Program Overview

Concentrations

The Program couples an unusual amount of independence with firm guidance at critical points in the student’s academic career. Students may elect to pursue one of three concentrations:

  • B.A. in Humanities: Liberal Arts
  • B.A. in Humanities: International Studies
  • B.A. in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies
  • B.A. in Environmental Studies

Departmental Honors may also be bestowed when those requirements are met.

Program Requirements

To fulfill the requirements for the concentrations in Liberal Arts or International Studies, students must maintain a 2.0 GPA within the selected program of study, accumulate a total of 45 semester hours of study, to be divided between any academic departments at UTC, but with no more than 18 hours earned in a single department.

For a list of the requirements for the concentration in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, coordinated by Dr. Marcia Noe, visit the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies homepage.

For a list of the requirements for the concentration in Environmental Studies, co-directed by Prof. Catherine Meeks Quinlan (English) and Dr. Lucy Schultz (Philosophy), visit the Environmental Studies homepage. 

The concentrations in Liberal Arts and International Studies allow the student to design their own interdisciplinary curriculum of study, following the completion of the General Education requirements for the standard B.A. at UTC. During the sophomore year, the student defines their focus of study by writing a Program Rationale that concentrates on an aspect of culture relating to a compelling theory or theme, a particular epoch or place, or a provocative line of inquiry. Think of the Program Rationale as a road-map that articulates how the core courses are integrated.

The major is designed to give students a great deal of freedom to design their curriculum, but with some parameters.

  • For the Humanities: Liberal Arts concentration: the student must garner at least 21/45 hours at the upper-level (3000-4000) from the disciplines associated with the traditional liberal arts: Art, Communication, English, Modern & Classical Languages and Literatures, History, Humanities, Music, Philosophy, Religion, Theatre.
  • For the Humanities: International Studies concentration: the student must garner at least 21/45 hours at the upper-level (3000-4000) from the disciplines associated with international studies: Anthropology, Modern & Classical Languages and Literatures, History, Political Science, Religion. Majors are encouraged to travel or study abroad, and to develop a curriculum of study that concentrates on a particular world region or country.
  • For both concentrations: at least 30/45 hours must be earned in upper-division courses, while a maximum of 15/45 hours may be garnered in lower-division courses. If the student can demonstrate the relevance of travel and independent study to their concentration, a maximum of 15 hours may be awarded towards the major.

Program Outcomes

The four concentrations in the Humanities Program have developed the following set of program outcomes for its graduates. These general outcomes help assess the vitality of how well the Program is preparing its majors during the reaccreditation process.

Humanities: Liberal Arts (1440)

  • Liberal Arts majors will design a curriculum of study that treats human culture, experience and perception as an object of study while treading the person as a knowing subject.
  • Liberal Arts majors will design a Program Rationale that will provide some over-arching rubric for organizing the coursework, such as an underlying theme, a set of questions, a particular culture or region of the world, or time period; and, the Program Rationale will include a list of potential courses with a short statement about how those courses might serve the student's interests.
  • Liberal Arts majors will complete significant upper-level work (21/45 hours) in the traditional disciplines of the liberal arts, and their curriculum of study will be interdisciplinary by including at least three different departments.
  • Liberal Arts majors will work independently on a reflective, scholarly account of their Humanities studies as a capstone to their programs. Students will submit a short reflective essay (5-7 pages) and an annotated bibliography (3-5 pages) of the course of study reading that has been most significant in integrating and unifying their chosen disciplines, as articulated in the initial Program Rationale. 

Humanities: International Studies (1441)

  • International Studies majors will design a curriculum of study that treats human culture, experience and perception as an object of study while treading the person as a knowing subject.
  • International Studies majors will design a Program Rationale that will provide some over-arching rubric for organizing the coursework, such as an underlying theme, a set of questions, a particular culture or region of the world, or time period; and, the Program Rationale will include a list of potential courses with a short statement about how those courses might serve the student's interests.
  • International Studies majors will complete significant upper-level work (21/45 hours) in those disciplines with a global emphasis, and their curriculum of study will be interdisciplinary by including at least three different departments.
  • International Studies majors will work independently on a reflective, scholarly account of their Humanities studies as a capstone to their programs. Students will submit a short reflective essay (5-7 pages) and an annotated bibliography (3-5 pages) of the course of study reading that has been most significant in integrating and unifying their chosen disciplines, as articulated in the initial Program Rationale.
  • International Studies majors will have an extended encounter with a foreign culture, either through exposure to international students on the UTC campus and the Office of International Exchange, or through personal travel, or through academic foreign exchange.

Humanities: Women’s Studies (1442)

  • Women’s Studies majors will complete successfully at least three Women’s Studies approved courses from different disciplinary perspectives that focus on patriarchy or gender.
  • Women’s Studies majors will complete successfully a service-learning or a mentoring project serving women or girls that is embedded in their Senior Seminar.
  • Women’s Studies majors will demonstrate an understanding of what patriarchy is and how it impacts the lives of women and girls. 

Environmental Studies 

  • EVST Majors will demonstrate knowledge of the human and social dimensions of contemporary environmental issues.
  • EVST Majors will demonstrate basic ecological literacy from the standpoint of the natural sciences with regard to contemporary environmental problems.
  • EVST Majors will articulate the value and import of the natural world from various cultural, ethical, and historical perspectives.
  • EVST Majors will evaluate, integrate, and communicate information related to Environmental Studies using multiple disciplinary perspectives and methods to multiple audiences.
  • EVST Majors will apply core concepts of Environmental Studies to address problems at various levels (local, regional, global).

Humanities

Humanities