Humanities programs

A contextual world survey of developments in architecture, sculpture, painting, and other mediums from prehistory to the Gothic period.(4 credits; alternate years, consult department)

A contextual world survey of the development and evolution of various media including architecture, sculpture, painting, prints, photography, design, film and other mediums since the Renaissance.(4 credits; alternate years, consult department)

Drawing will emphasize learning how to perceive the three- dimensional world and render it on paper using the most simple and direct drawing media. Drawing will form the foundation of work in other media. Design fundamentals will be a significant part of the course.(4 credits)

The art of working with clay and other ceramic materials. Emphasis will be upon learning the fundamentals of three-dimensional design and achieving an understanding of clay as a unique art form. Techniques include hand-building sculptural and functional forms, and learning the basics of throwing on the wheel and glazing.(4 credits)

Three-dimensional art. Emphasis upon the basics of three- dimensional design and how creative ideas are formed using a three-dimensional approach. Degrees of depth are explored ranging from drawing and relief to works in the round. Techniques include clay modeling, woodworking, plaster casting, metal work and construction with mixed media.(4 credits)

(Intaglio and Relief) A course providing the student an opportunity to gain knowledge of the printmaking processes of metalplate etching and engraving, woodcut, linocut, lithography and monotype. The student will have the opportunity to give form to his/her ideas while discovering the graphic properties and potentials of each print process from drawing to the final print.(4 credits)

Introduces students to the techniques of oil, acrylic and water color painting. Students will learn to understand compositional form and color relationships. Historical examples of painting are examined and different methods of painting are demonstrated. Class critiques are used to learn formal vocabulary and achieve an understanding of subject style and content in painting.(4 credits)

To paraphrase Salman Rushdie, the Empire has written back. The last half of the 20th century has produced a number of literary texts written in English by authors from the recently independent nations of the Old British Empire. These texts have proved so rich in both literary value and cultural context that their authors, Wole Soyinka, Derek Walcott, Chinua Achebe, and Rushdie himself, have won the most prestigious literary prizes available. We will be reading and appreciating these books, both as ripping good yarns, and as significant cultural documents that teach us much of how members of other societies think, feel, and act.Prerequisite: ENG220.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

The course introduces students to the art of adaptation of texts. Although we are frequently viewers of film, we are not always good readers and interpreters of visual texts. Students in this class will read original literary texts and then view the film adaptations of those texts. Through class discussion and writing about adaptations, students will learn how to read a film intelligently and understand the place of film as a literary form.Prerequisite: ENG220.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

No course description available.

No course description available.

A study of prose and poetry in the United States from America's beginnings through the end of the Civil War. The course will focus on the works of Colonial and Romantic writers and the literatures of Native and African Americans. Special attention will be given to defining the qualities and concerns that make this literature distinctively "American."Prerequisite: ENG220.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

A study of prose and poetry in the United States from the Civil War until the present. The course will study works by realists (including regionalists) and modernists, as well as contemporary writers.Prerequisite: ENG220.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

Some writers are especially interested in the ways people transform places and the ways places influence people. The elements of a place--the mountain ranges, shopping malls, grasslands, forests, migratory patterns of animals, rush of automobiles, or the portals of cyber-places-- shape the imagination. This course examines significant literary works, especially non-fiction, that explore the relationship between persons and places. In particular, we will examine the tension between the writer's need to construct definitions of "home places" and how the places themselves respond to human "home making."Prerequisite: ENG220(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

America is home to a variety of peoples and literatures; this course focuses on the development of literatures produced by those outside the Anglo-European tradition whose experiences tell a different story about America. The goal of the course is to enrich students' views of the content of American Literature and to familiarize them with a culture or cultures with which they may not be conversant. The course may be taught as African American, Native American, Asian American, or Hispanic American literature. Alternatively, the instructor may choose to focus on literatures in contact and conflict with one another, for example, the turbulent confluence of Native American, Anglo, and Hispanic Literatures of Nueva España. Prerequisite: ENG220. (4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

The Middle Ages was a Christian millennium. Authors, philosophers, astronomers and economists pursued their calling within a Christian worldview and a Catholic power structure. When warlike Anglo-Saxons imagined the crucifixion, they saw a heroic prince stripping for battle and mounting the cross in triumph. Medieval dramatists recreated the entire pageant of biblical history on a long summer's day. In this course we read literary and historical works by both men and women, including Beowulf , Sir Gawain and the Green Knight , and The Canterbury Tales . Prerequisite: ENG220. (4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

