Humanities Major

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The Humanities major provides insight into the complexity of humanity and human achievement in the arts, literature, philosophy, religion, history, and politics. Students obtain a broad vision of the history and culture of Western civilization, which is integral to a liberal arts education. Combined with a minor in Business Administration, the Humanities major provides students with an excellent background for a business career.

Twelve courses must be completed for the major; however, since there is no rigid sequence of requirements, students may design an individual program within the course offerings. Students must complete at least two of the Humanities core courses (HUM 303 , HUM 304 , HUM 305 , and HUM 306 ) at Rollins College to fulfill the requirements of the Humanities Major or Minor.

Requirements for the Major (12)

Core Courses:

HUM 303 - Humanities: Ancient Credit(s):
HUM 304 - Humanities: Medieval and Renaissance Credit(s):
HUM 305 - Humanities: Classicism and Romanticism Credit(s):
HUM 306 - Humanities: Modern Period Credit(s):

Plus two designated courses

(one of which must be at the 300-400 level) in each of the following areas presenting the topic in its historical context:

Expressive arts
Literature studied in any language
Philosophy/Religious Studies
History

Portfolio

Each student will be required to keep a portfolio of critical essays, research papers, essay examinations, and other material from different courses that contains material from each year the student has been a major. The student will collect the material to demonstrate the growth of his or her intellectual skills and an understanding of the interdisciplinary relationships of the disciplines within the Humanities major. The portfolio will be examined by the program director at the conclusion of the student’s undergraduate years to determine if the student can demonstrate an ability to develop an interdisciplinary synthesis of the materials presented in the Humanities program. Submission of the portfolio is required prior to graduation. Students will be provided with a detailed description of the portfolio when they declare a Humanities major.

Final Project

Each student must complete a research project in connection with the last required core course in which he or she enrolls during the student’s senior year. This project will be in lieu of other major writing assignments or research papers for the course. The project will consist of an extensive research paper that will incorporate material from the course and at least one other non-core course taken for the Humanities major. The project must integrate material from various disciplines. A student must inform the Holt School advisor at the time of registration that this course is the last needed for graduation. At the time, the student will be given guidelines for the final project. The student must notify the corecourse instructor at the first class meeting of the student’s intention to complete this requirement. Additionally, the student must meet with the director of the Humanities major to make certain that the proposed project fulfills the requirement of the major. Students who have completed the core requirements at another institution or who are unable to enroll in the final core course during the senior year must arrange to complete the project requirement through an independent study supervised by one of the full-time Rollins faculty teaching a core course. This independent study would be in addition to the other courses required for the major.

Because the final interdisciplinary project for the Humanities major requires an extensive amount of research, reflection, and writing, some students may find it difficult to complete the project during the summer semester. A student whose last core course is offered during the summer semester may have the option therefore of completing the final project as an independent study during the fall or spring semester of the senior year. The requirements for independent study would be the same as for students who have completed the core requirements at another institution or who are unable to enroll in the final course during the senior year. This independent study would represent a thirteenth course in the major and could not be used to substitute for other requirements of the program.