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Lasell University
Lasell University

2015 - 2016 Academic Catalog

Humanities

The major in humanities offers a broad-based program in which students explore the manifestations of the human imagination and the human intellect. Students gain a background in the areas of human history, cultural development, and social relations; they also examine a range of expressive forms through coursework in literature and the arts. Major requirements include courses in art history, communication, English, history, music, philosophy, and languages; through major electives, students focus on areas of interest. During the senior year, students complete a capstone research project and apply coursework to professional experience as they complete an internship. Students also complete three service-learning credits through service-learning courses and/or linked credits. A major in humanities will prepare a student for a career that draws on written and oral communication skills or a profession involving arts or language applications. Graduates receive a Bachelors of Arts degree in Humanities.

By planning early in consultation with an academic advisor, students may be able to reduce the time it takes to complete a bachelor’s degree in Humanities to 3 or 3½ years.

The following goals and associated learning outcomes delineate what we strive for students to achieve when they complete the major program of study in humanities:

Goal 1: Canons and conventions:
Upon completion of the major program of study in humanities, students will be able to

  1. demonstrate an awareness of the respective advantages of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, while demonstrating an appreciation for the special significance of the qualitative approach for scholars who work in the humanities areas (e.g., literary studies, composition, history, cultural studies, art, music, philosophy, and language)
  2. demonstrate a familiarity with the ethical and moral questions that attend the human condition and the human experience
  3. demonstrate an openness to and an appreciation of the richness and diversity of the human condition and experience

Goal 2: Interpretive and critical thinking
Upon completion of the major program of study in humanities, students will be able to

  1. research topics, themes, and questions
  2. summarize content in materials from the various fields of the humanities
  3. interpret humanities texts critically through close reading
  4. create a valid argument, while differentiating between argument and opinion

Goal 3: Discourse and dialogue
Upon completion of the major program of study in humanities, students will be able to

  1. write in a professional manner
  2. speak in a professional manner

Goal 4: Professionalism
Upon completion of the major program of study in humanities, students will be able to

  1. demonstrate respect for professional codes and standards
  2. demonstrate professional behavior in the workplace
  3. explore career options
Course Code Course Title Credits
Core Courses
HUM103 Invitation to the Humanities 3
HUM399 Humanities Internship Seminar 1
HUM400 Humanities Field Experience 4
HUM419 Seminar in Hum: Readings & Research 3
HUM420 Seminar in Humanities 3
PHIL101 Introduction to Philosophy 3
Choose 1 from the following:
COM101 Understanding Mass Media 3
COM103 Human Communication (KP) 3
Choose 1 from the following:
ENG210 Survey of American Literature 3
ENG218 British Literature 3
Choose 1 from the following:
ENG304 Stories of Origin 3
ENG312 Literature of Postcolonial World 3
ENG313 American Multiethnic Literature 3
ENG340 Classics of World Literature 3
Choose 2 from the following:
HIST103 World Civilization I 3
HIST104 World Civilization II (KP) 3
HIST123 American Civilization I 3
HIST124 American Civilization II 3
Choose 1 from the following:
HIST208 Sub-Saharan Africa after 1800 3
HIST209 China from 1600 to Present 3
HIST210 Latin Amer Colonial Period to Present 3
HIST211 Middle East & Islamic World Since 1800 3
Choose 1 from the following:
ARTH103 Art History I 3
ARTH104 Art History II 3
Choose 1 from the following:
MUS101 Music Appreciation I (KP) 3
MUS102 Music Appreciation II 3

Additional Courses
Social Science Electives: 3-4 credits
Science Electives: 3-4 credits
Foreign Language: 0-12 credits
Math Elective: 3 credits
Service Learning: 3 credits

Choose seven additional courses from the following areas*: 21 credits
Art History
Communication
English
History
Music
Philosophy
Studio Arts
* At least three different areas must be represented, and at least two courses must be at the 300 level

Major Requirements: 74-88 credits

Core Curriculum Requirements: 15-21 credits

Unrestricted Electives: 11-31 credits

Minimum credits required for graduation: 120

Courses listed below fulfill Knowledge Perspective requirements:
Aesthetics & Creativity
MUS 101 Music History I

Global/Historical Perspectives
HIST 104 World Civilization II

Math elective fulfills the quantitative literacy requirement of the Core Curriculum for Humanities.

