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Summer Course:
HMN 212: Reading the Modern World: Warriors, Influencers, and Trolls: An Examination of Character Online
Instructors: Dr. Eunice Jianping Hu and Dr. Bryan Ellrod
When: Monday – Friday, 10:45 AM – 12:15 PM (May 22 – June 27)
Social media is increasingly being woven into the fabrics of our lives. No longer a tool reserved for messaging or idle entertainment, the internet is increasingly becoming a setting for crafting identities, advancing social causes, meeting romantic partners, and even memorializing the deceased. We are rediscovering our humanity through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. In this course we will draw on philosophical and religious sources from Eastern and Western perspectives as well as materials in literature and film to explore anew what it means to develop character, practice virtue, and pursue the good life – in the midst of the digital world.
Fall Courses:
HMN 212: Reading the Modern World–Friendship
Instructor: Dr. Eunice Jianping Hu
When: Wednesday/Friday 2:00 – 3:15 PM & 3:30 – 4:45 PM
This course focuses on friendship and its ethical, social, and political significance from an interdisciplinary perspective: philosophy, religions, literature, history, and film. It not only analyzes examples and depictions of friendship from a variety of fields but also introduces and deploys philosophical accounts of the nature of friendship from historical and contemporary thinkers to deepen our understanding of the topic. The course challenges us to think about the necessary components of friendship, and the importance of friendship in becoming a good person and in living a good life. Students will develop a high level of critical thinking and writing skills, will be challenged to think about “friendship” as a general issue in humanities, and will reflect upon the ways in which friendship can and should play a role in their own lives.
HMN 370: Medicine and the Humanities
Instructor: Dr. Rebecca Permar
When: Tuesday/ Thursday 2:00 – 3:15 PM
What is the connection between medicine, health and the humanities? This course will introduce students to the different disciplines in the medical humanities, examining the ways in which medicine interfaces with society and how literature and arts can inform medical practice. We will explore foundational questions addressed by interdisciplinary medical humanities research, such as what it means to be human and how to promote the practice of compassionate medicine. We will look at the historical development of health and medicine with its cultural connotations as well as popular images of healers and how they shape medical expectations and professional character formation.