Humanities
Overview
The humanities comprise the academic fields concerned with the human experience. At New College, the Division of Humanities includes Art, Art History, Classics, Languages and Literatures (Chinese, English, French, German, Ancient Greek, Latin, Russian, Spanish), Music, Philosophy, and Religion. Humanities also connects with many interdisciplinary areas, including Environmental Studies; Gender Studies; International and Area Studies; Medieval and Renaissance Studies; and Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies.
While it can be broken into various disciplines and modes of human expression, and connects with numerous other areas, “Humanities” is a complex area itself, with roots in the studia humanitatis, or the study of human thought, creation, and experiences. It has roots in ancient debates about the best path to developing “virtue” through balancing contemplation and action in the world. Studying the humanities encourages us to continue asking what it means to be human, what goes into the category of the human, and how the human intersects or ought to intersect with the non-human world.
Humanities as an Area of Concentration (AOC) allows students to draw together work across the Humanities, to range widely, and engage with multiple lenses to develop a compelling senior project. Students can talk with their faculty advisor about how to create a joint AOC between Humanities and a concentration in some other area, either within our outside disciplines in the humanities.
Faculty in Humanities
Kim Anderson, Professor of Art
Tony Arza, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Religion
Tom Bailey, Professor of Creative Writing
Kat Baloff, Adjunct Instructor of Chamber Music
David Berry, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Art History and Museum Studies
Dan Bethune, Instructor of Art
Virginia Bray, Adjunct Instructor of Piano
Katherine Brion, Associate Professor of Art History and Museum Studies
Ryan Buyssens, Associate Professor of Art/Chair, Division of Humanities
Maribeth Clark, Professor of Music (assigned research 2025--2026)
Tania Coambs, Instructor of Theater and Voice
Christa DiMarco, Visiting Assistant Professor of Art History
Mark Dancigers, Assistant Professor of Music
Aron Edidin, Professor of Philosophy
David Edwards, Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion
Douglas Estes, Associate Professor of Religion
April Flakne, Professor of Philosophy
Jeffrey Hanson, Associate Professor of Philosophy
Melanie Hubbard, Visiting Assistant Professor of English
Johanna Jauernig, Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Sonia Labrador-Rodriguez, Associate Professor of Spanish Language and Literature (Assigned Research Fall 2025)
Alicia Mercado-Harvey, Assistant Professor of Spanish
Fang-yu Li, Associate Professor of Chinese Language and Culture
Manuel Lopez, Associate Professor of Religion and Buddhist Studies/Associate Provost
George Maxman, Instructor of Music
Nova Myhill, Professor of English and Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies/Director of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies
Nassima Neggaz, Associate Professor of History and Religion
Christopher Noble, Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Tim O'Donnell, Instructor of Theater
John Park, Assistant Professor of English
Jose Alberto Portugal, Professor of Spanish Language and Literature (assigned research Spring 2026)
Travis Ray, Adjunct Instructor of Theater
Amy Reid, Professor of French Language and Literature
David Rohrbacher, Professor of Classics/Provost
Hesam Sharifian, Assistant Professor of Theater and Performance Studies
Carl Shaw, Professor of Classics
Wendy Sutherland, Professor of German Language and Black European and Diaspora Studies
Ashkan Tabatabaie, Assistant Professor of Music and Digital Media Arts
Avni Vyas, Assistant Professor Creative Writing
Leymis Wilmott, Instructor of Dance and Artist in Residence
Alina Wyman, Professor of Russian Language and Literature
Jessica Young, Assistant Professor of Global English
Florence Zamsky, Visiting Associate Professor of French
Robert Zamsky, Professor of English/Associate Provost
Jing Zhang, Professor of Chinese Language and Culture/Director of International and Area Studies
Requirements for the Divisional AOC in Humanities
For a Divisional AOC in Humanities, a student should complete at least ten (10) courses in disciplines from across the Humanities (arts, literature, philosophy/religion) with a variety of approaches (historical, theoretical, creative), plus take a language course at the intermediate level or above.
