Department Of Humanities

What are the Humanities?

The Department of Humanities offers classes in languages, writing, literature, history, philosophy, and religion. All of these are central to what it means to be human. Taking these classes can help you learn to better communicate with others, to better understand others, to better understand our past and present, and to take part in some of the central questions that humans have always asked (for example, Why did that happen? Is this ethical?)

If you are interested in learning the lessons of the past and applying them to the present and the future; writing novels or songs; learning about other cultures and your own through literature, history, and language, we have the classes for you!

We offer majors in English (BA) and History (BA), and minors in English, History, and Philosophy & Religion.

We also offer content courses for English Education majors and Social Studies Education majors.

English

Do you want to write novels? Or, maybe you prefer to read and discuss with others what you’ve read? Maybe you enjoy writing and want to help others write more clearly? An English major or minor may be for you.

Possible Careers for an English major or minor:

Creative Writing
Technical Writing
Editing
Teaching
Producing/Journalism
Publishing
Marketing

An English major is also not only good preparation for graduate school in English, but also for Law School.

An English minor works well with many other majors and careers and after you have completed your English General Education requirements you only need 3 more English classes for a minor!

You can find out more about the major by clicking on the course requirements. You can find out more about the minor by clicking on the course requirements. You can always contact Dr. Michelle Gompf for information.

History

The study of history can help us to better understand and navigate through the increasing complexity and uncertainty of the modern world in which we live. The skills that Concord’s History program provides you to do this–the ability to analyze and interpret evidence, think critically, and synthesize trends in data–are valued by employers in many businesses as well.

Careers in History

Teaching
Work in Museums
Work in Archives
Government Careers

A History major prepares you for success in graduate school and law school.

A History minor works well with many other majors and careers. After you have completed your General Education requirements you may only need 4 more History classes for a minor.

Find out more by clicking on the course requirements above, or contact Dr. Jonathan Berkey. We look forward to having you in our program!

Philosophy & Religion

Philosophy, literally, the love of wisdom, is the rational exploration of fundamental questions about ourselves and the world in which we live. Is there a God or something like God? How do we know the truth? Is the moral life objective, relative, or entirely subjective? What does it mean to be a human person? What are our rights? Our responsibilities? And many, many more.

The Philosophy & Religion Program works closely with others to enable students to pursue a minor or a series of electives in support of a wide range of careers in the arts, humanities, law, science, social science, and professional degree programs.

The Philosophy & Religion Program is in full compliance with the current Policies, Statements, and Reports of the American Philosophical Association

Click here to find out more about the minor in Philosophy and Religion or contact Dr. Tom McKenna to get involved.

Assessments

English Program Assessments
English Program assessment data is collected at program-entry and program-exit levels:

Program Entry Assessments:
- Qualifying Writing Assessment
Program Exit Assessments:
- Capstone Writing Assessment
- Capstone Portfolio

For information about the English Program assessment, please contact Dr. Michelle Gompf.

English Program Goals

Note: The English Program Goals identified below represent the “common denominator” of objectives shared by all CU English Programs: the B.A. English Programs and the B.S. Education, English 5-Adult Program.

English Program Educational Goals / Learning Outcomes

Students in any English class will
- Draw defensible inferences from close reading of texts
- Apply critical thinking skills (analysis, synthesis, evaluation) to texts
- Identify and explain interrelationships among textual elements within and across texts
- Interpret texts within their historical and cultural contexts
- Identify and evaluate ethical or moral values implied in texts.
Students in any English class will
- Write critically, supporting inferences by citing and interpreting specific textual evidence
- Compose texts at a level of “adequate” or above, as defined by the English Program’s criteria for evaluation.
English Program degree candidates will interpret texts spanning a wide range of historical and cultural contexts through a variety of critical lenses.
English Program degree candidates will be able to evaluate aesthetic principles, methods, materials, and media that empower texts to impact society.

History Program Goals

Synthesis – Provide history majors with access to historical information in order to analyze important people, societies, trends, and developments across time.
Analysis – Provide history majors with an opportunity to interpret historical evidence to reach accurate and thoughtful conclusions about historical figures, events, and/or trends.
Methodology – Provide history majors with an opportunity to conduct historical research by using primary and secondary sources.
Communication – Provide history majors with an opportunity to communicate historical analysis to their peers and program faculty.
Historical Thinking – Provide history majors with an opportunity to demonstrate critical thinking and analytical skills when considering people, events, and trends in historical context.

