John Shinners, Bruno P. Schlesinger Chair

On Wednesday, September 14, 2011, Professor John Shinners was installed as the Bruno P. Schlesinger Chair in Humanistic Studies. The installation was happily attended by faculty in Humanistic Studies, English, Religious Studies, Philosophy, and Modern Languages as well as Humanistic Studies students and staff. Professor Shinners offered a characteristically witty and enlightening acceptance speech following thoughtful remarks by Professor Gail Mandell, the former Schlesinger Chair.

Graduate School in the Humanities

Graduate School Night
Monday, October 24th
5:00-6:00 p.m.
140 Spes Unica

Please join us for an informal presentation and discussion on applying to and attending graduate school, led by Humanistic Studies professors John Shinners and Laura Williamson Ambrose. Topics will include the application process, an overview of traditional graduate programs in the humanities (M.A., Ph.D., and professional programs), information about funding options, general advice from faculty, strategies for writing the personal statement, and a "how to" session on describing your major and your liberal arts experience. For more information, contact Laura Williamson Ambrose at lambrose@saintmarys.edu.

Spotlight on HUST majors and alumnae

Check out profiles of current majors: 

• Jean Osberger '13
• Tara Doyle '13
• Kimberly Roland '12
• Hilary Ropp '12

HUST Hooding

This year, hooding took place campus-wide on the Sunday before finals week. HUST hooding tradition begins with a food spread, including the much-talked-about mini-quiches, continues with a presentation by Professor Shinners on the history of university apparel that dates back to the Middle Ages. What better way to commence the ceremony than to make connections from history to our own lives, in true HUST fashion! Each of the eight seniors, in turn, was hooded by the department staff--Professor Hicks, Professor Shinners, and Professor Ambrose. During the toast portion of the ceremony, students gave sentimental toasts focusing on the bonds formed between each other and between the students and professors. The moment was bittersweet, but the now graduated seniors are all on their ways to do great things--Teach for America, Law School, Graduate School, and the workforce.

Department Field Trip

During the Spring 2011 term, the Humanistic Studies majors and faculty took a trip into Chicago to see the Art Institute's exhibit "Kings, Queens, and Courtiers: Art in Early Renaissance France." The exhibit highlighted painting, sculpture, tapestries, and, of course, manuscripts from around the turn of the sixteenth century in France. The junior class was especially primed for the visit as they had been studying this period in their Renaissance Cultural History and Colloquium courses with Professor John Shinners and Professor Gail Mandell.

The value of a humanities degree

This excellent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education offers a much-needed student's perspective on the importance of the humanities and, specifically, humanities majors. Often the justification for such programs and areas of study comes as a kind of top-down approach (profs to students). This is a nice change and offers points many of our own majors/alums have made time and time again.

Hire HUST!

This recent article from the Harvard Business Review nicely articulates the concrete skills and perspective that humanities graduates bring to the workplace.

And for lifehacker's take on the top 5 job search sites, check out this article.

Summer Online Course

Enjoy reading? Like studying history? Interested in art?

Curious about new digital technologies?

Need to satisfy a General Education requirement?

Get it all this summer online!

HUMANISTIC STUDIES 103

Lives and Times: Place & Identity

Prof. Laura Williamson Ambrose

Place—whether comprised of individual rooms, regional landscapes, cities, or even entire countries—has the power to both shape and reflect identity. Throughout this online course, we will explore why who we are is largely dependent on where we are.

Collectively, the memoir, play and short stories that form our reading list will offer preliminary answers to these questions as they invite us into the lives of fictional characters and actual historical figures from times past. Assignments include an analytic paper, a personal digital memoir project, and an interactive timeline project. Online discussion and weekly blogging are also required.

Summer term: May 24 to July 31

Not sure an online course is for you?

Get a sneak peak on the course website:

tinyurl.com/livesandtimesonline