The Department of Humanities and Cultural Studies announces that the 2023-2024 academic year marks the first year as a department at Boise State University. After years of strategizing across campus and identifying needs and opportunities with community partners, the department mapped out three unique tracts of study that are globally minded, community focused and culturally responsive. Humanities and Cultural Studies specializes in offering students unique opportunities to innovate from the braided relationships between texts and cultures in our global society and the histories that continue to shape our contemporary world.
Three tracts, two minors
HCS students choose their own tract in the major depending on their interests and academic and professional goals. All students take a handful of core introductory courses that provide an overview of the theories and methods that guide our work and then choose one of the following three tracts: public humanities, rhetoric and community engagement or literature, culture and ideas. The department also currently offers two minors, one in public humanities and another in critical theory.
Focus on careers
Contrary to popular and misinformed beliefs, humanities majors are sought-after by employers, delivering much needed skills in communication, critical and innovative thinking and creative and collaborative leadership. Our curriculum is designed from the ground up to help students imagine themselves as career professionals after graduation. With a growing list of community partners, site visits and guest speakers, our courses intentionally bridge the theoretical and methodological approaches we take in the classroom to real-world applications in the greater Boise community.
Ongoing projects
The department also houses many exciting ongoing projects which offer
several internship opportunities, including the Writing for Change Journal, The Third Cinema Research Group and the Migration and Diaspora Studies Research Collective.
For more information, visit the Humanities and Cultural Studies website or contact Gautam Basu Thakur, associate professor and department chair (gautambasuthakur@boisestate.edu) or Kyle Boggs, assistant professor and department media lesion (kyleboggs@boisestate.edu).