Office: Clark Hall 419

Telephone: 408-924-4463

Professors

Christian Jochim
Shannon Rose Riley, Chair
Jennifer Rycenga
Susan Verducci-Sandford

Associate Professors

J. Todd Ormsbee
Cynthia Rostankowski

Assistant Professors

Tova Cooper
Meghan Gorman-DaRif
Funie Hsu
Chanh Cong Phan
Daniel Lanza Rivers
Jose Juan Villagrana

Overview

Welcome to the Humanities Department: The home of Creative and Transdisciplinary Studies!

In the twenty-first century, we find ourselves awash in accessible information - but most of us have never learned how to swim in this sea of ideas, histories, and creative works. The Humanities Department is the place where the skills of integration are taught within creative and transdisciplinary paradigms. Whether studying multiple art forms and creativity in the Creative Arts BA, combining subject matter in the Liberal Studies Teacher Prep BA in order to prepare to become a teacher, or integrating perspectives from various academic disciplines in one of the three concentrations in the Humanities BA (American Studies, Religious Studies, or Liberal Arts), our students find in the Humanities Department the place where they can think broadly and imaginatively. With a BA from Humanities, our students acquire the ability to dive deeply into the welter of wonders and ideas in the contemporary world, through comparative, historical, and innovative approaches.

Courses in the Humanities Department typically integrate history, literature, education, philosophy, religion, politics, and the arts. Most importantly, Humanities students develop analytical and expressive skills as well as an ability to read, write, and think clearly, especially about their roles in shaping various societies. Our students win writing awards and our graduates pursue careers in a variety of fields, including arts administration, education, law, journalism, library science, public service, art therapy, occupational therapy, social work, community development, and public relations. We are home to the renowned GE programs in Humanities Honors and American Civilization as well as to the popular Liberal Studies Teacher Prep BA, one of the largest teacher preparation majors on campus.

Students pursuing the Liberal Studies Teacher Prep BA are interested in teaching in elementary or middle school. The program is approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) for subject matter preparation.

Students pursuing the Humanities BA explore a wide array of human experience in diverse locations, in various media, art, and literature, and in significant cultural forms such as religion and other cultural traditions. The BA has three concentrations to select from: American Studies, Comparative Religious Studies, and Liberal Arts.

Students pursuing the interdisciplinary Creative Arts BA explore creativity across the human lifespan and in different cultural contexts and conduct a sustained inquiry into their own creative process. Students take classes in more than one arts area and investigate different purposes of the arts and creativity in different cultural contexts. The Creative Arts Program, established in 1956, is the only interdisciplinary arts and creativity studies BA program in the CSU!

The Humanities Department also offers several minor programs, including American Studies, Area Studies, Asian Studies, Creative Arts, Comparative Religious Studies, Middle East Studies, and Humanities.

Advisors: Christian Jochim, Amy Li, J. Todd Ormsbee, Cynthia Rostankowski, Shannon Rose Riley, Jennifer Rycenga, Susan Verducci

American Cultures GE Curriculum

The American Cultures curriculum is a two-semester, twelve-unit sequence which satisfies over one-fourth of all lower division general education requirements. Together, AMS 1A  and AMS 1B  provide six units of general education credit in arts and letters (Area C), six units in comparative systems and social issues (Area D), and satisfy the California Education Code American Institutions requirements in U.S. History, U.S. Constitution and California Government (Areas US1, US2, US3). The courses provide the opportunity to study America’s development and current conditions through themes such as the American dream, environmental issues, and ethnic and women’s studies.

Humanities Honors GE Curriculum

The Humanities Honors Program offers a four-semester survey course in World Cultures and Societies, Honors (HUM 1A /HUM 1B ) and Modern World Cultures, Honors (HUM 2A /HUM 2B ), which provides students with 24 units of core General Education in a format that emphasizes the interrelationship of art, literature, philosophy and social institutions. Core General Education requirements satisfied are: Oral Communication (3 units), Written Communication 1A (3 units), Critical Thinking and Writing (3 units), Arts & Letters (9 units), Comparative Systems (3 units), Social Issues (3 units), and American Institutions (AI) all areas US 1, 2, and 3. The course is interdisciplinary, globally focused, and team-taught, and is organized chronologically from the Ancient World through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Early Modern and Contemporary periods. Entering students with a high school GPA of 3.0 and a verbal SAT score of 550 or above are automatically eligible.

The Department also offers an upper division GE sequence in Advanced Honors in Integrated Science, Social Science, and Humanities (HUM 177A /HUM 177B ), which covers SJSU Studies areas R, S. and V.

American Studies Program

Office: CLARK HALL 419

Telephone: 408-924-1366

Professors

Shannon Rose Riley

Associate Professors

J. Todd Ormsbee

Assistant Professors

Tova Cooper
Funie Hsu

Overview

The American Studies Program provides useful preparation for graduate study, for elementary or secondary teaching, or for careers in law, public service or government. In addition to the minor in American Studies, a student can receive a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities with a concentration in American Studies through the Humanities Department. All American Studies courses, whether for a major, minor, or for general education, enhance our understanding of how our nation developed in the past, what it has become, and how these changes affect us today. Courses focus on subjects such as the American dream, interracial relations, environmental issues, popular culture and women’s concerns.

