Humanities
About
The Humanities program at Saint Michael’s consists of six courses each exploring the history of ideas and artistic expression primarily of Western thought but not exclusively. The two foundation courses, HU 101 Ancient and Medieval Civilization, and HU 102 Modern Civilization are offered every semester. An additional four courses, each covering a particular historical period, are offered on a rotating basis. These courses fulfill the LSC requirements for Literary and Historical Studies.
Faculty
Political Science and International Relations
Shefali Misra
Associate Professor of Political Science
Read moreIn Depth
HU 101 – Ancient and Medieval Civilization
This course is a chronological and interdisciplinary study of significant texts from Antiquity and the Middle Ages Readings may include Virgil’s Aeneid, Saint Augustine’s Confessions, the Rule of Saint Benedict, the Lays of Marie de France, an Arthurian romance, and Dante’s Inferno.
HU 102 – Modern Civilization
This course explores key texts from the Renaissance to the present. Readings may include Shakepeare’s The Tempest, Rousseau’s Second Discourse on Inequality, Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, Marx’s Communist Manifesto, Hannah Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem and Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.
HU 203 – Renaissance and Reformation
An interdisciplinary survey of some of the most important influential texts and works of art in European history from about 1350 to 1650. Authors studied may include Machiavelli, Christian humanists (Erasmus and/or More), Catholic and Protestant thinkers (Luther, Ignatius Loyola, Calvin), Marguerite of Navarre, Montaigne, Descartes, and Shakespeare.
HU 205 – Enlightenment and Revolution
Covers the years from the seventeenth century to 1815. The major areas of consideration are: the Industrial and French Revolutions, and the causes and effects of the Enlightenment through the Napoleonic Era. Readings may include The New Science (Bacon, Galileo, Descartes, Locke, and/or Newton), and selections from the area of society and politics (Locke, Pope, Voltaire, and/or Rousseau). The second half of the course concerns the Romantic reaction against the Enlightenment and focuses on the poets Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley and Byron.
HU 207 – The Nineteenth Century
The Nineteenth Century is an interdisciplinary study of the main intellectual and literary currents in nineteenth century thought. Readings include Darwin, Marx, and Nietzsche as well as representative English, French and Russian novels.
HU 209 – The Twentieth Century
A cross-cultural, interdisciplinary course that draws on a wide variety of artistic manifestations in literature, art, music, and cinema.
In Depth
HU 101 – Ancient and Medieval Civilization
This course is a chronological and interdisciplinary study of significant texts from Antiquity and the Middle Ages Readings may include Virgil’s Aeneid, Saint Augustine’s Confessions, the Rule of Saint Benedict, the Lays of Marie de France, an Arthurian romance, and Dante’s Inferno.
HU 102 – Modern Civilization
This course explores key texts from the Renaissance to the present. Readings may include Shakepeare’s The Tempest, Rousseau’s Second Discourse on Inequality, Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, Marx’s Communist Manifesto, Hannah Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem and Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.
HU 203 – Renaissance and Reformation
An interdisciplinary survey of some of the most important influential texts and works of art in European history from about 1350 to 1650. Authors studied may include Machiavelli, Christian humanists (Erasmus and/or More), Catholic and Protestant thinkers (Luther, Ignatius Loyola, Calvin), Marguerite of Navarre, Montaigne, Descartes, and Shakespeare.
HU 205 – Enlightenment and Revolution
Covers the years from the seventeenth century to 1815. The major areas of consideration are: the Industrial and French Revolutions, and the causes and effects of the Enlightenment through the Napoleonic Era. Readings may include The New Science (Bacon, Galileo, Descartes, Locke, and/or Newton), and selections from the area of society and politics (Locke, Pope, Voltaire, and/or Rousseau). The second half of the course concerns the Romantic reaction against the Enlightenment and focuses on the poets Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley and Byron.
HU 207 – The Nineteenth Century
The Nineteenth Century is an interdisciplinary study of the main intellectual and literary currents in nineteenth century thought. Readings include Darwin, Marx, and Nietzsche as well as representative English, French and Russian novels.
HU 209 – The Twentieth Century
A cross-cultural, interdisciplinary course that draws on a wide variety of artistic manifestations in literature, art, music, and cinema.
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