American River College
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Home Catalog Programs of Study List of Programs Humanities and Religious Studies

Humanities and Religious Studies

Overview

Humanities (HUM) & Religious Studies (RLST) courses recognize and explore the dynamics of difference through interdisciplinary study, appreciation, and analysis of world cultures from ancient times to the present. Humanities students gain comprehensive, cross-cultural perspectives on diverse human communities by examining literature, visual arts, music, drama, film, philosophy, history, and religion. Religions are powerful forces that have shaped and continue to shape the world's history, cultures, politics, the pursuit of science, ethics, economics, violence, peace, power, marginalization, justice, and injustice. Religious Studies students gain excellent critical thinking skills by discerning and analyzing religions’ roles in diverse cultural, political, and social movements through multiple disciplinary lenses, including history, anthropology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, cultural studies, and postcolonial studies. Our approach is non-devotional and academic, which means we acknowledge that there are multiple authentic representations of religious expression in the world.

Humanities (HUM) Courses

HUM 300 Classical Humanities

  • Units:3
  • Hours:54 hours LEC
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Advisory:Eligibility for ENGL C1000/C1000H (formerly ENGWR 300/480) or ESLW 340
  • Transferable:CSU; UC
  • General Education:Local GE L3; Cal-GETC Area 3B
  • Catalog Date:August 1, 2026

This course is a survey of Western culture that focuses on the human values expressed through painting, sculpture, architecture, music, literature, and philosophy. Emphasis is on the civilizations of Greece, Rome, and the Middle Ages. Field trips may be required.

HUM 301 Introduction to the Humanities

  • Units:3
  • Hours:54 hours LEC
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Advisory:Eligibility for ENGL C1000/C1000H (formerly ENGWR 300/480) or ESLW 340
  • Transferable:CSU; UC
  • General Education:Local GE L3; Cal-GETC Area 3B
  • Catalog Date:August 1, 2026

This is a non-chronological course that introduces the humanities, primarily architecture, music, painting, poetry, sculpture, theatre, and film. It emphasizes identifying, appreciating, analyzing, interpreting, and understanding various significant arts and how they have shaped our understanding of the world.

HUM 310 Modern Humanities

  • Units:3
  • Hours:54 hours LEC
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Advisory:Eligibility for ENGL C1000/C1000H (formerly ENGWR 300/480) or ESLW 340
  • Transferable:CSU; UC
  • General Education:Local GE L3; Cal-GETC Area 3B
  • Catalog Date:August 1, 2026

This course is a survey of Western culture that focuses on the human values expressed through painting, sculpture, architecture, music, literature, and philosophy. Emphasis is on the period from the Renaissance to the Modern Age. Field trips may be required.

HUM 320 Asian Humanities

  • Units:3
  • Hours:54 hours LEC
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Advisory:Eligibility for ENGL C1000/C1000H (formerly ENGWR 300/480) or ESLW 340
  • Transferable:CSU; UC
  • General Education:Local GE L3; Cal-GETC Area 3B
  • Catalog Date:August 1, 2026

This course surveys traditions, cultures, literatures, art, music, and film of India, China, and Japan from ancient times to the present. Emphasis is on the inter-relationships of the arts, literatures, and philosophies in their historical contexts within each geographical area. Topics may include arts and cultures of other Asian countries such as Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Korea.

HUM 326 Middle Eastern Humanities

  • Units:3
  • Hours:54 hours LEC
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Advisory:Eligibility for ENGL C1000/C1000H (formerly ENGWR 300/480) or ESLW 340
  • Transferable:CSU; UC
  • General Education:Local GE L3; Cal-GETC Area 3B
  • Catalog Date:August 1, 2026

This course surveys the cultures of the Middle East, with an emphasis on the analysis and appreciation of the arts, architecture, music, and sacred and secular texts of Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and other countries from ancient to modern times, as they apply to cultural and political developments.

HUM 330 Humanities of the Americas

  • Units:3
  • Hours:54 hours LEC
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Advisory:Eligibility for ENGL C1000/C1000H (formerly ENGWR 300/480) or ESLW 340
  • Transferable:CSU; UC
  • General Education:Local GE L3; Cal-GETC Area 3B
  • Catalog Date:August 1, 2026

This course examines the fine arts of the Western Hemisphere from antiquity to contemporary times, with an emphasis on an awareness of and a sensitivity to the literature, philosophy, art, and music of the past and present. It compares the various cultures indigenous to the Western Hemisphere both among themselves and in contrast to the cultures of Europe on their arrival in the 15th century. The course explores the ethnic and cultural conflicts and resolutions that constitute the confluence of ideas and beliefs in the Americas. It provides specific attention to the distinctively American aspects of the arts and their difference from the European tradition.

HUM 494 Topics in Humanities

  • Units:0.5 - 4
  • Hours:9 - 72 hours LEC
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Advisory:Eligibility for ENGL C1000/C1000H (formerly ENGWR 300/480) or ESLW 340
  • Transferable:CSU
  • Catalog Date:August 1, 2026

This course provides the opportunity for concentrated study on specialized topics in the Humanities. Each offering focuses on the integration of arts and ideas in the works of a particular time and place and/or illuminates a selected theme. Refer to class schedule for current topic. Individual field trips may be required.