Arts--at least one course (art, creative writing, dance, theater, music)
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| ART 2305 | Perceptual Drawing Methods |
| ART 2355 | Going Viral: Making Video Art for the Internet* |
| ART 2665 | 3D Design: Tools & Techniques: An Intro to Materials, Processes, & History of 3D Artistic Practice |
| ART 3340 | Collage: Drawing and Ideation |
| THE 2549 | Introduction to Performance Studies |
| THE 2303 | Play Analysis |
| TPA 2000 | Basics of Theater Production |
| DAA 1743 | Body Tool Kit 1 |
| DAA 2100 | Contemporary Dance & Performance |
| DAA 2401 | African Dance to Hip-Hop |
| CRW 2000 | Imaginary Writing: An Introduction to Creative Writing |
| CRW 2320 | Introduction to Reading and Writing Poetry: Workshop |
| MUC 2201 | Music Composition I |
| MUT 2111 | Music Theory I |
| MUN 1003 | New College Chorus |
| MUN 1012 | New College Chamber Orchestra Ensemble |
Literature--at least one course
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| CLT 2100 | Greek Monsters and Marvels |
| CLT 2373 | Classical Mythology |
| ENL 2323 | Introduction to Shakespeare: Language and Identity |
| ENL 3161 | Performing Gender, Class, and Identity in Early Modern Drama |
| LIT 2005 | Introduction to Literature: What We Talk About When We Talk About Love |
| LIT 2012 | Introduction to the Novel |
| LIT 2030 | Introduction to Poetry |
| LIT 2040 | Twentieth Century British and American Drama |
| LIT 2070 | Forms of Attention: Hybrid Essays |
| LIT 2460 | Straying from the Path: Red Riding Hood in Text and Film |
Philosophy and/or Religion--at least one course
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| PHI 2010 | |
| PHI 2016 | Introduction to Philosophy Through Film |
| PHI 2101 | Formal Logic |
| PHI 2300 | Theory of Knowledge |
| PHI 2603 | Ethics and Values: Human Flourishing |
| REL 2200 | Christian Scriptures |
| REL 2210 | Jewish Scriptures |
| REL 2240 | Introduction to the New Testament |
| REL 2341 | Buddhism for Beginners: The Buddha, his Quest for Enlightenment, and the Rise of a Global Religion |
| REL 3930 | Special Topics in Religion |
To explore diverse approaches to the humanities, students should complete at least one course that introduces an historical approach, one that introduces a theoretical approach, and one that involves creative work. The following courses are listed as suggestions. Students should make specific choices in consultation with an academic advisor in a Humanities area or discipline.
Historical--at least one course
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| MUSC 2175 | |
| MUSC 2180 | Baroque Revivals* |
| MUSC 3320 | Music in the United States |
| ARH 2011 | From Caves to Cathedrals: A Global Introduction to Art History of the Ancient and Medieval World |
| ARH 2470 | Art Since 1945: Modernity, Postmodernity, and Contemporaneity |
| ARH 2930 | Pleasure and Power: Art in the 18th Century |
| ARH 3930 | Special Topics in Art History |
Theoretical--at least one course
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| MUT 2111 | Music Theory I |
| LITR 3100 | Fantasy in Russia and Germany: Intercultural Dialogues |
| LITR 3165 | The Realm of the Fantastic in Latin American Narrative |
| LITR 3230 | Critical Theory in the United States: An Introduction |
| LIT 2460 | Straying from the Path: Red Riding Hood in Text and Film |
| PHI 2010 | |
| PHI 2016 | Introduction to Philosophy Through Film |
| PHI 2101 | Formal Logic |
| PHI 2300 | Theory of Knowledge |
Creative work--at least one course
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| ART 2305 | Perceptual Drawing Methods |
| ART 2355 | Going Viral: Making Video Art for the Internet* |
| ART 2470 | |
| ART 2490 | Drawing Through Photography* |
| MUC 2201 | Music Composition I |
| MUSC 2120 | |
| TPP 1110 | Acting I |
| TPA 2000 | Basics of Theater Production |
Language Study Students pursuing an AOC in Humanities should study a language other than English (modern or classical). In order to get "credit" for this activity, regardless of the student's fluency, they will be required to successfully complete at least one course in a foreign language sequence at New College at the intermediate level (third semester) or above. A course or tutorial studying literature or other material in the original language fulfills this requirement. Intermediate-level coursework taken at a regionally accredited institution focusing on a language not regularly taught at New College will be considered on a case-by-case basis to determine whether it fulfills the language requirement.
Senior Thesis or Project. The student’s senior project should involve work in one or more of the disciplines in the Humanities. The form and content of senior projects (thesis-monograph, creative project, or “academic portfolio”) will be defined in close collaboration with the academic sponsor and with the approval of the baccalaureate committee.
Requirements for the Joint AOC in Humanities
For a Joint AOC in Humanities a student should complete all of the requirements above, but the courses must number eight (8) or more, including the language requirement.
Representative Senior Theses in Humanities
- No Man’s Wasteland: A Critical Genealogy of the Anthropocene
- On the Outside: International Travel, Self-Transformation, and Alienation in Film and Literature
- Spiritual But Not Religious, Judaism in the New Age: A Case Study of Jewish Practitioners of Kundalina Yoga as Taught by Yogi Bhajan in the United States
- Beyond Words: Poetic Authority and Voice in the Works of Claudia Rankine and John Taggart
- Masculinity on the Margins: Redefining American Manhood in New Orleans and Southern Louisiana
- Performance as Survival: Art, Activism, and Identity at the Nuyorican Poets Café
- A New Mythology: Irish Themes and Motifs in Modern Young Adult Literature
- “A Need to Know Basis:” An Account, Analysis, and Response of the Intersection of Prenatal Testing and Informed Consent
- Flitting Fairy and Haughty Harpy: Costuming Ariel in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest
- Stendhal and the Heroines of His World
- The Evolution of Orpheus from the Classical World Period to the Renaissance
- “Feminist Fairy Tales”: Female Agency and Subversive Messages in Fairy Tales of the Traditional European Canon Tale Type AT425A