Programs

• American Studies Minor
• Area Studies Minor
• Asian Studies Minor
• Creative Arts Minor
• Creative Arts, BA
• Humanities Minor
• Humanities, American Studies Concentration, BA
• Humanities, Liberal Arts Concentration, BA
• Humanities, Religious Studies Concentration, BA
• Liberal Studies, Cross-Cultural Studies in Mexican and American Education Concentration, BA (Not Accepting Students)
• Liberal Studies, Integrated Teacher Education Program Spanish Bilingual, BA
• Liberal Studies, Integrated Teacher Education Program, BA
• Liberal Studies, Preparation for Teaching, BA
• Middle East Studies Minor
• Religious Studies Minor

Courses

• ASIA 19 - Music in World Cultures
• ASIA 70C - Arts of Asia
• ASIA 92 - Int’l Program Studies
• ASIA 102 - Chinese Culture
• ASIA 104 - Asian Philosophy
• ASIA 109A - History of China
• ASIA 109B - History of China
• ASIA 110A - History of Japan
• ASIA 110B - History of Japan
• ASIA 114 - Legacy of Asia
• ASIA 115 - The Emerging Global Culture
• ASIA 122 - English as a World Language
• ASIA 133B - Relationship Marketing: Pacific Rim
• ASIA 140 - Chinese Culture and Politics Through Literature
• ASIA 142 - Contemporary Buddhism and its Roots
• ASIA 144 - Chinese Traditions
• ASIA 145 - Asian Politics
• ASIA 148B - Improvisational Traditions of the World - Asia
• ASIA 160 - East and South Asia
• ASIA 177 - Anthropology of Asia
• ASIA 192 - Int’l Program Studies
• ASIA 193B - East Meets West in Art
• ASIA 194A - Art of China
• ASIA 195 - Art of Japan

• CA 60 - Creativity Matters
• CA 70 - Visual & Media Arts for K-8 Teachers
• CA 75 - Performing Arts for K-8 Teachers
• CA 95 - Introduction to Queer Arts
• CA 124 - Literature and Religious Experience
• CA 134 - Religion Film & Media
• CA 139 - Teaching Diversity through Art
• CA 150 - Field Experience in the Arts
• CA 172 - The Arts in U.S. Society
• CA 173 - Thinking About Contemporary World Arts
• CA 174 - Special Topics Seminar
• CA 175 - Seminar in Creative Process
• CA 176 - Creativity and Creative Leadership
• CA 177 - Interdisciplinary Arts for Teaching
• CA 178 - Senior Seminar in Creative Arts
• CA 180 - Individual Studies
• CA 190 - Field Work/Internship
• CA 192 - Int’l Program Studies
• CA 194 - Community Building through Arts Orgs

• AMS 1A - American Cultures to 1877
• AMS 1B - American Cultures 1877 to present
• AMS 92 - Int’l Program Studies
• AMS 100W - Writing in the Humanities & Interdisciplinary Arts
• AMS 129 - How the World sees the United States
• AMS 159 - Nature and World Cultures
• AMS 160 - Special Topics in Humanities
• AMS 169 - The American Dream
• AMS 179 - American Popular Culture
• AMS 180 - Individual Studies
• AMS 190 - Senior Seminar in Humanities
• AMS 192 - Int’l Program Studies
• HUM 1A - World Cultures and Societies- Honors
• HUM 1B - World Cultures and Societies- Honors
• HUM 2A - Honors - Modern World Cultures
• HUM 2B - Honors - Modern World Cultures
• HUM 80 - Reading the World
• HUM 90 - Bible History and Literature
• HUM 92 - Int’l Program Studies
• HUM 99 - Death, Dying and Religions
• HUM 100W - Writing in the Humanities & Interdisciplinary Arts
• HUM 101 - Human Life: Let’s Think About It
• HUM 111 - Special Topics in Jewish Studies
• HUM 114 - Legacy of Asia
• HUM 119 - Myths, Heroes, and Global Cultures
• HUM 120 - Renaissance, Reason and Romanticism
• HUM 121 - Introduction to Comparative Literature
• HUM 122 - Topics in Comparative World Literature
• HUM 124 - Literature and Religious Experience
• HUM 126 - Holocaust Literature
• HUM 128 - Perspectives on the Twentieth Century: The West in a Global Context
• HUM 134 - Religion Film & Media
• HUM 141 - Medieval Literature
• HUM 142 - Contemporary Buddhism and its Roots
• HUM 144 - Chinese Traditions
• HUM 148 - Children’s Dance
• HUM 155 - Pagan Traditions
• HUM 159 - Nature and World Cultures
• HUM 160 - Special Topics in Humanities
• HUM 168A - Global Climate Change I
• HUM 168B - Global Climate Change II
• HUM 169 - The American Dream
• HUM 177A - Advanced Honors in Integrated Science, Social Science, and Humanities
• HUM 177B - Advanced Honors in Integrated Science, Social Science, and Humanities
• HUM 179 - American Popular Culture
• HUM 180 - Individual Studies
• HUM 183C - Art of Islam 13th-19th Century
• HUM 190 - Senior Seminar in Humanities
• HUM 191 - Religion in America
• HUM 192 - Int’l Program Studies

• LSTP 10 - Chronicles of Education
• LSTP 85A - Fieldwork in Humanities A
• LSTP 85B - Fieldwork in Humanities B
• LSTP 85C - Fieldwork in Humanities C
• LSTP 139 - Education and (In)Equality
• LSTP 185 - Field Experience in Humanities

• MDES 90 - Bible History and Literature
• MDES 144 - Middle Eastern Politics