Like our own age, the Renaissance saw spiritual perspectives and secular perspectives in conflict and in synthesis. Writers, like seafarers, expanded our understanding of what it is to be human in this world. In this course we read plays, speeches, and poems by such authors as Shakespeare, Elizabeth I, Donne and Milton.Prerequisite: ENG220.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

The industrial revolution resulted in an urbanized, more literate population. Writers of the time sought to reach a popular audience in a way unparalleled in English literary history. We shall read Austen, Wordsworth, Dickens, Eliot and their contemporaries, examining what they thought of and had to say to the common people of their day.Prerequisite: ENG220.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

England was largely depopulated of young men and nearly reduced to rubble by two world wars. The nation that arose, stripped of its empire, has continued to be a literary center. We shall read Shaw, Yeats, Eliot, Heaney and others, examining how they have analyzed and expressed the modern human condition.Prerequisite: ENG220.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

Where did our language come from? How did English get the biggest vocabulary of any modern language? How are the words joust, yoke, and yoga related? Why is English spelling so irregular? Are there bad words? This course traces the 1500 year development of our language, from the Germanic tongue of Beowulf to the Frenchified language of Chaucer, to the many varieties of modern English spoken around the world.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

Designed to provide solid grounding in Greek and Roman rhetorical theory and practice including studies in pre-literate rhetoric and the theories of Aristotle and Plato, among others. Some attention is also given to the Christianizing of rhetorical theory during the Middle Ages. Finally, the course concludes with the examination of trends in contemporary rhetoric studies and topical applications.Prerequisite: junior class standing, ENG235 recommended.(4 credits)

In this course we study basic problems in understanding literary texts. We explore solutions offered by various critical schools (structuralism, psychoanalysis, New Historicism, reception-aesthetics), examining both their inherent logic and their applicability to a particular text.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

In this seminar we analyze interpretive problems in literature and their relation to cultural theories and conditions. Particular attention is given to questions germane to Christian experience and thought.(4 credits, non-yearly, consult department)

Specific subject matter of this course will vary from semester to semester, but will always focus on an issue in composition studies or a genre of writing. Courses will include both readings and student writing within the genre and will be designed to welcome both majors and non-majors.Prerequisite: ENG184 or ACT English score of 30 or above (SAT 680 or higher).(2-4 credits)

Specific subject matter of this course will vary from semester to semester, but will always focus on an issue in rhetorical studies or a genre of writing. Courses with writing as their emphasis will include both readings and student writing within the genre.Prerequisite: ENG184 or ACT English score of 30 or above (SAT 680 or higher).(2-4 credits, non-yearly, consult department)

In this seminar we analyze interpretive problems in literature and their relation to cultural theories and conditions. Particular attention is given to questions germane to Christian experience and thought.(4 credits, non-yearly, consult department)

An introduction to the principles and techniques involved in the study of history. This course will include both reflection and practice, consideration of ideas and actual application, through exercises drawing on primary and secondary materials.Prerequisite: HIS101.(2 credits)

This is a study of the early history of our national existence, from colonial beginnings through the Civil War. The emphasis is on those influences which have been most formative in shaping American society.(4 credits)

This surveys developments from 1865 to the present with the focus being upon the transformation of the U.S. into a modern urban-industrial society and its emergence as a 20th century world power.(4 credits)

A study of problems relevant to history as a scientific and humanistic discipline. Among the questions considered are the following: What sorts of meaning have philosophers of history ascribed to the overall process of history? What approaches have historians taken to questions of objectivity, causation, and moral values in the study of history? How does philosophy of history relate to the Christian faith?Prerequisites: HIS101 and 102, or a philosophy general education course 100-level.(4 credits)

A reading and research seminar focusing on selected topics in European history. The time period and the topic under consideration will vary.Prerequisites: HIS101 and 102 or permission of instructor.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

This course focuses on the history of Europe from 1848 to the present. Special attention is given to the cultural and intellectual developments of the modern era. In particular, key themes include nationalism, imperialism, the World Wars, the Holocaust, the rise and fall of Marxism, and the various challenges facing Europe today.Prerequisites: HIS101 and 102 or permission of instructor.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

This course takes up German history on the eve of the Great War, and follows the effect of the war on Imperial German society. Special attention will be paid to the historiographic debates surrounding Hitler's role in the Nazi party, the reasons for the party's electoral success, the nature of Nazi government and rule, and the gradual marginalization of Jews and political opponents from the center of civil society. Roughly the last half of the course takes up the Final Solution or Shoah in the context of Germany's war in Europe. Attention is given to the Jewish experience in the ghettos and camps, the question of resistance, theology and moral issues after genocide, and the effect of the Shoah on contemporary theology, art and fiction.Prerequisites: HIS101 and 102.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

