Humanities electives

Choosing electives beyond the core

As Humanities majors/minors you have the freedom to explore your interests when choosing electives. Majors and minors can select any HUM-prefix courses outside of the core. Majors can include up to 6 units at the lower division, for a total of 24 units (8 classes); minors can include up to 3 units at the lower division, for a total of 9 units (3 classes).

We offer the following categories to help you navigate the wide array of possibilities. You may focus on one, or mix and match across categories – it’s up to you.

Some may want to complete a related minor or second major. We have put a star (*) next to those clusters that align closely with other degree programs. If you choose to declare a related minor or second major, be sure to consult with an advisor in that program as well.

*American Studies (all of the following will count toward the 15-unit AMST minor and 39-unit AMST major; 450 and 485 are required):

  • HUM 225 Values in American Life
  • HUM 340 Bay Area Cultures
  • HUM 375 Biography of a City: U.S. Cities (topics include: Los
  • Angeles, New York, Chicago, New Orleans)
  • HUM 376 San Francisco
  • HUM 441 American Jews and Popular Culture
  • HUM 450 California Culture
  • HUM 481 Thought and Culture in America (1880-the present)
  • HUM 485 Arts and American Culture
  • HUM 490 American Images

Asian cultures

  • HUM 205 Asian Art History
  • HUM 271 The Classic Chinese Novel in Contemporary Pop Culture
  • HUM 370: Asian Cities (Variable Topics, including Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Manila)
  • HUM 527 Japan and Modernity
  • HUM 531 Images of Modern China
  • HUM 531 From Ghost Stories to Short Stories: Japanese Fiction in Comparative Contexts
  • HUM 541 Manga
  • HUM 582 Tales from Ancient India: Hinduism and Buddhism
  • HUM 586 Bollywood and Beyond: Indian History through Film

Biography of a City (each section focuses on the arts, culture, and history of a single major city, and you can take as many different cities as you want)

  • HUM 370: Asian Cities (Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Manila)
  • HUM 371: Latin American Cities (Mexico City, Rio)
  • HUM 373: European Cities (Berlin, Paris, London, Rome)
  • HUM 374: Middle Eastern & African Cities (Cairo, Cape Town, Accra, Tehran)
  • HUM 375: U.S. Cities (Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, New Orleans)
  • HUM 376: San Francisco
  • HUM 379: Jerusalem

*Comics Studies (all of the following count toward the 12-unit CMX minor)

  • HUM 304 Making Comics
  • HUM 325 Comics and Culture (required for CMX minor)
  • HUM 541 Manga
  • HUM 604 Advanced Comics Making
  • HUM 625 Advanced Readings in Comics

*Comparative World Literature (any of the counts toward the CWL minor):

  • CWL 180 Introduction to Video Games
  • CWL 380 Thinking with Video Games
  • HUM 423 Going Medieval: Medieval Literature and Contemporary Adaptations
  • HUM 424 Multicultural Middle Ages
  • HUM 426 Literary Orients and Orientalisms, Classical to Contemporary
  • HUM 427 Travel and the Literary Imagination
  • HUM 532 From Ghost Stories to Short Stories: Japanese Fiction in Comparative Contexts

Comparative Culture

  • HUM 220 Values and Culture
  • HUM 320 Music, Culture, and Ideas
  • HUM 317 Critical Animal Studies
  • HUM 345 Humanism and Mysticism
  • HUM 380 Nature and Human Values
  • HUM 390 Images of Eroticism
  • HUM 425 Thought and Image
  • HUM 510 Comparative Form and Culture

*History (all of the following count toward the 15-unit HIST minor):

  • HUM 315 History of Science from the Scientific Revolution
  • HUM 348 Thought and Culture in Modern Europe
  • HUM 403 Vikings, Caliphs, & Carolingians
  • HUM 404 The High Middle Ages
  • HUM 441 American Jews and Popular Culture
  • HUM 481 Thought and Culture in America: 1880 to the Present
  • HUM 582 Tales from Ancient India: Hinduism and Buddhism
  • HUM 586: Bollywood and Beyond: Indian History through Film

Science, Technology, and Nature Studies

  • HUM 306 Social Media, Digital Culture, the Attention Economy
  • HUM 315 History of Science
  • HUM 317 Critical Animal Studies
  • HUM 380 Nature and Human Values
  • HUM 440 Mind, Body, Culture

*Video Game Studies (all of the following count toward the 12-unit VGS minor as well as HUM major with advisor approval):

  • CWL 180 Introduction to Video Games
  • CWL 270 Fantasy and Fiction: Exploring Parallel Worlds
  • CWL 275 Reading Video Games
  • CWL 380 Thinking with Video Games