Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

Program Description

As the twenty-first century unfolds, individuals, communities, and nations face major challenges in energy, natural resources, and the environment. While these challenges demand practical ingenuity from engineers and applied scientists, solutions must also take into account social, political, economic, cultural, ethical, and global contexts. Mines students, as citizens and future professionals, confront a rapidly changing society that demands core technical skills complemented by flexible intelligence, original thought, and cultural sensitivity.

Courses in Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Department (HASS) expand students' professional and personal capacities by providing opportunities to explore the humanities, social sciences, and fine arts. Our curricula encourage the development of critical thinking skills that will help students make more informed choices as national and world citizens – promoting more complex understandings of justice, equality, culture, history, development, and sustainability. Students, for example, study ethical reasoning, compare and contrast different economies and cultures, develop arguments from data, and interrogate globalization. HASS courses also foster creativity by offering opportunities for self-discovery. Students conduct literary analyses, improve communication skills, play music, learn media theory, and write poetry. These experiences foster intellectual agility, personal maturity, and respect for the complexity of the world.

Undergraduate Humanities and Social Science

Educational Objectives

In addition to contributing to the educational objectives described in the Mines Graduate Profile and the ABET accreditation criteria, the coursework in the department of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences is designed to help Mines develop in students the ability to engage in life-long learning and recognize the value of doing so by acquiring the broad education necessary to

Understand the impact of engineering solutions in contemporary, global, international, societal, political, and ethical contexts.
Understand the role of Humanities and Social Sciences in identifying, formulating, and solving engineering problems.
Prepare to live and work in a complex world,
Understand the meaning and implications of “stewardship of the Earth."
Communicate effectively in writing and orally.

Music (LIMU)

Courses in Music do not count toward the Culture and Society restricted-elective requirement, but may be taken for free elective credit only. A maximum of 3 semester hours of concert band, chorus, physical education, athletics, or other activity credit combined may be used toward free elective credit in a degree-granting program.

Foreign Language (LIFL)

Typically, several foreign languages are taught through the department. In order to gain basic proficiency from their foreign language study, students are encouraged to enroll for at least two semesters in whatever language(s) they elect to take. No student is permitted to take a foreign language that is either his/her native language or second language.

Undergraduate Minors

At the undergraduate level, Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences offers minors in Culture, Creativity, and Communication; Environment and Sustainability Studies; Global Politics and Society; Music, Audio Engineering, and Recording Arts; and an Individualized Undergraduate minor. See the minor tab for details.

Graduate Degree and Programs

At the graduate level, Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences offers a 30-hour degree. It also offers graduate certificates and graduate minors in Natural Resources and Energy Policy (NREP). See the graduate catalog for details.

Hennebach Program in the Humanities

The Hennebach Program in the Humanities, supported by a major endowment from Ralph Hennebach (CSM class of 1941), sponsors a regular series of Visiting Professors and the general enhancement of the humanities on campus. Recent visiting professors have included scholars in Classics, Creative Writing, Environmental Studies, Ethics, History, Literature, Philosophy, and Social Theory as well as the interdisciplinary fields of Environmental Policy and Science, Technology, and Society Studies. The program is dedicated to enriching the lives of both students and faculty through teaching and research, with visiting scholars offering courses, giving lectures, conducting workshops, and collaborating on projects. In addition, the Hennebach Program is exploring opportunities for meeting the needs of undergraduate students who would especially benefit from more focused study in the humanities that would appropriately complement technical degree curricula.

