Humanities & Comparative World Literature

College of Liberal & Creative Arts

Dean: Dr. Ifeoma Kiddoe Nwankwo

Department of Humanities and Comparative World Literature

Humanities Building, Room 377
Telephone: (415) 338-2068
Website: humcwl.sfsu.edu

Chair: Dr. Cristina Ruotolo

The Department of Humanities and Comparative World Literature houses the following interdisciplinary programs:

American Studies (B.A. and minor)
Comparative Literature (M.A.)
Comparative World Literature (B.A. and minor)
Humanities (B.A., minor, and M.A.)
Video Game Studies (minor)

Our faculty are accomplished humanities and literature scholars who are committed to exploring arts and ideas across boundaries typically dividing the study of nations, historical eras, languages, and forms of cultural expression. Our students gain broad cultural literacy as well as strong skills in writing and thinking critically about the forms of representation that shape our worlds and perspectives.

American Studies

American Studies is a cross-disciplinary program (B.A. and minor) that presents students with the opportunity to individualize their curriculum and draw from the many programs across our campus that focus on U.S. culture and society. The major's goal is for students to explore the unity and diversity, the consensus and conflict, and the continuity and change that characterize the many cultures and social structures of the past and present United States. Each student takes core courses in arts and culture, geography, and California studies. With help from a program advisor, they create an individualized set of elective courses drawn from across the University to pursue a particular set of questions about U.S. history, culture, and society.

Career Outlook

The American Studies major is appropriate for students who want a solid liberal arts experience that focuses on the United States. It is excellent for those preparing for teaching careers or a wide-ranging background as preparation for study of the law, public administration, city planning, library and museum work, and/or specialized graduate study.

Comparative and World Literature

Comparative Literature is a way of studying world literature. It is a literary discipline designed to go beyond the chronological, geographic, and linguistic boundaries of individual national literatures.

Undergraduate Program

The Bachelor of Arts and Minor in Comparative and World Literature are interdisciplinary programs that provide students with a global perspective through the reading and analysis of literatures from multiple traditions. Students develop a university-level understanding of what different cultures have in common as well as what makes each culture unique. The study of comparative literature also seeks to establish relationships between literature and other fields, from the arts and sciences to folklore and religion. In addition to taking courses in comparative literature and various national literatures (in the original languages and translation), students also learn methods and techniques of literary analysis and comparison.

Graduate Program

The Master of Arts in Comparative Literature combines the objectives of graduate study in foreign languages and literature with an emphasis on the intercultural and international aspects of literature. The goal of the program is to provide graduate training in subjects common to more than one national literature. Research work in the program is directed toward the problems of literary theory and analysis, genre studies, and literary history.

Career Outlook

The B.A. and Minor in Comparative and World Literature are designed for students who wish to gain an interdisciplinary and broad liberal arts education. The undergraduate degree also provides a sound foundation for students who wish to continue work in literature at the graduate level or to pursue graduate study in other areas. Students find that the program provides a rich background for teaching in English, foreign languages and literature, the humanities, and liberal arts, as well as for other varied careers.

The graduate degree in Comparative Literature is of particular value for students who intend to pursue a doctoral degree in comparative literature, English, foreign language and literature, interdisciplinary humanities, or who plan to teach at the middle school, high school, or community college levels.

Humanities

Undergraduate Program

The Humanities B.A. and minor programs offer students an understanding of the creative practices, cultural values, and insights of diverse human communities, past and present. Humanities majors learn to interpret, compare, and integrate various objects of humanistic study, such as literature, music, visual culture, comics and graphic narrative, architecture and urban space, philosophy, and cultural theory, as they explore the important questions that humans have faced.

Graduate Program

The M.A. in Humanities is an interdisciplinary program that emphasizes the integrative study of culture, ideas, and the arts, with special concern for the questions of value—moral, intellectual, cultural, and aesthetic—that are inherent in major human expressions. The program requires 30 units of coursework, which includes core courses, electives that can be drawn from any relevant MA program in the college, and the culminating experience (thesis or exam).

Career Outlook

With this integrative approach to American and world cultures, the humanities major provides an excellent foundation for jobs in public service, business, law, education, and the arts. Practical training in a specific professional field (TESOL, journalism, museum work, etc.) may well be taken in conjunction with the major or the minor in humanities. Those earning the M.A. are qualified to search for a position at a community college and are well prepared for Ph.D. programs in several humanities fields.

Video Game Studies

The minor in Video Game Studies is an interdisciplinary program that examines the many ways that video games intersect with our lives. We recognize video games as a uniquely complex media that we encounter through many different modes of experience: as games, stories, challenges, escapes, vehicles of self-creation, platforms for interaction with others, marketed commodities, cultural representations, and so much more.

This program is designed to introduce you to the complexity and excitement of many different forms of studying video games. It is not directly about making video games. Rather, it introduces students to ongoing scholarship, research projects, and disciplinary approaches to the study of video games, while also building potential bridges into vibrant fields of both study and industry.

Professor

Laura Garcia-Moreno (2004), Professor in Humanities. Ph.D. Cornell University.