HUM103 - Invitation to the Humanities

This course invites students to consider what it means to be human from manifold scholarly perspectives. As such, students are introduced to the many disciplines included in the humanities. Arguably, there are eight: art, communication, history, language, literature, music, philosophy, and religion. Taking a thoroughly interdisciplinary approach, this course investigates how humanists employ these varied disciplines in studying and expressing humanness.

HUM203X - The New Testament

The Christian New Testament is one of the most widely read documents in the world, and one of the most widely misunderstood. In this course, we will read the New Testament and study it from several critical perspectives. This is not a “Bible study” reading of the New Testament; come prepared to have your assumptions challenged and your standard interpretations questioned. Historical criticism, source criticism, feminist criticism, and close textual analysis will contribute to a lively and refreshing look at this classic of Western literature. Critical thinking and an open mind are prerequisites to a successful learning experience. Prerequisite: ENG102

HUM204X - Africa

This course will offer a brief history of sub-Saharan Africa, an overview of East African history and culture, and a deeper examination of the culture, history, and politics of Uganda. Required of students going on the Uganda service learning trip, this course is also open to students who are interested in African history and cultural studies. Readings, films, speakers, and perhaps even a sampling of Ugandan cuisine will introduce us to this fascinating continent and country

HUM207X - Mexico/U.S.: Poverty & Human Rights

In this course, we will study poverty from the perspective of poor people themselves. Examining the diverse cultures and peoples of Mexico, we consider the way in which people in one Mexican state help themselves. Their history and struggles will shed light on the dire poverty in which half the world’s population lives, as we work shoulder to shoulder with a farming community taking its future into its own hands. The course includes an immersion component in January, involving daily service and study in Mexico through the international nonprofit Niños de Veracruz. The course also includes fifteen hours of service to Niños de Veracruz in November. This course fulfills the Area of Inquiry – Multicultural [AI(MC)] and the Area of Inquiry – Moral/Ethical [AI(ME)] and supports the Human Rights Minor.

HUM399 - Humanities Internship Seminar

This seminar helps students to develop objectives and identify potential sites for the senior internship. Topics include the application of humanities course work to a professional career and the development of skills necessary to locate an internship. The final goal of this course is to locate an appropriate internship. Junior or senior standing is required; this course is designed for Humanities Department majors only.

HUM400 - Humanities Field Experience

This course provides individually arranged participation in a work setting related to students' majors. Students spend 150 hours at the internship site over the course of the semester. Primary responsibility rests with students in identifying and pursuing an area of interest in consultation with the instructor. Students participate in a one-hour seminar each week that focuses on reflective activities that enhance the internship experience. Students complete written exercises about and evaluations of the experience. Evaluation of the field experience is based on student performance as reviewed by the employer and instructor at the internship site, as well as participation in the seminar and written assignments. Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, approval of instructor, HUM 399. Humanities Department majors only.

HUM419 - Seminar in Hum: Readings & Research

This capstone course serves as the direct complement to HUM420. Whereas HUM420 is a writing-intensive course, this course is research and reading intensive; students work in a tutorial fashion (i.e., one on one) with the instructor to choose a research topic, read closely in pertinent sources, and report back through informative and exploratory writing assignments and conversations. Like HUM420, this course focuses on the acquisition of knowledge and the solution of problems; when taken together, these courses serve as a capstone experience. Prerequisite: senior standing. Humanities Department and IDS majors only.

HUM420 - Seminar in Humanities

This capstone course focuses on the acquisition of knowledge and problem solving. The topic will change; however, the course emphasizes extensive research projects related to students' fields of interest. This is a writing-intensive course. Prerequisites: HUM419 and senior standing. Humanities Department and IDS majors only.

