Humanities

humanities.northwestern.edu

Humanities courses—known as “HUM” in CAESAR—are offered by the Kaplan Humanities Institute. With the exception of particular courses for first-year students, they are open to all students—from any year, any school, any major—at Northwestern.

What are the humanities?

The humanities are an interdisciplinary collection of fields that differ from physical, biological, and certain of the social sciences by concentrating on the study and interpretation of human thought and culture. The humanities include literature, philosophy, history, law, art, and music, as well as other cultural forms and practices such as film, dance, theater, media, and religion.

The humanities explore how we make sense of our complex and globalized world. Studying them permits us to examine ourselves and what it means to be human—here and now, as well as elsewhere and in the past. The humanities foster a critical perspective on human artifacts and records of human experience (verbal, visual, aural), enabling us to learn, through a combination of interpretative and analytical research, how to think creatively about questions that often do not have set answers.

Overview of HUM courses

Each course may feature unique methods, but all humanities courses emphasize critical reading, speaking, and writing skills; examine subjects from multiple perspectives; and provide training in synthesizing competing forms of evidence and developing complex opinions and arguments.

HUM courses are open to students from any school at Northwestern (the only exception is the courses specific to the Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program). Many of the classes are small-enrollment, 300-level seminars taught by faculty from a range of disciplines, from classics to English, Black studies to performance studies, and all humanities departments in between. Very few HUM courses have prerequisites, and many fulfill foundational discipline or distribution requirements.

Several HUM courses are one-of-a-kind, offered only once in a student's career at Northwestern. Many of these class offerings are fitted under broad "umbrella" categories (for example, HUM 370-X or HUM 325-X) with specific descriptions/instructors listed on CAESAR and the Kaplan Institute website per quarter. HUM lecture courses (like HUM 205-0 , HUM 220-0, and HUM 225-0) are not always taught in the same quarter from year to year, so check CAESAR each quarter to see what is being offered.

Open to all majors

Many students think that humanities courses are only open to participants in the first-year Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program—not so! The Kaplan Institute encourages students from any major or field of study to enroll in HUM courses. Humanities training—in deliberation, analysis, and judgment—enables students to process the human experience from varied perspectives, which is valuable preparation for any scholarly or career pursuit.

Special Kaplan Institute offerings

Kaplan's Global Humanities Labs are seminars that feature international field study. The Humanities Plunge is a spring break immersion in Chicago’s theatre, art, music, architecture, and dance, guided by artists and scholars to help students analyze and interpret these cultural riches. And the Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program offers first-year Weinberg students the opportunity to enroll in a unique exploration of the humanities that is team-taught through a paired seminar and lecture course. (Students apply for this program based on materials from their Northwestern application file.)

Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities

The Kaplan Humanities Institute provides opportunities for students, faculty, and the broader community to explore issues, examine beliefs, and engage in interdisciplinary dialogue about what it means to be human, across time and space. As a site for exchange and connection across the humanities, sciences, and social sciences at Northwestern, we support faculty and student research; host a range of dynamic talks, workshops, and performances; support artists in residence; and offer an innovative curriculum of classes positioned at the intersection of humanities disciplines.

HUM 100-1-BR Introduction to Critical Thinking in the Humanities and Social Sciences (0.5 Unit)   For participants in Bridge I summer program. Commonalities and distinguishing features of critical thinking in humanities and social sciences. Emphasis on analysis and argumentation. Taken with MATH 100-BR.

HUM 100-2-BR Asking - and Answering - Questions in the Humanities and Social Sciences (0.5 Unit)   For participants in Bridge I summer program. How to determine the appropriate scope of a research paper, how to begin research, and related skills in humanities and social sciences. Prerequisites: MATH 100-BR and HUM 100-1-BR.

HUM 101-6 College Seminar (1 Unit)   Part of a two-course exploration of the humanities for first-year students selected into the Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program. This team-taught program—lecture + small coordinated seminar—is designed to challenge students to integrate a variety of intellectual methods to probe the qualitative aspects of human experience. Course topics and instructors change each year. The seminar section (2 days/week) is HUM 101-6 and the paired lecture section (2 days/week) is HUM 210-0, HUM 211-0, HUM 212-0, or HUM 213-0. Prerequisite: This course is reserved for first-year students of the Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program.

HUM 105-0 The Humanities Plunge (0.5 Unit)   A half-credit course over spring break immersing students in Chicago's cultural riches. Events and tours are introduced and contextualized by field experts. Enrollment in the Plunge is by application.

