The College of Humanities and
Fine Arts
The Mission of the College
Faculty and students of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts
(HFA) pursue rewarding study of the cultural facets of our human
identity. We seek to know ourselves as symbol-users and meaning-
makers. While examining the traditions we have inherited, we participate
in the artistic life of our community, seeking a dialogue between
the intellectual wealth of the past and the expressive possibilities
of the present. We are seekers of value, especially those values
embodied in written texts and art. We attempt to achieve critical
thought and purposeful writing; beauty as makers and critics; understanding
of the intangible and the spiritual.
Our major academic mission is focused on undergraduates–majors,
minors, and General Education–but we also offer programs for
continued study, research, and training in art, English, history,
and music–all leading to the master’s degree. We are the
lead campus for an innovative MFA in Creative Writing and also offer
an MFA in Art. In addition we offer programs and certificates with
direct links to careers through these options: editing and publishing,
interior design, music industry, musical theatre, public history,
recording arts, and technical theatre.
HFA is as committed to the enrichment of those who are not our majors
as those who are. Many of our classes form the foundation of the
university’s General Education program, and as such they include
a cross-section of the entire student body. Our cultural offerings
are open to students across the disciplines and often include both
guest artists and community members. We sponsor the London Semester
each spring and the Beijing Semester each fall.
We also experiment at the frontiers of culture; originality and
creativity guide the myriad ways we express and experience our humanity.
Our School of the Arts symbolizes the distinctiveness of the arts
within the university and the special opportunities and imperatives
for collaboration within the College of HFA.
|
