The College of Arts and Sciences offers students the opportunity to pursue studies in programs that are administered jointly by several departments within the College. Students may choose from several majors and/or minors or create a self-designed program that fulfills their individual educational requirements.
The African American Studies Program seeks to promote the interest and knowledge of the African diaspora experience through quality teaching and research. Multidisciplinary in scope, African American Studies offers a selection of courses in English, history, geography, political science, sociology, philosophy, religion, and language. Courses affiliated with the Program are listed each fall and spring semester in the University Schedule of Classes under the AAS prefix.
By completing 21 hours of course work students can earn a minor in African American Studies. This minor offers a cultural, historical, and literary base that can strengthen any major in the Humanities or the Social Sciences. For additional information on the minor, see the African American Studies listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.
Visit the African American Studies Web site at: http://www.uky.edu/AS/AASRP/.
American studies draws together diverse disciplines to examine the historical and contemporary forms and issues of our national life. The program in American Culture takes as its field of study any peoples, cultural expressions and social institutions, however or whenever identified as “American.” Program curricula link faculty, courses, and students across a range of humanities and social science departments.
The minor centers on two team-taught, interdisciplinary seminars on selected topics in American studies. Students electing the minor are also encouraged to take a range of elective courses to complement their major. The minor in American Culture prepares students for further graduate or professional training, or for work in education, government, or business. For additional information on the minor, see the American Culture listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.
Visit the American Culture Web site at: http://www.uky.edu/AS/AmericanCulture/welcome.html.
The Appalachian Studies minor offers students with serious interests in Appalachian regional studies an opportunity to pursue a minor concentration to complement a major in one of the University's professional or liberal arts programs. This interdisciplinary program enables students to comprehend more fully the history, social structure, and culture of the region -- its people, its problems, and its future. The Appalachian Studies Program Director serves as faculty advisor to undergraduate minors and as faculty sponsor of the Appalachian Student Council, an organization for students with an interest in or ties to the Appalachian region.
Faculty and students interested in Appalachian Studies work in cooperation with the Appalachian Center, which was created in 1977, to fulfill the University's research and service missions in this region. For additional information on the minor, see the Appalachian Studies listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.
Visit the Appalachian Studies Web site at: http://www.uky.edu/AS/AppalStudies/welcome.html.
Social theory is the theoretical analysis of social life, embracing substantive questions about the composition, structure and development of social phenomena as well as epistemological issues concerning their comprehension. Today, it is one of the most significant and fastest growing arenas in the humanities and social sciences, bringing together scholars from a multitude of disciplines to consider such topics as the social constitution of individuals in contemporary and historical contexts, the nature of the political, the structure of agency, cultural and economic processes associated with globalization, and the constitution of public space and civil society.
The University of Kentucky's Committee on Social Theory was formed in 1989 to facilitate multidisciplinary teaching and research in this area. Underlying the initiative was the realization that, because many social theoretical issues refuse containment within extant disciplinary demarcations, they are best studied within a multidisciplinary framework. The Committee was formed to contest traditional disciplinary narrowness by fostering trans-disciplinary theoretical understandings and informing empirical research with them. UK social theory is especially concerned with building theoretical bridges between the humanities and social sciences. Today, the Committee includes some 50 faculty associates, spanning fourteen departments and five schools, and offers students and faculty an innovative opportunity to pursue social thought in a genuinely dialogical and multidisciplinary fashion. Its activities form a unique and propitious environment in which to study the expanding and increasingly important field of social theoretical issues.
Visit the Committee on Social Theory Web site at: http://www.uky.edu/AS/SocTheo/.
Environmental considerations permeate almost every facet of modern life, and concern for "the environment" is practically universal as we approach the twenty-first century. The minor in Environmental Studies is designed to provide students with the opportunity to become conversant in a range of environmental topics, whether as private citizens in their daily lives or as professional members of corporate, government, legal, medical, and educational circles.
The minor draws on topics and perspectives from the natural and physical sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities to underscore the interdisciplinary nature of environmental issues and problems. Students taking the minor are encouraged to integrate the program with their major study focus in order to gain a competitive advantage in grappling with environmental topics. For additional information on the minor, see the Environmental Studies listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.
Visit the Environmental Studies Web site at: http://sweb.uky.edu/~calevi00/environmental/index2.htm.
The minor in Indian Culture is designed to allow students to develop a more profound understanding of Indian culture. The curriculum is strongly interdisciplinary, encompassing courses in linguistics, anthropology, English, geography, mathematics, philosophy, political science, and sociology.
Students completing the minor will possess (1) an ability to read Sanskrit (vital for comprehending Indian culture); (2) a well-rounded, multidisciplinary understanding of the culture and geography of India and of contemporary Indian society and politics; and (3) a high degree of preparedness to pursue careers in business or teaching that require knowledge of Indian society and its traditions. For additional information on the minor, see the Indian Culture listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.
