Web Site of the Department

Coordinator:  Betül Avcı Sebetci

Assistant Professors: Amina Nawaz, Mujadad Zaman

The Humanities Program at Boğaziçi University introduces participants to some of the most important thinkers, works and ideas that have shaped human history. Drawing upon literature, history, art, philosophy and sociology, to name a few, and with a global approach to sources, the program examines material from across cultures, civilizations and multiple social and linguistic contexts. The aim of the course is to become familiar with seminal works in a highly discursive and collaborative class context where students learn not only some of the most decisive and significant moments and persons in history but also and perhaps most importantly, about themselves and contexts in the here and now. The Program consists of Humanities 101 and 102, two fully interdisciplinary survey courses, team-taught over two semesters. Both Hum 101 and Hum 102 are 3 credits each, with mandatory lectures and discussion sections. Each week, students are required to attend the Monday main lecture and receive an introduction to the subject by a guest lecturer and expert in the field. This is followed by smaller group discussions in seminar. Organized chronologically as well as thematically, the lectures form a general framework in which to understand the given text(s) for that week while the seminars create space for more in-depth scrutiny, analysis and discussion.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

HUM 101 Cultural Encounters I (4+0+0) 4 ECTS 6
(Kültürel Etkileşimler I)
HUM 101 is the first course in a two-semester, interdisciplinary survey series, team-taught by faculty. It consists of mandatory lectures and discussion sections. Each week, students attend a main lecture on Mondays at 17:00 in Ayhan Şahenk Hall, where a guest lecturer, an expert in the field, introduces the week's subject. This is followed by smaller in-class discussion groups. The lectures, organized both chronologically and thematically, provide a general framework for understanding the assigned text(s), while the discussions allow for deeper analysis and critical engagement.

HUM 102 Cultural Encounters II (4+0+0) 4 ECTS 6
(Kültürel Etkileşimler II)

An interdisciplinary humanities survey, designed to introduce students to cultures east and west, ancient and modern which have, over time, impacted and interacted with their own culture, and thus to encourage critical reflection on this wider cultural heritage with emphasis on philosophy, literature, arts, political thought, science and religion. Readings in primary and secondary materials from the Renaissance era to the present to analyze, compare and contrast ideas, paradigms, world views.