Humanities
What if you could learn about living with a disability from John Hockenberry, the host of NPR’s The Takeaway and former reporter for NBC Dateline...
Humanities, in many forms, is the study and expression of what it is to be human
WHO ARE WE, REALLY?
An education in humanities develops an individual in myriad ways. It prepares an informed citizenry to deal with complex issues in participatory government. It provides means of expression for the triumphs and tragedies of life. It creates an openness to the new and unexpected.
Each course is team-taught by two professors from different fields who bring their varied backgrounds to bear on a given theme. Different disciplines offer different perspectives. Art history, classics, languages and literature, music, philosophy, religion—all these and more are humanities.
Students in a recent humanities course in disability studies researched issues of accessibility on our campus. Their findings were included in Drew’s latest accreditation review. Certain special topics courses such as this one routinely involve researching and assessing conditions outside the classroom.
Studying the humanities prepares you to understand human accomplishments and human dilemmas we can’t even imagine today. It increases your historical consciousness and your command of aesthetic and intellectual activity. It enriches your experience for a lifetime.
Passionate Faculty
Erik Anderson
Professor
I once had a student tell me it took them 10 years in the workplace before they realized they’d been employing all along the analytical and logical skills learned studying philosophy at Drew. I’m now the NEH Distinguished Teaching Professor of the Humanities. I’m also a bebop fan with a cycling problem.
Ph.D., University of Colorado
Passionate Faculty
James Hala
Professor
I focus on Old and Middle English literature, Celtic and continental European medieval literature, linguistics, critical theory, gender studies and film. From time to time, I take to the stage at Drew.
Ph.D., University of Michigan
Passionate Faculty
Karen Pechilis
NEH Distinguished Professor of Humanities & chair
I am working on a labor of love, editing a textbook initiated by a late beloved colleague that I and others are bringing to fruition in his honor. I’ve also directed three Drew International Seminars to India—all remembered with fondness and inspiration.
Ph.D., University of Chicago
Imagine Studying
the idea of human exchange—from money to marriage—in “Culture and Exchange”