Humanities

The humanities are a cornerstone of the liberal arts education that is at the core of Augusta University's mission.

The Humanities Program promotes understanding of the human legacy and experience by offering classes and programming that investigate, especially through the media of visual art, music, and literature, prominent values, issues, traditions, and beliefs of major world cultures, strives to be a locus for interdisciplinary research and teaching, collaborative activities, and scholarly programming that contribute to cultural enrichment on campus and in the wider community, supports intellectual and creative excellence and innovation in teaching and research through grants, lectures, forums, visiting scholars, faculty development opportunities, and other means, and encourages respectful critical discourse, synthesis of knowledge, awareness of global complexity, and enhanced understanding of how the past influences life today.

Core Components

The Humanities Core Courses:

The heart of the Humanities Program is the two-course sequence World Humanities I and II (HUMN 2001 and 2002), which are taken by every student as part of Augusta University's core curriculum. This two-class sequence emphasizes critical thinking about and engagement with primary documents (texts, artworks, and musical works) to examine distinguishing characteristics of world cultures. The course sequence holds a unique position within the Augusta University core curriculum. Its innovative combination of two-professor teaching teams, its emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches, and its commitment to active-learning, lab periods, and expanded class contact hours encourage an atmosphere of intensive inquiry. It is the only class sequence of its kind in the University System of Georgia.

The Humanities core classes are rewarding and challenging both for students and professors. They require active engagement as we continually challenge ourselves to expand and revise our thinking, refine our ability to articulate complex ideas, engage in respectful scholarly discourse, and use critical thinking and creativity to engage major cultural works and practice scholarly habits of mind.

Cultural Programming:

The Humanities Program also provides cultural programming open to the entire campus as well as the wider community. View Programs »

Resources

Community Partners

Linking Local Resources with World History

Each educational unit includes the following:

  • Color reproductions of the artwork.
  • Historical information, including analysis of the era's relationship to the Augusta region.
  • Lesson plans for high-school students.
  • Contact information for arranging a teacher- or docent-led tour or for doing a self-guided tour of the Morris Museum of art.

Linking Local Resources with World History was sponsored by a grant from Georgia Humanities Council.

Programs

Community Dialogues: Contemporary Issues/Enduring Questions

The Community Dialogues program engages Contemporary Issues/Enduring Questions. This program examines contemporary issues and their historical context in formats that encourage respectful discourse, responsible scholarship, and open public access.

Coffee and Conversation with an Expert

Scheduled once each semester, Coffee & Conversation is an informal hour or so of conversation with guest experts who can answer faculty questions pertinent to Humanities course teaching. The guests don't prepare presentations. They simply make themselves available for any questions faculty may have as they prepare class materials. Past guest experts have included Rabbi Robert Klensin of Synagogue Children of Israel and Imam Sabke and Dr. Hossam Fadel of the Islamic Society of Augusta.

Linking Local Resources with World History

Humanities Program received a grant from the Georgia Humanities Council for the project Linking Local Resources to World History. The partnership with the Morris Museum of Art produced six educational units, each linked to a specific artwork in the Morris' collection, which explores the Augusta region's connection to major world historical eras and cultures.

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Practice

Each semester, the Humanities Program and the Center for Teaching and Learning co- sponsor a day for professors to share their research. Past presentations have included:

  • Teaching the Illiad as a Core Humanities Text by Tatiana Klacsmann
  • Collaborative and Integrated Humanities Team-Teaching by Brian Armstrong
  • Black Mountain College Parts I and II by Karen Klacsmann, Simon Grant, and Clay Shotwell
  • Art Without Excellence: Teaching Duchamp's Fountain by Rob Bledsoe.