Humanities
A.A. Degree Humanities · Laney College · 2026-2027 Catalog
Coursework in Humanities emphasizes the study of cultural and artistic expression. Students will learn to evaluate and interpret the ways in which people throughout history and across different cultures have represented themselves and the world around them through a variety of expressive forms. Further, students will develop their aesthetic sensibilities and increase their capacity to make informed value judgments. For the Associate of Humanities, students must complete the General Education pattern and elective courses for an additional 42 units. Students must complete 18 units in the area of emphasis courses with a grade of “C” or better, 19 units of general education requirements, and an additional 23 units of elective courses for a total of 60 units. As this degree alone may not be complete preparation for transfer, students wishing to continue at the UC or CSU system should meet with a counselor to develop a transfer plan which addresses all general education and lower-division transfer requirements.
Career Opportunities
This general concentration forms an excellent basis for a broad liberal arts education and has been the chosen mode of preparation for successful careers in such diverse areas as university teaching, government, education, medicine, consulting, publishing, business, and finance.
Program Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this program a student will be able to:
- Research and articulate the core philosophical, religious and artistic expressions within the humanistic traditions.
- Apply the appropriate lexicon to discuss philosophical, religious and artistic expressions within cultural socio-economic-historical contextual terms.
- Critically analyze philosophical, religious and artistic expressions within the humanistic traditions and conduct a cogent argument with a clear thesis that anticipates and responds to key objections.
| Course | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Select a minimum of 18 units from at least two disciplines | 18 | |
| AFRAM | ||
| AFRAM 18 | African Heritage of Latin America | 3 |
| AFRAM 26 | African American Culture: Black Music, Art, and Literature | 3 |
| AFRAM 29 | African American Experience Through Films | 3 |
| AFRAM 45 | Religion and the African American Church in America | 3 |
| ANTHR | ||
| ANTHR 7 | Magic, Religion and Witchcraft | 3 |
| ARCH | ||
| ARCH 107 | Architectural History and Theory | 3 |
| ART | 3 | |
| ART 1 | Introduction to Art History | 3 |
| ARTH C1100 | Survey of Art from Prehistory to the Medieval Era | 3 |
| ARTH C1200 | Survey of Art from the Renaissance to Contemporary | 3 |
| ART 4 | History of Modern Art (1800 to Present) | 3 |
| ART 5 | History of Asian Art (Past to Present) | 3 |
| ART 7 | History of African American Art (Past to Present) | 3 |
| ART 40 | Color Dynamics: The Interaction of Color | 3 |
| ART 129 | Introduction to Mural Art | 3 |
| ART 141 | Eco Art Matters-Beginning | 3 |
| ART 144 | Eco Art Matters Continuing Food and Water | 3 |
| ART 145 | Advanced EcoArt Matters: Community Outreach and Collaboration | 3 |
| ASAME | ||
| ASAME 10 | Asian and Asian American Popular Culture | 3 |
| ASAME 30 | Asians and Asian Americans Through Films | 3 |
| CHIN | ||
| CHIN 1 | Elementary Chinese (Mandarin) | 5 |
| CHIN 2 | Elementary Chinese (Mandarin) (Continuation) | 5 |
| CHIN 3 | Intermediate Chinese (Mandarin) | 5 |
| CHIN 4 | Intermediate Chinese (Mandarin) (Continuation) | 5 |
| CHIN 22A | Chinese for Bilingual Speakers I | 5 |
| CHIN 22B | Chinese for Bilingual Speakers II | 5 |
| COMM | ||
| COMM 2A | The Fundamentals of Oral Interpretation of Literature | 3 |
| DANCE | ||
| DANCE 1 | History of Dance | 3 |
| DANCE 7 | Global Dance Perspectives | 5 |
| DANCFOLK | 3 | |
| DANCFOLK 2 | Hip Hop Dance Evolution | 3 |
| ENGL | 3 | |
| ENGL C1002 | Introduction to Literature | 4 |
| ENGL 10A | Creative Writing I | 3 |
| ENGL 10B | Creative Writing II | 3 |
| ENGL 17A | Shakespeare | 3 |
| ENGL 17B | Shakespeare | 3 |