Professors

Hussein A. Amery

Lucas Bessire, effective January 2025

Jon Leydens

Kenneth Osgood

Associate Professors

Tina L. Gianquitto

Kathleen J. Hancock

Adrianne Kroepsch

James D. Straker

Teaching Professors

Cortney Holles

Jonathan Cullison

Paula A. Farca

Joseph Horan

Derrick Hudson, NREP Graduate Program Director

Shannon Davies Mancus, Associate Department Head

Seth Tucker

Sandy Woodson, Department Head

Teaching Associate Professors

Eliza Buhrer

Heather Fester

Teaching Assistant Professors

Mairead Case

Masakasu Ito

Alison Kerr

Brianna Wolfe

Hennebach Visiting Assistant Professor

Angeline Letourneau

Professors Emeriti

W. John Cieslewicz

T. Graham Hereford

Carl Mitcham

Barbara M. Olds

Eul-Soo Pang

Anton G. Pegis

Thomas Philipose, University professor emeriti

Arthur B. Sacks

Associate Professors Emeriti

Betty J. Cannon

John Heilbrunn

Kathleen H. Ochs

Laura J. Pang

Karen B. Wiley

Teaching Professor Emeriti

Robert Klimek

James Jesudason

Teaching Associate Professor Emerti

Rose Pass

Culture and Society

Culture and Society courses provide cultural and social perspectives to advance students’ understanding of the contemporary, global world. These courses help students contextualize scientific and technical knowledge and practice to better understand their potential impacts on people, organizations, the economy, and the environment. Culture and Society courses also enhance students’ abilities to communicate, explore diverse perspectives, and grapple with ethics and professional responsibilities. Ultimately, these courses provide the opportunity for students to explore what it means to be human in an interconnected world.

The 9 credits of mid-level and 400-level CAS electives must meet the following requirements:

At least 3 credits must be at the 400-level.
At least 3 credits must have a HASS course code.
No more than 6 credits can have the LIFL (Foreign Languages) course code.
Courses with the LIMU (Music) course code cannot be used to satisfy this requirement.
HASS498 special topic courses can be used to satisfy this requirement. EBGN498 and EDNS498 special topic courses will be determined to satisfy this requirement on a course-by-course basis, and that determination will be made prior to the beginning of the term the course is offered.
Except for foreign languages, no AP or IB credit can be used to meet this requirement. (AP/IB credits will be applied as free electives.)
Single majors in Economics cannot use courses with the EBGN course code to satisfy this requirement.

Culture and Society Electives

HASSXXX	All courses with the HASS prefix are eligible for CAS credit
LIFLXXX	All LIFL courses are eligible for CAS (midlevel) credit
HNRSXXX	All HNRS courses are eligible for CAS credit (see your advisor)
Economics and Business Courses approved for CAS credit
EBGN201	PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS	3.0
EBGN301	INTERMEDIATE MICROECONOMICS	3.0
EBGN302	INTERMEDIATE MACROECONOMICS	3.0
EBGN310	ENVIRONMENTAL AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS	3.0
EBGN320	ECONOMICS AND TECHNOLOGY	3.0
EBGN330	ENERGY ECONOMICS	3.0
EBGN340	ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY	3.0
EBGN430	ADVANCED ENERGY ECONOMICS	3.0
EBGN434	PROPERTY RIGHTS AND NATURAL RESOURCES	3.0
EBGN437	REGIONAL ECONOMICS	3.0
EBGN441	INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS	3.0
EBGN443	PUBLIC ECONOMICS	3.0
EBGN470	ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS	3.0
Engineering, Design, and Society courses approved for CAS credit
EDNS315	ENGINEERING FOR SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY	3.0
EDNS477	ENGINEERING AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT	3.0
EDNS478	ENGINEERING AND SOCIAL JUSTICE	3.0
EDNS479	COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH	3.0
EDNS480	ANTHROPOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT	3.0
Other courses approved for CAS credit
MNGN335	COMMUNITIES AND NATURAL RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT	3.0
PEGN430	ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND SUSTAINABILITY	3.0
SCED333	EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY AND ASSESSMENT	3.0
SCED363	DYNAMIC TEACHING: MOTIVATION, CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT, AND DIFFERENTIATION OF INSTRUCTION	3.0
SCED415	SCIENTIFIC PRACTICES VS ENGINEERING DESIGN AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE	3.0

The Mines guidelines for Minor/ASI can be found in the Undergraduate Information section of the Mines Catalog.

Minor Programs

The Department of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Studies (HASS) offers several minor programs. Students who elect to pursue a minor usually will satisfy the Culture and Society (CAS) requirements; however, the Music Technology ASI will not satisfy these requirements. Students will need to use free elective hours to complete a minor.

A minor requires a minimum of 18 credit hours; an area of special interest (ASI) requires a minimum of 12 credit hours. No more than half the credits to be applied toward a Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences minor or ASI may be transfer credits. The Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences undergraduate faculty advisor must approve all transfer credits that will be used for a Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences minor or ASI.

The student must fill out a Minor/Area of Special Interest Declaration (available in the Registrar’s Office) and obtain approval signatures from the student’s Mines advisor, from the head or director of the student’s major department or division, and from the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences faculty undergraduate advisor. Students should consult the listed program directors for the specific requirements of each minor.

The available minors or ASI's are listed below with their program directors.

