FIU's HUMANITIES PROGRAM
at the
 Biscayne Bay Campus

Bachelor of Arts in Humanities



The Humanities program offers a structured interdisciplinary curriculum designed to confront the student with key values and issues concerning human beings and society, extending beyond the scope and methodology of the natural and social sciences.

The program focuses on the insights, critiques, and aesthetic visions of philosophers, poets, playwrights, fiction writers, artists, film makers, and religious thinkers. Their cultural works have become the reservoir of humankind’s most outstanding intellectual and artistic achievements. The program seeks to develop in-depth understanding of exemplary and famous artists and thinkers within their historical contexts; its also charts the emergence of mass media, popular culture, and urban culture. In acknowledgement of a global past and a shared global future, the program also pays attention to non-Western and American ethnic-minority cultures, in order to expose the student to different values and world views.

 For those students interested in Classical Greek and Roman culture, the program provides a well-structured Classical track and a sequence of Greek and Latin courses.
Either as a B.A. Major or as a Minor, an Humanities course of study prepares students for later success in post-graduate programs in the liberal arts, law school, business, journalism, and public affairs, by honing verbal and written communication skills, analytical insight, and ethical awareness of the issues and problems of an increasingly complex global society.


 Lower Division Preparation

 To qualify for admission to the program students must meet all the lower division requirements, including CLAST and the completion of 60 semester hours, and be otherwise acceptable to the program

 Recommended Courses

 Students are encouraged to take two or more of the following courses, which satisfy University core requirements, either before they begin taking their Humanities major courses or concurrently with those courses:

HUM 3306            History of Ideas
HUM 3214            Ancient Classical Culture and Civilization
ARH 2050             Art History I   or
ARH 2051             Art History II


   Upper Division Program (60)

A. Core: The following 5 courses are required for all Humanities majors (15 hours):

HUM 4431             The Greek World1
HUM 3231         Renaissance and Baroque              
HUM 3246         The Enlightenment and the Modern World
HUM 3252         20th Century Culture & Civilization or HUM 3254 Contemporary World
HUM 4920             Humanities Seminar1

Note: For students who take more than five core courses, the surplus can be counted under B or C below.

B. Two additional Humanities courses (6 hours):

HUM 3214         Ancient Classical Culture and Civilization
HUM 3304             Values in Conflict
HUM 3306             History of ideas
HUM 3325             Women, Culture and History 
HUM 3432             The Roman World
HUM 3435             The Medieval World
HUM 2512             Art and Society1 
HUM 3514             Art in Context 
HUM 3545             Art and Literature
HUM 3562             Politics of the Arts1
HUM 3591             Art & Technology1
HUM 3930         Female/Male: Women’s Studies Seminar
HUM 3939         Special Topics1
 HUM 4392             Human Concerns1
 HUM 4491         Cultural Heritages and Changes1  
HUM 4543         Literature and Philosophy
HUM 4544             Literature and the Humanities  
HUM 4555             Symbols and Myths  
HUM 4561         Ethics and the Humanities  
HUM 4580         Film Humanities 
HUM 4906             Independent Study1


 C. Three additional courses either from the list of HUM courses offered by the Program; or from the following Humanities disciplines: History, Philosophy, Religion, Art History, and Literature; or from other disciplines related to the Humanities if approved by the Humanities faculty student advisor. (9 hours)

 One of the courses in the above “B” or “C” areas should have a non-European emphasis.
D. General Electives: These courses may be outside of Humanities and its contributing disciplines. Courses should be taken in consultation with the Humanities advisor. (30 hours)

 1With a change in theme and the instructor’s permission, these courses may be repeated for credit.
    Classics Track

A.  Humanities Core Curriculum (12 hours) 

B. Three additional courses dealing with Classical (Greek or Roman) culture and civilization. These courses may be either HUM courses or courses from contributing Humanities disciplines. (9 hours)

C. Three interdisciplinary HUM courses. (9 hours)   

D. Language requirement: The language requirement is the same as for other FIU students; however, students in the Classics Track are strongly encouraged to satisfy the requirement with a Classical language.

E. General Electives. These courses may be outside of Humanities and its contributing disciplines. Courses should be taken in consultation with the Humanities advisor. (30 hours)  

   MINOR IN HUMANITIES (15 hours)

 A. One of the following (3 hours):

HUM 3214  Ancient Classical Culture and Civilization   or
HUM 4431  The Greek World     or
HUM 3432  The Roman World   and

B. Four additional HUM courses  (including classical languages) (12 hours)


Humanities Program Academic Learning Compact:

Please note: during the course of your Humanities studies, you will be required to take part in assessment activities, which typically will include faculty/administrative review of anonymous student papers and surveys of your learning experience.  Assessment helps the Program fulfill its stated Academic Learning Compact.

 Mission Statement

The Humanities program seeks to give students an historically-oriented foundation in the several fields traditionally characterized as the humanities: history, philosophy, religious studies, art and art history, and literature.  The curriculum provides a coherent core, and yet also allows students to approach fundamental issues in the humanities from diverse perspectives. Students will thereby develop a more sophisticated understanding of the world and its historically shaped cultures.

Student Learning Outcomes

FIU Humanities graduates should be able to achieve the following:

Content/Discipline Knowledge
1. Identify the historical, geographical, political or social contexts of diverse artistic or cultural works/documents.
2. Interpret artistic or cultural works/documents within a variety of field specific protocols (aesthetic, historical ideology, and other humanistic categories).

 Critical Thinking
1. Analyze artistic or cultural works/documents in a non-impressionistic, complex manner.
2. Analyze and evaluate secondary arguments about artistic or cultural works/documents.

Oral and Written Communication
1. Present an extended argument on a humanities topic that is conceptually complex, original, well-organized, well-substantiated, and correct in terms of grammar and stylistics.
2. Present an extended argument on a humanities topic that appropriately integrates research findings.