Humanities Concentration

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The Humanities Concentration is an interdisciplinary program sponsored by the Humanities Department. Students design an individualized course of study combining several disciplines in the Humanities Department as well as History and other college-wide programs. The Concentration allows students to explore a variety of fields that cannot be covered within the confines of a single major. A student may, for example, develop a program in Film Studies, Art History, and French; or a program in Communications, American Studies, and History. Students follow a rigorous course of study while enjoying the stimulus of a program tailored to their special interests and goals.

The Humanities Concentration has a strong interdisciplinary focus. Students in the Concentration work in three disciplines, chosen according to their own interests and in close consultation with a faculty advisor. Students are encouraged to choose fields of study with significant interrelations. In their senior year, under the supervision of one or more faculty members with whom they have already worked, students write a thesis or research project that explores the connections and crosscurrents between their chosen fields.

Along with the existing fields in Humanities, the Concentration also plans to add new areas of study - for example Holocaust Studies, Urban Studies, and Religious Studies - which will give students further opportunities to develop challenging academic programs and to study with faculty members in their areas of special expertise.

Close faculty-student contact is an important feature of the Humanities Concentration. Students work directly with a faculty advisor to design a program and select their courses. Students may also become involved with the current research of their professors for their senior thesis or project.

The flexible, individualized design of the Humanities Concentration makes it attractive to a wide range of students. The program offers a broad liberal education for pre-professional students planning to go on in law, journalism, or library science. It works will for independent, intellectually active students who want to pursue their interests in several different disciplines. And for students in the Honors Program, the Humanities Concentration provides an excellent way to continue their interdisciplinary study of history, literature, and society.

The Curriculum