The Humanities Department originally grew out of a desire to provide students with an integrated perspective on Western Civilization. In the late twentieth century, globalization resulted in a justifiable mandate that our students become aware of more than the western European canon, that they learn about the teachings of Islam, the values of Asian cultures and many other aspects of world culture which were once so distant as to not require attention in our curriculum. But the world has changed and it is now our responsibility to provide students with interdisciplinary perspectives on the great questions that have long preoccupied human beings, such as "who are we, where did we come from, and where are we going?" To acquaint students with the works of those who have grappled with ultimate questions, our courses integrate history, literature, philosophy, religion, politics, music and art. We concentrate on developing our students' analytical and expressive skills, their ability to read, write and think clearly. Our courses promote an appreciation of the arts and letters and their role in shaping modern society. Our students have won many awards for essays, poetry and short stores, and upon graduation they pursue a wide variety of occupations: law, journalism, librarianship, teaching, public service, social work and public relations.
The Humanities Department offers several different interdisciplinary programs. These include two lower division general education programs: the Humanities Honors Program and the American Civilization curriculum. It also provides four baccalaureate majors with related minor programs in Humanities, Creative Arts, Liberal Studies and Religious Studies as well as interdisciplinary minor programs in American Studies, Asian Studies, and Middle East Studies. For information not found below see the catalog index on American Studies, Asian Studies, Comparative Religious Studies, Creative Arts, and Middle East Studies.
The Humanities Honors Program 1A/B-2A/B is a four-semester survey course in the Background of Western Culture and Society (1A/1B) and Modern Cultural and Social Institutions (2A/2B) which provides students with 24 units of core General Education in a format that emphasizes the interrelationship of art, literature, philosophy and social institutions. Core General Education: Written Communication 1A/1B (6 units); Oral Communication (3 units); Arts and Letters (6 units); Comparative Systems (3 units); Social Issues (3 units); Critical Thinking (3 units). The program also satisfies graduation requirements in American Institutions (6 units).
The course is interdisciplinary and team-taught, and is organized chronologically from the Ancient World through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance (1A/B), the Early Modern and Contemporary periods (2A/B). In the last two semesters (2A/B) the course focuses upon the emergence and development of American culture and institutions within the broader framework of European, African and indigenous American and Asian history and cultures. Interdisciplinary by nature, the course is comprised of both team-taught lectures and singly led discussion seminars which require reading the classic works of Asian, African, European and American Cultures.
The goals of the course are not only to teach students about the origins and development of American civilization but to develop their analytical and expressive skills, to promote an appreciation of the arts and letters and to increase their understanding of the diverse peoples and societies which have played a role in shaping modern American social and cultural institutions.
Students who have an entering GPA of 3.0 and a verbal SAT score of 550 and above are automatically eligible. Those students who do not satisfy these criteria but would like to be considered for the Program may discuss waiving these criteria with the program coordinator, Dr. Marianina Olcott, 924-4455; molcott@email.sjsu.edu.
The American Studies curriculum is a two-course, twelve-unit sequence which satisfies over one-fourth of all lower division general education requirements. The two courses, AMS 1A and 1B, provide the opportunity to study America's development and current conditions through themes such as the American dream, environmental issues, and ethnic and women's studies. The course consists of team-taught lectures, followed by smaller discussion seminars.
Courses are taught by faculty teams from different disciplines, which enable students to take their general education courses in an integrated way. American Studies 1A and 1B earn six units of general education credit in arts and letters (Area C) and six units in comparative systems and social issues (Area D). The two courses also satisfy the California Education Code American Institutions requirements in U.S. Constitution and California Government.
See American Studies program listing in the index for course descriptions of AMS 1A and 1B.
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