Humanities (HUM)

HUM 500. Honors Thesis in Humanities - WR3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Junior standing; admission to Divisional Honors Program.

Description: An intensive examination of a topical area in Humanities undertaken with a designated faculty director.

Note: Approved for the Arts and Sciences upper-level requirement in written communication (WR).

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 501. Independent Study1-3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Minimum grade-point average of 3.0 overall; minimum grade point average of 3.5 in the department; at least 18 hours credit in the department; consent of Division chair.

Description: Individualized study under the supervision of a sponsoring faculty member that is related to research or practice that is not included in regular courses in the curriculum.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 502. Independent Study1-3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Minimum grade-point average of 3.0 overall; minimum grade point average of 3.5 in the department, and at least 18 hours credit in the department.

Description: Consent of Division chair.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 505. Humanities Study Abroad - WR3-6 Units

Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered

Prerequisite(s): Participation in the University of Louisville study abroad program or a program approved by the Department of Comparative Humanities.

Description: Credit awarded upon demonstration of successful completion of program, including a paper or project and an oral or written examination administered under the supervision of a faculty member.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 509. Interdisciplinary Approaches: Arts and Humanities - WR, CUE3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Junior standing; majors only.

Description: Methods and theories in interdisciplinary thinking and research, emphasizing 1) the interrelationships of the disciplines, 2) the importance of synthesizing art, theatre, literature, music, philosophy, and religion in a cultural context, and 3) the critical examination of issues arising from fields outside the Humanities that have significant impact on and synergy with the Humanities.

Note: Approved for the Arts and Sciences upper-level requirement in written communication (WR).
Note: Credit may not be earned for both HUM 509 and HUM 609.

Course Attribute(s): CUE - This course fulfills the Culminating Undergraduate Experience (CUE) requirement for certain degree programs. CUE courses are advanced-level courses intended for majors with at least 90 earned credits/senior-level status.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 510. Methods and Theories in the Study of Religion - CUE, WR3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Completion of 90 hours and permission of instructor.

Description: . A survey of major theories and methodologies in the academic study of religion from a historical perspective.

Note: Approved for the Arts and Sciences upper-level requirement in written communication (WR).
Note: Credit may not be earned for both HUM 510 and HUM 610.

Course Attribute(s): CUE - This course fulfills the Culminating Undergraduate Experience (CUE) requirement for certain degree programs. CUE courses are advanced-level courses intended for majors with at least 90 earned credits/senior-level status.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 511. Topics in the Interpretation of Sacred Texts3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Junior standing.

Description: Study in depth of sacred texts and commentaries selected from the major religions of the world: Hebrew Bible, New Testament, Qur'an, Vedas, Bhagavad Gita, and Buddhist sutras.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 512. Topics in Contemporary Religious Thought3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Junior standing.

Description: In-depth study of selected contemporary writers from major world religions.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 513. Topics in Comparative Religions3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Junior standing.

Description: A critical study of similarities and differences in ideas and attitudes toward significant themes in world religions.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 514. Perspectives on Religious Coexistence and Conflict3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Junior standing.

Description: Through interdiscliplinary methodological and theoretical frames of analysis, exemplary cases of global, historical interreligious encounters will be explored.

Note: Credit may not be earned for both HUM 514 and HUM 614.

Course Attribute(s): CBL - This course includes Community-Based Learning (CBL). Students will engage in a community experience or project with an external partner in order to enhance understanding and application of academic content.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 515. Topics in Gender and the Humanities3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Junior Standing.

Description: Specialized topics in Gender and the Humanities will be explored through advanced, interdisciplinary methodological and/or theoretical frames.

Note: Credit may not be earned for both HUM 515 and HUM 615.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 516. Topics in the Histories of Religion3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Junior Standing.

Description: Advanced study of selected histories of individual religious traditions and/or interaction between religious traditions in different historical contexts.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 518. Arabs & Jews in Israeli & Palestinian Literature & Cinema3 Units

Prerequisite(s): ENGL 101 and ENGL 102.

