Society for the Humanities (SHUM)Arts and Sciences

Showing 33 results.

Course descriptions provided by the 2026-2027 Catalog.

Last Updated

  • Schedule of Classes - April 13, 2026 10:10AM EDT

SHUM 1100
Art Histories: An Introduction

This team-taught course introduces students to the History of Art as a global and interdisciplinary field. Led by a selection of professors from the department, in collaboration with staff and faculty ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: ARTH 1100

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • Topic: Materiality

  •  7213 SHUM 1100   LEC 001

  •  
    • TR
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Lin, N

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • Topic: Materiality

  •  7214 SHUM 1100   DIS 201

  •  
    • F
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Lin, N

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • Topic: Materiality

  •  7215 SHUM 1100   DIS 202

  •  
    • F
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Lin, N

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • Topic: Materiality

  •  7216 SHUM 1100   DIS 203

  •  
    • M
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Lin, N

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • Topic: Materiality

  •  7217 SHUM 1100   DIS 204

  •  
    • M
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Lin, N

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 1615
Introduction to Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a village the size of Ithaca that grew into a world empire. In this course students will be introduced to some of its literature, art, and famous personalities in the classical period ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: CLASS 2615

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  6780 SHUM 1615   LEC 001

  •  
    • MWF
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Fontaine, M

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 2023
Fighting for Our Lives: Black Women's Reproductive Health and Activism in Historical Perspective

This course centers Black women who have often described their reproductive health experiences as fighting for our lives. While grounded in an exploration of Black women 's experiences in the US, this ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •  8172 SHUM 2023   SEM 101

  •  
    • TR
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Chresfield, M

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 2132
Law and Society in Early Modern and Modern China

China was and still is regarded in the Western world as a country without the rule of law. In this course, students examine recent scholarship that challenges this simplified understanding of the role ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi:

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one seminar and one independent study. Combined with: ASIAN 2280, CAPS 2132, HIST 2132

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 12197 SHUM 2132   SEM 101

  •  
    • MW
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Du, M

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • 12198 SHUM 2132   IND 601

  •  
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

SHUM 2195
Biography, History, and Modernity

Drawing on a combination of primary and secondary sources, this course explores the multiple forms and evolution of biographical writing from the Renaissance onward. We will interrogate the relationship ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one seminar and one independent study. Combined with: HIST 2195, JWST 2195

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 12255 SHUM 2195   SEM 101

  •  
    • TR
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Juni, M

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • 12256 SHUM 2195   IND 601

  •  
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

SHUM 2220
From the New Deal to the Age of Reagan

This seminar will explore some of the major political and cultural trends in the United States, from the era of the Democratic New Dealer, Franklin D. Roosevelt, through the era of the conservative Republican, ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one seminar and one independent study. Combined with: AMST 2220, HIST 2220

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 12146 SHUM 2220   SEM 101

  •  
    • MW
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Glickman, L

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • 12147 SHUM 2220   IND 601

  •  
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

SHUM 2244
The Music, Art, and Technology of the Organ

The organ is an interdisciplinary wonder where mechanics, architecture, acoustics, religion, philosophy, literature, as well as the musical arts and sciences meet. This course uses the organ to explore ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: MUSIC 2244

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  9280 SHUM 2244   LEC 001

  •  
    • MWF
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Richards, A

      Yearsley, D

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 2369
Race, the Nation, & American Outdoor Recreation

This class will explore how access to the outdoors has been impacted by social inequalities related to race, class, and gender throughout U.S. history. The idea of ?the outdoors? and its synonyms (whether ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: AMST 2369, HIST 2369

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 12308 SHUM 2369   SEM 101

  •  
    • TR
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Martin, A

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 2650
Introduction to African American Literature

This course will introduce students to African American literary traditions in the space that would become North America. From early freedom narratives and poetry to Hip-Hop and film, we will trace a range ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: AMST 2650, ASRC 2680, ENGL 2650

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8407 SHUM 2650   SEM 101

  •  
    • TR
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Frazier, C

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 2675
Cultures of the Cold War

This class aims to approach the literature and culture of the Cold War as the birth of the present Age of Information, as well as the origin of modern notions of privacy that are now being superseded. ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: AMST 2675, ENGL 2675

