Humanities Interdisciplinary (HUM)

The interdisciplinary program in Humanities, housed in the Depart­ment of Comparative Litera­ry and Cultural Studies, is designed for undergraduates attracted to humanistic study-art, history, languages, literature, music, philosophy, religious studies, theatre-who prefer not to specialize in any single field. It involves introductory and upper-division work in several departments, described in the requirements below. Potential majors are strongly urged to consult the director of undergraduate studies to help them prepare individual programs.

Requirements for the Major in Humanities

The interdisciplinary major in the Humanities leads to the Bachelor of Arts degree. All courses offered for the major must be passed with a letter grade of C or higher. In choosing courses to satisfy Requirement B, the student should be careful to consider the relevant prerequisites for the epochs chosen to satisfy Requirement D.

Completion of the major requires 48 credits. 24 of the 48 credits must be at the upper-division level.

A. Basic Humanities Courses 
Six credits (two courses) of 100-level Humanities (HUM) courses.

B. Introductory Coursework 
Twelve credits of introductory coursework (four courses numbered in the 100s or 200s) chosen from three of the following five areas: 
1. Literature and Culture (CLL, CLS, CLT, EGL, HUF, HUG, HUI, HUM, HUR and other courses in literatures and cultures) 
2. Cinema and Cultural Studies (CCS and courses which apply to the CCS minor) 
3. Fine Arts: Art History (ARH), Digital Arts (DIA), Music (MUS), Theatre Arts (THR) 
4. History (HIS) 
5. Philosophy (PHI)

C. Language Study 
Six credits (or the equivalent of one year) of college study of a language other than English at the intermediate level or beyond. Courses in literature or culture taught in the language may also apply.

D. Advanced Studies by Epoch 
Twenty-four upper-division credits (seven courses numbered 300 or higher) in courses with the listed designators, to be distributed as follows: 
• Three courses in two of the following epochs 
• Two courses chosen from a third epoch 

1. Ancient Worlds 
[AAS, ANT, ARH, CLS, CLT, EGL, HIS, JDH, JDS, LAT, PHI, RLS] 

2. The Middle Ages 
[AAS, ARH, CLT, EGL, FRN, GER, HIS, ITL, LAT, MUS, MVL, PHI, RLS, RUS, SPN] 

3. The Renaissance 
[AAS, ARH, CLT, EGL, FRN, GER, HIS, ITL, MUS, PHI, RUS, SPN, THR] 

4. Neoclassicism and Enlightenment 
[AAS, ARH, CLT, EGL, FRN, GER, HIS, ITL, MUS, PHI, RUS, SPN] 

5. Nineteenth-Century Frameworks 
[AAS, AFS, AMR, ARH, CLT, EGL, FRN, GER, HIS, ITL, MUS, PHI, RUS, SPN 

6. Modern and Postmodern Societies and Cultures 
[AAS, AFS, ARH, CCS, CLT, DIA, EGL, FRN, GER, HIS, ITL, HUF, HUG, HUI, HUM, HUR, JDH, JDS, MUS, PHI, RLS, RUS, SPN, THR]

E. Upper-Division Writing Requirement 
No later than seven weeks after the start of the first semester of the senior year, students majoring in humanities must submit, to the director of undergraduate studies, two papers (totaling at least ten pages altogether) written in two different areas or epochs for upper-division courses pertaining to the major. They must achieve an evaluation of S (Satisfactory) on the portfolio. Further details are available from the Department chairperson or from the director of undergrad­uate studies.

Honors Program in Humanities

Humanities majors who have maintained a grade point average of 3.50 in the major and 3.00 overall through their junior year may attempt the degree in Humanities with honors.

The honors program requires an additional three credits above the 48 required for the major. These three additional credits are earned in a special research project pursued in the final semester of the senior year. The project involves the completion of a senior thesis.

Students who are eligible for the honors program must find an appropriate faculty member to act as thesis advisor. The student, with the approval of the supervising faculty member, must submit a proposal for the project in writing to the undergraduate program director by the last day of classes of the first semester of the senior year. Students who have obtained permission from the chairperson to pursue the project must enroll in HUM 495 while writing the thesis.

The thesis is evaluated by the thesis advisor and two members of the humanities faculty chosen by the student with the approval of the thesis advisor.

Spring 2013

Events

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News

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Department

Brooke Belisle, a 2013 New Faculty Fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies will join the department next year. "Click here for more info"

Vivien Hartog Award Recipients Announced

Congratulations to Alexis Chartschlaa and Laura James, winners of the 2013 Vivien Hartog Travel Award.
 
New MA/PhD in Women's and Gender Studies
The Department is pleased to announce that the new MA/PhD program in Women's and Gender Studies has received official certification.

Faculty
Kadji Amin published two journal articles, “Anachronizing the Penitentiary, Queering the History of Sexuality,” GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies 19, no. 3 (2013): 301–340; and “Ghosting Transgender Historicity in Colette’s The Pure and the Impure,” L’Esprit Créateur 53, no. 1 (2013): 114-130. He also published a book review of Assuming a Body: Transgender and Rhetorics of Materialityby Gayle Salamon in L’Esprit Créateur 53, no. 1 (2013): 167.
Victoria Hesford's new book "Feeling Women's Liberation" was published with Duke University Press in June.
E.K. Tan published a peer-reviewed journal article, 華語語系研究:海外華人與離散華人研究之反思 [Sinophone Studies: Rethinking Overseas Chinese Studies and Chinese Diaspora Studies] in 中國現代文學 [Journal of Modern Chinese Literature (Taiwan)] 22 (Winter 2012): 41-58; and an essay, “Transcending Multiracialism: Kuo Pao Kun’s Multilingual Play Mama Looking for Her Cat and the Concept of Open Culture” in Sinophone Studies: A Critical Reader, edited by Shu-mei Shih, Brian Bernards and Chien-hsin Tsai (Columbia University Press 2013).
Robert Harvey gave a lecture entitled "Partage informe: Foucault's Transgression" at a philosophy & literature symposium at Brown University on April 5.
Jackie Reich will be speaking at the Italian Cultural Institute in NYC on Thursday, April 25 and at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, NY on May 4.  
Ray Guins is a co-organizer of the History of Games conference in Montreal, June 21-23:  http://www.history-of-games.com/
E.K. Tan's new book, "Rethinking Chineseness: Translational Sinophone Identities in the Nanyang Literary World" was published with Cambria Press in January.
 
Students 

 

Sarah Paruolo, gave a paper at ACLA 2013 in Toronto titled "Shadows of Trujillo:Oscar Wao and the Haunting of a People."
Marcus Brock, was admitted into the 2013 Cornell School of Criticism and Theory, was invited to moderate the VIP screening and reception for the filmPortrait of Jason, and will give a talk at the Stony Brook LGBTA Spring Retreat.
Celina Hung,  has accepted the tenure-track position of Assistant Professor in Literature at NYU-Shanghai.  She will be stationed in Shanghai with affiliation with the Comparative Literature Department in the NYU Manhattan campus.
Laine Nooney, has received a Distinguished Travel Award from the Grad School and GSO, a Faculty-Staff Dissertation Fellowship Award, and was selected for the Provost's Lecture Series.
Joana Moura has been awarded a doctoral grant (approximately $16,000 per annum) by the Foundation for Science and Technology at the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science.
Kudos Newsletter
January 2013

The Humanities Institute
Cultural Analysis and Theory • Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5355 • Phone: 631.632.7460 • Fax: 631.632.5707