Description: Students explore the nexus of Israeli and Palestinian literature and history from the 1948 war to the present, exploring issues of empathy with the other, the commemoration of personal and collective trauma and dispossession, and the construction of peoplehood and national identity.

Note: Cross-listed with HUM 618.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 524. Special Topics in Film Study3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Junior standing.

Description: An in-depth study on a specific topic to be announced in the Schedule of Courses.

Note: May be repeated up to three times for different topics.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 541. Feminism and Science Fiction3 Units

Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered

Description: This class will examine the science fiction genre through the lens of gender and feminism. The course will develop students' critical reading, thinking, writing and presentation skills. Reading works of science fiction with and against classic readings in feminist theory, students will develop an understanding of the ways writers, particularly women writers, have worked within the genre to explore issues related to gender, race, class, and sexuality. Students will be asked to consider the ways the science fiction writers have participated in on-going dialogues within larger culture, within the SF community, and within feminism, related to gender roles, gender and sexual identity, and hegemonic social structures.

Note: Cross-listed with WGST 541.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 550. Internship in Arts and Humanities3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Consent of chair of Humanities or undergraduate advisor.

Description: An individually arranged internship that combines volunteer work experience with an Arts or Humanities organization or agency with a related academic project.

Note: Course cannot be repeated for academic credit toward the degree.

Course Attribute(s): CBL - This course includes Community-Based Learning (CBL). Students will engage in a community experience or project with an external partner in order to enhance understanding and application of academic content.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 555. Independent Reading2-3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Honors standing, junior standing, consent of division chair.

Description: Readings in cultural history; oral and written reports.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 561. Selected Topics3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Junior standing.

Description: Content to be indicated in the Schedule of Courses.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 562. Selected Topics3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Junior standing.

Description: Content to be indicated in the Schedule of Courses.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 581. Dante3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Junior standing.

Description: Study of Dante's life and major works, and the social, political, and cultural milieu which affected his literary career.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 590. ST: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Humanities - WR3 Units

Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer

Description: Interdisciplinary topics to be announced in the Schedule of Courses. May be repeated up to three times under different topics.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 595. Principles of Cultural History - WR3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Completion of 75 undergraduate hours.

Description: The study of major systematic views of the development on Western culture.

Note: Approved for the Arts and Sciences upper-level requirement in written communication (WR).
Note: Credit may not be received for this course and HIST 595.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 608. Queer Performance3 Units

Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered

Description: What constitutes queer performance? Is queer who you are or what you do? Is sexuality all we mean by queer? What are the historical, aesthetic, and political aspects of queer performance? Integral to our theoretical discussions will be questions of practice and production: Where is queer performance staged and how is it received? How is it produced, for whom, by whom, and with what funds? Is queer inherently or even necessarily radical? Within rigid Western notions of gender, the "Queer Performer," is a gender outlaw; an individual who pushed at the edges of gender, forcing us to recognize that gender has little to do with our biological sex. Their performances of their gender(s), race(s), and/or sexuality(ies) challenges our prevailing notions of what it means to be Queer and what it means to perform identity. This course will examine the artistic and aesthetic performances of various Queer Performers to foster an understanding and appreciation of the rich diversity of the forms of performance styles and practitioners that might be called "lesbian," "gay," "transgender," and "queer," among others. Secondly, it will motivate students to examine the broad social, political, religious, and cultural contexts in which queer performance takes place. Lastly, this course will allow students to contemplate what it means to be a spectator of performance through a queer perspective, regardless of one's identity, or sexual orientation.

Note: Cross-listed with WGST 508 and WGST 608.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 609. Interdisciplinary Theory: Arts and Humanities3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: Methods and theories in interdisciplinary thinking and research emphasizing 1) the interrelationships of the disciplines; 2) the importance of synthesizing art, theatre, literature, music, philosophy, and religion in a cultural context; and 3) the critical examination of issues arising from fields outside the Humanities that have significant impact on the synergy with the Humanities.

Note: Credit may not be earned for both HUM 509 and HUM 609.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 610. Methods and Theories in the Study of Religion3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: A survey of major theories and methodologies in the academic study of religion from a historical perspective.