Dane Johnson (1995), Professor in Comparative and World Literature. Ph.D. Stanford University.

Persis Karim (2017), Professor in Comparative and World Literature, Neda Nobari Distinguished Chair, Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies. Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin.

Shirin A. Khanmohamadi (2005), Professor in Comparative and World Literature. Ph.D. Columbia University.

George J. Leonard (1986), Professor in Humanities. Ph.D. Columbia University.

Cristina Ruotolo (1997), Professor in Humanities. Ph.D. Yale University.

Mary E. Scott (1990), Professor in Humanities. Ph.D. Princeton University.

Associate Professor

David M. Peña-Guzmán (2018), Associate Professor in Humanities and Liberal Studies. Ph.D. Emory University.

Christopher S. Weinberger (2009), Associate Professor in Comparative and World Literature. Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley.

Major

Minors

Masters

Comparative World Literature courses

Humanities courses

American Studies

Explanation of Course Descriptions, Symbols, and Terms

AMST 200 Self, Place, and Knowing: Introduction to Interdisciplinary Inquiry (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2* or permission of the instructor.

Introduction to Liberal Studies, American Studies, the practice of interdisciplinary inquiry, and the culmination of the first-year experience sequence. Project-based focus on different ways of understanding oneself in relationship the University, and San Francisco and the larger Bay Area. Emphasis on experiential learning through mapping (exploring, navigating, understanding, and cataloging). [CSL may be available]
(This course is offered as LS 200 and AMST 200. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

E: Lifelong Learning Develop

AMST 225 Values in American Life (Units: 3)

Explores the ideas, concepts, and values that have been central to how Americans understand themselves and the United States as a nation. Focuses on literature, film, music, visual culture, and popular culture in historical context. Emphasis on analytical skills, close reading practices, and critical thinking.
(This course is offered as HUM 225 and AMST 225. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

C2: Humanities
Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities

AMST 265 Christmas and Hanukkah in the United States (Units: 3)

Examination of the social, political, and cultural history of Christmas and Hanukkah in the United States from the colonial period to the present day. Focus on the relationship between religion, politics, commerce, and popular culture, including gender roles and the changing role of religious, ethnic, and racial minorities in U.S. public culture.
(This course is offered as JS 265, AMST 265, HIST 265, and RELS 265. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

U.S. History
D2: Social Sciences: US Hist.
Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities

AMST 300GW Junior Seminar in American Studies - GWAR (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Upper-division standing; GE Area A2; or permission of the instructor.

Examination of selected topics in U.S. culture and society through the interdisciplinary lens of American Studies. Writing-intensive seminar. (ABC/NC grading only)

Course Attributes:

Graduation Writing Assessment

AMST 305 Topics in American Studies (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1, A2, A3, and B4 or permission of the instructor.

An interdisciplinary examination of U.S. culture and society introducing the major issues, approaches, and objects of study of the field of American Studies. Topics may include conquest and empire, citizenship and belonging, or globalization and neoliberalism. (Plus-minus ABC/NC, CR/NC allowed) [Formerly AMST 200]

AMST 310 The Arts and American Culture (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Figures in visual, literary, and performing arts who have reflected American culture through the mastery of their arts. The relationships between arts in periods of American cultural development.
(This course is offered as HUM 485 and AMST 310. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities

AMST 410 California Culture (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Dynamics of California society and culture in recent times: world oasis, flawed paradise, lifestyle crucible, and creative milieu. The function of California in American culture and Pacific relations.
(This course is offered as HUM 450 and AMST 410. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities

Comparative and World Literature

Explanation of Course Descriptions, Symbols, and Terms

CWL 180 Introduction to Videogames: A Comparative Perspective (Units: 3)

Interdisciplinary examination of videogames as creative and aesthetic objects, psychological and social experiences, cultural expressions, economic commodities, forums of interaction, platforms for storytelling and communication, opportunities for ethical inquiry, sites of identity construction, and instances of collaboration. Explores issues of genre, design, aesthetics, representation, storytelling, social justice, and more. Includes team-taught lessons from scholars of Design, Cinema, Music, History, Philosophy, Communication Studies, and Comparative and World Literature.

Course Attributes:

C2: Humanities
Global Perspectives

CWL 214 Second Year Written Composition: Comparative and World Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: ENG 114 or equivalent with a grade of CR or C- or better.

Flexible reading and writing skills for academic inquiry and engaging with social issues through comparative and interdisciplinary approaches; world literature readings integrated with a variety of sources; varied composing and revising skills; critical analysis and self-reflection, with special attention to rhetorical variation; fine-tuning research. (Plus/minus ABC/NC, CR/NC allowed)

Course Attributes:

A4: Written English Comm II

CWL 216 Telling Stories: How the World Writes 'You' (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2* with a grade of C- or better.

Our world is made of stories. The news we read, the ideas we share, and our senses of selfhood all take shape through stories. Study writing from around the world to see how stories reflect and construct personal and cultural identities. Apply tools of literary analysis to texts encountered in everyday life, to examine how narrative forms shape understandings of identity and invite readers to adopt different values. Practice communicating effectively and persuasively to different audiences while exploring how such work can lead to personal and professional success.

