HUM 4931: Seminar in the Humanities

Gender and Sexuality in Renaissance Italy

Our discussion will focus on issues of gender, role-playing, marriage, spirituality and sensuality during the early modern period.  We will also consider research questions of bibliography, analysis, topic definition and refinement, and narrative structure as students prepare the 15-20 page research and analysis essays required of humanities majors.

Irrational Art

This course strives to examine various works of art, in different media, that are concerned with fantasy, the emotions, and the unconcious. European art from the period between World War I and World War II will be emphasized, though some examples may fall outside this period. Works of visual art, film, theater, and fiction will be studied. The psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund Freud and the theatrical theory of Antonin Artaud will be included.