2010-2011 Course Description for HUM Humanities

HUM 210  Principles of Cultural Interpretation (3)

This course serves as an introduction to the MCA program by providing the interpretative framework for the study of media, culture, and the arts. An examination of foundational definitions, questions and worldviews are central to this course as is an understanding of Christian anthropology. There will also be an overview of the prevailing cultural theories currently in use and how they do or do not cohere with a Christian worldview. Students will be given the opportunity to critique culture during the course of the semester.

HUM 211  Arts and Ideas I (3)

This course focuses on the study of the arts and ideas of various world cultures. It consists of an integrated, historical, and global approach to cultural expressions in the humanities, including architecture, sculpture, painting, music, drama, literature, religion, and philosophy. The course covers the earliest traces of human culture: ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and Rome, the Jewish and Christian traditions, Islamic culture, the cultures of India, China, medieval Europe, Africa, and the Americas. The course will conclude with a look at the Renaissance in Europe. Throughout the course, students will analyze and critique these cultures from a Judeo-Christian perspective.

HUM 212/312  Arts and Ideas II (3)

Prerequisite: HUM 210 Principles of Cultural Interpretation

This course focuses on the study of the arts and ideas of various world cultures. It consists of an integrated, historical, and global approach to cultural expressions in the humanities, including architecture, sculpture, painting, music, drama, literature, religion, and philosophy. This course covers cultural expressions from the Protestant Reformation in Europe to the contemporary world including the cultures of Europe, China, Japan, Russia, Africa, and the Americas. Throughout the course, students will analyze and critique these cultures from a Judeo-Christian perspective.

HUM 310  The Post-Modern World (3)

This course will analyze the tension between the postmodern and Christian worldviews. Beginning with a historical overview of the rise of the postmodern mindset, the course will study the growing influence of postmodernity as it has interacted with modernity, through the thinking of Nietzsche, Derrida, Foucault, and others. Throughout the course, questions surrounding foundationalism, metanarratives, and hermeneutics will be addressed. Epistemology will be a particular focus. All will be viewed from a Judeo-Christian perspective.

HUM 451  Myth, Narrative, and Art (3)

Prerequisite: Junior standing

This course is an exploration of how narrative, or story, has historically pervaded cultural production. Beginning with a survey of the universal themes found in the earliest storytelling, myth, students will study the ways in which narrative has been foundational to the production of art and literature. Through comparative study, students will identify universal themes and ideas that resonate throughout cultures across time and space. The course will conclude with an understanding of how today's artists and creatos can best utilize narrative in their work and art.

HUM 452  Humanities Integration Seminar (3)

Prerequisite: Junior standing

This course is a thematic, interdisciplinary seminar focusing on a selected topic, theme, or idea from a variety of disciplines and media. The goal will be to investigate the myriad ways in which a topic, theme, or idea is made manifest in the culture at large. Topics will change from semester to semester.