Course Attributes:

E: Lifelong Learning Develop
Global Perspectives

CWL 220 Reading Beyond Boundaries: An Introduction to Comparing Literatures (Units: 3)

Reading literature from diverse times and places to discover the relevance of literary representation for contemporary life. Covers basics of literary analysis, examination of genres, and comparative methodology to uncover the significances and effects of literary representation.

Course Attributes:

C2: Humanities
C3 or C2: Humanities/Lit.
Global Perspectives

CWL 230 World Literature (Units: 3)

Literary classics of the world, their cultural backgrounds, and their place in the history of ideas from a variety of genres and national literatures.

Course Attributes:

C2: Humanities
C3 or C2: Humanities/Lit.
Global Perspectives

CWL 250 Fables and Tales (Units: 3)

Development from folklore and parable of fables and tales. Narrative forms such as the animal fable, fairy tale, and remarkable voyage. Exploration of central themes and techniques in the tradition of didactic and fantastic fiction.

Course Attributes:

C2: Humanities
C3 or C2: Humanities/Lit.
Global Perspectives

CWL 260 Myths of the World (Units: 3)

Investigation of different mythologies including their interpretation and significance to world literature.

Course Attributes:

C2: Humanities
C3 or C2: Humanities/Lit.
Global Perspectives

CWL 270 Fantasy and Fiction: Exploring Parallel Worlds (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: ENG 114 or equivalent.

Exploration of dreams, parallel worlds, and alternate realities in fiction and media from a variety of traditions and cultures. Development of critical reading skills to examine the intersection of fantasy and reality in literary representation.

Course Attributes:

C2: Humanities
C3 or C2: Humanities/Lit.

CWL 275 Reading Video Games (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2 or permission of the instructor.

Examine videogames as texts whose meaning is produced through the complex interplay of narrative, rules, and cultural context. Read and write about videogames using critical perspectives and methods of literary analysis. [Formerly ENG 270]
(This course is offered as ENG 275 and CWL 275. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

CWL 380 Thinking with Video Games (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* with grades of C- or better.

Consideration of video games in their social, aesthetic, cross-cultural, theoretical, literary, and historical contexts, to include non-representational relations to gaming.

CWL 400GW Approaches to Comparative and World Literature - GWAR (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2.

Active comparison of texts from multiple literary traditions and genres using a variety of methods. Introduction to the discipline and critical theory. Writing-intensive. (ABC/NC grading only)

Course Attributes:

Graduation Writing Assessment

CWL 420 Studies in Comparative Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.

Comparison of literary texts from multiple linguistic traditions through thematic, theoretical, chronological, and/or formal connections. Topics to be specified in the Class Schedule. May be repeated when topics vary.

Topics:

Love Letters: Desire and the Novel
Psychoanalytic Approaches to Literature
Ethics, Alterity, and the Novel
Modernism and Desire
Travel and the Literary Imagination

CWL 421 Celtic Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Literary traditions of the culturally diverse Celtic world from earliest legends of gods, heroes, warriors, and saints to modern literature; texts may include traditions such as Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Breton, and Manx.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities

CWL 423 Going Medieval: Medieval Literature and Contemporary Adaptations (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

A survey of the major genres of Medieval European vernacular writing in translation, including epic, romance, tale collections, and lyric poetry.
(This course is offered as CWL 423 and HUM 423. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities

CWL 424 Multicultural Middle Ages (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

A survey of medieval European representations of the Islamic world, as reflected in the major genres of epic, romance, tale collections, travel writing, and lyric poetry.
(This course is offered as CWL 424 and HUM 424. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities

CWL 426 Literary Orients and Orientalisms, Classical to Contemporary (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.

Survey of the image of the Orient and the East in western representation from the Ancient Greeks to contemporary culture, examining not only literature but also art history, film, television, and other media. Investigation of the nature and diversity of these images in relation to the influential theory of Orientalism set forth by Edward Said. Consideration of the theory's ongoing relevance and permutations in the discourse of the Orient across major epochs.
(This course is offered as CWL 426 and HUM 426. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

Global Perspectives
Social Justice

CWL 427 Travel and the Literary Imagination (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division standing; GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, B4*, and E* all with grades of C- or better; or permission of the instructor.

Survey of premodern and early modern travel and ethnographic writing, including missions, crusade, and New World conquests and settlements; their literary qualities; and their impact on literature.
(This course is offered as CWL 427 and HUM 427. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives
Social Justice

CWL 432 From Ghost Stories to Short Stories: Japanese Fiction in Comparative Contexts (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Examination of formal transformations in Japanese prose fiction through comparison with other literary traditions; focus on questions of tradition, influence, genre, and translations.
(This course is offered as CWL 432 and HUM 532. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

CWL 437 Holocaust and Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better; ENG 216* or ENG 218* or equivalent; or permission of the instructor.

