Humanities

Programs

Courses

HUM 1975: Epiphanies of Beauty

Program
Credits 3

Exploration of literary arts as illuminating human condition and mystery of creation through several genres: novel, novella, drama, poetry, short story. T.S. Eliot, Claudel, G.M. Hopkins, J. Joyce, Flannery O'Connor, R.L. Stevenson, O. Wilde.

Last Offered
Fall 2025, Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
Effective Term
201230

HUM 2001: THL:God

Program
Credits 3

What is religion, anyway? Do we need it anymore? What is the place of religion in the contemporary world? How revelation might illuminate God and creation in a way that transforms the world? Fulfills an upper level Theology in the Core Curriculum.

Last Offered
Fall 2025, Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
Effective Term
200530

HUM 2002: Human Person

Program
Credits 3

What is human nature, human destiny? How does one become more deeply human? What does it mean to act for the human good? How can we discover meaning in primordial human experiences such as love, mortality, finitude, and suffering?

Last Offered
Fall 2025, Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
Effective Term
200620

HUM 2003: PHI:World

Program
Credits 3

Modern science is a dominant way of interpreting the world, and so human life. How does modern science interpret the world? What are the effects of this interpretation on the way we view human beings? Fulfills an upper level Philosophy in the Core Curriculum.

Last Offered
Fall 2025, Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
Effective Term
200530

HUM 2004: PSC:Society

Program
Credits 3

Political, economic, and family life dominate our concerns and yet we seem cynical about possibly finding meaning in them. How is our dependent, rational nature developed through marriage, family, work, markets, and government? Fulfills an upper level Political Science in the Core Curriculum.

Last Offered
Fall 2025, Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
Effective Term
200530

HUM 2100: HIS:The Goods & the Good Life

Program
Credits 3

Explore issues in economic life through texts in theology, philosophy, history, anthropology, literature, and arts. Why do we work, what is the difference between work and toil? What does the production and consumption of things tell about the human person, world, and God?

Last Offered
Spring 2025, Fall 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2013
Effective Term
200520

HUM 2900: Topics

Program
Credits 3

Specific topics vary each semester.

Last Offered
Fall 2025, Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
Effective Term
200820

HUM 2950: Vocation and Purpose

Program
Credits 1

Reflection on Villanova college experience in guided seminar discussion and workshops designed to envision and shape post-graduate career and life paths. Restriction: Instructor Permission

Last Offered
Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019
Effective Term
202120

HUM 2996: Internship

Program
Credits 6

Humanities majors must satisfy all requirements set by the Internship Office. Students must submit a 10-15 page essay to the Humanities Chair copying the Internship Office. See department web page for particulars.

Last Offered
Fall 2025, Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
Effective Term
200620

HUM 3001: ENG:Lewis Tolkien & Inklings

Program
Credits 3

Explores the fictional, theological, and philosophic writing of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Inklings (Charles Williams, Dorothy L. Sayers, G.K. Chesterton, George MacDonald). Investigates the relationship between fantastic """otherwordly"""" fiction and human """"wordly"""" experience. Fulfills an upper level Literature in the Core Curriculum."

Last Offered
Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020
Effective Term
200530

HUM 3200: PSC: Politics & Human Nature

Program
Credits 3

Our conception of human nature arises in part from our practice of politics and vice versa. What is the relationship between the way we think about the nature and meaning of human life and the practice of politics? Fulfills an upper level Political Science in the Core Curriculum.

Last Offered
Spring 2021, Spring 2013, Spring 2009, Fall 2006
Effective Term
200520

HUM 3400: Nature, Technology, America

Program
Credits 3

How has America reconciled its reverence for nature with its exceptional claims of technological prowess? Explores the intersection of nature and technology using Leo Marx's idea of """the machine in the garden"""" in American cultural

Last Offered
Fall 2025, Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
Effective Term
202220

HUM 3600: Amer Architecture since 1865

Program
Credits 3

Survey of architecture and town planning in the United States from 1865 to present. Themes of American exceptionalism, emergence of modern design, and continuity of traditional architecture. Major figures include Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, Frank Gehry.

Last Offered
Fall 2025, Fall 2022, Fall 2015, Fall 2014
Effective Term
200730

HUM 4000: Jews,Christians,Muslims:Dialog

Program
Credits 3

An overview of the context of radical pluralism within which contemporary discourse occurs. An examination of the challenges of this situation, an observation of Aquinas' interaction with other thinkers, and a proposal for this medieval model for inter-religious inquiry.

Last Offered
Spring 2021, Fall 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2011
Effective Term
200820

HUM 4200: Forgiveness:Pers & Pol

Program
Credits 3

This seminar mimes recent discussions that address these crucial questions: Does forgiveness abrogate justice? What is the place of anger and hate? May we forgive persons who will not repent? Is forgiveness a duty? Can forgiveness resolve political disputes and racial tensions?

Last Offered
Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Effective Term
200720

HUM 4350: PHI: Problem of Love

Program
Credits 3

Reading a broad survey of philosophical discussions of love, from Plato to Derrida, we will address a variety of questions concerning the nature of love, the relationship between self-interest, self-love, and love of other, whether Christianity makes a difference to the meaning of love, and related issues. Fulfills an upper level Philosophy in the Core Curriculum.

Last Offered
Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2021, Fall 2020
Effective Term
200520

HUM 5150: Literature & Politics

Program
Credits 3

Exploration of the relationship between literature and politics through novels, poetry, theater, and journalism. Authors: Orwell, Conrad, Zola, Wilde, Silone, Baldwin, and others.

Last Offered
Fall 2023, Spring 2016, Spring 2009, Spring 2007
Effective Term
200720

HUM 5950: Citizenship & Globalization

Program
Credits 3

Examination of the sweep of British History since 1327, with special attention to four periods: Medieval England; Early-Modern London and Reformation, Renaissance, and Revolution; Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Britain and the growth of Empire; and Post-Colonial United Kingdom and the European Union. Consideration given to English Music, Art and Architecture, Literature, and Political Theory. To take place partly in London.

Last Offered
Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022, Summer 2019
Effective Term
200720

HUM 5975: Pellegrinaggio: Augustine

Program
Credits 3

Learn more about the life and works of St. Augustine of Hippo. Examination of the life and writings of St. Augustine in preparation for the pilgrimage to Italy, and on-site exploration of Augustine's historical context and legacy.

Last Offered
Summer 2024, Fall 2016, Fall 2014
Effective Term
201510

HUM 6500: Senior Seminar

Program
Credits 3

The department's capstone is a seminar, meeting once a week, in which students read contemporary texts on issues they have engaged in their study of the humanities.

Last Offered
Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Effective Term
200520