The College of Arts & Sciences has launched its new Department of Humanities, a consolidation of the former Departments of English, History and Modern Languages.
The new department is located on the fourth floor of DeMoss Hall.
Interim Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences Samuel Smith shared that the department was created to encourage greater collaboration between the three disciplines for a more effective academic experience.
“The best academic approach to any liberal arts subject is to be somewhat interdisciplinary,” Smith said. “The primary goal here is to really enhance the student experience in the liberal arts, so that they are in a department that really is paying attention to what you might call cross-disciplinary approaches.”
Chair of the Department of Humanities Stephanie Blankenship said that the departments began to consolidate mid-June. Now, the former Departments of English, History and Modern Languages are housed in two adjacent suites.
Blankenship mentioned that up until 2015, English and Modern Languages were contained in a single department.
“It was a natural fit that we came back together,” Blankenship said. “Our areas so naturally intersect … we used to be together, so in a lot of ways it was like coming home.”
The new department will allow for a deeper understanding of the humanities across the three courses of study. Blankenship explained that language and culture are already closely intertwined.
“That’s the part we’re after: getting our students to understand the human experience … and that encapsulates everything from history to the languages of English, Spanish or French … they’re just so closely connected,”Blankenship said.
Smith emphasized that each course of study — English, history and modern languages — remains distinct.
“Nothing changes as far as the degrees … it’s just that they’re now all housed under one department,” Smith said.
Additionally, Smith explained each course of study will be led by an area coordinator, or a lead faculty heading up their specific area of study.
The interdisciplinary nature of the Department of Humanities will allow for new kinds of degree programs and course types that will draw from each of the different areas of study.
“Right now, we have standalone English degrees and Spanish degrees, or TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) or history, but the exciting possibility is in the future maybe having one that intersects all three,” Blankenship said. “We’re looking forward to what the future possibilities are.”
Smith also commented on the possibility of new cross-sectional courses, bringing together characteristics of the three areas of study into special combined classes.
“What I envision is that there will be more cross-listed classes, possibly,” Smith said. “There’s all kinds of creative opportunities that … faculty can work out as they are in one department. … We want history majors that will love literature and we want literature students who will love history, and I see that happening in modern language students as well.”
The new department aims to bolster Liberty University’s presence in the humanities and foster a stronger understanding of the human experience in relation to living as an image bearer of the Lord.
“There’s never been a time in my view when there’s been a greater need for … Christian academics, especially in the humanities … you are dealing with human action. You’re dealing with the patterns of human behavior. You are dealing with God-given elements like language,” Smith said.
The department hopes the consolidation will also remind students where all creativity ultimately stems from.
“When you read a poem, when you read a short story or an academic paper, all of those things are possible only because the people that produce them are made in the image of God. And so, to me, that’s how I see the importance of the humanities because human beings are image bearers of God,” Smith said.
Smith also commented on how the department will help strengthen Liberty’s mission of Training Champions for Christ.
“History must be important to the Christian. Language must be important — English, foreign languages — because … those are the vehicles through which you convey truth,” Smith said.
According to Blankenship, a degree in the field of the humanities will equip students to thrive in a variety of careers.
“There are very few fields that you cannot go into with a degree in humanities,” said Blankenship. “It allows you to enter a wide variety of (careers).”
The Department of Humanities is located in suites 4334 and 4382 on the fourth floor of DeMoss. For more information, visit www.liberty.edu/arts-sciences/humanities.
Rath is a news reporter for The Liberty Champion.