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Prospective Students
Small classes, big questions
Step outside the typical university department and into Global Humanities. We are Simon Fraser University's home for art history, Classics, Hellenic (Greek) studies and religious studies. And our faculty includes experts in a range of other fields, too: Asian studies, history, medieval and Renaissance studies, modern literature, philosophy and political science. Why? Because the study of the human condition—the core of what we do—knows no boundaries. For the same reason, our reach is global and our chronological coverage wide, stretching from antiquity to today.
Is Global Humanities for you?
Sample Global Humanities in one of our introductory courses. Take an upper-level seminar to dig more deeply into the topic, period or place that interests you most. Chart your course through one of our four concentrations. Study on-site in one of our field schools. However you experience Global Humanities, you will:
- Encounter big questions that shape you and your world: what can we know? How rational are we? What makes us fear difference? How do we become better people, and what does “better” even mean?
- Immerse yourself in the cultures, texts and ideas of peoples both foreign and familiar.
- Discover why it matters to think deeply, creatively, critically and empathetically about the world.
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accelerated master's
SFU students currently enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program may be eligible to take graduate courses and count them towards their bachelor's and an SFU master's. This typically allows students to complete their credentials 4 to 12 months faster.
What do we have to offer?
Program Overview
Academic Programs
Opportunities
Explore our new concentrations
Adding an optional concentration enhances your Global Humanities degree by showing prospective employers or graduate or professional school application committees that you are both well-rounded in the Humanities and specialized in a particular field within the Humanities. During your studies at SFU, pursuing a concentration can allow you to discover deeper connections between courses.
Concentration in Art & Material Culture
From paintings to film, from clothing to household objects, the Concentration in Art and Material Culture offers a global reach. Students are welcome to focus on a particular geographical region, culture or time period covered by our faculty; or they may take a broader, cross-cultural approach. All courses in this concentration either focus on the study of art and material culture or devote a substantial component of their coursework to these themes. Some connect students to their field of study through experiential learning, including community service/work, field trips, and creative projects.
Concentration in Hellenic Studies
The Hellenic Studies concentration is ideally suited to the Humanities department’s global reach. Hellenism, as the sum total of ideals, thoughts, and modes of being developed by the Greeks in antiquity and selectively adopted, at different times, by cultures and people the world over, has influenced us in both direct and indirect ways. By taking this concentration, students will gain a greater appreciation for how Hellenism became a global cultural force, while also learning about Greece and its people, where it continues to thrive and constantly evolve.
Concentration in Mythologies
We most easily think of the gods, heroes, and animal fables of Greece and Rome, but we also recognize that parallel traditions animate all world cultures through core sets of myths, fables, legends, stories, and their legacies. This concentration starts with the Greeks but goes beyond, to the tales of China, India, the Celts, the Norse, and more. What roles do such stories play in their cultures? How can they inform our understandings of humanity and its place in the world?
Concentration in Public Engagement & Intellectual Culture
The Concentration in Public Engagement and Intellectual Culture traces how concepts found in canonical texts have been applied not just in the private but also in the public sphere from the past to the present. Courses in this concentration introduce students to how theory can be applied when reflecting upon dis/continuities of different constellations of ideas, their impact, and complex legacies; and they explore the relevance of various texts, concepts, and theories to current debates, public actions, and modern life and across different communities. Students in this concentration enjoy a wide range of opportunities to explore these issues beyond the traditional academic context: through lectures, seminars, and events offered by both the Institute for the Humanities and the SNF Centre for Hellenic Studies; through opportunities to produce different kinds of writing (ranging from social media content to letters to editors and op-ed pieces); and through various options for public engagement.
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community engagement
Where to go from here?
Career Prospects
The world is changing rapidly and so is the full range of career opportunities that await. Armed with the necessary knowledge and skills, Global Humanities graduates pursue careers in jobs such as analyst, editor, researcher, politcal campaign worker, public relations consultant, social worker, lawyer, and travel writer.