Humanities & Comparative World Literature

College of Liberal & Creative Arts

Interim Dean: Dr. Sophie Clavier

Department of Humanities and Comparative World Literature

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

Chair: Dr. Cristina Ruotolo

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.

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.

Comparative World Literature courses

Humanities courses

American Studies

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 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

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. [Formerly CWL 210]

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: First-year composition or permission of the instructor.

Examines videogames as texts whose meaning is produced through the complex interplay of narrative, rules, and cultural context. Students learn to 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.)

Course Attributes:

  • C2: Humanities
  • C3 or C2: Humanities/Lit.

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:

  1. Love Letters: Desire and the Novel
  2. Psychoanalytic Approaches to Literature
  3. Ethics, Alterity, and the Novel
  4. Modernism and Desire
  5. 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 422 Imagining the Constructed Body: From Statues to Cyborgs (Units: 3)

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

How diverse cultures, through literature, have imagined "constructing bodies" -- conceptualizing, creating, or enhancing the body: sex, gender, sexuality, self-referential literary representations plus relevant literary theories. [Formerly CWL 420 - Variable Topic]

Course Attributes:

  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Global Perspectives

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:

  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

CWL 430 Heroic Tales of the Mediterranean (Units: 3)

Heroic narratives, in poetry and prose, provide the means for examining aspects of the ancient, medieval, and modern cultures of the eastern Mediterranean and Near East.

Course Attributes:

  • Global Perspectives

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
  • Social Justice

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 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 452 Forster, Durrell, and Cavafy (Units: 3)

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

Examination of English novelists and travel writers E. M. Forster and Lawrence Durrell and their connection to Alexandrian poet C. P. Cavafy. Discussion includes their collective interest in Alexandria as an alternative literary and ideological topos.
(This course is offered as MGS 452, CWL 452, and ENG 452. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

  • Global Perspectives

CWL 465 Modern Greek Poetry in Comparative Perspective (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to English: Concentration in English Education and Creative Writing majors.

Survey of Greece's prominent modern poets in comparison with major Anglo-American and European poets. Poets to be studied can include Cavafy, Seferis, Elytis, Mastoraki, Yeats, Eliot, Pound, and Rich.
(This course is offered as MGS 465, CWL 465, and C W 465. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

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
  • Social Justice

CWL 515 The Uncanny in World Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: CWL 400GW recommended.

Examination of the uncanny. The aesthetic quality of literary texts that provokes eerie, unsettling reactions-- in works from a variety of places and times. Focus on the living dead, doppelgangers, déjà vu, repetition, and automatism.

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 525 The Partial Magic of Metafiction (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: ENG 214 or permission of the instructor.

Exploration of literary self-reflection in contemporary world metafiction. Why do some novels dispel their illusions of realism? What happens when characters realize they are mere fictions? How do we make our way through these literary labyrinths?

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 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.

Topics:

  1. Independent Study

CWL 746 Seminar: Opera and Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: ENG 741 (may be taken concurrently) or permission of the instructor.

Literary aspects of the creation, composition, production, and interpretation of opera. Literary texts that inspire operas will be interpreted critically along with the operas they inspired. Opera libretti will be examined as literature interactively with opera's musical, dramatic, and performative elements.
(This course is offered as ENG 746 and CWL 746. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

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:

  1. Ethics in Literature, Theory, and Criticism
  2. Literary Value
  3. Narrative Theory in Comparative Literature
  4. 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:

  1. Medieval and Early Modern Encounters
  2. 20th-Century Comparative American Literary Studies
  3. Novel Mirrors: Global Metafiction
  4. The Body of the Text/The Text of the Body
  5. Experiments in Reading 21st-Century World Fiction
  6. Literatures of Diaspora and Migration
  7. Weird Fiction: Global Visions of Otherness

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

Prerequisite: CWL 800 or permission of the instructor.

Synthesizing prior knowledge about theory and practice of comparative literature; developing scholarly and professional skills for culminating experience and beyond; exploring post-M.A. paths.

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: Consent 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

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 [Formerly ART 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)

Values that American thinkers, writers, artists, and designers have expressed within a developing culture. The diversities as well as the unities in the American experience and on the contributions of ethnic minorities to American society and its values.

Course Attributes:

  • C2: Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities

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 Junior Seminar Humanities Writing - 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 302 Theories and Methods in the Humanities (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2.

Development and broadening of acumen in both the arts and using the arts as a means of cultural comparison through the study and use of major critical methods.

HUM 303 History and Culture (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 325 Comics and Culture (Units: 3)

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

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, through in-class and homework activities.
(This course is offered as HUM 325 and CMX 325. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

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.
(This course is offered as A U 302 and HUM 340. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

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 360 Styles of African Cultural Expression (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2.

Variety of sub-Saharan African cultural styles before, during, and after White rule. Traditional and modern expression in many genres including those created in Africa and Western genres transformed by Africans.

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.

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 368 The Art(s) of Ritual: A Cross-Cultural Approach (Units: 3)

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

Explore how ritual performances produce, communicate, preserve, and modify meanings and values across diverse cultures and contexts. Focus on private, communal, secular, and sacred rituals.

Course Attributes:

  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Global Perspectives

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.