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8509 SHUM 2675   LEC 001

  •  
    • TR
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Kim, A

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 2701
Music and Digital Gameplay

This course considers music and digital games in light of their playability. It aims to provide students with creative and critical frameworks for making sense of the diverse roles played by music in digital ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: MUSIC 2701

  • 3 Credits Graded

  •  9287 SHUM 2701   LEC 001

  •  
    • MWF
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Moseley, R

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 2750
Introduction to Humanities

These seminars offer an introduction to the humanities by exploring historical, cultural, social, and political themes. Students will explore themes in critical dialogue with a range of texts and media ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: FGSS 2750, HIST 2050

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • Topic: 9/11 and Its Afterlives

  •  9643 SHUM 2750   SEM 101

  •  
    • TR
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Ghosh, D

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    Enrollment preference given to: accepted Humanities Scholars Program (HSP) students. For course description, see https://as.cornell.edu/research/hsp-core-courses.

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ARTH 2750, CLASS 2750, VISST 2750

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • Topic: The Art of Reading

  •  9644 SHUM 2750   SEM 102

  •  
    • TR
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Platt, V

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    Enrollment preference given to: accepted Humanities Scholars Program (HSP) students. For course description, see https://as.cornell.edu/research/hsp-core-courses.

SHUM 2792
Monuments, Museums, and Memory: An Introduction to Public History

In this course we will examine how we have come to narrate social, cultural, and political history in the United States, investigating the ways scholarly, curatorial, archival, and creative practices shape ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one independent study. Combined with: AMST 2792, HIST 2792

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 12205 SHUM 2792   LEC 001

  •  
    • TR
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Tolan-Szkilnik, P

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • 12206 SHUM 2792   IND 601

  •  
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

SHUM 3175
Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition: Inquisitors, Heretics, and Truth in the Early Modern World

This course uses the history of the Spanish Inquisition, and the richness of its archival records, to explore the variety of ways in which the pursuit of heresy was intertwined with transforming how knowledge ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one independent study. Combined with: HIST 3175, JWST 3175, NES 3175

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 12270 SHUM 3175   LEC 001

  •  
    • TR
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Juni, M

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • 12271 SHUM 3175   IND 601

  •  
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

SHUM 3334
Black Body Politics: Histories, Theories, and Debates

The body has been crucially important to Black liberation politics. Not only has it been a site of contestation and control, but it has also served as a productive site of protest, alliance, and collective ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •  8163 SHUM 3334   LEC 001

  •  
    • TR
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Chresfield, M

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 3651
Women in New Media Art

The work of women artists has been central to the development of new media art. These rich and varied practices include installation, virtual reality environments, net art, digital video, networked performance, ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ARTH 3651, FGSS 3655, VISST 3651

  • 3 Credits Opt NoAud

  •  7234 SHUM 3651   LEC 001

  •  
    • MW
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Fernandez, M

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 3655
Minorities of the Middle East

This course examines the historic diversity of the modern Middle East, exploring histories of inter-communal contact and conflict. We begin by investigating the legacy of the Ottoman Empire and the impact ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •  8722 SHUM 3655   LEC 001

  •  
    • MW
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Starr, D

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 4109
Public History, Theory & Practice

This course will offer students the opportunity to both study and shape the ways in which US public culture attempts to both remember and forget some of the most contentious aspects of US history topics: ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • Topic: Remembering the History of Police Violence

  • 12276 SHUM 4109   SEM 101

  •  
    • M
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Baptist, E

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • Topic: Remembering the History of Police Violence

  • 12277 SHUM 4109   IND 601

  •  
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

SHUM 4465
Early Modern Materialities, 1400-1700

This seminar analyzes the contours of early modern Europe's material landscape and the ways in which global exchanges and technological advancements impacted material production and consumption. Working ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •  7246 SHUM 4465   SEM 101

  •  
    • M
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Howie, A

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 4540
Fascism, Nationalism and Populism

This seminar will look broadly at challenges to democratic institutions in the United States and Europe. To think about the present, we will delve into historical fascism as well as nationalism and populism. ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 10739 SHUM 4540   SEM 101

