Associate of Arts - Humanities, Philosophy, and Arts - (AA497)

Humanities, Philosophy, and Arts examines human values and experience within a wide range of cultures, across the globe, and over the course of history. Students will study, interpret, and evaluate classic works in architecture, art, literature, music, philosophy, religion, rhetoric and the theater, and they will encounter questions to which there are multiple plausible answers. The study of language, philosophy, and rhetoric provides crucial tools for understanding and interpreting human knowledge and experience. Students pursuing the program in the Humanities, Philosophy, and Arts will enhance their skills in critical thinking and both oral and written communication. The Humanities, Philosophy, and Arts program prepares students for further study in the arts, history, humanities, literature, philosophy, communication studies and/or world languages at a four-year baccalaureate institution and provides an excellent foundation for students interested in administration, communications, law, public service, and teaching.

Upon completion, students will be able to: • Interpret key philosophical, religious and literary texts, as well as creative works, in historical and cultural contexts and express that interpretation persuasively in oral and/or written form. • Analyze the role and use of language, rhetoric and/or the arts in informing and contextualizing human experience. • Analyze the role and use of the arts (literature, music, theatre, dance, and the fine arts) as a reflection of the culture in which it appears. • Evaluate the role of individual human agency in history. • Research and write critical interpretive essays demonstrating a high skill level.