Welcome to the Department of Humanities and Cultural Studies

What is Humanities and Cultural Studies at USF?

The Department of Humanities and Cultural Studies is a place for adventurous scholarsand students who want to understand the complex interconnections between the arts, social structures, and history. Interdisciplinary and global in scope, our courses provide students with opportunities for detailed cultural analysis in a broad historical and philosophical context. We welcome students and scholars who are dedicated, open-minded , and willing to challenge conventional intellectual boundaries.

As a student you will be able to:

see how Roman emperors managed their “image” with public works, monuments, festivals, and coins in the days before mass communication,
study how children’s toys—from boardgames to Barbie dolls—have registered changing ideas of childhood in American life,
consider the question “Did women have a Renaissance?” through an examination of the 15th-century humanist concept of “the dignity of man” and its gendered implications,
examine how Western attitudes toward food reveal new aspects of social class in modern Europe and America
understand how the film language of contemporary Argentine cinema is used to comment on and explore the country’s recent history of political repression
listen to the blues and learn how this unique American musical practice has informed so much of 20th- and 21st-century American and world culture.

We offer two undergraduate majors (Humanities or American Studies) and two masters degrees. To find out more about the department’s course offerings and degree programs click on Featured Courses, Undergraduate Programs and Graduate Programs.

The Humanities and American Studies Mission Statement.