Fiction and non-fiction Holocaust literature by Saul Bellow, T. Borowski, Etty Hillesum, I.B. Singer, and Elie Wiesel.
(This course is offered as JS 437, ENG 533, and CWL 437. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

CWL 440 "Typical American": Narratives of Multiculturalism in the Americas from 1492 to the Present (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Understanding the Americas through historical and hemispheric comparison of multicultural literary texts; interaction of race, ethnicity, class, and gender with other constructions of group identity in narratives; the interplay between community and individual identity from 1492 to the present.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

CWL 445 Literatures of Migration and Diaspora (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Investigate how literature is shaped as much by the flows of human beings and transnational routes as nations and borders. Explore how contemporary issues such as war, climate change, and poverty are articulated in literary texts; the implications of colonialism, decolonization, and globalization for human mobility in literary expressions including poetry, fiction and nonfiction; how writers participate in larger conversations about social justice, inequality, and human rights; and the dynamic way that language and identity evolves.
(This course is offered as CWL 445 and HUM 445. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

CWL 450 Literary Crossings (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Examination of the theme and forms of literary crossings in comparative literature, among them transnationalism, migration, and second-language writing; literature crossing lines of race, gender, sexuality, class, or the boundary between human and non-human; generically hybrid literatures.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

CWL 451 Jewish Literature of the Americas (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Explores the literature of the Americas through the lens of Jewish identity and tradition. Texts in translation from Latin America, Canada, and the US reveal how Jewish writers have rethought modernity's intersection with Jewish traditions.
(This course is offered as JS 451, CWL 451, and ENG 451. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
Global Perspectives

CWL 480 European Jewish Writers (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Survey of the works of modern Jewish writers throughout Europe between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The influence of the Jewish Enlightenment on modern Jewish literature.
(This course is offered as JS 480 and CWL 480. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

CWL 520 Modern Prose of the Americas (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Upper-division standing; CWL 400GW or other GWAR course recommended.

Exploration of the creation and representation of modern "American" identities through comparison of prose fiction from Latin America (in translation) and the United States; focus on two periods: 1920s-1940s and 1960s-1980s.

Course Attributes:

Global Perspectives

CWL 540 Faulkner, García Márquez, and Morrison (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: CWL 400GW or another GWAR course is recommended.

A comparative reading of three major 20th-century novelists including William Faulkner, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Toni Morrison. These authors provide a vantage point for exploring representation in the Americas, the modern novel, and literary value.

CWL 680 Senior Seminar: Research in the Humanities and Comparative & World Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Senior standing; CWL 400GW or HUM 300GW.

Integration of students' education in the Humanities and Comparative & World Literature programs through preparation, research for, and revision of, a substantial piece of work.
(This course is offered as HUM 690 and CWL 680. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

CWL 690 Editing and Publishing the Comparative Literature Journal (Units: 1-3)

Prerequisite: Comparative Literature majors or minors or permission of the department.

Supervised experience in editing and production of a journal of student work. Credit not applicable to major or minor fields in comparative literature. CWL 690 and CWL 890 may be repeated for a combined total of 6 units. (CR/NC grading only.)

CWL 697 Honor's Thesis (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Comparative Literature majors and permission of the department.

Tutorial leading to an honor's project or thesis on special research topic to be determined jointly by student and faculty member. (CR/NC grading only)

CWL 699 Independent Study (Units: 1-3)

Prerequisite: Permission of the department chair and instructor.

Projects requiring critical study and analysis of advanced material adapted to individual needs and interests. May be repeated for a total of 6 units.

CWL 800 Introduction to Graduate Study in Comparative Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Methodology and definitions of comparative literature; critical theory of literature as it relates to comparative studies.

CWL 815 Seminar: Topics in Critical Theory (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Research seminar examines a major subject area in critical and literary theory. Topic to be specified in Class Schedule. May be repeated for a total of 9 units when topics vary.

Topics:

Ethics in Literature, Theory, and Criticism
Literary Value
Narrative Theory in Comparative Literature
Theory and the Premodern Text

CWL 820 Topics in Comparative Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Research seminar that compares literary texts from multiple traditions through thematic, theoretical, chronological, and formal connections. Topics to be specified in the Class Schedule. May be repeated for a total of 9 units when topics vary.

Topics:

Medieval and Early Modern Encounters
20th-Century Comparative American Literary Studies
Novel Mirrors: Global Metafiction
The Body of the Text/The Text of the Body
Experiments in Reading 21st-Century World Fiction
Literatures of Diaspora and Migration
Weird Fiction: Global Visions of Otherness

CWL 825 Advanced Study in Humanities and Comparative Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: CWL 800 and HUM 700; or permission of the instructor.

Synthesize prior knowledge about theory, methodology, and practice of comparative literature and humanities. Develope scholarly and professional skills for the culminating experience and beyond. Explore post-M.A. paths.
(This course is offered as CWL 825 and HUM 825. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

CWL 825/HUM 825

CWL 890 Editing and Publishing the Comparative Literature Journal (Units: 1-3)

Prerequisite: Comparative Literature majors or minors or permission of the department.