Exploration of 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:

  1. Beijing
  2. Shanghai
  3. Tokyo
  4. Delhi

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:

  1. Mexico City
  2. 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:

  1. Paris
  2. London
  3. Berlin
  4. Rome
  5. Naples
  6. Florence
  7. Venice
  8. Vienna
  9. Istanbul
  10. 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:

  1. Cairo
  2. Alexandria
  3. Lagos
  4. Cape Town
  5. Accra
  6. Kabul
  7. 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:

  1. Biography of a City: Los Angeles
  2. Biography of a City: New York
  3. Biography of a City: Chicago
  4. Biography of a City: Boston
  5. Biography of a City: 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 378 Athens (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.

Explore the city of Athens from the ancient to modern periods, including contemporary times; focus on key moments in the city's multi-layered history as well as enduring cultural values and global impact.
(This course is offered as HUM 378 and MGS 378. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

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 [Formerly HUM 377/JS 377]. 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 391 Images of Eroticism in Contemporary Culture (Units: 3)

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

Introduction to the scholarly study of theories of eroticism. Emphasis on theory, historical antecedents and developments, cross-cultural comparison, and comparison of various genres of written texts with other cultural forms. Focus on what eroticism has meant throughout history with special emphasis on how contemporary theorists, writers, and artists are offering new ideas regarding eroticism that advance social justice.

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 410 The Modern Revolution (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2.

Society, literature, thought, and art, and their interrelationships in late 19th- and early 20th-century Western culture. The impact of science, social crisis, and end of Western cultural isolation on cultural life.

HUM 415 Contemporary Culture (Units: 3)

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

Issues and achievements in art, thought, and society during the 20th century. Focus on literature, fine arts, philosophy, and history.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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:

  • 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 434 Arendt and Heidegger (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2 or permission of the instructor.

Hannah Arendt, a student of Heidegger, is renowned in her own right as a philosopher and political theorist. Explore the relationship of Arendt and Heidegger's ideas and question the extent to which Arendt was disciple or critic.
(This course is offered as HUM 434, JS 414, PHIL 434, and PLSI 434. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

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 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.

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

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 470 American Autobiography (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2.

Reading and critical analysis of selected American autobiographies from the colonial period to the late 20th century.

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.

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

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 Space and Architecture 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.

Course Attributes:

  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Global Perspectives

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 526 Culture of Japan before 1850 (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2.

Japanese literature, art, architecture, religion, aesthetic theory, and other forms of thought and image before 1850 studied in the context of the worldview of the Japanese.

Course Attributes:

  • Global Perspectives

HUM 527 Japan and Modernity (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2.

Japanese literature, art, architecture, religion, aesthetic theory, and other forms of thought and image since 1850 studied in the context of the worldview of the Japanese.

Course Attributes:

  • Global Perspectives

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.

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

HUM 535 Classical South Asian Cultural Forms (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2.

Literature, philosophy, religion, art, architecture, and music of Ancient and Medieval South Asia.

HUM 536 Modern South Asian Cultural Forms (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2.

Literature, philosophy, religion, art, architecture, theater, music, film, and media of Modern South Asia.

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. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

HUM 550 The Art of Autobiography (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2.

Explores efforts to understand and give form to the self in religious and secular writings, self-portraits, and film. Focus on culturally distinct forms of self-expression and the construction of the self in narrative and image.

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 in the Humanities (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Senior standing.

Integration of students' interdisciplinary education through preparation and revision of a substantial piece of work. An aspect of human experience explored in culturally diverse works.

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 701 Fine Arts in the Humanities (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Permission of the graduate major adviser or instructor.

Character and province of the fine arts; ways artistic principles and experience form relationships with other disciplines and experience.

HUM 702 Literature in the Humanities (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Permission of the graduate major adviser or instructor.

Character and province of literature; ways literary principles and experiences form relationships with other disciplines and experience.

HUM 703 History in the Humanities (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Permission of the graduate major adviser or instructor.

Character and province of history; the ways historical principles and experience form relationships with other disciplines and experience.

HUM 704 Philosophy in the Humanities (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Permission of the graduate major adviser or instructor.

Character and province of philosophy; ways philosophical principles and experience form relationships with other disciplines and experience.

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 710 Seminar in European Forms and Culture (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Permission of the graduate major adviser or instructor.

Relations of art and thought to society in European culture. Nature of the relationship among the arts, thought, and society at selected historical moments.

HUM 711 Seminar in American Forms and Culture (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Permission of the graduate major adviser or American Studies adviser or instructor.

Relations of art and thought to society in American culture. Nature of the relationship among the arts, thought, and society at selected historical moments.

HUM 712 Seminar in African Forms and Culture (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Permission of the graduate major adviser or instructor.

Relations of arts and thought to society in Africa. Nature of the relationship among the arts, thought, and society at selected historical moments.

HUM 713 Seminar in Asian Forms and Culture (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Permission of the graduate major adviser or instructor.

Relations of art and thought to society in Asia. Nature of the relationship among the arts, thought, and society at selected historical moments.

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 723 Contemporary Humanistic Scholarship (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Permission of the graduate major adviser or instructor.

A 20th century scholar whose work has been significant in several disciplines: his/her developments; the problems of knowledge, method, and culture which he/she examined; the intellectual tensions which influenced him/her; the result of his/her work.

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 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)

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 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)