Undergraduate Program

About the Program

The History of Consciousness is an interdisciplinary graduate and undergraduate program centered in the humanities, with links to the social sciences and the arts. It is concerned with forms of expression and social action as they are manifested in specific historical, cultural, and political contexts. The program stresses flexibility and originality, and is focused on problems rather than disciplines.

The History of Consciousness Minor is available for students who wish to gain an understanding of major ideas, trends, and figures in the history of knowledge using an interdisciplinary approach. Topics include: modernity; the history of philosophy; capitalism; the foundations of critical theory; the emotions; categories and concepts of difference; critical race theory; queer theory; gender and sexuality studies; visual culture; and the foundations of modern intellectual thought. Courses provide students with critical theoretical tools for understanding philosophy, history, race, sexuality, affect, politics, economics and other fields of inquiry.