Supervised experience in editing and production of journal of student work. Credit not applicable to major/minor fields in comparative literature. CWL 690 and CWL 890 may be repeated for a combined total of 6 units. (CR/NC grading only)

CWL 896 Directed Reading in Comparative Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Approved ATC and culminating experience proposal.

Supervised study based on departmental reading list and student's specialty area in preparation for the Comprehensive Oral Examination. Not open to M.A. candidates selecting the thesis option. (CR/NC grading only)

CWL 896EXM Culminating Experience Examination (Units: 0-3)

Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor, committee chair, and approval of Advancement to Candidacy (ATC) and Culminating Experience (CE) forms by Graduate Studies. ATC and Proposal for Culminating Experience Requirement forms must be approved by the Graduate Division before registration.

Enrollment in 896EXAM required for students whose culminating experience consists of an examination only. Not for students enrolled in a culminating experience course numbered CWL 898 (or in some cases, courses numbered CWL 890 - see program's graduate advisor for further information). (CR/NC, RP)

CWL 898 Master's Thesis (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor; recommendation of major adviser; and approval of Advancement to Candidacy (ATC) for the Master of Arts and Culminating Experience (CE) forms by Graduate Studies. ATC and Proposal for Culminating Experience Requirement forms must be approved by the Graduate Division before registration.

(CR/NC grading only)

CWL 899 Independent Study (Units: 1-3)

Prerequisite: Permission of the graduate major adviser and supervising faculty member.

Study is planned, developed, and completed under the direction of a member of the department. Open only to graduate students of demonstrated ability to do independent work. Enrollment by petition (form available in the department office). May be repeated for a total of 6 units.

Humanities

Explanation of Course Descriptions, Symbols, and Terms

HUM 130 The Humanities: Major Works (Units: 3)

Major works from several places and times, including the present, with the aim of perceiving their significance in human culture and creating meaningful individual relationships with them.

Course Attributes:

C2: Humanities
C3 or C2: Humanities/Lit.

HUM 205 Asian Art History (Units: 3)

Conceptual and technical relationship of visual form to values in the art of China, Korea, Japan, India, Tibet, and South-East Asia.
(This course is offered as ARTH 205 and HUM 205. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

C1: Arts
Global Perspectives

HUM 220 Values and Culture (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2.

Examination of significant works of cultural expression with respect to their aesthetic dimensions, historical contexts, and illumination of human value patterns. At least one non-western work is studied.

Course Attributes:

C2: Humanities
Global Perspectives

HUM 225 Values in American Life (Units: 3)

Course Attributes:

C2: Humanities
Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities

HUM 235 Comics and Culture (Units: 3)

Introduction to the scholarly study of comic books and graphic novels. Emphasis on formal analysis, historical antecedents and developments, cross-cultural comparison, and comparison of comics with other cultural forms. Focus on what it means to make comics as well as analyze them.
(This course is offered as HUM 235 [formerly HUM 325] and CMX 235 [formerly CMX 325]. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

C2: Humanities

HUM 271 The Classic Chinese Novel in Contemporary Pop Culture (Units: 3)

Explore the legacy of China's four great classic novels in contemporary Chinese popular culture. Analysis of original works and their adaptation in TV shows and cinema, fiction, computer games, and theme parks.
(This course is offered as CHIN 271 and HUM 271. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

C2: Humanities
Global Perspectives
Social Justice

HUM 300GW Reading and Writing Across Creative Forms - GWAR (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2.

Introduction to the practices of observation, comparison, and expression characteristic of interdisciplinary humanities as a field. Development of skills in interpreting and writing essays on various expressive forms. (ABC/NC grading only)

Course Attributes:

Graduation Writing Assessment

HUM 301 Form and Culture (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2.

Interpretation of works and the relationship between form and content in a variety of expressive modes. Reading of selected visual, musical, and written works from various times and places.

HUM 303 Remembering our Past: Memory, Tradition, History (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2.

Development of the capacity for historical thinking through analysis of expressive forms generated within particular cultures. A variety of cultures and range of verbal and non-verbal forms of expression will be explored.

HUM 304 Making Comics (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.

Introduction to the hands-on making of comics. Focus on in-class exercises and small projects in making comics alongside analysis of comics. Promotes understanding of how to communicate in comics and discover working methods that best work for them.
(This course is offered as LS 304, CMX 304, and HUM 304. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

HUM 315 History of Science from the Scientific Revolution (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, B4*, and E* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Examine the development of modern science from the Scientific Revolution to the present, including changes in the relationship between people and their environment during the transition from feudalism to capitalism and through industrialization to the modern environmental movement.
(This course is offered as HIST 315 and HUM 315. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Environmental Sustainability
Global Perspectives

HUM 317 Critical Animal Studies (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

Examination of the nature of animal experiences and the various roles nonhuman animals play in human life, with a particular focus on approaches to nonhuman animals in science, art, and literature.
(This course is offered as LS 317 and HUM 317. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

HUM 320 Music, Ideas, and Culture (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Functions of music in diverse social and cultural traditions and in relation to other arts and disciplines. Writings of philosophers, critics, musicologists, and musicians about music.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities

HUM 340 Bay Area Culture (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Ever since the Gold Rush, authors, journalists, artists, architects, and musicians have shaped the way people here and abroad understand Bay Area culture. Students study the region's vast projection of itself, paying special attention to transformational periods, movements, events, and figures. [Formerly cross-listed with A U 302]

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
Environmental Sustainability
Global Perspectives

HUM 345 Humanism and Mysticism (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division standing; GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better; or permission of the instructor.

