Humanities Division – Learn More About These Fields

The Humanities are our cultural and intellectual heritage – the sum of

human experience, thought, and expression. They give us knowledge

about the past, insight about the present, and wisdom for the future.

They teach us about others and help us to know ourselves.

-Oregon Council for the Humanities

Communication Studies

Are you interested in learning how communication messaging strategies impact our understandings of people and the issues that matter to them?

The Communication Studies major includes a balance of theoretical and practical application courses to prepare students for careers that demand strong organizational, interpersonal, media/technology, and intercultural abilities.

COMMUNICATION STUDIES:

MAJOR / MINOR

ADVISORS

Modern Languages

Because new technologies allow us to connect and work with people from all over the globe, our ability to speak a foreign language increases our marketability, while learning about a culture different from our own.

Give yourself an advantage in obtaining employment in government, business, medicine, law, technology, military, industry, and marketing, to name a few, and study French, German or Spanish today?

MODERN LANGUAGES:

ADVISORS

FRENCH

Are you fascinated by other cultures and the experience of looking at your own culture from a different point of view?

The French minor will give you the opportunity to deepen your mastery of the French language in every skill and situation, give you a unique understanding of French-speaking culture and open the doors to traveling and working abroad.

FRENCH:

MINOR

GERMAN

Are you interested in seeing the world from a new, global perspective?

Sprechen Sie Deutsch! A major or minor in German will enrich your life and might land you a job with one of the 1,100 German companies in the United States.

GERMAN:

MINOR

SPANISH

Are you interested in becoming a bicultural person, a better global citizen and a more competitive job candidate?

The Spanish major gives you professional knowledge of Spanish language and Spanish speaking cultures, including the ones booming inside the US.

SPANISH:

MAJOR / MINOR

Certificate in Spanish-English Interpretation and Translation

Certificate in Spanish Bilingual/Biliteracy

Certificate in Social Justice and Service Learning (Bilingual)

English Studies

Would you like to become an expert in language?

English Studies helps students study its structure in Linguistics, its creative and professional uses in Writing, and its most beautiful and compelling texts in Literature. Join us, and learn everything words can do!

ENGLISH STUDIES:

TEFL CERTIFICATE

ADVISORS

INTEGRATED CONCENTRATION

Would you like the freedom to explore the best of what English Studies has to offer, across the fields of Linguistics, Literature, and Writing?

Then the Integrated Concentration is for you! Analyze language with our Linguistics faculty, read life-changing novels, poems, and plays with our Literature faculty, and sharpen your creative and professional writing skills with our Writing faculty members.

INTEGRATED CONCENTRATION:

MAJOR / MINOR

LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHING EDUCATION

Would you like to impart your love of literature, writing or the English language to others?

There are teachers whose love of literature, writing, and language can transform the lives of their students. At WOU, we train these extraordinary people in the theories and practices of Education as well as the fields of Linguistics, Writing, and Literature so that they are prepared to inspire young people to love reading and writing. Join the tradition of great teachers by pursuing the BS in Language Arts.

LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHING EDUCATION:

MAJOR

LINGUISTICS CONCENTRATION

Are you interested in language: how it’s structured, cognitively processed, and used in nearly all aspects of our social lives?

The English Studies Major with a Concentration in Linguistics provides the skills to analyze the nature, history, and structure of language at all levels from sounds to conversations and discourses.

LINGUISTICS CONCENTRATION:

MAJOR / MINOR

LITERATURE CONCENTRATION

Will you travel the globe and across time on the words of great writers or will you seek the adventures and wisdom of novels, plays, stories and poems?

Join the Literature track of English Studies.

The study of literature prepares students for a life of insightful, detailed reading and writing, enlightened by glimpses from the past and ready for the changes of the future.

LITERATURE CONCENTRATION:

MAJOR / MINOR

WRITING CONCENTRATION

Would you like to become a master of writing and editing?

Students in the writing concentration can dedicate themselves to creative writing, business/technical writing, or a combination of these!

The world needs writers. The world needs you!

WRITING CONCENTRATION:

MAJOR / MINOR

PROFESSIONAL WRITING CERTIFICATE

Humanities

Humanities majors and minors explore that unique human creation, language–not only for communication but also in culture, literary art, and philosophical and religious thought.

Employers want employees with effective oral and written communication, critical thinking and analytical reasoning, with the ability to analyze and solve complex problems, while making ethical decisions. Humanities studies provides these skills.