What means do we use to understand our world? How do we document our progress and process the encounters in our lives? The humanities is a broad field of study that gives us a glimpse into the past while instructing us on how to apply that insight to our current experience.

Why study humanities at Sewanee?

Sewanee's team-taught, interdisciplinary humanities program will introduce you to the cultural products and practices that have informed the development of Western cultures. Along with critical examination of the West and consideration of what it has meant—and means today—to be human, you’ll refine your writing and speaking skills as well as participate in humanities seminars. Evaluate the implications of historical change over time and approach the study of cultures—both yours and others—in intellectually informed and responsible ways.

A Sampling of Courses

Experience, Expression, and Exchange: Texts and Contexts of the Modern World
Humanities

As a critical introduction to cultural contexts and ideological tensions in the modern world, this interdisciplinary course examines the intersections of literature, the arts, philosophy, and politics to investigate what it means to be modern and how the modern era has reshaped and redefined the human experience. The course will compare literary, visual, and aural texts from different global traditions to unlink the concept of the modern from “the West” in its investigation of how societies have negotiated, registered, and expressed the experience of modernity.

HUMN 106
Experience, Expression, and Exchange: Utopias and Dystopias
Humanities

This course explores how utopian, dystopian, and post-apocalyptic discourse imaginatively engages—and has engaged—cultural and historical challenges. Using approaches related to history, philosophy, literature, political theory, and the visual arts—especially film—this class seeks to ground utopian and dystopian speculation in the historical and cultural circumstances engendering it. Possible texts include works by Rousseau, More, Plato, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Marx, Leibniz, Huxley, Orwell, Zamyatin, McCarthy, Burgess, Atwood, Ishiguro, and Ridley Scott.

HUMN 204
Imitation, Quotation, Appropriation, and Genre
Humanities

Imitation, quotation, and appropriation are fundamental creative strategies. Imitation is how you learn your craft, quotation how you demonstrate expertise, and appropriation a strategy, often with political and legal implications. Forms of expression generated in one context and culture are translated and appropriated for new audiences and purposes. This course examines a diverse range of key monuments, texts, and practices, including the theorization of art in the Italian Renaissance, 20th-century feminist retellings of "classic" tales, and the international exchange of plots between the Hollywood Western and Japanese samurai films.

HUMN 217
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Humanities

Programs of Study

Requirements for the Minor in Humanities

Contact

JEFFREY THOMPSON
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ART HISTORY AND DIRECTOR, INTERDISCIPLINARY HUMANITIES PROGRAM

jpthomps@sewanee.edu

Carnegie Hall 307, Ext. 1493

Classical Studies
The archetype of liberal arts education

The roots of Greek and Latin and the power of their mythology helped propel Western civilization. Classics majors at Sewanee benefit from the study of Western civilization’s foundational languages and find that their influence extends to today’s world. From medical terminology and legal language to hard sciences and the English language itself, we are surrounded by the legacy of our intellectual ancestors.

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Writing Center
Sharpen your pencils, sharpen your skills

Need help with a paper? The Writing Center provides you with objective peer support and instruction for writing projects. The student tutors represent a wide range of majors, and they can help you at any stage in the writing process—topic development, rough drafts, final drafts, revisions, etc. They’re basically your cheerleader from brainstorming to final draft.

Write on
Center for speaking & listening
Next stop: eloquence and poise

The Center for Speaking and Listening will be your new favorite resource on campus. Check out this quiet space, use state-of-the-art equipment, and meet tutors ready to watch your speech and give constructive feedback. Design, develop, and practice delivering effective, ethical speeches with eloquence and confidence.

Take a look