HUM 205-0 The World of Homer (1 Unit)   Introduction to the history and material culture of Iron Age Greece. Society, economy, art, and archaeology of the Greek world that gave rise to the Homeric epic. CLASSICS 210-0 and HUM 205-0 are taught together; may not receive credit for both courses. Ethics Values Distro Area Historical Studies Distro Area Interdisciplinary Distro - See Rules Literature Fine Arts Distro Area

HUM 210-0 Humanities in the World I (1 Unit)   Part of a two-course exploration of the humanities for first-year students selected into the Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program. This team-taught program—lecture + small coordinated seminar—is designed to challenge students to integrate a variety of intellectual methods to probe the qualitative aspects of human experience. Course topics and instructors change each year. The seminar section (2 days/week) is HUM 101-6 and the paired lecture section (2 days/week) is HUM 210-0, HUM 211-0, HUM 212-0, or HUM 213-0. Prerequisite: This course is reserved for first-year students of the Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program. Literature Fine Arts Distro Area Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline

HUM 211-0 Humanities in the World II (1 Unit)   Part of a two-course exploration of the humanities for first-year students selected into the Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program. This team-taught program—lecture + small coordinated seminar—is designed to challenge students to integrate a variety of intellectual methods to probe the qualitative aspects of human experience. Course topics and instructors change each year. The seminar section (2 days/week) is HUM 101-6 and the paired lecture section (2 days/week) is HUM 210-0, HUM 211-0, HUM 212-0, or HUM 213-0. Prerequisite: This course is reserved for first-year students of the Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program. Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HUM 212-0 Humanities in the World III (1 Unit)   Part of a two-course exploration of the humanities for first-year students selected into the Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program. This team-taught program—lecture + small coordinated seminar—is designed to challenge students to integrate a variety of intellectual methods to probe the qualitative aspects of human experience. Course topics and instructors change each year. The seminar section (2 days/week) is HUM 101-6 and the paired lecture section (2 days/week) is HUM 210-0, HUM 211-0, HUM 212-0, or HUM 213-0. Prerequisite: This course is reserved for first-year students of the Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program. Ethical and Evaluative Thinking Foundational Disci

HUM 213-0 Humanities in the World IV (1 Unit)   Part of a two-course exploration of the humanities for first-year students selected into the Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program. This team-taught program—lecture + small coordinated seminar—is designed to challenge students to integrate a variety of intellectual methods to probe the qualitative aspects of human experience. Course topics and instructors change each year. The seminar section (2 days/week) is HUM 101-6 and the paired lecture section (2 days/week) is HUM 210-0, HUM 211-0, HUM 212-0, or HUM 213-0. Prerequisite: This course is reserved for first-year students of the Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program. Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl

HUM 220-0 Health, Biomedicine, Culture, and Society (1 Unit)   Broad introduction to controversies surrounding health and biomedicine by analyzing culture, politics, values, and social institutions. HUM 220-0 and SOCIOL 220-0 are taught together; may not receive credit for both courses. Ethics Values Distro Area Interdisciplinary Distro - See Rules Social Behavioral Sciences Distro Area Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

HUM 225-0 Media Theory (1 Unit)   Comprehensive introduction from a humanistic perspective to theories about the nature of media and the role of technology in modern culture. ART_HIST 375-0 and HUM 225-0 are taught together; may not receive credit for both courses. Literature Fine Arts Distro Area Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline

HUM 260-0 Humanities Explorations (1 Unit)   Lecture course, often team-taught, that explores social, ethical, and political big questions - e.g., the nature of love, the value of reading, relativity in science and culture, ways to model "choice" across the humanities - from different disciplinary perspectives. May be repeated for credit with change of topic. Ethics Values Distro Area Interdisciplinary Distro - See Rules Literature Fine Arts Distro Area

HUM 310-3 Global Humanities Lab (1 Unit)   Investigation of an international humanities topic through experiential learning and offsite research; focus on how different cultures process and understand the artifacts of human cultures and their values. Course number indicates distribution requirement area in which a course counts. May be repeated for credit with change of topic. Social Behavioral Sciences Distro Area

HUM 310-4 Global Humanities Lab (1 Unit)   Investigation of an international humanities topic through experiential learning and offsite research; focus on how different cultures process and understand the artifacts of human cultures and their values. Course number indicates distribution requirement area in which a course counts. May be repeated for credit with change of topic. Historical Studies Distro Area