| ENGL 30A | Introduction to American Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 30B | Introduction to American Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 31 | Survey of African-American Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 43 | Introduction to the Study of Poetry | 3 |
| ENGL 210A | Creative Writing I | 3 |
| ENGL 210B | Creative Writing | 3 |
| ENGL 217A | Shakespeare | 3 |
| ENGL 217B | Shakespeare | 3 |
| ENGL 230A | Introduction to American Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 230B | Introduction to American Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 231 | Survey of African-American Literature | 3 |
| ESOL | 6 | |
| ESOL 52 | Advanced Reading and Writing | 6 |
| FREN | ||
| FREN 1A | Elementary French | 5 |
| FREN 1B | Elementary French | 5 |
| FREN 2A | Intermediate French | 5 |
| HUMAN | ||
| HUMAN 6 | Introduction to the New Testament | 3 |
| HUMAN 7 | Introduction to the Old Testament | 3 |
| HUMAN 16 | Introduction to Islam | 3 |
| HUMAN 30A | Human Values/Ethics | 3 |
| HUMAN 30B | Human Values/Aesthetics | 3 |
| HUMAN 31A | Arts and Ideas of Western Culture | 3 |
| HUMAN 40 | Religions of the World | 3 |
| JAPAN | ||
| JAPAN 1A | Elementary Japanese | 5 |
| JAPAN 2A | Intermediate Japanese | 5 |
| JAPAN 50A | Conversational Japanese and Culture | 3 |
| JAPAN 50B | Conversational Japanese and Culture | 3 |
| M/LAT | ||
| M/LAT 30A | Survey of Latin-American Films | 3 |
| M/LAT 30B | Survey of Latin-American Films | 3 |
| M/LAT 32 | African Heritage of Latin America | 3 |
| M/LAT 36 | Survey of Latina/o Literature | 3 |
| M/LAT 37 | Latinx Culture: Music, Art, and Theater | 3 |
| M/LAT 38 | Introduction to Curanderismo: Sacred Healing Traditions and Practices of Mexico and the Southwest United States | 3 |
| MUSIC | 9 | |
| MUSIC 10 | Music Appreciation | 3 |
| MUSIC 15A | Jazz, Blues and Popular Music in the American Culture | 3 |
| MUSIC 15B | Jazz, Blues, and Popular Music in the American Culture | 3 |
| MUSIC 51A | Music History I: Antiquity to 1750 | 3 |
| MUSIC 51B | Music History II: 1750 to Present | 3 |
| MUSIC 53A | Music of Latin America and the Caribbean | 3 |
| MUSIC 53B | Music of China | 3 |
| MUSIC 100 | Music Fundamentals and Culture | 3 |
| MUSIC 101 | Music Theory and Culture I | 3 |
| MUSIC 102 | Music Theory and Culture II | 3 |
| MUSIC 103 | Music Theory and Culture III | 3 |
| PHIL | 3 | |
| PHIL 1 | Introduction to Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 2 | Social and Political Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 4 | Philosophy of Religion | 3 |
| PHIL 6 | Introduction to the Philosophy of Self and Emotions | 3 |
| PHIL 14 | Introduction to the Philosophy of Death | 3 |
| PHIL 20A | History of Ancient Greek Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 20B | History of Modern European Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 37 | Introduction to Asian Philosophy | 3 |
| PHOTO | ||
| PHOTO 25 | Looking at Images: History and Aesthetics of Photography | 3 |
| SPAN | ||
| SPAN 1A | Elementary Spanish | 5 |
| SPAN 1B | Elementary Spanish | 5 |
| SPAN 2A | Intermediate Spanish I | 5 |
| SPAN 2B | Intermediate Spanish II | 5 |
| SPAN 22A | Spanish for Bilingual Speakers I | 5 |
| SPAN 22B | Spanish for Bilingual Speakers II | 5 |
| SPAN 30A | Beginning Conversational Spanish | 3 |
| SPAN 30B | Beginning Conversational Spanish | 3 |
| SPAN 33A | Beginning Nauatl Language and Culture | 5 |
| SPAN 33B | Intermediate Nauatl Language and Culture | 3 |
| SPAN 33C | Advanced Nauatl Language and Culture | 3 |
| SPAN 36A | Introduction to Aztec-Mexica Culture and Nauatl Language I | 5 |
| SPAN 36B | Introduction to Aztec-Mexica Culture and Nauatl Language II | 5 |
| SPAN 40 | Hispanic Civilization and Culture | 3 |
| SPAN 53A | Beginning Mam Language and Culture | 5 |
| SPAN 53B | Intermediate Mam Language and Culture | 5 |
| SPAN 53C | Advanced Mam Language and Culture | 5 |
| THART | ||
| THART 2 | Introduction to the Theatre Arts | 3 |
| THART 11 | Principles and Theory of Improvisation | 3 |
| THART 31 | Rehearsal and Production I | 3 |
| Total Major Units: | 18 | |
| General Education Requirements: | 21 | |
| Electives to meet 60 units | ||
| Total Units: | 60 | |