100-Level Courses

HUM 90    Basic English Skills   (6-0-1)
Basic English Skills is an intensive communication skills course for speakers of English as a second language. It focuses on basic grammar and syntax as well as introducing the forms of the essay.

HUM 198    Humanities Colloquium   (1-0-1)
An introduction to the humanities disciplines through weekly lectures and discussions.

Group A: Literature / Philosophy

HUM 103    Freshman Writing and Communications I   (3-0-3)
Offers writing-intensive instruction to students across the disciplines by means of readings in various fields. The course includes giving oral presentations; gaining facility with PowerPoint and other technical tools; and using various modes of research. This course serves native and non-native speakers of English who will practice the skills necessary to essay writing in all its forms.

HUM 104    Freshman Writing and Communications II   (3-0-3)
Continuation of Hum 103 with emphasis on research paper writing and documentation.

HLI 105    Special Topics in Literature   (3-0-3)
A topical introduction to the study of literature.

HPL 111    Philosophy I: Theories of Human Nature   (3-0-3)
This course is intended as a general introduction to the discipline of philosophy through an examination of various attempts throughout history to answer the very fundamental questions, "What does it mean to be human?" Topics discussed include happiness, the soul, virtue, good and evil, and the like. Readings from classical sources include as Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Hume, Mill, Nietzsche, Sartre, and others.

HPL 112    Philosophy II: Knowledge, Reality and Nature   (3-0-3)
This course provides an examination of philosophical concepts and ideas that address questions regarding the problem of knowledge (epistemology), methods of reasoning, and the nature of reality (metaphysics). Special attention will be given to applying these topics to an introduction to the philosophy of natural science. Readings include classical sources such as Descartes, Hume, Kant, Hegel, as well as contemporary works.

HLI 113    Western Literature: Classical Literature   (3-0-3)
Readings in great books of western literature. Representative texts include works by: Homer, Sophocles, and Virgil and readings in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles. One section of this course also takes up great books of science such as Vitruvius' Ten Books on Architecture read in conjunction with Virgil's Aeneid.

HLI 114    Western Literature: Middle Ages to the Present   (3-0-3)
Readings will include works from Dante, Racine, Shakespeare, de Lafayette, Austen, Bronte and Kafka.

HLI 115    The English Language: Language of Ideas   (3-0-3)
Examination of the philosophical use of language as it deals with concepts and value judgments.

HLI 116    The English Language: Introduction to Literary Forms   (3-0-3)
Uses of language to convey thought and feeling in a variety of fictional and nonfictional forms.

HLI 117    Colonial and Romantic American Literature   (3-0-3)
A survey of major developments in American literature from 1789 to 1900.

HLI 118    Realist and Modern American Literature   (3-0-3)
A continuation of HLI 117. A survey of major developments in American literature from 1900 to the present.

HUM 286    Sophomore Honors in Literature/Philosophy   (3-0-3)
By permission of the instructor.

Group B: History / Social Science

HUM 107    Modern Civilization and its Sources   (3-0-3)
This course seeks to provide a multidisciplinary introduction to today's world and how it came to be. The ecological, technological and scientific bases of the contemporary world are emphasized. Other themes include humankind's biological and cultural origins, the Industrial Revolution, today's global socioeconomic context, challenges to the nation-state, and cultural and gender issues.

HUM 108    Studies in History and Social Science II   (3-0-3)
Topics include significant issues in history and political science. This course satisfies spring sequence requirements for freshman/sophomore history and social science courses.

HHS 119    The Ancient World   (3-0-3)
This course surveys world history of the ancient era.

HHS 120    Origins of Western Culture   (3-0-3)
This course examines the foundations of Western Culture.

HSS 121    Cities and Civilization I   (3-0-3)
An examination of the origins, nature and progress of urban society. Selected readings focus on recurrent and persistent urban problems: overcrowding, traffic congestion, political corruption, faulty sanitation systems, etc. A student may also engage in field analysis projects that relate either to hometown areas or to the North Jersey region.

HSS 122    Cities and Civilization II   (3-0-3)
A continuation of HSS 121. Major emphasis is on current economic, environmental and social problems.

HHS 123    History of European Society and Culture to 1500   (3-0-3)
This course and HHS 124 investigate the social, economic, intellectual, political and cultural trends in Europe from the Middle Ages to the present, in lectures and discussion.

HHS 124    History of European Society and Culture Since 1500   (3-0-3)
A continuation of HHS 123.

HHS 125    United States Social and Economic History to 1900   (3-0-3)
This course and HHS 126 examine the main trends in the socioeconomic, political and diplomatic history of the U.S. from the Pre-Revolutionary period to the present.

HHS 126    United States Social and Economic History Since 1900   (3-0-3)
A continuation of HHS 125.

HSS 127    Political Science I   (3-0-3)
An introduction to the evolution and operation of the U.S. federal government. This course focuses on problems in energy policy, foreign policy, elections, and civil rights.

HSS 128    Political Science II   (3-0-3)
A survey of the evolution of juries and recent legal and social scientific analysis of jury rules. Case studies are used to explain the scope of issues decided by juries and conceptions of justice used to evaluate their performance.

HHS 129    Topics in the History of Science and Technology   (3-0-3)
A topical introduction to the humanistic study of science and technology.

HHS 130    History of Science and Technology   (3-0-3)
A historical survey of science and technology. Principal topics include science and technology in prehistory, Egyptian and Babylonian science and culture, Greek science, Medieval technology and science, the Scientific Revolution, the making of the modern physical science, Darwin and the Darwinian Revolution.

HHS 135    Survey of the Islamic World   (3-0-3)
This course provides a survey of the origin and development of the modern Islamic World. Beginning in sixth-century Arabia, the course follows the theological and political development of the Muslim community. It explores the reasons for the great appeal Islam has had and the reasons for its spread throughout the Middle East, North Africa and Southern Asia as well as other regions of the world.

HSS 175    Psychology: Brain, Mind, and Behavior   (3-0-3)
This course emphasizes the biological underpinnings of behavior and of mental processes. What do we know? How do we come to know? What do we want? Why do we act the way we do? In this course these fundamental questions of psychology are mainly looked at from a biological perspective that emphasizes the study of the brain and nervous systems. Historical, philosophical, as well as evolutionary perspectives on mental processes are considered as well.

HSS 176    Psychology: Development, Personality, and Pathology   (3-0-3)
An introduction to issues and theories in Life Span Development, Personality Theory and psychological disorders. Topics include cognitive and social development, attachment, moral thinking, psychoanalytical theory. Focus is placed on those seminal theories that have had lasting import for psychology as well as other disciplines. These theories include, but are not limited to, those of Piaget, Erikson and Freud.

HAR 190    History of Art: Prehistory to the Modern Era   (3-0-3)
This course will introduce the formal vocabularies specific to works of art and familiarize the student with the complex interaction between form, meaning, and historical context. Course readings will consist of historical documents, as well as recent critical and historical writing. Western and non-Western objects and architecture dating from pre-history to the mid-nineteenth century will be discussed at length in the classroom and at museums.

HAR 191    Modern Art History and Theory   (3-0-3)
This course introduces students to key moments in the history of modern art in the newly industrial societies of America, Europe, and the [former] Soviet Union. Painting, sculpture, and photography from the 1850s to the 1980s will be examined. Focusing on a wide range of methodological questions, this course will also consider the relationship between avant-garde culture and mass culture, the implications of emergent technologies for cultural production, and the development of radical avant-gardism in the context of authoritarian political formations and advancing global capitalism.

HUM 288    Sophomore Honors in History/Social Science   (3-0-3)
By permission of the instructor.

300,400-Level Courses

Humanities / General

HUM 301    Writing Seminar and Research Methods   (3-0-3)
In this course, students explore the tools and techniques of advanced writing and research. Students write four research papers and give several oral presentations. This course is required for single degree B.A. students and strongly recommended for double degree students.

HUM 498    Senior Thesis   (4 credits)
The student completes a major research thesis in the area of concentration under the guidance of a faculty advisor. Open to B.A. degree students.

HUM 499    Tutorial   (3-0-3)
An individual program of study arranged between student and instructor. A tutorial plan must be prepared (and presented to the Tutorial Committee of the Department of the Humanities) outlining the program and indicating the nature and scope of the project (generally a written paper). Upon completion of the program, the student receives a grade and credit for a Humanities elective.