Joseph Aieta III

Professor Emeritus

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Stephanie Athey

Professor of Cultural Studies, Director of the Honors Program

Office: Winslow

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Steven Bloom

Professor Emeritus, English

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Dennis Frey Jr

Dean of Curricular Integration, Director of Rosemary B Fuss Teaching and Learning Center, Professor of History

Office: Winslow

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Jose Guzman

Professor of Humanities, Coordinator of World Language Program

Office: Winslow

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Sharyn Lowenstein

Associate Professor Emerita, Humanities

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Lizbeth Piel

Chair of Humanities; Associate Professor of Humanities

Office: Winslow

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Thomas Sullivan

Professor Emeritus

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HUM103 - Invitation to the Humanities

This course invites students to consider what it means to be human from manifold scholarly perspectives. As such, students are introduced to the many disciplines included in the humanities. Arguably, there are eight: art, communication, history, language, literature, music, philosophy, and religion. Taking a thoroughly interdisciplinary approach, this course investigates how humanists employ these varied disciplines in studying and expressing humanness.

HUM399 - Humanities Internship Seminar

This seminar helps students to develop objectives and identify potential sites for the senior internship. Topics include the application of humanities course work to a professional career and the development of skills necessary to locate an internship. The final goal of this course is to locate an appropriate internship. Junior or senior standing is required; this course is designed for Humanities Department majors only.

HUM400 - Humanities Field Experience

This course provides individually arranged participation in a work setting related to students' majors. Students spend 150 hours at the internship site over the course of the semester. Primary responsibility rests with students in identifying and pursuing an area of interest in consultation with the instructor. Students participate in a one-hour seminar each week that focuses on reflective activities that enhance the internship experience. Students complete written exercises about and evaluations of the experience. Evaluation of the field experience is based on student performance as reviewed by the employer and instructor at the internship site, as well as participation in the seminar and written assignments. Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, approval of instructor, HUM 399. Humanities Department majors only.

HUM419 - Seminar in Hum: Readings & Research

This capstone course serves as the direct complement to HUM420. Whereas HUM420 is a writing-intensive course, this course is research and reading intensive; students work in a tutorial fashion (i.e., one on one) with the instructor to choose a research topic, read closely in pertinent sources, and report back through informative and exploratory writing assignments and conversations. Like HUM420, this course focuses on the acquisition of knowledge and the solution of problems; when taken together, these courses serve as a capstone experience. Prerequisite: senior standing. Humanities Department and IDS majors only.

HUM420 - Seminar in Humanities

This capstone course focuses on the acquisition of knowledge and problem solving. The topic will change; however, the course emphasizes extensive research projects related to students' fields of interest. This is a writing-intensive course. Prerequisites: HUM419 and senior standing. Humanities Department and IDS majors only.

PHIL101 - Introduction to Philosophy

This course is an introduction to the basic problems of philosophy, such as the sources of knowledge, the relationship between mind and body, freedom as opposed to determinism, and the nature of values.

COM101 - Understanding Mass Media

This course surveys the theories, history, economics, audience, and regulations of the major forms of mass media, including newspapers, magazines, motion pictures, radio, television, and new electronic communication. Students develop a basic understanding of the roles of mass media and their effects on society and the individual. The course focuses on the relationship between mass media and society, so students can identify current trends that are changing the nature and function of traditional mass communication. Students examine and debate many current controversial issues concerning the mass media and their effects on our society and culture. Students discuss significant aspects of mass communication, including ethics and policy formulation that are playing key roles in the materialization of a new global communication era.

COM103 - Human Communication (KP)

This course is a basic survey of human communication, especially interpersonal and group. Attention is given to perception, language and meaning, listening, theories of persuasion, verbal and nonverbal communication, small group discussion, interpersonal conflict, and interviewing. The course focuses on understanding how human communication is fundamentally related to issues of interpersonal relationships; the history of human communication and language development; perception and intrapersonal communication; leadership; group/team work; multicultural diversity in organizations; decision-making; power; public speaking; and ethical challenges. This course helps students to develop and practice skills that will guide effective action in their professional careers and interpersonal relationships. This course includes a Service Learning component.

