An interdisciplinary Degree focusing on Literature, Philosophy, History and Religion
Overview
The BA (Honors) in Comparative Humanities degree program offers you an exciting opportunity to study several disciplines – Philosophy, History, Literature and Religious Studies – in the humanities both critically and comparatively. You will be challenged to reflect on a range of theories about human nature and society, drawing from diverse cultures, histories, and traditions.
This will mean learning to think flexibly and differently about the many problems we encounter in various professional domains. You will develop a heightened sensitivity to the way our rapidly globalising age of transnational capital has reshaped our understanding of concepts such as self, identity, obligation, community, and nation.
It also means knowing how to use a critical framework to think through a difficult problem and, more crucially, knowing how to articulate and assess that problem in language that is at once understandable and graceful.
As a Comparative Humanities graduate you will be able to build careers in fields ranging from academia to corporate leadership, where an insightful, perceptive, agile mind is an obvious mark of distinction.
Program Learning Outcomes
Students who graduate with a degree in Comparative Humanities will be able to:
- Work comparatively and critically across several disciplines and traditions.
- Discuss the genealogy and development of major figures, periods, and ideas in the disciplines of Philosophy, Literature, Religion, and History.
- Synthesize multiple points of view in working with a series of thematically related texts, traditions, or disciplinary perspectives.
- Apply a range of ethical, critical, and theoretical frameworks to contemporary intellectual concerns.
- Produce a theoretically informed close reading of a central work in dialogue with several other works and traditions.
- Navigate databases and assess primary and secondary materials.
Requirements for the Major
A major in BA (Honors) in Comparative Humanities requires completion of 37 courses and a minimum of 124 credit hours of coursework, with a minimum CGPA of 2.33, as shown in the table below:
|
Requirements |
Course Category |
Number of Courses to Complete |
| Habib Liberal Core | University Core | 10 |
| CH Program Core (7 courses) |
Critical Inquiry and the Humanities | 1 |
| Conceptual Genealogies | 1 | |
| World Historical Figures: Leadership, Judgment, and Authority I | 1 | |
| Comparative Hermeneutics I (Major Works and Traditions Seminar) | 1 | |
| Comparative Hermeneutics II (A Major Work in Dialogue with its Tradition Seminar) | 1 | |
| Criticism Dissent and the Ethics of Disagreement | 1 | |
| Capstone Research Seminar | 1 2 | |
| Primary Concentration1 (6 courses) |
1. Religious Studies | 6 |
| Introduction to World Religions/What is World Religion? | 1 | |
| Comparative approaches, methods and key issues in the study of religion | 1 | |
| Any Level RELS Elective | 2 | |
| Upper-Level RELS Elective | 2 | |
| 2. History | 6 | |
| Global Histories | 1 | |
| Understanding Histories: Historiography and Historical Methods | 1 | |
| Any Level HIST Elective | 2 | |
| Upper-Level HIST Elective | 2 | |
| 3. Literature | 6 | |
| What is World Literature? | 1 | |
| Introduction to Literary Theory and Criticism | 1 | |
| Any Level LIT Elective | 2 | |
| Upper-Level LIT Elective | 2 | |
| 4. Philosophy | 6 | |
| What is Philosophy? Or Introduction to Western Philosophy | 1 | |
| Any Level PHIL Elective | 3 | |
| Upper-Level PHIL Elective | 2 | |
| Secondary Concentration1 (4 courses) |
1. Religious Studies | 4 |
| Introduction to World Religions/What is World Religion? | 1 | |
| Comparative approaches, methods and key issues in the study of religion | 1 | |
| Any Level RELS Elective | 1 | |
| Upper-Level RELS Elective | 1 | |
| 2. History | 4 | |
| Global Histories | 1 | |
| Understanding Histories: Historiography and Historical Methods | 1 | |
| Any Level HIST Elective | 1 | |
| Upper-Level HIST Elective | 1 | |
| 3. Literature | 4 | |
| What is World Literature? | 1 | |
| Introduction to Literary Theory and Criticism | 1 | |
| Any Level LIT Elective | 1 | |
| Upper-Level LIT Elective | 1 | |
| 4. Philosophy | 4 | |
| What is Philosophy? Or Introduction to Western Philosophy | 1 | |
| Any Level PHIL Elective | 2 | |
| Upper-Level PHIL Elective | 1 | |
| CH Electives | Electives (any level) | 2 |
| Free Electives | Free Electives | 8 |
| Overall | 37 | |
1 Either a double concentration or one primary and one secondary concentration.
2 Capstone research paper, written in HUM 402: Capstone Research Seminar, earning a passing grade (C minus) by the instructor/s.
