The Arts & Humanities
Think of a circle. Not that complex, right?
Now examine it from the perspectives of geometry, early astronomy, physics, architecture, poetry and philosophy. Not so simple anymore.
But that is exactly what William Alba, the new director of Carnegie Mellon鈥檚 Science and Humanities Scholars (SHS) Program, will be asking his students to do this spring in his 鈥淩evolutions of Circularity鈥� course. Part of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (H&SS), the SHS program gives select undergraduates the opportunity to pursue an H&SS or Mellon College of Science major, while exploring other disciplines at Carnegie Mellon.
鈥淭he circle is a strong visual element that seems simple鈥攅ven a child knows what it is鈥攁nd yet it's been invested with all kinds of cultural implications throughout the centuries,鈥� Alba says.
In Alba鈥檚 words, the circle is the perfect collaborative form鈥攔eaching its fullest expression in Carnegie Mellon鈥檚 humanities programs. This unique approach offers H&SS students an education unlike anything available at other research universities or traditional liberal arts colleges.
鈥淥ur faculty include some of the nation鈥檚 leading humanities scholars and we have the same interdisciplinary, problem-solving approach that animates the rest of the university,鈥� says H&SS Dean John Lehoczky. 鈥淲e are uniquely poised to offer our students the opportunity to combine disciplines and look at the world in a new way.
鈥淥ur Humanities Initiative, which includes the Humanities Scholars Program, the Humanities Center and the Center for the Arts in Society, is designed to strengthen humanities education,鈥� Lehoczky explains. Complementing the Humanities Initiative are other collaborative endeavors, including the SHS program and two interdisciplinary undergraduate degrees: the Bachelor of Humanities and Arts (BHA) and the Bachelor of Science and Arts (BSA).
鈥淏uilding communities in an increasingly global era is a large part of the Carnegie Mellon experience,鈥� notes David Kaufer, head of the Department of English.
All over campus undergraduates are combining disciplines and creating highly individualized courses of study. Rather than being forced to choose between their strengths鈥攆or example, chemistry and art鈥擝HA and BSA students find novel ways to explore both. The BHA program provides a home for the philosophy major who also is a gifted cellist, while the BSA degree attracts the aspiring scientist who wants to combine chemistry with a passion for studio arts. In short, the boundaries and old rules are fast disappearing, replaced with new avenues for satisfying academic curiosity and an emphasis on real-world examination and problem-solving.
Not only does this approach provide students with rich educational opportunities, it also establishes Carnegie Mellon as a destination for scholars outside the university who come to campus for conferences, collaborative research and education programs. Last spring, the Humanities Center featured Pulitzer Prize-winning author Louis Menand of 鈥淭he New Yorker鈥� at its inaugural conference, 鈥淭he Humanities and Expertise.鈥�
鈥淭he Humanities Center focuses on themes that are of broad social and cultural relevance,鈥� says David Shumway, a professor of English and the center鈥檚 director.
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is ready to support those efforts. Last year the Humanities Center received a $500,000 challenge grant from NEH to establish an endowment that will fund the center鈥檚 future work. Under terms of the grant, the NEH-funding is contingent on the center鈥檚 raising an additional $1.5 million by 2008.
Ultimately, Shumway hopes to provide fellowships to faculty members and visiting scholars to develop and teach courses in the Humanities Scholars Program, open only to select H&SS undergraduates by invitation. The program combines the disciplines of English, history, modern languages and philosophy.
Forty students are currently enrolled as Humanities Scholars. They may choose from among the university鈥檚 degree programs and also follow a four-year course of study involving comparative research across disciplines.
Clara Reyes, a third-year student and inaugural member of the Humanities Scholars Program, says that her first course in the program, 鈥淯nderstanding Democracy: From City-States to Cyberspace,鈥� was something of a revelation.
鈥淓veryone in that class at some point had the light bulb go on,鈥� observed Reyes, a history and policy major. 鈥淚t helped develop my consciousness about what鈥檚 going on鈥攏ot only with the federal government but with our local communities as well.鈥�
鈥淭he humanists who thrive here are the humanists who feel very comfortable with science and social science and art,鈥� notes Kaufer.
Consider, for example, Kat Agres. A cellist, she earned her BHA in 2005, combining her musical training with cognitive psychology.
鈥淎nywhere else, it would have taken five to six years to do both majors,鈥� says Agres, who also oversees the Hip-Hop Project.
At Carnegie Mellon, Agres studied under the principal cellist for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, while conducting an independent research project in music therapy. As part of that project, she played the cello for cancer patients at the Hillman Cancer Center in Pittsburgh. 鈥淚t was the most rewarding thing I鈥檝e ever done,鈥� she says.
In Carnegie Mellon terms, she鈥檚 come full circle.
Related Links:
Science and Humanities Scholars Program
Bachelor of Humanities and Arts
Bachelor of Science and Arts
