Humanities 100. Advanced Topics in the Humanities
How I think about HUM 100...
I love that every section of HUM 100 is unique. Each section starts with an essential theme that has resonated throughout the tradition of Western literature and thought. The instructor takes one of those themes and develops a specific, focused topic that is revealed through a selection of core texts that span widely different time periods and cultural configurations. The possibilities are endless and wonderful when you combine an essential human question, such as Who am I?, with the special connections created by grouping great texts together, and you work through it all in guided conversations in a small community.
Antony Lyon, Director
Spring 2025 Schedule
Please see the Schedule of Classes for a complete listing of days and times for each lecture and section. The Schedule of Classes will also include the reading list for each instructor.
A00, B00 - Self and Community with Dr. Niyati Shenoy
Freeing Ourselves
Dr. Niyati Shenoy
The philosopher Sartre said that man is condemned to be free. But freedom’s burdens—agency, choice, and responsibility for one’s actions—are also its gifts, and millions have struggled and fought for them. In this course, we will read texts in genres from scripture to sci-fi, and explore themes of suffering, oppression, violence, revolution, salvation, apocalypse, and enlightenment in order to ask: what is required to imagine a free state? What price is worth paying to achieve it? And how will we know when we have?
Dr. Shenoy's seminars will be reading Dhammapada by Buddha; The Wretched of the Earth by Franz Fanon; The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler; and The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx.
C00, D00 - Self and Community with Dr. Tatiana Zavodny
Women Writing Women
Dr. Tatiana Zavodny
This course explores the evolution of women's voices in literature, from ancient Greece to contemporary society. Through the works of Sappho, Moderata Fonte, Virginia Woolf, and Audre Lorde, we will examine how feminine identity is shaped both in resistance to and in conjunction with one's larger community. Throughout the course, students will connect historical perspectives with contemporary issues of gender and identity, underscoring the enduring relevance of these topics in our daily lives.
Dr. Zavodny's seminars will be reading Sappho's poetry; The Merits of Women by Moderata Fonte; A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf; and Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde.
E00, F00 - Self and Community with Dr. Geoff West
Ephemeral Self - Identity and Transformation in Great Works
Dr. Geoff West
This course examines the fluid nature of identity and selfhood through Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino, Orlando by Virginia Woolf, Metamorphoses by Ovid, and Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges. Students will explore how each work portrays transformation, memory, and the shifting boundaries of self, revealing the impact of time and perspective on personal identity.
