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Arts and Humanities

Professors listed below are the instructor for the GE class. UNIV 101 and REL A 275 will be taught by additional faculty members.

Natalie Nielson

How Can We Better Understand the Divine through Art, Architecture, and Literature?

IHUM 201: GE Civilization 1 Requirement

This course examines how the arts (literature, architecture, painting, music, and sculpture) have attempted to define, emulate, and describe the experience of interacting with the Divine. We will travel through many different eras, highlighting the works of Romanesque sculptors, Gothic architects, British Poets (Wordsworth), Romantic Painters (Friedrich) and modern architects (Gaudi), hopefully coming to an understanding ourselves of how to better speak of and write about transcendental experience.

IHUM 201: MWF 8:00-8:50am
UNIV 101: TTH 10:00-10:50am OR T 9:00-10:50am
REL A 275: MW 9:00-9:50am

Seth Jeppesen

Sing, O Muse!: Why Do Humans Tell Stories?

CL CV 241: Greek and Roman Mythology: GE Letters Requirement

Our quest into the world of mythology will bring us face-to-face with issues of individual and group identity, connections between the mortal and the divine, the meaning of heroism, and the liberating power of telling old stories anew. Students will research and tell stories from cultures that are meaningful to them, discover and analyze modern adaptations of ancient myths, and create their own mythologically themed works of art.

CL CV 241: MWF 1:00-1:50pm
UNIV 101: TTH 1:00-1:50pm
REL A 275: TTH 12:00-12:50pm

Katya Jordan

"Love your enemies": What does it mean to see yourself through another's eyes and to overcome differences in the world of cultural conflict?

UNIV 215R: GE Letters Requirement

In “America Through Russian Eyes,” we explore how Russian writers, artists, filmmakers, and political leaders have imagined the U.S.A., and how cognitive biases shape the way nations see one another. In the process, you’ll sharpen your ability to recognize hidden assumptions, think critically about global perspectives, and reflect on how your own worldview is formed.

UNIV 215R: MWF 1:00-1:50pm
UNIV 101: MW 12:00-12:50pm
REL A 275: TTH 1:00-1:50pm

Rob Colson

How does imagination build a national community?

IHUM 202: GE Civilization 2 and Letters Requirement

We will examine the history of the nation and what role the arts and culture play in generating a sense of national community. Together we will study modern India as a case study for our questions about nation and community and students will also work on a project about other nations throughout the semester.

IHUM 202: MWF 10:00-10:50am
UNIV 101: MW 11:00-11:50am
REL A 275: MW 9:00-9:50am

An image of Julie Chapman.

Julie Chapman

Do Books Make Us More Human?

ENGL 201: GE Civilization 1 Requirement

How can a book make me more human? What traits of identity, belonging, and becoming do the pages reveal? What lessons and limitations are held between the covers? Part of how we understand ourselves and the complicated, varied, beautiful experience of being human is through the stories we tell, read, and reimagine—the books that help make us human. We’ll read a range of works of world literature, spanning from 1800 BC to 1615 AD, including some modern adaptations. Stories of heroes and monsters, love and loss, comedy and sorrow. Students will also create their own book throughout the semester, gathering passages from our readings into their own miscellany.

ENGL 201: MW 8:00-9:15am
UNIV 101: TTH 9:00-9:50am OR 10:00-10:50am
REL A 275: TTH 8:00-8:50am