Culture, Creativity, and Communication (CCC), Paul Farca; Environment and Sustainability Studies (ESS), Tina Gianquitto; Global Politics and Society (GPS), Derrick Hudson; Individualized Minor, Sandy Woodson.

Minor in Culture, Creativity, and Communication

Given the diverse disciplinary and interdisciplinary interests of Mines students, the Culture, Creativity, Communication minor provides a flexible, interdisciplinary range of options so students can follow particular passions bolstered by distinctive, signature experiences. Students will take courses below as part of a pathway in Literature and Creative Writing, a pathway in Communication Studies, or an intellectually coherent pathway in both.

The CCC minor elevates student capacity for empathy, contextual understanding, intellectual versatility, creative cognition, and expressive clarity. This minor will help students who feel a passion for culture and the arts, and who yearn to explore diverse fields of literary studies, creative writing, and communication studies.

Students in the Culture, Creativity, Communication minor must complete 18 hours of coursework, selected with the guidance of a faculty advisor, from the courses below.

Midlevel courses:

HASS303	FOUNDATIONS: THE ART AND CRAFT OF THE CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP	3.0
HASS201/303	WORKSHOP FOUNDATIONS: THE ART AND CRAFT OF CREATIVE WRITING (HASS201 new course number Spring2022->changed to HASS303)	3.0
or HASS303	FOUNDATIONS: THE ART AND CRAFT OF THE CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP
HASS302	FOUNDATIONS IN CREATIVE WRITING	3.0
HASS300/300	INTERMEDIATE FICTION (Course number change Spring 2022->Now HASS302)	3.0
or HASS300	INTERMEDIATE FICTION
HASS301	INTERMEDIATE POETRY WRITING WORKSHOP	3.0
HASS305	AMERICAN LITERATURE: COLONIAL PERIOD TO THE PRESENT	3.0
HASS307	EXPLORATIONS IN COMPARATIVE LITERATURE	3.0
HASS309	LITERATURE AND SOCIETY	3.0
HASS320	ETHICS	3.0
HASS323	INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE COMMUNICATION	3.0

400-level courses (minimum of two):

HASS400	ADVANCED SHORT FICTION WRITING WORKSHOP	3.0
HASS401	ADVANCED POETRY WRITING WORKSHOP	3.0
HASS404	WOMEN, LITERATURE, AND SOCIETY	3.0
HASS406	THE LITERATURE OF WAR AND REMEMBRANCE	3.0
HASS407	SCIENCE IN LITERATURE	3.0
HASS408	CREATIVE NONFICTION WRITING: LIFE STORIES	3.0
HASS410	CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON 20TH CENTURY LITERATURE	3.0
HASS411	LITERATURES OF THE AFRICAN WORLD	3.0
HASS412	LITERATURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT	3.0
HASS415	MASS MEDIA STUDIES	3.0
HASS416	FILM STUDIES	3.0
HASS418	NARRATING THE NATION	3.0
HASS419	ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNICATION	3.0
HASS423	ADVANCED SCIENCE COMMUNICATION	3.0
HASS425	INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION	3.0
HASS433	SHAKESPEARE AND THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION	3.0

Minor in Environment and Sustainability Studies

As environmental challenges mount across the world, governmental agencies, policy makers, industry, and others will look to engineers and scientists to develop innovative solutions to meet these pressing demands.

The Environment and Sustainability Studies minor provides political, social, cultural, economic, and historical perspectives on modern environmental challenges and equips students with the critical and analytical tools required to address contemporary environmental challenges. The curriculum further encourages students to transcend disciplinary boundaries by providing opportunities to integrate and synthesize the many strands of knowledge that bear on environmental issues. When combined with their technical, engineering, and/or scientific degrees, graduates will have added marketable skills, which can also be translated into environmental careers, or post-graduate programs.

The Minor in Environment and Sustainability Studies requires 18 credits of coursework:

15 credits of Culture and Society (CAS) electives, and
3 credits of restricted environmental science and engineering electives*

*Faculty involved in the Environment and Sustainability Studies minor will work with colleagues across campus to identify upper-division electives in environmental science and engineering that can fulfill this requirement.

Students may also include up to 3 credits of independent study with the approval of the ESS Director.

Courses

HASS200: Global Studies: Environment: Students interested in the ESS Minor are encouraged to sign up for the Global Studies section focused on the environment. Please contact ESS Minor director for information on when this course is offered each semester.

