The Humanities discipline considers what it means to be human within a contemporary or historical context. The Humanities provide us with the broad frameworks within which enduring questions of existence, relationships, values, and aesthetics can be examined from multiple perspectives. It is the basis of a Liberal Arts education. This course proceeds from the premise that in order to identify with and feel empathy for the Other, one must first know oneself and be secure in one’s own identity. If I am not in tune with my own humanness, how can I connect with the humanness in Another? The Arts (literature, music, painting) can help us see ourselves and others in a deeper way. The Arts provide us with two things: (1) A record of the individual artist’s exploration of themselves and the world and (2) An opportunity to recognize ourselves in their art. In this course, students will be exposed to a wide assortment of paintings, poems, literature, music, and drama/film, looking at both the author/composer/artists and their work. For the Liberal Arts student, this course contains a strong interdisciplinary component that will provide a unifying thread to their studies, while modeling the significance of the humanities across the curriculum. Students will engage in a series of guided journal reflections in a research essay focused on an author/composer/artist or theme of their choosing, and compile a thoughtfully curated digital gallery making thematic connections among various genres of art. Prerequisite: Completion of ENGL110M or 110XM