Beginning with late antiquity, this course will focus on the development of new social and political realities as imperial Rome declined in western Europe. Among the issues to be covered are the advent and domination of Christianity, the ascendancy of Constantinople and the East, and the establishment of Germanic politics in the West. The course will focus in its latter half on the civilization of the Latin West, with special attention on the Church's efforts to shape that society through reform, anathemas and support for a Christian knighthood. Concurrently, the dynamics of secular society will readily appear in such issues as economic revival, urban growth, dynastic politics and related developments. The course will conclude by following such issues and developments through the 14th century.Prerequisites: HIS101 and 102.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

A topical and selective study of issues and/or people or trends in American history of special significance to our national development.Prerequisites: HIS201 and 202, or permission of instructor.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

This course examines the nature of the antebellum North and South, slavery in the Old South, the growth of sectional tension, the nature and course of the war, the process of reconstructing the Union, and the impact of this era on the course of American history.Prerequisites: HIS101 and 102, HIS201 or 202 is recommended, or permission of instructor.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

The course focuses on the historical development of that portion of the continental United States west of the Mississippi River. Themes considered will include the frontier thesis, regionalism, Indian and white relations, social and economic patterns of western development, women, ethnic and racial minorities, religion and the West as cultural myth.Prerequisites: HIS101 and 150 or permission of instructor.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

This course will teach the fundamentals necessary for performing, composing/arranging, teaching, directing, writing about, and recording/producing music. Related topics such as music history, performance practice and music technology are also explored and an in-depth study is made of the Christian perspective on music and music-making.Prerequisite for 111: MUS101 or passing score on diagnostic placement exam.(2 credits)

This course will teach the fundamentals necessary for performing, composing/arranging, teaching, directing, writing about, and recording/producing music. Related topics such as music history, performance practice and music technology are also explored and an in-depth study is made of the Christian perspective on music and music-making.Prerequisite for 112: MUS111 or passing score on diagnostic placement exam.(4 credits)

Music history courses present a summary of the chronological development of music in western civilization. Music from the Classical era to the middle of the 19th century is covered.Prerequisite: MUS112 or permission of instructor.(3 credits, alternate years, consult department)

Music history courses present a summary of the chronological development of music in western civilization. Music from the late 19th century through the present is covered.Prerequisite: MUS112 or permission of instructor.(3 credits, alternate years, consult department)

This course will teach the fundamentals necessary for performing, composing/arranging, teaching, directing, writing about, and recording/producing music. Related topics such as music history, performance practice and music technology are also explored and an in- depth study is made of the Christian perspective on music and music-making.(4 credits)

Music history courses present a summary of the chronological development of music in western civilization. Music from ancient times through the Baroque is covered.Prerequisite: MUS112 or permission of instructor.(3 credits, alternate years, consult department)

This course is designed to assist students in developing a basic conducting technique. Skills are taught which enable the student to direct vocal and instrumental groups. Included in the course are studies in transposition, clef reading and score preparation.Prerequisite: MUS112.(2 credits, alternate years, consult department)

World Musics provides an overview of world music traditions and serves as an introduction to the field of ethnomusicology, giving special attention to the use of ethnomusicology in missions and the use of world musics in worship.(2 credits, alternate years, consult department)

This class is designed for students with limited experience in piano. Beginning class is for the student with no piano background or very little prior instruction. Intermediate class is for the student who reads melodic lines and has some previous keyboard experience. Advanced class is for the student who has had a few years of keyboard instruction and wishes to broaden repertoire. Placement in appropriate level is by permission of instructor.(1 credit)

Private instruction is offered in keyboard, voice, brass, woodwind, percussion and string performance. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. (1-2 credits)

An introduction to formal logic. The aim is to enable the student to become skilled in the examination of everyday language for validity, soundness, and cogency, to acquire a basic knowledge of classical sentential and categorical logic, and to master proof techniques in propositional logic and the first-order predicate calculus.Prerequisite: C- or better in MAT090, an ACT math score of 20 or above (SAT 480 or above), or a passing score on the MAT090 placement exam.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

An investigation of some of the main philosophical questions about ethics, such as the following: Does morality depend on religion? Is morality relative to culture? Why should I be moral? How do we go about answering moral questions? Is there a "theory" of morality? If so, what does that theory look like?(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