ENG210 - Survey of American Literature

This course surveys representative periods, authors, or genres in American literature from beginnings in Native American oral literatures through contemporary works. Individual sections organize study of classic and contemporary texts around particular themes, such as Queering American Literatures, American Migrations, Hemispheric American Literature, or Americans on the Edge: "Frontiers" in the American Imagination. Individual sections also trace twentieth- or twenty-first-century movements to their roots in or resistance to earlier movements or forms. This is a writing-intensive course. Prerequisite: ENG 102.

ENG218 - British Literature

This course surveys British writing in poetry, fiction, and drama, with a focus on key periods in the development of British literature. Emphasis is on representative writers in each period. Periods and movements surveyed include Anglo-Saxon, Medieval, Renaissance, Restoration and the Eighteenth Century, Romanticism, Victorian, Modern, and Contemporary or Postmodern. This is a writing-intensive course. Prerequisite: ENG 102.

ENG304 - Stories of Origin

This course considers both written and oral traditional texts. Texts originating in expressions of faith, devotion, cultural origin or expression, and ethnic identity are examined, with attention to narration, characterization, sacred mystery, moral /ethical content, and interpretation. Readings include selections from Ancient Greek and Roman literature, the Bible and/or the Qur’an, and world myths and folktales. Prerequisite: Any 200-level English course.

ENG312 - Literature of Postcolonial World

In this course, students consider issues, movements, or traditions in literatures that respond to a history of colonization and/or imperialism. Latin American, African, and Asian cultures or traditions are emphasized in English or in English translations; issues addressed might include matters of publication and criticism, myths about the "third world," nationalism, fundamentalism, human rights, technology, and cultural resistance. Example topics include The Novel in India, Caribbean Dub Poetry, Prison Writing, Major South African Writers, Magic Realism. This is a presentation-intensive course. Prerequisite: Any 200-level English course.

ENG313 - American Multiethnic Literature

This course focuses on the history, variety, and aesthetic conventions of one or more racial-ethnic traditions in American writing. Individual courses might focus on key forms or authors; distinct traditions such as African-American, Latino, Asian-American, or Native American literature; or a survey across several traditions. Examples include Barack Obama and the African-American Tradition, Contemporary Latino Literatures, or Haiti and the US in Haitian-American Writing. This is a writing-intensive course. Prerequisite: Any 200-level English course.

ENG340 - Classics of World Literature

This course explores representative fiction, poetry, or drama by major figures in world literature, centering on topics such as love, tragedy, comedy, immortality, madness, wasteland, quest for knowledge, voyages, or exploration. This is a presentation-intensive course. Prerequisite: Any 200-level English course.

HIST103 - World Civilization I

Beginning with prehistory, this course explores early civilizations and then follows developments in a global context, showing interconnections between Asia, Africa, and Europe. Emphasis is placed on cultural, social, economic, religious, and political developments.

HIST104 - World Civilization II (KP)

This Knowledge Perspective course will provide students with the opportunity to interpret and analyze the complex interrelationships and inequities in human societies in a global historical context. Emphasizing the interrelatedness and mutuality of influence between East and West, we examine questions of exclusiveness, intolerance, and cooperation. Prerequisite: ENG101.

HIST123 - American Civilization I

This course examines the chief political, social, and cultural features of American society as they have developed through the period of Reconstruction. Emphasis is on Colonial America, the War of Independence, the Constitution, and the emergence of the Republic through the Civil War.

HIST124 - American Civilization II

This course is a continuation of HIST 123 from the period of Reconstruction to the present. Emphasis is on reconstruction, industrialization, immigration, constitutional issues, and the emergence of American foreign policy. There is some examination of American political life in the nuclear age.

