These courses promote a better understanding of fundamental aesthetic and cultural issues. They sharpen critical and analytical abilities so that students may develop a deeper appreciation of works of art. The goal of this requirement is to enhance the student's ability to read critically, to understand the elements of art, and to grasp something of the complex relations between artist and public, and between art work and cultural matrix. The emphasis in courses which fulfill this requirement is on works that are generally recognized as central to and significant for one's cultural literacy and thereby enhance the student's understanding of our literary and artistic heritage.
Courses stress literary works as well as the history and criticism of literature and the arts.
They may utilize creative projects as a means of arriving at a better understanding of the art form, but students may not use studio or performance classes to satisfy this requirement. Students are required to pass 6 hours of course work in literature and the arts, of which at least 3 hours must be upper division, unless either Humanities 1010 or Humanities 1020 is completed.