- Evaluation of capstone paper in HUM 402 will determine if it has the potential to develop into a thesis. A minus on the capstone paper is a minimally required qualification for students to pursue the possibility of writing a final thesis.
Note 1 – An E-Portfolio, compiled over 8 semesters of study, and evaluated as satisfactory by committee upon completion of capstone.
Note 2 – Final thesis, which is a requirement for students graduating with distinction requires students to have earned a minimum of A minus in HUM 402 – Capstone Research Seminar. Students who don’t qualify for the final thesis may undertake the thesis with Program approval.
- Requires an additional Independent Study of 3 CH in the 8th semester, with the student’s thesis advisor.
- Students pursuing a thesis option are to take an IS of min 3 cr hrs in lieu of free elective 8 of 8.
4-Year Academic Journey
The students of CH Major are required to complete a minimum of 37 courses and 124 credit-hours over their 4-year journey (8 semesters). Each student is required to complete a Primary Concentration and a Secondary Concentration from the 4 available Concentration areas – 1) Religious Studies, 2) History, 3) Literature, and 4) Philosophy. A set of recommended courses (semester-wise) fall under the following course categories:
Category 1 – Habib Liberal Core (HLC), also known as the University Core, is a common curriculum designed for all Habib University students as a mandatory requirement. A total of 10 courses are included in the HLC/University Core.
Category 2 – CH Program Core entails a set of mandatory courses for the CH Majors. A total of 07 courses are included in the CH Program Core.
Category 3 – Primary Concentration. Each student has to complete a total of 06 courses within their selected Primary Concentration.
Category 4 – Secondary Concentration. Each student has to complete a total of 04 courses within their Secondary Concentration.
Category 5 – CH Electives. Each student has to complete a total of 02 CH Electives of any level from any of the 4 Concentration areas.
Category 6 – Free Electives. Each student has to complete at least 08 Free Elective courses (with a minimum of 24 credit-hours). Students may take 1 Cr and 2 Cr courses to fulfill but must complete 24 credit-hours in Free Elective category.
| Courses to complete | Credit hours | Course Category | Comments | |
| First Semester (5 courses) | ||||
| CORE 101 – Rhetoric and Communication | 4 | University Core (1 of 10) | ||
| A course in Philosophical Form of Thought | Min 3 | University Core (2 of 10) | All PHIL course codes (3 credit-hour and above) fall in this category. | |
| A course in Formal Reasoning Form of Thought (CS 101 – Algorithmic Problem Solving or CORE 111 – Logical Problem Solving) | 4 | University Core (3 of 10) | ||
| HUM 101 – Critical Inquiry and the Humanities | 4 | CH Program Core (1 of 7) | ||
| Free Elective* | 3 | Free Elective (1 of 8) | ||
| Second Semester (5 courses) | ||||
| CORE 102 – What is Modernity | 4 | University Core (4 of 10) | ||
| RELS 1xx – Introduction to World Religions/What is World Religion? | Min 3 | Primary Concentration – (Requirement 1 of 2) | For Primary Concentration in Religious Studies | A 2 course sequence within the Primary Concentration  |
| RELS 223 – Comparative approaches, methods and key issues in the study of religion | Min 3 | Primary Concentration – (Requirement 2 of 2) | For Primary Concentration in Religious Studies | |
| OR | ||||
| HIST 1xx/2xx – Global Histories | Min 3 | Primary Concentration – (Requirement 1 of 2) | For Primary Concentration in History | |