Comparative study of humanistic and mystical thoughts and how these two traditions have developed and affected human civilization.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

HUM 348 Thought and Culture in Modern Europe (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Upper-division standing; GE Area E; or permission of the instructor.

European intellectual and cultural history from the Enlightenment to the present and how this history has reacted to the changing European social and political landscape.
(This course is offered as HIST 348 and HUM 348. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

HUM 361 Cultural Expression in Islam (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Classic works of Islamic holy/secular texts; art, architecture, novels, poetry, film. How great works characterize, symbolize, or are emblematic of specific intellectual environments, representing different times, places, and diverse populations in Islamic civilization, including non-Muslims.
(This course is offered as HUM 361 and I R 363. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

HUM 366 India's Gandhi (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2.

The complexity of Gandhi's values and ideas, major Eastern and Western influences on him, and the admixture in his philosophy, literature, and politics.

HUM 370 Biography of a City: Asian Cities (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Explore the cultural life and history of a particular Asian city. Focus on significant historical moments, urban spaces, and arts and culture of the city in question. Cities to be specified in the Class Schedule. May be repeated when focal cities vary.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

Topics:

Beijing
Shanghai
Tokyo
Delhi
Manila

HUM 371 Biography of a City: Latin American Cities (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Exploration of the cultural life and history of a particular Latin American city. Focus on significant historical moments, urban spaces, and arts and culture of the city in question. Cities to be specified in the Class Schedule. May be repeated when focal cities vary.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

Topics:

Mexico City
Rio de Janeiro

HUM 372 Critical Political Theory (Units: 4)

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.

The critical tradition in political theory that responds to and differentiates itself from classical and modern canonical texts.
(This course is offered as PLSI 372, HUM 372, and I R 372. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

HUM 373 Biography of a City: European Cities (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Exploration of the cultural life and history of a particular European city. Focus on significant historical moments, urban spaces, and arts and culture of the city in question. Cities to be specified in the Class Schedule. May be repeated when focal cities vary.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

Topics:

Paris
London
Berlin
Rome
Naples
Florence
Venice
Vienna
Istanbul
Moscow

HUM 374 Biography of a City: African and Middle Eastern Cities (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Exploration of the cultural life and history of a particular African or Middle Eastern city. Focus on significant historical moments, urban spaces, and arts and culture of the city in question. Cities to be specified in the Class Schedule. May be repeated when focal cities vary.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

Topics:

Cairo
Alexandria
Lagos
Cape Town
Accra
Kabul
Tehran

HUM 375 Biography of a City: United States Cities (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Exploration of the cultural life and history of a particular U.S. city. Focus on significant historical moments, urban spaces, and arts and culture of the city in question. Cities to be specified in the Class Schedule. May be repeated when focal cities vary.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

Topics:

Los Angeles
New York
Chicago
Boston
New Orleans

HUM 376 San Francisco (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Explore San Francisco as a center of intellectual, social, and cultural life. May include field trips and tours.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Environmental Sustainability

HUM 379 Jerusalem (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

The dynamics of Jerusalem's intellectual, artistic, and social life with an emphasis on the great works that symbolize the contribution of that city to human culture.
(This course is offered as HUM 379 and JS 379. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

HUM 380 Nature and Human Values (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Examination of classic and contemporary writings and works of art that explore human beings' place in the natural world.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Environmental Sustainability

HUM 390 Images of Eroticism (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Ways in which human sexuality, both the socially acceptable varieties and those practices which different societies attempt to prohibit, are represented in the art and literature of cultures in different historical periods.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

HUM 401 Ancient Greek Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Introduction to ancient Greek literature in its social and historical context.
(This course is offered as CLAS 410 and HUM 401. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities

HUM 402 Ancient Roman Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Introduction to ancient Roman literature in its social and historical context.
(This course is offered as CLAS 415 and HUM 402. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities

HUM 403 Vikings, Caliphs, & Carolingians: Europe in the Early Middle Ages (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Upper-division standing; GE Area E; or permission of the instructor.

Society and culture in early medieval Europe from c. 750 to c. 1000.
(This course is offered as HIST 330 and HUM 403. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

HUM 404 The High Middle Ages (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.

Society and culture in medieval Europe from the 12th to the 14th century.
(This course is offered as HUM 404 and HIST 331. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

HUM 407 Romanticism and Impressionism (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2 or permission of the instructor.

A variety of European and American expressive forms including literature, visual arts, music, and philosophy and their contexts from the Napoleonic Era to the beginning of World War I.