  •  
    • W
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Berezin, M

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 4695
Queer Archives and Archiving Queerness

This course contemplates challenges associated with researching and representing LGBTQ+ pasts. We approach this topic from several angles: 1) by asking what constitutes queer and trans in different historical ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •  9633 SHUM 4695   SEM 101

  •  
    • M
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Warner, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 4715
Precarity Poetics

The notion of precarity has been theorized in terms of environmental, class, race, and gender vulnerabilities. But how do these vulnerabilities—these complexly layered precarities—play out in poetic form? ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: SHUM 6715

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  9671 SHUM 4715   SEM 101

  •  
    • R
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 4718
How Cities Remember

To live in a city is to reckon with the physical remains of history. Earlier buildings, streets, and public spaces shape daily movements and experiences. This material backdrop of urban life is not neutral ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: SHUM 6718

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  9673 SHUM 4718   SEM 101

  •  
    • T
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 4720
Japanese American Wartime Incarceration Literature in the Twenty-First Century

This seminar engages with the wide range of perspectives and imagination in recent Japanese American literature to think through the changing possibilities and responsibilities of survivance and memory ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: SHUM 6720

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  9677 SHUM 4720   SEM 101

  •  
    • T
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 4727
Political Geology: Human and Geological Worlds of Survival

This course introduces the rapidly developing field of political geology, which examines how geological processes — earth, soil, and subterranean dynamics — interact with human social, political, and cultural ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: SHUM 6727

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  9675 SHUM 4727   SEM 101

  •  
    • R
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 4750
Senior Capstone Seminar for Humanities Scholars

This course is designed to support seniors in the Humanities Scholars Program working on their capstone projects. Students in the course will be guided in their project research and writing. The course ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1 Credit GradeNoAud

  •  9669 SHUM 4750   SEM 101

    • M
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    Enrollment limited to: seniors in the Humanities Scholars Program.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1 Credit GradeNoAud

  •  9670 SHUM 4750   SEM 102

    • R
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    Enrollment limited to: seniors in the Humanities Scholars Program.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

SHUM 4916
Modern Chinese Art

China, a cultural giant of East Asia, made a passive entrance into modernity. With the advent of Western and American colonialism and imperialism, coupled with recent successes in westernization by the ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •  7189 SHUM 4916   SEM 101

    • W
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Pan, A

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

SHUM 6540
Fascism, Nationalism and Populism

This seminar will look broadly at challenges to democratic institutions in the United States and Europe. To think about the present, we will delve into historical fascism as well as nationalism and populism. ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 10747 SHUM 6540   SEM 101

  •  
    • W
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Berezin, M

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 6695
Queer Archives and Archiving Queerness

This course contemplates challenges associated with researching and representing LGBTQ+ pasts. We approach this topic from several angles: 1) by asking what constitutes queer and trans in different historical ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •  9638 SHUM 6695   SEM 101

  •  
    • M
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Warner, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 6715
Precarity Poetics

The notion of precarity has been theorized in terms of environmental, class, race, and gender vulnerabilities. But how do these vulnerabilities—these complexly layered precarities—play out in poetic form? ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: SHUM 4715

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  9672 SHUM 6715   SEM 101

  •  
    • R
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 6718
How Cities Remember

To live in a city is to reckon with the physical remains of history. Earlier buildings, streets, and public spaces shape daily movements and experiences. This material backdrop of urban life is not neutral ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: SHUM 4718

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  9674 SHUM 6718   SEM 101

  •  
    • T
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 6720
Japanese American Wartime Incarceration Literature in the Twenty-First Century

This seminar engages with the wide range of perspectives and imagination in recent Japanese American literature to think through the changing possibilities and responsibilities of survivance and memory ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: SHUM 4720

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  9678 SHUM 6720   SEM 101

  •  
    • T
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

SHUM 6727
Political Geology: Human and Geological Worlds of Survival

This course introduces the rapidly developing field of political geology, which examines how geological processes — earth, soil, and subterranean dynamics — interact with human social, political, and cultural ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: SHUM 4727

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  9676 SHUM 6727   SEM 101

  •  
    • R
    • Aug 24 - Dec 7, 2026

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person