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Humanities Program

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The Humanities Program at Davidson

In the humanities, we access a massive repository of ideas concerning the human experience.

Some of the ideas will get expressed using words, others by using musical sounds, or dancers on a stage, or paint on a canvas, or celluloid flickers on a screen, or by objects in a space. The course is collaborative and team-taught, with plenary lectures by both the humanities faculty teaching the course and by other scholars and artists from Davidson and beyond. Some visiting scholars and artists will also take part in discussions and workshops.

Regardless of whether you go on to study biology or Hispanic studies, getting the opportunity to read and learn about classic works of art, literature, and music helps you develop an understanding of the world as a whole outside of your field. The program offers an experience you won't be offered again or anywhere else.

Katie Little '18

The humanities program will allow students to understand and appreciate a wide array of humanistic texts, including music, novels, paintings, poetry, films, theater, sculptures, buildings, and digital media, observe patterns and create compelling connections between seemingly disparate texts, speak and write with precision and persuasion, take part in our pre-orientation program, Sapere Aude, and rely on the mentorship of the Humanities Fellows.

HUM 103-104 introduces the new course theme, the body. We build the course around eight three-week units, each with a key artifact at the center. The course incorporates the long legacy of the humanities programs at Davidson in its attention to critical reading and writing about ideas that matter, but liberates itself from the inherited imperatives of coverage and chronology in the Western tradition.

Student-to-Student What is the Humanities Program?

Created for first years beginning their academic journeys, the Humanities Program seeks to bring difference disciplinary perspectives to the big questions of life. Learn more from Jacob Kim '26 in this YouTube Shorts series.

Introduction to Davidson's Humanities Program

Courses You Might Take

HUM 103
Connections and Conflict in the Humanities I

This is a team-taught interdisciplinary course that engages critically key texts and artifacts from both the Western tradition and beyond, with topics that fall under the broad theme of the body, from intellectual, spiritual, and artistic traditions from around the globe. This course is taught in the fall.

HUM 104
Connections & Conflicts in the Humanities II

This course, like HUM 103, introduces habits of humanistic learning as well as basic skills needed to understand a variety of humanistic discourses. including written works, musical compositions, paintings and sculptures, live performances, architecture, and film and digital media. It is taught in the spring.

HUM 195
Advanced Studies in Humanities

During March each year students apply to take part in this course and thus the role of Humanities Fellow for the following year (either fall or spring semester). Those selected must take this required course for students serving as Humanities Fellows.

Related Programs

Fellowship Opportunities

Fellowships are competitive awards and programs that provide funding and other resources for meaningful immersive work, like research, teaching, or service. Like scholarships, fellowships can also support academic study.

These featured fellowships support a variety of experiences in and outside of the U.S. Interested candidates should contact Davidson’s Office of Fellowships to learn more about these fellowships and other programs.

Interested in Studying Humanities at Davidson?