Humanities, Philosophy, & Arts

Area of Emphasis Associate Degrees of Art - AA497 /AA497B/AA497C
Humanities

Humanities, Philosophy, & Arts

Humanities, Philosophy, and Arts examines human values and experience within a wide range of cultures, across the globe, and over the course of history. Students will study, interpret, and evaluate classic works in architecture, art, literature, music, philosophy, religion, rhetoric and the theater, and they will encounter questions to which there are multiple plausible answers. The study of language, philosophy, and rhetoric provides crucial tools for understanding and interpreting human knowledge and experience. Students pursuing the program in the Humanities, Philosophy, and Arts will enhance their skills in critical thinking and both oral and written communication. The Humanities, Philosophy, and Arts program prepares students for further study in the arts, history, humanities, literature, philosophy, communication studies and/or world languages at a four-year baccalaureate institution and provides an excellent foundation for students interested in administration, communications, law, public service, and teaching.

Program Learning Outcomes
Upon completion, students will be able to:

  • Interpret key philosophical, religious and literary texts, as well as creative works, in historical and cultural contexts and express that interpretation persuasively in oral and/or written form.
  • Analyze the role and use of language, rhetoric and/or the arts in informing and contextualizing human experience.
  • Analyze the role and use of the arts (literature, music, theatre, dance, and the fine arts) as a reflection of the culture in which it appears.
  • Evaluate the role of individual human agency in history.
  • Research and write critical interpretive essays demonstrating a high skill level.

The student must complete 18 units of study across three disciplines; 9 units must be taken in a single discipline. Up to three units may be taken in a studio course. The 18 units must be completed with a grade of “C” or better or a “P” if the course is taken on a “pass-no pass” basis.

Not all courses listed in the Area of Emphasis degree are offered at all three colleges; please check your college catalog to see if a course you are interested in is offered at your college.

Included Disciplines and Courses
American Sign Language (ASL): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 20, 22
Anthropology (ANT): 7, 8
Arabic (ARA): 1, 2, 3, 8, 11, 11H
Architecture (ARE): 36
Art (ART): 6, 6H
Art History (AHS): 1, 1H, 2, 2H, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6H, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
Chinese (CHI): 1, 2, 11
Communication Studies (COM): 1, 1H, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 9H, 11, 12, 13
Dance (DAN): 6, 6H
English (ENG): 1B, 1BH, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 23, 25, 30, 34, 35, 40, 41, 44, 45, 48
Ethnic Studies (ETS): 2, 13, 14, 15, 28, 29
Film, Television and Video (FTV): 12, 65
Film Studies (FST): 1, 1H, 2, 3, 4, 5
French (FRE): 1, 2, 3, 8, 11
Game Development (GAM): 2
History (HIS): 1, 2, 2H, 6, 6H, 7, 7H, 14, 15, 25, 26, 28, 29, 31, 32, 34, 35
Humanities (HUM): 4, 4H, 5, 5H, 8, 9, 10, 10H, 11, 16, 18, 23, 35
Italian (ITA): 1, 2, 3, 11
Japanese (JPN): 1, 2, 3, 4, 11
Library (LIB): 1
Music (MUS): 19, 19H, 22, 25, 26, 89, 89H, 93
Philosophy (PHI): 10, 10H, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 22, 32, 33, 35
Political Science (POL): 11 Portuguese (POR): 1, 2
Russian (RUS): 1, 2, 3, 11
Spanish (SPA): 1, 1H, 2, 2H, 3, 3N, 4, 8, 11, 12, 51
Theatre (THE): 3, 29

Applicable Studio Courses Include:
(Note that some classes are less than 3 units)
Art (ART): 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25A, 25B, 26, 27, 28A, 28B, 30A, 30B, 34, 35A, 35B, 36A, 36B, 38, 39, 40A, 40B, 41A, 41B, 42A, 42B, 43A, 43B, 44A, 44B, 44C, 45, 46, 47, 48A, 48B, 49A, 49B
Dance (DAN): 7, 8, 9, D9, D10, D13, D19, D20, D21, D22, D23, D29, D31, D32, D33, D34, D37, D38, D39, D43, D44, D46, D47, D48, D49, D50, D51, D60
English (ENG): 11, 12, 17A, 17B, 17C, 38A, 38B, 38C
Music (MUS): 8A, 8B, 9, 10, 12, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32A, 32B, 32C, 32D, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43A, 43B, 43C, 44, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 58, 61, 65, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 77, 78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 92, 94, P12, P36, P44, P84
Theatre (THE): 2, 4, 5, 6, 25, 26, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 41, 54

Associate of Arts Degree
The Associate of Arts Degree in Humanities, Philosophy and Arts will be awarded upon completion of the degree requirements, including general education and other graduation requirements as described in the college catalog.