HUM 102 Search

The Search curriculum is a three-semester sequence of humanities courses. In a small, seminar setting, students and faculty engage in a sustained examination of vital questions arising from an individual’s relationships to the natural world, human society, and the artifacts of human culture. This examination interrogates seminal texts in the intellectual traditions of societies from Mesopotamia, areas around the Mediterranean and Red Sea, in northern Africa, the Nile Valley and Europe. Throughout this experience students will develop skills that are vital for success in college and leading a life of intellectual engagement, such as the ability to read carefully, think critically, discuss topics with clarity and a command of relevant and factual information, and write clearly and persuasively.
The second semester of Search covers literature from the Hellenistic period to the end of the pre-modern era. Texts include Virgil’s Aeneid, the New Testament, the Qur’an, and Dante’s Divine Comedy. During the first year of the course, all Search colloquia follow a common syllabus; every 2-3 weeks, all Search students meet for a plenary lecture delivered by one of the Search faculty.