music, and architecture to offer students critical insight into how historical eras and events like the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the slave trade, the conquests of the New World, the American and French revolutions, and the Industrial Revolution shaped our world today.

This course studies the major cultural transformations of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Topics of prominence include innovative artistic developments in painting (Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Expressionism, etc.), the colonization and decolonization Africa, political revolutions in Latin America, the rise of modern China and Japan, the birth of cinema, feminism, global civil rights movements, and globalization. From this breadth, students learn to view their own world and cultural habituation as part of a larger network of influences and histories. 

A study of the art of world film in cultural and historical contexts, paying special attention to formal aspects of film viewing and criticism. Students learn how to appreciate film as a unique art form while also being introduced to major movements, techniques, and directors in the history of world cinema.   

Special topics courses investigate a specific aspect of the Humanities. Topics/titles change from semester to semester. Students can repeatedly enroll in special topics courses with changed content. Recent offerings have included: "Holocaust & Genocide Literature," "African American Art & Literature since 1945," "The World in Film," "Animals in Art and Literature," "World Mythology," "Power, Authority, and Identity," "Apocalyptic Film and Literature," "Chinese Culture," and "Russian Culture."

Humanities students have the opportunity to pursue a self-designed course of study under the guidance of a supervising Humanities faculty member. Students determine the topic with the supervising faculty mentor, meet regularly with the mentor, and complete a final written assignment. Recent projects have included original research in the holdings of the Wichita Falls Museum of Art; original research using the Moffett Library Special Collections of rare books; Ancient Greek and Roman literature; Postmodernism; Pompeii; Architectural History and Contemporary Architecture. Students interested in doing an Independent Study should consult with their desired Humanities faculty mentor.

Students who participate in a Humanities-hosted internship are required to enroll in HUMN-4073 to earn upper-level credit for their internship. In addition to the required service hours for the internship itself, students will write a final paper to complete the course. For more information about the Internships available to students in the Humanities Program, please visit our Internship page.