Humanities Honors

The Humanities Honors program has been an SJSU institution since 1954 interdisciplinary and globally focused series of four lower-division courses. In these team-taught courses, students will explore global cultures through the intertwined study of literature, philosophy, art, culture, performance, ecology, and social institutions. 

In 2024–25, the 70th anniversary year of the Humanities Honors program, the Humanities department proudly rolls out an updated, streamlined version of this landmark, team-taught course sequence for first- and second-year SJSU students.

What's different about the revised version of Humanities Honors?

• The  new sequence of four 3-unit courses (replacing the prior 24-unit sequence) targets the GE requirements in Areas A and C least likely to be covered by AP exams.
  
  
• The program allows flexibility in scheduling, with on-ramps for students building either a Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday schedule.
  
  
• The program can be completed in one year (by taking HUM 10 and 20 in fall and HUM 11 and 21 in spring) or in two years, by taking two courses in each year—making it easier to combine with a variety of majors.
  
  
• The program welcomes students interested in taking one, two, or all four of the Humanities Honors courses—but students who commit to completing the sequence within two years will enjoy special incentives. To receive more info about signing up for the sequence, complete a short interest form or email humanities-honors-program@sjsu.edu.

The Courses

To receive the full benefit of participating in the lower-division Humanities Honors sequence, students should take the following four courses. These new course numbers replace the course numbers (HUM 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B) used in previous versions of Humanities Honors.

Offered in fall 2024

HUM 10: Honors Global Oral and Rhetorical Cultures:
History, Story, Counterstory (A1)

Study how storytelling and speech-making traditions shape religion, politics, and historical memory (fills Oral Communication GE requirement).

HUM 20: Honors Global Material Cultures:
Arts, Architecture, and Performance (C1)

Study how and why different cultures have decided that some objects and practices count as art while others do not (fills Arts GE requirement).

Offered in spring 2025

HUM 11: Honors Critical Thinking across Global Cultures (A3)

Study and apply the logical and philosophical tools different cultures have used to tackle the biggest big questions, like how we establish “truth” and whether violence is ever justified (fills Critical Thinking and Writing GE requirement).

HUM 21: Honors Reading Difference across Global Cultures (C2)

Study how different cultures have used literature both to create community and to divide people into "in groups" and "out groups" through concepts such as nation, race, caste, and gender (fills Humanities requirement).

GE Areas Satisfied at a Glance

Further information about General Education Areas can be found on the General Education Requirements page.