HUM 415 Thinking the Present: Comparative Arts and Culture (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Examine how contemporary global art practices speak to the realities of the present moment. Topics may include globalization, neoliberalism, borders and migration, inequality, displacement, digital communication technologies, climate change, and alternative relations to nature.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

HUM 423 Going Medieval: Medieval Literature and Contemporary Adaptations (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities

HUM 424 Multicultural Middle Ages (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities

HUM 425 Thought and Image: Humanities (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2.

Works in the humanities and creative arts studied in terms of the unique ways the meanings, values, and forms reflect their cultures of origin. Works from at least two global cultures will be included.

HUM 426 Literary Orients and Orientalisms, Classical to Contemporary (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.

Course Attributes:

Global Perspectives
Social Justice

HUM 427 Travel and the Literary Imagination (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division standing; GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, B4*, and E* all with grades of C- or better; or permission of the instructor.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives
Social Justice

HUM 432 Nietzsche and Postmodernism (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Examine the most radical implications of Nietzsche's critique of western humanism. Close reading of major writings by Nietzsche and selected "postmodern" readings of Nietzsche.
(This course is offered as HUM 432 and PHIL 432. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities

HUM 438 The Reading Experiment: The Power of the Book (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2.

Combining creative pedagogical methods and alternative scheduling to encourage intellectual reflection on the experience, nature, and power of reading serious works of literature that reflect on the human condition. Encourages students to reflect on the embodied experience of reading a work of literature from beginning to end in one sitting. (Plus-minus ABC/NC, CR/NC allowed)

HUM 440 Mind, Body, and Culture (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Interdisciplinary exploration of how our bodies, emotions, and internal biases affect our thinking and influence how we respond to the world. Investigation of how our worlds and cultures affect our bodies and minds.
(This course is offered as LS 440 and HUM 440. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

UD-B: Physical Life Science

HUM 441 American Jews and Popular Culture (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2.

Examination of presentation and participation of Jews in American popular culture of the 20th and 21st centuries. Focused on the representation of Jews and Judaism in film, television, and media. Representation of Jews and Judaism in literature, athletics, food, museums, and consumer culture also addressed.
(This course is offered as JS 441, HIST 441 and HUM 441. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities

HUM 445 Literatures of Migration and Diaspora (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

HUM 450 California Culture (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities

HUM 455 Humanities of the Americas (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Humanities of American cultures emphasizing Latin America and the Caribbean. Cultural/historical framework for the study of ancient, colonial, and modern humanistic expressions in architecture, folk arts, poetry, painting, murals, cinema, music.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

HUM 480 Thought and Culture in America to 1880 (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Upper-division standing; GE Area E; or permission of the instructor.

American thought and culture from colonial times to the 1880s including intellectual movements and influential texts.
(This course is offered as HIST 480 and HUM 480. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

HUM 481 Thought and Culture in America: 1880 to the Present (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Upper-division standing; GE Area E; or permission of the instructor.

American thought and culture from the 1880s to the present including intellectual movements and influential texts.
(This course is offered as HIST 481 and HUM 481. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

HUM 485 The Arts and American Culture (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities

HUM 490 American Images: Photography and Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Selected American photographers and the relationship of their photographs to contemporary literary texts.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities

HUM 496 Art, Architecture, and Space in the Islamic World (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

The built environment of Islam through the critical reading of art, film, and literature. How places take on meaning through use and perception, sensitive to time, place, ethnicity, gender, class, and ideology.
(This course is offered as HUM 496 and ARTH 496. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

HUM 500 Imagining New Futures: Capitalism, Climate, Technology (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.

The ability to change the present depends on the willingness to imagine, and fight for, an alternative future. Examination of different ways of conceiving the future. Exploration of the importance of futuristic imagination through the use of works of literature, philosophy, film, and cultural criticism.

HUM 501 Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Beliefs, practices, social organization, and history of the three monotheistic religious traditions; the importance of these traditions for European and Middle Eastern civilizations.
(This course is offered as JS 501, PHIL 501, and HUM 501. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

HUM 510 Comparative Form and Culture (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2.

Parallel forms of thought, feeling, and cultural expression in particular cultural areas interacting with each other through consideration of architectural, musical, literary, pictorial, and critical works.

HUM 530 Chinese Civilization (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Formation and development of Chinese civilization; intellectual movements examined in their historical context; ideas expressed in literary, visual, and performance arts.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

HUM 531 Images of Modern China (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

An introduction to modern Chinese culture through the close reading of literature, historical documents, visual arts, and film. All works read in translation.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

HUM 532 From Ghost Stories to Short Stories: Japanese Fiction in Comparative Contexts (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

HUM 541 Manga (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.

A deep look at the history of manga, its different genres and their audiences, prominent titles and authors of Japanese comics, and readership. Close analysis of a wide range of manga texts to encourage a well-rounded understanding of the field.
(This course is offered as HUM 541 and CMX 541 [formerly a topic of HUM 540 and CMX 540]. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

HUM 582 Tales from Ancient India: Hinduism and Buddhism (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Study of ancient Indian (Hindu and Buddhist) culture, religion, and literature. Examination of epics, plays, devotional, and love poetry from Sanskrit and other Indian languages. Examination of family, gender, and patriarchy, kingship and power, heroism, love, war, and ethics, and devotion.
(This course is offered as HIST 370 [Formerly HIST 582], HUM 582, and CLAS 582. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives

HUM 586 Bollywood and Beyond: Indian History Through Film (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better; or permission of the instructor.