| HIST 227 – Understanding Histories: Historiography and Historical Methods | Min 3 | Primary Concentration – (Requirement 2 of 2) | For Primary Concentration in History | |
| OR | ||||
| LIT 1xx/2xx What is World Literature? | Min 3 | Primary Concentration – (Requirement 1 of 2) | For Primary Concentration in Literature | |
| LIT 225 – Introduction to Literary Theory and Criticism | Min 3 | Primary Concentration – (Requirement 2 of 2) | For Primary Concentration in Literature | |
| OR | ||||
| PHIL 200 – What is Philosophy?** or PHIL 122 – Introduction to Western Philosophy**” | Min 3 | Primary Concentration – (Requirement 1 of 1) | For Primary Concentration in Philosophy | |
| Philosophy Concentration Elective | Min 3 | Primary Concentration – (Elective 1 of 5) | This Elective is from the declared Primary Concentration area | |
| Free Elective* | 3 | Free Elective (2 & 3 of 8) | ||
| Third Semester (5 courses) | ||||
| CORE 201 – Pakistan and Modern South Asia | 4 | University Core (5 of 10) | ||
| A course in Quantitative Reasoning Form of Thought | Min 3 | University Core (6 of 10) | ||
| CORE 200 – Scientific Methods | 3 | University Core (7 of 10) | ||
| HUM 201 – Conceptual Genealogies | 4 | CH Program Core (2 of 7) | ||
| Primary Concentration Elective (In RELS, HIST and LIT) | Min 3 | Primary Concentration – (Elective 1 of 4) | This Elective is from the declared Primary Concentration area | Elective within Primary Concentration  |
| OR | ||||
| Primary Concentration Elective (In PHIL**) | Min 3 | Primary Concentration – (Elective 2 of 5) | This Elective is from Philosophy Concentration | |
| Fourth Semester (5 courses) | ||||
| CORE 202 – Hikma I | 4 | University Core (8 of 10) | ||
| HUM 200 – World Historical Figures: Leadership, Judgment, and Authority | 4 | CH Program Core (3 of 7) | ||
| Primary Concentration Elective (In RELS, HIST and LIT) | Min 3 | Primary Concentration – (Elective 2 of 4) | This Elective is from the declared Primary Concentration area | Elective within Primary Concentration |
| OR | ||||
| Primary Concentration Elective (In PHIL**) | Min 3 | Primary Concentration – (Elective 3 of 5) | This Elective is from Philosophy Concentration | |
| RELS 1xx – Introduction to World Religions/What is World Religion? | Min 3 | Secondary Concentration – (Requirement 1 of 2) | For Secondary Concentration in Religious Studies | 1st course within Secondary Concentration |
| OR | ||||
| HIST 1xx/2xx – Global Histories | Min 3 | Secondary Concentration – (Requirement 1 of 2) | For Secondary Concentration in History | |
| OR | ||||
| LIT 1xx/2xx What is World Literature? | Min 3 | Secondary Concentration – (Requirement 1 of 2) | For Secondary Concentration in Literature | |
| OR | ||||
| PHIL 200 – What is Philosophy?** or PHIL 122 – Introduction to Western Philosophy**” |
Min 3 | Secondary Concentration – (Requirement 1 of 1) | For Secondary Concentration in Philosophy | |
| Free Elective* | 3 | Free Elective (4 of 8) | ||
| Fifth Semester (5 courses) | ||||
| CORE 121 – Jehan-e-Urdu | 4 | University Core (9 of 10) | ||
| HUM 301 – Comparative Hermeneutics I (Major Works and Traditions Seminar) | 4 | CH Program Core (4 of 7) | ||
| Primary Concentration Elective (In RELS, HIST and LIT at Upper-level) | Min 3 | Primary Concentration – (Elective 3 of 4) | This Elective is from the declared Primary Concentration area. | Elective within Primary Concentration |
| OR | ||||
| Primary Concentration Elective (In PHIL** at Upper-level) | Min 3 | Primary Concentration – (Elective 4 of 5) | This Elective is from Philosophy Concentration | |
| RELS 223 – Comparative approaches, methods and key issues in the study of religion | Min 3 | Secondary Concentration – (Requirement 2 of 2) | For Secondary Concentration in Religious Studies | 2nd course within Secondary Concentration |
