Undergraduate degree: B.A.
Bridging the Disciplines
Majoring in humanities lets you take an interdisciplinary approach to specific topics that interest you. Are you fascinated by a specific chronological period or geographic area? Maybe you want to study literature, music, and art, but you’re not sure how to tie those interests together. With help from advisers in the humanities program, you can combine components from several disciplines to create a strong, practical major that is great preparation for a wide range of careers.
The study of humanities explores the elements at the core of our Western traditions and how they relate to one another. These include the study of literature, history, languages, philosophy, the social sciences, and more. Faculty members will help you establish intellectual coherence and integration across the disciplines. An education in the humanities prepares you to think critically, write clearly, and speak compellingly.
The Humanities Center, a rich resource for students, organizes lectures, readings, and other presentations related to the humanities. You’ll be able to interact with poets, writers, anthropologists, and philosophers. These experiences will inspire and motivate you as you explore the wide world of the humanities.
Points of Interest
- Study abroad in Italy or Greece to increase your exposure to classical history and art
- Explore life in the middle ages with classes from music, art, history, religion, and other academic departments
- Enjoy lectures and discussions with poets, writers, anthropologists, and philosophers at the UO Humanities Center
- Study the origins of the modern world with faculty members from diverse disciplines
Sample Courses
- Introduction to the Humanities examines the ideas and views that Western culture has inherited from the classical period. Readings and discussions focus on literature, philosophy, history, the arts, and religion
- Food and Culture is an anthropological approach to the role of nutrients in human development (individual and group), cultural determinants and differences among populations, world food policy, and applied nutritional anthropology
- New Media and Digital Culture is the study of media emerging from computer-based and digital techniques, including digital cinema, cyborgs, interactive games, multiplayer online simulations, and viral videos
- Introduction to African Studies surveys the cultural, social, political, and economic diversity of historical and contemporary sub-Saharan Africa
- Multicultural Studies in the Humanities addresses issues from a broad range of ethnicities that cross cultural boundaries
- The Ancient City explores urban cultures of the ancient world—particularly the relationships between the laws, traditions, and beliefs of ancient societies
- The Modern City looks at urban cultures of the modern world, emphasizing the links between legal, social, and religious structures
- Themes in Humanities provides an interdisciplinary and multimedia introduction to the study of the humanities. The course includes the analysis of such themes as tragedy in music, literature, and art
- Studies in Renaissance Culture explores modern culture, delving into the realms of literature, art, architecture, music, philosophy, and social problems
Interdisciplinary Opportunities
The humanities program is pluralistic and multicultural in its vision, and interdisciplinary in its approach. You will learn from experts across the disciplines—language, history, music, politics and arts, philosophy, classics and other areas.
Proficiency in a second language is a requirement for the B.A. degree, and is central to the humanities major. Although majors are not required to do more than meet the B.A. requirement, you are encouraged to take upper division classes in the foreign language of your choice.
Humanities can be easily integrated with a major or minor in business, international studies, history, anthropology, or sociology. You might also combine it with courses in political science or ethnic studies if you have a strong interest in international relations.
Hands-on Learning
You may pursue internship opportunities in fields related to the humanities through the UO Career Center. You may also find study abroad opportunities in your area of interest. The primary objective in the Humanities Program is for you to see how all the disciplines relate to one another.
The UO’s Oregon Humanities Center administers a rich array of free public programs, including faculty member presentations, lectures by renowned thinkers, poetry readings, art exhibitions, conferences, symposia, and debates.
Student Work
Lindsey Bull spent a year backpacking in Europe before enrolling at the University of Oregon. Much of that time was spent in Greece and Italy. “I wish dearly that I would have had education in Greek and Roman history, art, and culture before I went,” she says. “Looking back at my pictures, I lament the fact that I was standing in front of the Coliseum with no clue about the history that surrounded me. If I could go back in time, I would have saved that trip for after my experience with the humanities department here at the University of Oregon.”
At the UO, Bull has especially enjoyed her art history classes with Professor Jeffrey Hurwit. “I love the art of the ancient Romans and Greeks, so it's easy for me to call Hurwit's courses my favorites,” she says. “He presents a continual slide show through the entire lecture hour that illustrates each point without distracting from the lecture itself.”
Bryar Lindberg decided to major in humanities due to her interest in Finno-Ugric peoples and mythology, folk expression, and prehistory. “The humanities major’s concentration requirement allows me to shape my own program of study according to my own interests,” she says.
Lindberg has enjoyed the variety of courses she has chosen, particularly a linguistics class dealing with the structure of English words. “Through the course, I gained a much greater understanding of the English language, the skills to infer the meanings of unknown words as I come across them, and a vast vocabulary, to boot.”
Selected Faculty Work
Professor James Earl teaches courses in Old English. His interests include ancient and medieval literature, the Bible, Anglo-Saxon literature and culture, psychoanalytic criticism, and the literature of India.
Professor Mary Jaeger teaches Latin and Greek, as well as lecture courses on epic, gender and sexuality in the ancient world, and topics in Roman culture. She is interested in the stories that Romans told about their past, and the monuments that preserved that past.
Associate Professor Charles Lachman is the Curator of Asian Art at the University of Oregon's Museum of Art. His research and teaching interests include the history of Chinese landscape painting, Chinese art theory, and Buddhist art (especially Ch'an/Zen painting).
John Nicols is a professor of history. His research and writing focuses on civic patronage in the Roman Empire and Latin epigraphy. He regularly teaches Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece, Ancient Science, and Western Civilization.
English Professor Steven Shankman is the UNESCO Chair in Transcultural Studies, Interreligious Dialogue and Peace. His interests include comparative literature, the classical traditions in English and American literature, the eighteenth century, and the history of literary theory.
Associate Professor Marian Smith teaches courses on Bach and Handel, opera, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, twentieth century music, musical controversies, and history of pedagogy. Her research interests include the historiography of La Sylphide and nineteenth-century Italian ballet and its music.
Michael Stern is an associate professor in the department of German and Scandinavian. His research interests include Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Critical Theory, theories of progress and subjectivity, and nineteenth-century Scandinavian literature. Stern has taught courses on Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, the discourses of love and progress, realism and anti-realism, the medieval Icelandic Sagas, and the literature of social protest, among others.
Career Opportunities
A background in the humanities will serve you well in any number of fields—education, journalism, law, communications, community service and private business.
Within the humanities curriculum, you will find opportunities to increase intellectual coherence and integration, build your awareness of cultural contexts and traditions, and find connections between humanistic theory and practice. This major is designed to provide essential skills and understanding for intelligent action and preparation for a wide range of careers.
Contact Information
(541) 346-4069
(541) 346-4118 fax