HUM 310-5 Global Humanities Lab (1 Unit)   Investigation of an international humanities topic through experiential learning and offsite research; focus on how different cultures process and understand the artifacts of human cultures and their values. Course number indicates distribution requirement area in which a course counts. May be repeated for credit with change of topic. Ethics Values Distro Area

HUM 310-6 Global Humanities Lab (1 Unit)   Investigation of an international humanities topic through experiential learning and offsite research; focus on how different cultures process and understand the artifacts of human cultures and their values. Course number indicates distribution requirement area in which a course counts. May be repeated for credit with change of topic. Literature Fine Arts Distro Area

HUM 325-3 Humanities in the Digital Age (1 Unit)   Innovative and collaborative ways to incorporate technology into humanistic study. Ways to digitize text, image, sound, and/ or video for analysis. Course number indicates distribution requirement area in which a course counts. May be repeated for credit with change of topic. Social Behavioral Sciences Distro Area Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl

HUM 325-4 Humanities in the Digital Age (1 Unit)   Innovative and collaborative ways to incorporate technology into humanistic study. Ways to digitize text, image, sound, and/ or video for analysis. Course number indicates distribution requirement area in which a course counts. May be repeated for credit with change of topic. Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HUM 325-5 Humanities in the Digital Age (1 Unit)   Innovative and collaborative ways to incorporate technology into humanistic study. Ways to digitize text, image, sound, and/ or video for analysis. Course number indicates distribution requirement area in which a course counts. May be repeated for credit with change of topic. Ethical and Evaluative Thinking Foundational Disci Ethics Values Distro Area

HUM 325-6 Humanities in the Digital Age (1 Unit)   Innovative and collaborative ways to incorporate technology into humanistic study. Ways to digitize text, image, sound, and/ or video for analysis. Course number indicates distribution requirement area in which a course counts. May be repeated for credit with change of topic. Literature Fine Arts Distro Area Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline

HUM 370-3 Special Topics in the Humanities (1 Unit)   Intensive seminars in cutting-edge research on interdisciplinary issues. Course number indicates distribution requirement area in which a course counts. May be repeated for credit with change in topic. Social Behavioral Sciences Distro Area Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl

HUM 370-4 Special Topics in the Humanities (1 Unit)   Intensive seminars in cutting-edge research on interdisciplinary issues. Course number indicates distribution requirement area in which a course counts. May be repeated for credit with change in topic. Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HUM 370-5 Special Topics in the Humanities (1 Unit)   Intensive seminars in cutting-edge research on interdisciplinary issues. Course number indicates distribution requirement area in which a course counts. May be repeated for credit with change in topic. Ethical and Evaluative Thinking Foundational Disci Ethics Values Distro Area

HUM 370-6 Special Topics in the Humanities (1 Unit)   Intensive seminars in cutting-edge research on interdisciplinary issues. Course number indicates distribution requirement area in which a course counts. May be repeated for credit with change in topic. Literature Fine Arts Distro Area Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline

HUM 395-0 Humanities Seminar (1 Unit)  

Interdisciplinary course offered by a changing roster of humanities faculty. Topics have included cities as modern utopia/dystopia; the afterlife of Marxism; the politics of reputation; being animal, being human; writing ancestry.

HUM 397-0 Exhibiting Antiquity: The Culture and Politics of Display (1 Unit)   Examination of the construction of Mediterranean antiquity through modes of reception since 1750. Analysis of programs of collecting and display and the intersection of institutional and scholarly agendas. ART_HIST 318-0, CLASSICS 397-0 and HUM 397-0 taught together; may receive credit for only 1 of these courses. Historical Studies Distro Area Interdisciplinary Distro - See Rules Literature Fine Arts Distro Area

HUM 398-1 Senior Humanities Seminar (0.5 Unit)   Two consecutive quarters (fall and winter) during which students work on a senior humanities project under faculty mentorship and within the interdisciplinary community of the Kaplan Humanities Institute. Prerequisite: selection as a Franke Undergraduate Fellow.

HUM 398-2 Senior Humanities Seminar (0.5 Unit)   Two consecutive quarters (fall and winter) during which students work on a senior humanities project under faculty mentorship and within the interdisciplinary community of the Kaplan Humanities Institute. Prerequisite: selection as a Franke Undergraduate Fellow.

HUM 399-0 Independent Study (1 Unit)   Individual projects with faculty guidance. Open to junior and senior minors. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.