Humanities 101 is the first course in the UW’s premier undergraduate humanities experience.  A 3-credit course that is reserved exclusively for first-year students, Humanities 101 is offered only in Autumn quarter.  This course will count towards your “Arts & Humanities” general education requirement.

Humanities 101 is open to all incoming students interested in learning more about what the humanities are, what they consist of, and how they function in nearly every aspect of our everyday lives.  Further, Humanities 101 students develop skills that are distinctive to a humanities education, including the ability to ask critical questions and tackle problems from a variety of perspectives—including perspectives widely different from your own. Learning to think from different perspectives is a powerful and marketable skill central to effective communication, and in this course you will practice addressing different audiences through individual and collaborative projects.

Every year Humanities 101 focuses on a theme. This coming year (2024-2025), it is “Journeys.” Three faculty from different departments teach a portion of the course, introducing students to faculty from across the humanities at UW. Meet the Humanities 101 team:

Sam Hushagen of English | I was born and raised in Seattle, and did my undergraduate and graduate degrees at the UW. This Fall, we’ll be following a harrowing journey up the Congo River in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, a novel that examines the horrors of imperialism and its terrible psychological toll.

Antonio Rueda of Spanish and Portuguese Studies | I am from Seville, Spain, and research the role of minorities in early modern Europe (1492-1700).  In the Fall, we will delve into Romani culture, tracing their journey from India to Western Europe, and examine the stereotypical representation of the "Gypsy" in famous works. 

Ian Schnee of Philosophy | I grew up in Bozeman, Montana, and spent most of my childhood skiing and climbing mountains. Now I study how video games can be works of philosophy, and together we will investigate the significance of journeys up mountains in the games Celeste and Getting Over It with Bennet Foddy.

Student Workload:

  • Three short reflective essays based on the readings for this class, produced for an audience you are just getting to know—your professors;
  • The creation of a personal website that presents your first-year journey, produced for an audience that will be new to you—future employers and internship directors;
  • Collaborative public digital projects spanning the course of the term, produced for an audience no one knows better than you—your peers

 

The Humanities First program is generously funded by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.