Humanities

Division of Humanities

HUM 110/HUM 111 and HUM 120, the only courses currently required of every student at Centre College, represent an integral part of the Centre experience and of a full and rich education in the liberal arts. Our instructors are drawn from all the Humanistic disciplines, and because the curriculum ranges so widely, no instructor can be an expert on every work included. Instead, the instructors share an enduring engagement with the arts and a driving curiosity for new discoveries and connections. More than any other courses at the College, first-year humanities classes bring all the participants together as students, either beginning or continuing, to cultivate an appreciation for the ethical and aesthetic dimensions of human experience.

The material for the courses draws from multiple traditions in the fine arts, literature, drama and philosophy. Students are asked to develop their understanding and enrich their engagement with these materials through group discussion, formal presentation of ideas, creative engagement of artistic processes, and written analysis of specific works.

Writing instruction comes in many courses at Centre College, but it receives special emphasis in the first-year humanities course sequence. Some students take a four-hour writing intensive section of humanities in the fall (HUM 111); all students in the two-course sequence will develop their ability to write effective analytical prose.

Elective humanities courses are also offered from time to time.

Humanities Courses

Course Descriptions