A philosophical exploration of contemporary moral issues. Possible topics include abortion, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, cloning and stem-cell research, war and terrorism, capital punishment, famine relief, factory farming and experimenting on animals, and so on.(4 credits)

An introduction to the ancient Greek philosophical tradition, ranging from the Presocratics to the Hellenists but focusing on Plato and Aristotle.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

An introduction to medieval philosophy, beginning with Neoplatonists and Patristics and focusing on figures such as Augustine, Boethius, Anselm and Aquinas.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

An introduction to the central figures in the philosophical milieu of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, focusing on thinkers such as Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Mill, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

An introduction to some of the dominant philosophers and philosophical movements of the 20th century. (4 credits; non-yearly, consult department)

A biblically based, theologically and historically informed study of both personal and social moral issues from a Christian perspective. (2 credits, offered at the discretion of the department, consult department)

A survey of the development of Christianity from the apostolic period to the contemporary world. Themes examined will include the separation of Church and Synagogue, Christianity in the Roman Empire, ecumenical councils, missionary expansion of the church in Europe and Asia, monasticism, the church in the High Middle Ages, the Protestant and Catholic Reformations, Confessionalism and the Wars of Religion, Puritanism, Pietism, The Enlightenment, Christianity and European Colonialism, Revivalism, Modernism and Evangelicalism, modern missionary expansion, the ecumenical movement, and Christianity as a global religion. (4 credits)

An examination of Christian witness as verbal proclamation (evangelism), as reasoned response (apologetics), as a distinctive lifestyle and as the practice of social justice. Prerequisite: REL262 (4 credits)

A general overview of the biblical foundations and historical evolution of Christian mission, with special emphasis upon the modern development of mission theory and practice.Prerequisite: REL262(2 credits)

A study of a single book or larger section of the Old Testament or a current area of critical inquiry concerning the Old Testament. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the Pentateuch, the Historical Writings, the Prophets, and the Poetic and Wisdom books.Prerequisites: REL110 and sophomore class standing.(2 credits)

A study of a single book or larger section of the New Testament or a current area of critical inquiry concerning the New Testament. Possible topics include the Synoptic Gospels, the Book of Acts, the Johannine Literature, the Epistolary Literature, the Apocalypse.Prerequisite: REL110 and sophomore class standing.(2 credits)

An examination of the past and present methods and proposals for biblical interpretation and biblical theology. The course will analyze and critique various models for hermeneutics and theological interpretation and also assist students in constructing exegetical methods that are biblically based, theologically informed and culturally relevant.Prerequisite: REL110.(4 credits)

A study of John Calvin's INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, as well as a survey of other varieties of Reformed theology, including later Calvinism. Prerequisite: REL262 (4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

A study of one or more standard areas of theology, (such as the doctrines of Revelation, God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, Humanity, Salvation, the Church, and Last Things) from a classical as well as a contemporary perspective.Prerequisites: REL110 and 262.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

Focusing on the Christian tradition, this course will examine the individual, institutions, movements and faith traditions which have shaped and contributed to the American religious experience. To understand both the variety of and unity within the pluralist religious landscape, the course will seek to evaluate the interrelationship between religion and the broader social, cultural and political aspects of the American experience.(4 credits)

A historical study of a religious group, theological movement or important leader in the history of the Christian church.(2 credits, offered on demand or discretion of department, consult department)

A study of an interdisciplinary area of religion, not sufficiently covered by other courses, in response to student or faculty interests.Prerequisite: REL262 or permission of instructor.(2-4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

The major religions of India, East Asia and the Middle East are examined in the light of the Christian faith. This course emphasizes the interaction of religion and culture with a view to cross-cultural understanding. In-depth research into a specific culture and religion is required.(4 credits)

A topical and selective study of major missiological themes, permitting students to read and reflect intensively upon the nature and challenge of Christian mission. Topics will vary from year to year. Sample topics might include Religious Conversion, The Finality of Christ in a Pluralistic World, Interfaith Dialogue, Contextualization, Women in Mission Yesterday and Today.Prerequisite: REL294 or permission of instructor.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

A research seminar in which students will explore contemporary questions and issues in light of the Christian religious and theological tradition. Features the writing and presentation of a major paper, discussions, analysis and critique of research. Prerequisites:REL110, 262 and senior class standing. (4 credits)

