Humanities

The Humanities Program prepares students to:

1. Engage with important questions relating to human experience from a variety of perspectives, including but not limited to history, philosophy, religion, literature, art, and music.
2. Understand the way that core texts from the Western tradition have helped to shape the ideas, concepts, and beliefs that underpin not only Western societies, but also an emerging global culture.
3. Develop critical reading strategies to analyze and respond to complex texts from different time periods and genres.
4. Critically analyze a text by considering, among other things, its argument and rhetorical strategies, its use of evidence, and its relationship with other texts. 
5. Develop an understanding of how texts contain, critique, and challenge accepted beliefs and ways of thinking.
6. Effectively express ideas in writing, attending to the demands of different audiences in a range of contexts and genres.
7. Formulate an analytical argument that advances a clear claim based upon textual evidence.
8. Use writing as a mode of inquiry to develop a deeper understanding of texts and generate their own ideas rooted in their analysis. 
9. Use writing as an iterative process that can include discussion, feedback, collaboration, and revision.
10. Refine writing and communication skills—including effective process and individual voice—that are transferable to academic and professional environments beyond the Humanities Program. 
11. Understand and adhere to UC San Diego standards of academic integrity, which includes producing their own original work. 
12. Reflect effectively on their critical thinking and writing processes in order to engage with the world and ask meaningful questions.