Note: Credit may not be earned for both HUM 510 and HUM 610.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 611. Topics in the Interpretation of Sacred Texts3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: In-depth study of sacred texts and commentaries selected from the major religions of the world: Hebrew Bible, New Testament, Qur'an, Vedas, Bhagavad Gita, and Buddhist sutras.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 612. Topics in Contemporary Religious Thought3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: In-depth study of selected contemporary writers from major world religions.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 613. Topics in Comparative Religions3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: A critical study of similarities and differences in ideas and attitudes toward significant themes in world religions.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 614. Perspectives on Religious Coexistence and Conflict3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: Through interdisciplinary methodological and theoretical frames of analysis, exemplary cases of global, historical interreligious encounters will be explored.

Note: Credit may not be earned for both HUM 514 and HUM 614.

Course Attribute(s): CBL - This course includes Community-Based Learning (CBL). Students will engage in a community experience or project with an external partner in order to enhance understanding and application of academic content.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 615. Topics in Gender and the Humanities3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: Specialized topics in Gender and the Humanities will be explored through advanced interdisciplinary methodological and/or theoretical frames.

Note: Credit may not be earned for both HUM 515 and HUM 615.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 616. Topics in the Histories of Religion3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: Advanced study of selected histories of individual religious traditions and/or interaction between religious traditions in different historical contexts

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 618. Arabs and Jews in Israeli & Palestinian Literature & Cinema3 Units

Prerequisite(s): ENGL 101 and ENGL 102.

Description: Students explore the nexus of Israeli and Palestinian literature and history from the 1948 war to the present, exploring issues of empathy with the other, the commemoration of personal and collective trauma and dispossession, and the construction of peoplehood and national identity.

Note: Cross-listed with HUM 518.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 624. Special Topics in Film Study3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: An in-depth study on a specific topic to be announced in the Schedule of Courses.

Note: May be repeated up to three times for different topics.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 635. Interdisciplinary Theory of Repulsion and Disgust3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: This course explores the role of the emotion of disgust in human cultural history through an investigation of its treatment in a range of disciplines: psychology and psychoanalysis, health studies, law, anthropology, religious studies, history, cultural studies, philosophy - aesthetics and phenomenology, literature and visual art. Students are encouraged to engage in research that complements their own areas of specialization.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 636. Introduction to Public Humanities3 Units

Term Typically Offered: Fall Only

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: Introductory course in Public Humanities critically exploring notions of the individual, freedom, community, and public engagement. Required for MA concentration in Humanities and Public Humanities.

Course Attribute(s): CBL - This course includes Community-Based Learning (CBL). Students will engage in a community experience or project with an external partner in order to enhance understanding and application of academic content.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 637. American Thought and Culture3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: Introduction to history of ideas in terms of twentieth-century American thought and culture, with an emphasis on community values and the arts.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 640. Graduate Reading Knowledge3 Units

Grading Basis: Pass/Fail

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing or consent of chair.

Description: Intensive language course, designed for graduate students who are preparing for language reading examinations. Provides reading knowledge of a foreign language by focusing on fundamentals and translation.

Note: Cross-listed with M L 640.
Note: The credits may not be used as part of the graduate program.
Note: May be repeated up to 3 times for different languages.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 641. Feminism and Science Fiction3 Units

Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered

Description: This class will examine the science fiction genre through the lens of gender and feminism. The course will develop students' critical reading, thinking, writing and presentation skills. Reading works of science fiction with and against classic readings in feminist theory, students will develop an understanding of the ways writers, particularly women writers, have worked within the genre to explore issues related to gender, race, class, and sexuality. Students will be asked to consider the ways the science fiction writers have participated in ongoing dialogues within larger culture, within the SF community, and within feminism, related to gender roles, gender and sexual identity, and hegemonic social structures.

Note: Cross-listed with WGST 641.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 645. Thesis Guidance1-6 Units

Prerequisite(s): Approval of chair.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 650. Graduate Internship3-6 Units

Prerequisite(s): Approval of chair or graduate advisor.

