Loyola Marymount University Bulletin 2011-2012 > Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts > Humanities

Humanities

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Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts

In this section:

Humanities Model Four-Year Plan

Director

Áine O’Healy

Faculty

Assistant Professor: Alexandra Neel

Objectives

The Humanities major is designed to meet the needs of a student who has a broad interest in liberal arts but whose interest would not be served by a major program within a single department. The Humanities major is an interdisciplinary program. In the first two years the student acquires a broad background in the arts, history, and literature. Language study through the advanced level is also required. In the second two years, the student concentrates in a particular area of interest. The concentration consists of five (5) upper division courses taken from departmental offerings in Archaeology, Art History, Classics, English, French, German, Greek, History, Italian, Latin, Philosophy, Spanish, or Theological Studies. The concentration is then supported by two (2) upper division history or philosophy courses and two (2) upper division courses in either an ancient or a modern literature selected in consultation with the Humanities advisor. All Humanities majors are required to complete, in their final semester, a final project which marks the culmination of the student’s interdisciplinary course of study. There are two options: the student may complete a Capstone Project (HMNT 497), which consists of a portfolio that encapsulates the student’s course of study; alternately, the student may elect to write a Senior Thesis (HMNT 490), which is a substantial research project based on the student’s concentration. The student who elects to write a senior thesis will choose a topic and a thesis advisor in consultation with the Director. Working closely with the thesis advisor, the student will produce a thesis which integrates the student’s interests in language, literature, history, art history, or philosophy. The senior thesis is reviewed and graded by the thesis advisor and the Director.

The program is a fine preparation for students interested in professional courses in law, business, or education. Also, the program is designed to allow students to complete a major in a departmental area which would qualify them for graduate studies.

Humanities Student Learning Outcomes

By virtue of pursuing a major in Humanities,

Students should know:

How knowledge has been pursued, established, and critically evaluated in the three different disciplines representing their concentration, their literature support, and their historical or philosophical support
The various ways in which artists have developed the fine arts to convey their sense of the world’s surface and its depth
A foreign language
The content as well as analytical and communicative skills that the study of their concentration demands;

Students should be able to:

Communicate insights clearly, effectively, and with nuance in both oral and written form
Synthesize insights from a variety of disciplines
Develop insights from one discipline for the enrichment of others;

Students should value:

The variety of ways in which cognitive, moral, and aesthetic disciplines have enriched our sense of the human condition
The further pursuit of those disciplines, as required by their deeper sense of the complexity of the human condition
Their responsibility to serve the world as whole persons, with head, heart, and hand.

Major Requirements

Lower Division Requirements:

15 semester hours distributed as follows:

6 semester hours from: ARHS 200, 201, 202.

3 semester hours in Studio or Performance Arts.

6 semester hours from one of the following language sequences:

CHIN 203, 204;

FREN 203, 204;

GREK 201, any upper division Greek;

GRMN 203, 204;

ITAL 203, 204;

JAPN 203, 204;

LATN 201, any upper division Latin;

MDGK 203, 204;

SPAN 203, 204.

An average grade of C (2.0) must be obtained in courses included in the major.

Upper Division Requirements:

At least 30 semester hours in upper division courses distributed as follows:

15 semester hours in concentration in a departmental major.

6 semester hours in either an ancient or a modern literature which supports the concentration.

6 semester hours in either art history, history, or philosophy which supports the concentration.

And, in the final semester, either

3 semester hours for the Senior Thesis (HMNT 490), or 1 semester hour for the Capstone Project (HMNT 497) plus 3 semester hours in an ancient or modern literature, art history, history, or philosophy.