Minor requirements

Choose five courses from the CAS list. At least three courses must be from HASS, with one at the 400-level. Up to two courses can be from Economics and Business (EBGN), Engineering, Design, and Society (EDNS), or the approved courses from Geology and Geophysics (GEOC) and Petroleum Engineering (PEGN).
Choose one course from the restricted STEM electives. Other courses may be approved by the ESS director.

Minor in Global Politics and Society (GPS)

The GPS minor (18 credits) prepares engineers and scientists with the knowledge and experience they need to tackle complex global issues and become leaders in their professional and personal lives within their own countries and in the global community. Drawing primarily from the social sciences, our classes link theories with real-world problems while enhancing students’ analytical and communication skills. Courses provide the political, social, and historical contexts to better understand world regions, particularly ones with significant natural resource endowments. Topics include war, trade, energy, corruption, and religion. Fitting the Mines’ mission, our courses bring a stronger focus to natural resources and energy issues than similar programs at other universities.

Required Course: One of the following two courses

HASS460	GEOPOLITICS OF NATURAL RESOURCES	3.0
HASS344	INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS	3.0

Electives

The remaining credits must come from the following courses. AT LEAST one must be a 400-level class.

Regional Focus
HASS339	MIDDLE EAST: POLITICS & SOCIETY	3.0
HASS411	LITERATURES OF THE AFRICAN WORLD	3.0
HASS437	ASIAN DEVELOPMENT	3.0
HASS439	MIDDLE EAST DEVELOPMENT	3.0
Global Focus
HASS307	EXPLORATIONS IN COMPARATIVE LITERATURE	3.0
HASS431	MORAL PSYCHOLOGY, RELIGION, AND AMERICAN SOCIETY	3.0
HASS490	ENERGY AND SOCIETY	3.0
Politics and Policy Focus
HASS486	SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY	3.0
HASS488	GLOBAL WATER POLITICS AND POLICY	3.0
HASS491	ENERGY POLITICS	3.0
Foreign Languages
LIFL1XX	FOREIGN LANGUAGE ^{Up to six hours}	3-6

Minor in Music, Audio Engineering, and the Recording Arts

Program Advisor: Jonathan Cullison

The Music, Audio Engineering, and the Recording Arts minor is designed for students interested in the crossover field between music and related technical skills. Technical emphasis within this minor creates an opportunity for the student to research/experience the impact of their specific majors upon both music as an art form and music as an industry. Throughout the minor, students are exposed to the refinements and developments that technology has created in the field of recording, production, sound reinforcement, and product design as well as the interplay between the arts and technology. The discovery of connections between current music and sound engineering practices is stressed. The final outcome is a skilled and informed studio musician/technician in present-day studio conditions. Finally, this minor is not designed to expand any current engineering curriculum, but to complement a student’s education.

Students desiring a Music, Audio Engineering, and the Recording Arts Minor must complete 18 credits of courses as follows:

Four required music courses (12 credits):

HASS324	AUDIO/ACOUSTICAL ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE	3.0
HASS327	MUSIC TECHNOLOGY	3.0
HASS315	MUSICAL TRADITIONS OF THE WESTERN WORLD	3.0
HASS330	MUSIC TECHNOLOGY CAPSTONE	3.0
Total Semester Hrs		12.0

One 400-level required course (3 credits):

HASS429

REAL WORLD RECORDING/RESEARCH

3.0

Three additional credits:

HASS326	MUSIC THEORY	3.0
Performance Enhancement (3 credits total)
LIMU	ENSEMBLE ^{Two semesters}
LIMU189	INDIVIDUAL INSTRUMENTAL OR VOCAL MUSIC INSTRUCTION ^{One semester}

Individualized Undergraduate Minor

Program Advisor: Prof. Sandy Woodson. Students declaring an Undergraduate Individual Minor in LAIS must choose 18 restricted-elective credits in LAIS with a coherent rationale reflecting some explicit focus of study that the student wishes to pursue. A student desiring this minor must design it in consultation with a member of the LAIS faculty who approves the rationale and the choice of courses, e.g., pre-law or pre-med courses.

Area of Special Interest in Music Technology

Program Advisor: Prof. Bob Klimek. The Area of Special Interest in Music Technology is comprised of a sequence of courses that allows students to combine interests and abilities in both the science and theory of music production. Completion of this ASI will train students in the technical aspects of the music recording industry, including sound and video recording, sound effects, and software design.

Courses