For further information, contact Professor Gregory Stump (English and Linguistics), 1253 Patterson Office Tower, (859) 257-1184; Professor Paul Karan (Geography), 1439 Patterson Office Tower, (859) 257-6953; or Professor Avinash Sathaye (Mathematics), 703 Patterson Office Tower, (859) 257-8832.
The interdisciplinary minor in Islamic Studies will provide the opportunity to study the culture, language, literature, religion, history and philosophy of Muslim peoples throughout the world from antiquity to the present. Students will acquire a rounded understanding of Islamic culture, the ability to interpret information and news from the Middle East and elsewhere in an independent way, with understanding of the issues from the perspective of the Muslim countries, and will be prepared to pursue careers that require a knowledge of Islamic civilization. For additional information on the minor, see the Islamic Studies listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.
The Japan Studies Program supports a community of Japan area specialists who teach and pursue research in the University's various departments (geography, history, English, political science, Russian and Eastern studies, sociology) and professional schools (architecture and communications). In addition to teaching and research responsibilities, the faculty lecture to outside groups, write extensively for both scholarly journals and popular media, author books on Japan, and participate in national professional associations. The Program responds to and fosters growing American interest (particularly in Kentucky) in Japan.
The emphasis of the Program is on social sciences and humanities, including Japanese cultural geography, history, languages and literature, films, society, and environment. In this sense the Japanese Studies Program at the University of Kentucky is unique and has been well received nationally as well as by our students as reflected in growing enrollment figures.
The Japan Studies minor complements existing majors and prepares students with the skills that are required to work with Japan given its integral place in international business. Students will also become well-versed in the culture and geography of Japan, its history, arts, and environment. This background will prepare students for Japan-related careers in the United States and abroad. For additional information on the minor, see the Japan Studies listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.
The University of Kentucky offers a joint major that combines foreign language proficiency with training in economics to prepare students for employment in enterprises doing business internationally. The program prepares students to succeed after graduation by combining high-quality classroom instruction with practical in-country learning opportunities. The program provides preparation for participation in internships and exchange programs and builds foundation for a future career in international business, or degrees in international law, an MBA in international business, or the Patterson School of International Diplomacy. For additional information on the major, see the Foreign Languages and International Economics listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.
The topical major was created for students whose interests cut across traditional departmental and college lines and who want to be on the “cutting edge” of today's job market. It allows students to satisfy a niche that could not be fulfilled in any of the college's traditional departments. For additional information, see the listing on topical majors under the College of Arts and Sciences.
Visit the Japan Studies Web site at: http://www.uky.edu/AS/RAE/Japan/jpnstudy.html.
The interdisciplinary minor in Judaic Studies at the University of Kentucky provides students with the opportunity to become acquainted with the culture, language, literature, religion, history, and philosophy of the Jewish people from antiquity to the present. For additional information on the minor, see the Judaic Studies listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.
Visit the Judaic Studies Web site at: http://www.uky.edu/AS/JudaicStudies/welcome.html.
Linguistics is an interdisciplinary program combining resources from English, anthropology, psychology, philosophy, computer science, and the foreign languages, to develop an understanding of the nature and implications of human language. The Linguistics program provides solid foundations in phonological and grammatical analysis, as well as opportunities to investigate the social, cultural, psychological, and physical aspects of language use. For additional information on linguistics, see the Linguistics listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.
Visit the Linguistics Program Web site at: http://www.uky.edu/AS/Linguistics.
The Women's Studies Program at the University of Kentucky investigates the cultures and contributions of women worldwide from feminist/womanist perspectives. The purpose of the program is to develop and coordinate an interdisciplinary curriculum in Women's Studies at the undergraduate and graduate levels; support critical research, teaching and public programming in Women's Studies that take into account various beliefs about gender, race, class, and sexuality; and foster interdisciplinary collaboration. The Women's Studies Program aims to serve the University and the Commonwealth through promotion of equity and commitment to excellence.
The Women's Studies Program offers an undergraduate minor that includes courses in Women's Studies and related courses in a variety of departments. For additional information on the minor, see the Women's Studies listing under the College of Arts and Sciences.
The Women's Studies Program assists students who wish to develop undergraduate majors in Women's Studies under the Topical Major Program. For additional information, see the listing on topical majors under the College of Arts and Sciences.
The Women's Studies Program offers a 13-hour graduate certificate. For information, please see the Women's Studies Web site or the Graduate School Bulletin.
Visit the Women's Studies Program on their Web site at: http://www.uky.edu/AS/WomenStudies/welcome.html.