This course will focus on learning the basics of koine Greek grammar and vocabulary as well as the cultural backgrounds of the New Testament writings. Readings and translation will focus on the Gospel and Letters of John. The New Testament writings will be examined in light of their social-historical and literary settings within Hellenistic Judaism and the broader Greco-Roman world.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

This course (a continuation of Greek 101) will focus on learning the basics of koine Greek grammar and vocabulary as well as the cultural backgrounds of the New Testament writings. Readings and translation will focus on the Gospel and Letters of John. The New Testament writings will be examined in light of their social-historical and literary settings within Hellenistic Judaism and the broader Greco-Roman world.Prerequisite: GRE101.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

This course will focus on learning the basics of biblical Hebrew (vocabulary and grammar) and the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the Old Testament. Readings from the different types of literature in the Hebrew Bible will be incorporated into the course work. The Old Testament writings will be studied against the historical and social backgrounds of the ancient Near East.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

This course (a continuation of Hebrew 101) will focus on learning the basics of biblical Hebrew (vocabulary and grammar), the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the Old Testament, and the fundamentals of Hebrew exegesis. Readings from the different types of literature in the Hebrew Bible will be incorporated into the course work. The Old Testament writings will be studied against the historical and social backgrounds of the ancient Near East.Prerequisite: HEB101.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

An introduction to the use of performance as a means of interpreting, analyzing and celebrating literature, and as a tool for experiencing cultural diversity and enacting social change. By providing training in the principles and techniques of performing various genres of literature before an audience, this course seeks to expand students' understanding of the relationships between text and performer, performer and audience, and written and oral forms of literature. Assignments include solo and group performances from poetry, narrative fiction and oral history.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

An introduction to the concepts of design necessary to approach, create and critically evaluate a theatrical performance environment. Study of the processes of script analysis, design research and communication. Breakdown of aspects and elements that define the most commonly held principles of scenery, costume, lighting and sound design.(2 credits)

A study of the theoretical framework of the craft of acting.(4 credits)

Beginning directors review the guiding principles of theatrical art and then apply these to script selection, development of a prompt script, and the complete rehearsal process. Each student prepares a short play for public performance.Prerequisites: THE113 and215 or permission of instructor.(4 credits)

Specific subject matter of this course will vary from semester to semester, but will focus on the study of dramatic literature from one genre or one playwright or one geographical area or one theme/value.Prerequisite: THE113.(2 credits)

A study of the development of the history and theory of theatre from its origins through the neoclassical period.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

A study of the development of the history and theory of the theatre from the English Restoration through the postmodern era.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

William Shakespeare never attended college, yet he saw the world sharply in his mind's eye. He wrote piercingly about kings and college students, warriors and witches, goblins and gravediggers, his 1,000 characters have never been off the stage in 400 years. In this course we read eight plays which fathom the range of human experience and take the English language to the height of expressive beauty. Prerequisite: ENG220 (4 credits)

A study of major theories of the analysis and evaluation of art. (4 credits)

A practical course which introduces students to the organization, skills and materials necessary for mounting a stage production.(2 credits)

A study of the form and techniques of ballet.(1 credit)

A study of the form and techniques of jazz dance. Emphasis will be on the integration of modern musical performance.(1 credit)

A study of methods and approaches to costume design for the theatre.Prerequisite: THE130.(2 credits, alternate years, consult department)

A performance group emphasizing preparation of scripts for presentation in worship services and worship-related settings.(1/2 credit)

The study of the story of worship as well as story within worship. An application of the principles and practices of dramatic art to worship planning and leadership, and also a study of plays within the context of Christian corporate worship. (4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

Students perform scenes from classical, modern and contemporary literature. Emphasis is placed on script analysis.Prerequisite: THE215.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

An opportunity to apply the basic skills, technology and artistic principles of lighting design to script response, visual research and creative exploration. The capstone experience of the course will be for students to design lighting for a mounted one-act play.Prerequisites: THE130 and 227.(2 credits, alternate years, consult department)

This continuation of the study of playwriting focuses on the challenges of the long form. The course includes the processes of writing according to classic structural principles, rewriting, formatting and submitting plays for publication.Prerequisite: THE206 or permission of instructor.(4 credits, alternate years, consult department)

This course will focus on various issues of theatre and speech that are not covered in current course offerings. Possible topics might include: auditioning, stage management, musical theatre, contemporary theatre since 1967, specific genres (comedy, tragedy, theatre of the absurd, Greek, etc.), theatre as social criticism, ethnic theatre, theatre as historical documentary.(2-4 credits, alternate years, consult department)