Description: Enrollment limited to students pursuing the MA concentration in Humanities and Civic Leadership. An individually arranged internship, combining a volunteer work experience in an Arts/Humanities organization or agency with a related academic project.

Course Attribute(s): CBL - This course includes Community-Based Learning (CBL). Students will engage in a community experience or project with an external partner in order to enhance understanding and application of academic content.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 651. Independent Study3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Approval of chair or graduate advisor.

Description: A research project directed by a member of the division faculty involving independent investigation, interpretation, and application, culminating in an academic research paper or directed study project report.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 652. Independent Study3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Approval of chair or graduate advisor.

Description: A research project directed by a member of the division faculty involving independent investigation, interpretation, and application, culminating in an academic research paper or directed study project report.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 653. Doctoral Project I3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: A series of exercises leading to the completion of four book reviews suitable for publication in journals in the student's field. The project is directed by a faculty member working with the student individually.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 654. Doctoral Project II1-3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: A series of exercises leading to the completion of an article suitable for a publication in the student's field. The project is directed by a faculty member working with the student individually.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 655. Directed Study Project3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing and approval of the chair or graduate advisor.

Description: A directed study project involving investigation, interpretation, and application culminating in a non-thesis alternative.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 660. Proseminar: Introduction to Doctoral Study3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing, doctoral students only.

Description: An overview of Humanities doctoral studies, from basic doctoral and post-doctoral procedures (seminar and conference papers, journal and book publications, the dissertation, the academic job market, jobs for PhDs beyond academe, and more) through an introduction to the general types of advanced modern and contemporary theory students are likely to encounter in courses that follow.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 661. Historical Perspectives on Arts & Culture I3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: Introduction to interdisciplinary critical analysis of the arts and humanities in their historical context providing a foundation for close examination of individual works representative of specific periods.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 662. Historical Perspectives on Arts & Culture II3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: Introduction to interdisciplinary critical analysis of the arts and humanities in their historical context providing a foundation for close examination of individual works representative of specific periods.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 663. Global Perspectives on Arts & Culture3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: Advanced exploration of contributions to thought and the arts from those sectors of global society often overlooked: indigenous peoples and peoples of the conceptual East and South. Rather than progressing through historical periods, the course materials are arranged analytically, by theme, such as "Difference," "Empire," "Migration," and "Adaptation".

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 671. Introduction to Public History3 Units

Term Typically Offered: Fall Only

Description: Introduction to nature, history, and methods of public history. Emphasis on relationship of historical scholarship to nonacademic applications.

Note: Faculty consent is recommended.
Note: Cross-listed with HIST 597 and HIST 697.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 672. Interdisciplinary Seminar3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: Advanced interdisciplinary research and analysis of selected issues in the Arts and Humanities. Content to be indicated in the Schedule of Courses.

Note: May be repeated up to three times.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 673. Topics in Cultural Theory3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: Exploration of advanced theory regarding the formation and maintenance of, and issues in, culture from a social perspective.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 674. Topics in Aesthetic Theory3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: Exploration of advanced theory regarding the formation and maintenance of, and issues in, aesthetics and aesthetic approaches to culture.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 681. Topics in Aesthetics and Creativity3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: Topics to be co-listed with selected departmental offerings.

Note: May be repeated up to a maximum of five times.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 682. Topics in Studies in Culture3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: Topics to be co-listed with selected departmental offerings.

Note: May be repeated up to a maximum of five times.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 683. Exercises in Interdisciplinary Research3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: Intensive workshop on the pursuit of research between divergent disciplines, with coverage of theories and methodologies of such work and an individual project drawn from the students' own areas of interest.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 689. Reading for Comprehensive Examinations3 Units

Grading Basis: Pass/Fail

Prerequisite(s): Restricted to students who are completing or have completed course work and are preparing for exams.

Description: Directed reading on topics of student's comprehensive exams; reading lists are negotiated between student and directors of examination areas.

Note: May not be repeated for credit.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 699. Interdisciplinary Capstone Symposium3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: Symposium for candidates completing their content course work during the current academic year.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

HUM 700. Dissertation Research1-9 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing and approval of chair or graduate advisor.

Description: Dissertation research

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes