The Department of Humanities consists of six autonomous sections and programs, each with its own headquarters: Anthropology, Foreign Languages and Literatures, History, Literature, Music and Theater Arts, and Writing and Humanistic Studies.
In addition to the degrees offered in the six sections, other undergraduate degree programs are available in Course 21, either in combination with a field in engineering or science (Course 21E, Course 21S) or as full majors (major departure, Course 21), described later in this section. Students interested in any of these degree programs should consult an advisor in the field, as well as the section or program office.
The Bachelor of Science in Humanities degree provides an option for students who wish to pursue their humanistic studies extensively and at an advanced level. This degree is received by students majoring in German or completing a Course 21 major departure. The major departure is a major by special arrangement, requiring approval by the Dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, in one of the following fields:
American Studies
Ancient and Medieval Studies
East Asian Studies
Latin American Studies
Psychology
Russian Studies
Theater Arts
Women's and Gender Studies
These joint major programs combine humanities with scientific/engineering studies. Groups of subjects from the humanistic and technical areas are conjoined to yield a basic command of each mode of inquiry. One part is a selection from the undergraduate degree curriculum of a science or engineering department approved by a faculty member in the field. The other part consists of subjects in a humanities field, chosen by the student in consultation with an advisor from the appropriate humanities faculty. In most cases, a senior thesis or sequence of advanced seminars is also required.
This arrangement yields a humanities program of considerable depth while allowing for continued serious commitment to a scientific or engineering interest. Available humanities fields include:
American Studies
Ancient and Medieval Studies
Anthropology
Comparative Media Studies
East Asian Studies
Foreign Languages and Literatures (in French, German, or Spanish)
History
Latin American Studies
Literature
Music
Psychology
Russian Studies
Science, Technology, and Society
Theater Arts
Women's and Gender Studies
Writing (Creative, Expository, Science Writing, or Technical Communication)
Faculty advisors in each discipline help students to arrange programs suited to both their interests and professional objectives. Any one of these fields may be joined with any science or engineering field to form a major. Some combinations naturally lend themselves not only to an understanding of each field but also to an integrative and comparative view of the relationship between the two.