HIST208 - Sub-Saharan Africa after 1800

This survey of sub-Saharan African history explores the ongoing story of African political, social, and economic developments from the post-transatlantic slave trade period to the present. The course considers the impact of European merchants, missionaries, and adventurers on Africa from the time immediately preceding imperialism and colonialism up through the emergence of nationalism and the decolonization and liberation movements. The new nation-states, their postcolonial economies, and their developing systems of justice, education, and rule are investigated. Finally, topics such as soil erosion, disease, conservation, famine, and Africa’s relationships with the wider world are discussed. Prerequisite: a 100-level history course or ENG 102.

HIST209 - China from 1600 to Present

This course is a survey of modern Chinese history from the founding of the Qing Dynasty in the seventeenth century to Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms of the 1990s. Special attention will be paid to modernization, Western and Japanese imperialism in China, and the rise of Communism under Mao Zedong. In addition to learning about important milestones in Chinese history, students will be introduced to aspects of Chinese art, culture, and women's issues through primary sources translated into English. This is a writing-intensive course. Prerequisite: a 100-level history course or ENG 102.

HIST210 - Latin Amer Colonial Period to Present

This survey looks at Latin American history from pre-Columbian to contemporary times. Emphasis is on native cultures, the “discovery” of the New World, European presence, colonialism, imperialism, the creation of the peasantry, wars of independence, the formation of nation-states, the role of the military, slavery and racism, development and underdevelopment, the Catholic Church, liberation theology, poverty, and revolution. Major emphasis in South America is on Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Venezuela, and the Portuguese-speaking nation of Brazil. The course also examines foreign intervention and inner instability in Mexico, including struggles for democracy, economic rights, and social justice. In the Hispanic Caribbean and Central America, especially with regard to Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Belize, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama, land and labor systems, gender relations, race and ethnicity, and varied forms of rule are discussed. This is a writing-intensive course. Prerequisite: a 100-level history course or ENG 102.

HIST211 - Middle East & Islamic World Since 1800

This course looks at the Middle East and its relations with the wider world, from the appearance of Napoleon to the present. Topics include attempts at reform and modernization in the Ottoman Empire; the impact of Western imperialism on the region as a whole; and twentieth-century developments in the area, including nationalism, pan-Arabism, pan-Islamism, the cult of the personality, coup, revolution, Zionism, and the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation. The economic and social impact of oil, the influence of fundamentalism, and the Great Power rivalry down through the position of the United States toward the area are investigated. The efforts of Iran to gain acceptance in/by the contemporary world are examined, as is the shifting attitude of Egypt toward modernity. Finally, connections between the region and the rest of the Islamic world are explored. This is a writing-intensive course. Prerequisite: a 100-level history course or ENG 102.

ARTH103 - Art History I

This course presents a survey of artistic styles from the prehistoric period through the art of the early Renaissance. Periods included are Egyptian, Aegean, Greek, Roman and Etruscan art, and the art of the Middle Ages. Films and slides are used in the presentation of works of art from the fields of architecture, sculpture, and painting.

ARTH104 - Art History II

This course presents a study of works of art from the High Renaissance and the Mannerist periods, the Renaissance in the North, the Baroque period, and the Modern Age. Slides and films are used in this presentation of works of art from the fields of architecture, sculpture, and painting.

MUS101 - Music Appreciation I (KP)

This is a survey course in which students acquire listening skills and learn how to talk about music. The Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical periods of European music (1450-1800) are covered, with an emphasis on the history and development of music in its social and historical context. Students will learn to identify music from these three periods and will gain a more general understanding of music that can be applied to all eras and styles. Composers include Ockeghem, Palestrina, Byrd, Gabrieli, Purcell, Telemann, Bach, Handel, Haydn, and Mozart.

MUS102 - Music Appreciation II

In this course, students will explore the role of music in various contexts, in order to better understand its role in culture and in society. The hands-on curriculum calls for lots of listening and active participation; students will develop their listening skills, their awareness of the elements of music, and their understanding of the musical experience.