HUM 495 Independent Studies in Humanities

  • Units:1 - 3
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Transferable:CSU
  • Catalog Date:August 1, 2026

HUM 499 Experimental Offering in Humanities

  • Units:0.5 - 4
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Transferable:CSU
  • Catalog Date:August 1, 2026

This is the experimental courses description.

Religious Studies (RLST) Courses

RLST 299 Experimental Offering in Religious Studies

  • Units:0.5 - 4
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Catalog Date:August 1, 2026

This is the experimental courses description.

RLST 301 Introduction to World Religions

  • Units:3
  • Hours:54 hours LEC
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Advisory:Eligibility for ENGL C1000/C1000H (formerly ENGWR 300/480) or ESLW 340
  • Transferable:CSU; UC
  • General Education:Local GE L3; Cal-GETC Area 3B
  • Catalog Date:August 1, 2026

This course surveys selected major world religions. Emphasis is on the origins, development, beliefs, practices, social ethics, and ethnic/cultural issues of indigenous tribal religions, Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This course focuses on the central beliefs and practices of these religions using selected material from each religion's sacred texts and arts. In-person and/or virtual field trips may be required. This course is formerly known as HUM 355 - Introduction to World Religions. This course is not open to students who have completed HUM 355.

RLST 302 Introduction to Atheism

  • Units:3
  • Hours:54 hours LEC
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Advisory:Eligibility for ENGL C1000/C1000H (formerly ENGWR 300/480) or ESLW 340
  • Transferable:CSU; UC
  • General Education:Local GE L3; Cal-GETC Area 3B
  • Catalog Date:August 1, 2026

This academic and non-sectarian course emphasizes the historical and cultural frameworks of atheism. It takes a basic, integrated humanities approach to global non-religious traditions. This course analyzes a broad range of visual and performance arts, as well as literary documents, that explore diverse atheist philosophies over time and around the world. It reviews the difference between atheism and related conceptual traditions in creative expression. This course studies works and ideas comparatively, analyzing their relation to their contexts and to their impacts. In-person and/or virtual field trips may be required. This course is formerly known as HUM 302 - Global Humanities:
Atheism in Creativity, Thought, and Inspiration Traditions. This course is not open to students who have completed HUM 302.

RLST 310 Introduction to the Hebrew Bible

  • Units:3
  • Hours:54 hours LEC
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Advisory:Eligibility for ENGL C1000/C1000H (formerly ENGWR 300/480) or ESLW 340
  • Transferable:CSU; UC
  • General Education:Local GE L3; Cal-GETC Area 3B
  • Catalog Date:August 1, 2026

This academic and non-sectarian course provides a literary, theological, and historical approach to the Hebrew Bible (also called the Old Testament). Ancient Israelite society and beliefs prior to the Common Era are explored primarily through a study of this biblical text, supported by the study of Middle Eastern cultural artifacts, non-biblical texts, and scholarly theories and archaeological studies related to the Hebrew Bible. In-person and/or virtual field trips may be required. This course is formerly known as HUM 360 - Introduction to the Old Testament (The Hebrew Bible). This course is not open to students who have completed HUM 360.

RLST 311 Introduction to the New Testament

  • Units:3
  • Hours:54 hours LEC
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Advisory:Eligibility for ENGL C1000/C1000H (formerly ENGWR 300/480) or ESLW 340
  • Transferable:CSU; UC
  • General Education:Local GE L3; Cal-GETC Area 3B
  • Catalog Date:August 1, 2026

This academic and non-sectarian course provides a literary, theological, and historical approach to the New Testament. These canonical texts of the early Christian community are analyzed in relation to both Judaism and the Greco-Roman world. Topics include contemporaneous religious ideas about the Messiah, the afterlife, the origin of the gospels, the nature of inspiration, transmission of documents and ideas, important Jewish groups, the politics of Palestine under the Romans, and the role of Paul. In-person and/or virtual field trips may be required. This course is formerly known as HUM 365 - Introduction to the New Testament. This course is not open to students who have completed HUM 365.

RLST 313 Introduction to Islam

  • Units:3
  • Hours:54 hours LEC
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Advisory:Eligibility for ENGL C1000/C1000H (formerly ENGWR 300/480) or ESLW 340
  • Transferable:CSU; UC
  • General Education:Local GE L3; Cal-GETC Area 3B
  • Catalog Date:August 1, 2026

This course is a comprehensive introduction to Islamic cultures in a variety of geographic settings from the 7th century to the present, with emphasis on religious/philosophical concepts, and their expression in literature and the arts. It focuses on Arab, Persian, African, Asian, and American contributions. Topics include the origins and development of the religion in its formative period (the prophetic career of the Prophet Muhammad, the Qur’an, Islamic belief and ritual, Islamic law, early artistic expressions, and popular spirituality) as well as debates surrounding Islam in the contemporary world. In-person and/or virtual field trips may be required. This course is formerly known as HUM 324 - Global Islam: Culture and Civilization. This course is not open to students who have completed HUM 324.

RLST 499 Experimental Offering in Religious Studies

  • Units:0.5 - 4
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Catalog Date:August 1, 2026

This is the experimental courses description.

Catalog