Examine Indian history since 1947 through Indian film. Introduction to modern Indian culture and society. Explore films produced in each of the decades since 1947 to explore the changing political and social dynamics of India. The stories that are told through film capture everything from the dreams, desires, and fantasies of Indians to their complex political and social locations in an ever-changing society.
(This course is offered as HIST 374 [Formerly HIST 586] and HUM 586. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
Global Perspectives
Social Justice

HUM 604 Advanced Comics Making (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: LS 304/CMX 304.

Builds on the making and analytical skills covered in LS 304/CMX 304. Project-based course for developing skills in communicating through comic form, culminating in the production of a significant work ready for publication.
(This course is offered as LS 604, HUM 604, and CMX 604. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

HUM 625 Advanced Readings in Comics (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division or graduate standing; CMX 325; or permission of the instructor.

Advanced study of comics from a theoretical standpoint. A wide range of comics theorists are explored and put in conversation with a diverse set of complex, long-form comics. Discussions that delve deeply and critically into the different comics works. Explorations of comics expressly conducted through visual methods, including comics and other image-text hybrids.
(This course is offered as CMX 625 and HUM 625. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

HUM 690 Senior Seminar: Research in the Humanities and Comparative & World Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Senior standing; CWL 400GW or HUM 300GW.

HUM 699 Independent Study (Units: 1-4)

Prerequisites: Previous Humanities coursework demonstrating the student's ability to do independent work and permission of the instructor.

Independent inquiry into a specific problem formulated by the student and approved by a member of the department who will judge the student's findings. May be repeated for a total of 8 units. (Plus-minus letter grade only)

HUM 700 Introduction to Integrative Study (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Permission of graduate major adviser or instructor.

Examination of the origins, traditions, and current practices of integrative humanities.

HUM 705 Text and Context: The Word and the World (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to graduate standing or consent of the graduate major adviser or instructor.

Examination of the relationship between texts and the worlds that create and receive them. Develop familiarity with historical research methods and explore a diverse selection of expressive works that were made in at least two different times and places.

HUM 706 Image and Culture: Picturing the World (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the major advisor or instructor.

Examination of visual culture in relation to other cultural forms, particularly narrative, with reference to the distinct grammar and vocabulary of visual cultural studies.

HUM 720 Current Topics in the Humanities (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Focus on current topics and problems in interdisciplinary Humanities scholarship. Attention given to graduate-level writing, in preparation for the culminating experience. May be repeated for a total of 6 units.

HUM 721 Culture and Style (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Permission of the graduate major adviser or instructor.

Focus on particular area of the world, analysis and interpretation of its cultural forms, styles, traditions and innovations. May be repeated for a total of 9 units.

HUM 725 Great Theorists: Walter Benjamin (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Walter Benjamin, one of the premier thinkers of the 20th century, and a major influence on figures such as Hannah Arendt, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault and others. To thoroughly examine Benjamin is to make inquiries into the basis of thought for the previous century as well as our own.
(This course is offered as PLSI 786, GER 786, and HUM 725. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

HUM 750 Comparative Cities: Space, Place, and Culture (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Exploration of contemporary Bay Area urban culture in comparison with at least one other city outside the so-called "Global North" through the lens of questions about space and place. Focus on questions of space, place, and the cultural construction of identities, communities, and ways of life. When possible, this includes a significant online component for direct interactions and collaborations with students at an urban university outside the U.S.

HUM 825 Advanced Study in Humanities and Comparative Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: CWL 800 and HUM 700; or permission of the instructor.

Course Attributes:

CWL 825/HUM 825

HUM 896 Directed Study of Humanistic Works (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Advancement to candidacy for the master's degree and acceptance for culminating experience by the graduate faculty member.

Concentrated tutorial study of primary major humanistic works selected for the comprehensive examination. Course credit contingent upon satisfactory completion of comprehensive examination. (Plus-minus letter grade, RP grading only)

HUM 896EXM Culminating Experience Examination (Units: 0-3)

Enrollment in 896EXAM required for students whose culminating experience consists of an examination only. Not for students enrolled in a culminating experience course numbered 892, 893, 894, 895, 898, or 998, (or in some cases, courses numbered 890 - see program's graduate advisor for further information). (CR/NC, RP)

HUM 898 Master's Thesis (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor and approval of Advancement to Candidacy (ATC) and Culminating Experience (CE) forms by Graduate Studies. ATC and Proposal for Culminating Experience Requirement forms must be approved by the Graduate Division before registration.

(CR/NC grading only)

HUM 899 Independent Study (Units: 1-3)

Prerequisite: Permission of the graduate major adviser and supervising faculty member.

Individual study for selected master's degree candidates pursued under special arrangements with a member of the department faculty. (Plus-minus letter grade only)