Catalogs & Handbooks

Humanities Major

Interdisciplinary Major

The major consists of a minimum of eight upper-level courses in at least two, preferably three, subjects listed below. Students must complete the introductory courses prior to enrolling in upper-level courses and should check the prerequisites for upper-level courses.

The upper-level courses may not double-count for other majors or minors.

While offering students the opportunity to work in several academic fields, the Humanities major nevertheless requires a distinct focus and careful planning, and regular contact with the director and affiliated professors is essential.

Students are encouraged to work from an interdisciplinary perspective. In addition, there are two courses specifically designed to introduce students majoring in Humanities to the history and development of the Humanities. These courses are offered when staffing allows, and they do not fulfill distribution.

Students interested in the major should discuss their ideas and plans with the director as early as possible in their college careers. Majors will take introductory courses in at least three of the following areas: art history, English, foreign languages, history, music history, philosophy, theatre, and world literature (International Literatures and Cultures). Humanities majors must complete 201 or higher in a foreign language (or equivalent if a student is approved for foreign language substitution).

HMN SCE Senior Capstone Experience 2-4 Credits

The Humanities Senior Capstone Experience is an intensive research project (thesis) on a topic of the student's choice. It must draw on and include research from at least two disciplines in the Humanities and it is advised by at least two professors from these fields. Students are responsible for finding SCE advisors from among humanities faculty. Students are enrolled for four SCE credits usually in the spring of their senior year, but the SCE is a year-long project that should be started at the end of the junior year. The Capstone receives a mark of Pass, Fail, or Honors.

Term(s) Offered: All Terms, All Years

HMN 100 General Humanities 4 Credits

USED FOR TRANSFER WORK

Term(s) Offered: Other, Non Conforming

HMN 194 Special Topics 4 Credits

Topics not regularly offered in a department's normal course offerings, chosen based on current student interest and faculty expertise.

Term(s) Offered: All Terms, All Years

HMN 294 Special Topics 4 Credits

Topics not regularly offered in a department's normal course offerings, chosen based on current student interest and faculty expertise.

Term(s) Offered: All Terms, All Years

HMN 390 Humanities Internship 4 Credits

A learning contract is developed prior to enrollment in an internship. Evaluation of student performance is completed by the faculty mentor based on the fulfillment of the contract terms and written evaluation by the internship site supervisor. Students must work at least 45 hours for each internship credit and be enrolled in the course prior to beginning work. Graded A-F or Pass/Fail.

Term(s) Offered: All Terms, All Years

HMN 394 Special Topics 4 Credits

Topics not regularly offered in a department's normal course offerings, chosen based on current student interest and faculty expertise.

Term(s) Offered: All Terms, All Years

HMN 395 On-Campus Research 4 Credits

An agreement between a sponsoring faculty member and a student researching a topic of interest that is relevant to a student's major or minor. Research is conducted on campus. Students must be enrolled before the research can begin. Graded A-F or Pass/Fail. 45 hours are required per credit.

Term(s) Offered: All Terms, All Years

HMN 396 Off-Campus Studies 4 Credits

An agreement between a sponsoring faculty member and a student researching a topic of interest that is relevant to a student's major or minor. Research is conducted off-campus. Students must be enrolled before the research can begin. Graded A-F or Pass/Fail. 45 hours are required per credit.

Term(s) Offered: All Terms, All Years

HMN 397 Independent Studies 4 Credits

An agreement between a sponsoring faculty and a student letting the student study a topic of interest not offered at WC. 45 hours are required per credit.

Term(s) Offered: All Terms, All Years

HMN 490 Humanities Internship 4 Credits

A learning contract is developed prior to enrollment in an internship. Evaluation of student performance is completed by the faculty mentor based on fulfillment of the contract terms and written evaluation by the internship site supervisor. 45 hours are required per credit.

Term(s) Offered: All Terms, All Years

HMN 494 Special Topics 4 Credits

Topics not regularly offered in a department's normal course offerings, chosen based on current student interest and faculty expertise.

Term(s) Offered: All Terms, All Years

HMN 495 On-Campus Studies 4 Credits

An agreement between a sponsoring faculty member and a student researching a topic of interest that is relevant to a student's major or minor. Research is conducted on campus. Students must be enrolled before the research can begin. Graded A-F or Pass/Fail. 45 hours are required per credit.

Term(s) Offered: All Terms, All Years

HMN 496 Off-Campus Research 4 Credits

An agreement between a sponsoring faculty member and a student researching a topic of interest that is relevant to a student's major or minor. Research is conducted off-campus. Students must be enrolled before the research can begin. Graded A-F or Pass/Fail. 45 hours are required per credit.

Term(s) Offered: All Terms, All Years

HMN 497 Independent Study 4 Credits

An agreement between a sponsoring faculty member and a student allowing the student to study a topic of interest that is presently not offered at WAC. 45 hours are required per credit.

Term(s) Offered: All Terms, All Years

Humanities Major Requirements

The major consists of a minimum of eight upper-level courses in at least two, preferably three, subjects listed below. Students must complete the introductory courses prior to enrolling in upper-level courses. Students should check the prerequisites for upper-level courses.

The upper-level courses may not double-count for other majors or minors.

While offering students the opportunity to work in several academic fields, the Humanities major nevertheless requires a distinct focus and careful planning, with regular contact with the director and affiliated professors is essential.

Students are encouraged to work from an interdisciplinary perspective. In addition, there are two courses specifically designed to introduce students majoring in Humanities to the history and development of the Humanities. These courses are offered when staffing allows, and they do not fulfill distribution.

Students interested in the major should discuss their ideas and plans with the director as early as possible in their college careers. Majors will take introductory courses in at least three of the following areas: art history, English, foreign languages, history, music history, philosophy, theatre, and world literature (International Literatures and Cultures). Humanities majors must complete 201 or higher in a foreign language (or equivalent if a student is approved for foreign language substitution).

The major consists of a minimum of eight courses on the 300 and 400 level in at least two, preferably three, of the disciplines mentioned above. Please be sure to take the necessary introductory courses prior to that and check the prerequisites for upper-level courses. These upper-level courses may not double-count for other majors or minors. While offering students the opportunity to work in several academic fields, the humanities major nevertheless requires a distinct focus and careful planning, and regular contact with the director and affiliated professors is essential. The Humanities Program offers no minor. Students generally select courses for the major from the humanities disciplines taught at Washington College (see list above), and they are encouraged to work from an interdisciplinary perspective in these courses. In addition, there are two courses specifically designed to introduce Humanities majors to the history and development of the humanities. These courses are offered when staffing allows, and they do not fulfill distribution.