External Resources For Current Students

Links to other Writing Labs and Sites for Writers

Numerous web sites are available to help you become a better writer. Some of the best include:

OWL Resources for Writers – Purdue University offers some of the best information available to improve your writing skills. You will find additional links as well as handouts, advice, practice sheets, and much more. Purdue Online Writing Lab
Topics are abundant at the University of Richmond Writer’s Web. This site explores topics by the various stages of the writing process – First Draft, Focusing & Connecting Ideas, General Editing, Peer Editing, Sentence Structure, Using and Documenting Sources. You will also find hints for writing papers in other disciplines.

Need a Dictionary, Thesaurus or Translator?

Dictionary.com includes “Ask Doctor Dictionary”, Fun & Games, Other Dictionaries (German, Greek, Latin, Spanish, etc.), Roget’s Thesaurus, Translator, Web Directory, Word of the Day and Writing Resources. Dictionary

Doing A Research Paper?

Diana Hacker, author of A Writer’s Reference, supplies you with information on writing all types of research papers. You will find documentation instructions using MLA (Humanities), APA (Social Sciences), Chicago (History) and CBE (Science) styles.

The Modern Language Association is a must for students needing help on citation. MLA ONLINE

Recent Alumni Publications

Some of our former students have gone on to publish their own works, so we’re showcasing them here!

Rise of Lord Tharagen By O. R. Frazier

Routines By Laura Lin

Gompf, Michelle
Professor of English/Chair, Department of Humanities
304-384-6085

English

English Progression Sheet

Concord University Catalog (English)

History

History Progression Sheet

Concord University Catalog (History)

Affiliated Program Links

David S. Roth Scholarship

Humanities: The Myths Versus The Realities

The Department of Humanities wanted to highlight some of the common myths and misconceptions that surround the humanities, and shed some light on the realities of studying in this field. This information comes from Humanities Works, an organization that creates posters, postcards, and handouts to support the humanities. Visit their site to learn more.

Comparable Salary

MYTH: Humanities majors earn lower salaries and find less rewarding work than majors in STEM fields.
REALITY: Graduates with humanities majors earn comparable median salaries ($53,000 for English majors, for example) to those majoring in biology ($56,000), environmental science ($57,000), and psychology ($49,000). By age 40, liberal arts degree holders actually surpass STEM degree holders in average annual salary.

For sources and data, and more information, visit humanitiesworks.org/comparable-salary

Humanistic Skills

MYTH: Employers don’t care about the liberal arts skills of critical thinking, writing, emotional intelligence, or cognitive flexibility.

REALITY: A World Economic Forum survey of top executives from nine leading industries listed these and other humanistic skills as the top skills they are looking for in employees. And a Forbes magazine article writes that “today’s tech wave will inspire a new style of work in which tech takes care of routine tasks so that people can concentrate on what mortals do best: generating creative ideas and actions in a data-rich world.”

“What matters now is not the skills you have but how you think. Can you ask the right questions? Do you know what problem you’re trying to solve in the first place?”
— Harvard Business Review

For sources and data, and more information, visit humanitiesworks.org/humanistic-skills

Underemployment

MYTH: The reason humanities majors have low unemployment is because they’re desperate for work and will take anything they can get.

REALITY: Economists have ways of measuring this phenomenon, which they call “underemployment,” or having a job in which you’re employed less than full-time or in which you’re not really using your skills and education.

English majors (45%) and foreign language majors (43%) have a lower probability of being underemployed in their first job out of college than those who majored in biology (51%), psychology (54%), or business (47%).

Five years beyond the first job, the underemployment probability for English majors plummets to 29% (27% for languages), which remains lower than the above majors, similar to the probability for the aggregated social (28%) and physical (27%) sciences.

For sources and data, and more information, visit humanitiesworks.org/underemployment

Employment

MYTH: Humanities majors struggle to find jobs.

REALITY: When it comes to getting a job, humanities majors experience rates of unemployment (3.6% for History, 3.7% for languages and literatures) similar to those of business majors (3.7%), physics majors (3.4%), or criminal justice majors (3.8%).

But the truth is you shouldn’t worry about getting a job with any of these majors. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the government organization that compiles this data, none of these rates are significantly different from the average for all fields of study. This means that while people tend to have strong opinions about some majors setting you up for stability and prosperity and others setting you up for a lifetime of financial insecurity, the fact is that the differences in unemployment rate are negligible.

For sources and data, and more information, visit humanitiesworks.org/employment

Graduate School

Myth: Majors in the humanities don’t prepare students for post-graduate study or for the tests that will get them into law, medical, or graduate school.

Reality: Majors in philosophy, literature, and history have among the highest average scores on the GMAT (for business and management), the LSAT (for law school), the MCAT (for medical school), and the GRE (for PhD programs).