| OR | ||||
| HIST 227 – Understanding Histories: Historiography and Historical Methods | Min 3 | Secondary Concentration – (Requirement 2 of 2) | For Secondary Concentration in History | |
| OR | ||||
| LIT 225 – Introduction to Literary Theory and Criticism | Min 3 | Secondary Concentration – (Requirement 2 of 2) | For Secondary Concentration in Literature | |
| OR | ||||
| Philosophy Concentration Elective** | Min 3 | Secondary Concentration – (Elective 1 of 3) | This Elective is from Philosophy Concentration | |
| Free Elective* | 3 | Free Elective (5 of 8) | ||
| Sixth Semester (4 courses) | ||||
| A course in Creative Practice Form of Thought | Min 3 | University Core (10 of 10) | ||
| HUM 401 – Comparative Hermeneutics II (A Major Work in Dialogue with its Tradition Seminar) | 4 | CH Program Core (5 of 7) | ||
| HUM 300 – Criticism Dissent and the Ethics of Disagreement | 4 | CH Program Core (6 of 7) | ||
| Primary Concentration Elective (In RELS, HIST and LIT at Upper-level) | Min 3 | Primary Concentration – (Elective 4 of 4) | This Elective is from the declared Primary Concentration area | Elective within Primary Concentration |
| OR | ||||
| Primary Concentration Elective (In PHIL** at Upper-level) | Min 3 | Primary Concentration – (Elective 5 of 5) | This Elective is from Philosophy Concentration | |
| Seventh Semester (4 courses) | ||||
| Elective | Min 3 | CH Electives (1 of 2) | Any level Elective course in HIST, LIT, PHIL, RELS | |
| HUM 402 – Capstone Research Seminar | 4 | CH Program Core (7 of 7) | ||
| Secondary Concentration Elective (In RELS, HIST and LIT) | Min 3 | Secondary Concentration – (Elective 1 of 2) | This Elective is from the declared Secondary Concentration area | Elective within Primary Concentration |
| OR | ||||
| Secondary Concentration Elective (In PHIL**) | Min 3 | Secondary Concentration – (Elective 2 of 3) | This Elective is from Philosophy Concentration | |
| Free Elective* | 3 | Free Elective (6 of 8) | ||
| Eighth Semester (4 courses) | ||||
| Elective | Min 3 | CH Electives (2 of 2) | Any level Elective course in HIST, LIT, PHIL, RELS | |
| Secondary Concentration Elective (In RELS, HIST and LIT at Upper-level) | Min 3 | Secondary Concentration – (Elective 2 of 2) | This Elective is from the declared Secondary Concentration area | Elective within Primary Concentration |
| OR | ||||
| Secondary Concentration Elective (In PHIL** at Upper-level) | Min 3 | Secondary Concentration – (Elective 3 of 3) | This Elective is from Philosophy Concentration | |
| Free Elective* | 3 | Free Elective (7 of 8) | ||
| Free Elective*** | Min 3 | Free Elective (8 of 8) | Students pursuing Thesis option are to take an Independent Study (min 3 credit-hours) in lieu of free elective 8 of 8 | |
Note –
*Electives (program/free) need to be taken so that over all total credit hours are 124.
**Philosophy Concentration at Primary and Secondary level has only 1 required course. Rest are all electives.
*** Students, pursuing thesis option, are to take an IS (min 3 Cr Hrs) in lieu of free elective 8 of 8.
“Note 1 – Students can double count free electives in the grid towards completion of requirements for declared concentrations in HIST, LIT, PHIL, or RELS. This is applicable for students pursuing beyond the minimally required one primary and one secondary concentration.
Note 2 – Regarding “Free Electives”, students have the option to take 1 and 2 credit hour courses, with the understanding that they’ll have to complete the total of 124 credit hours coursework (and a minimum of 37 courses) minimally required for graduation. The “”Free Electives”” descriptor refers to a category of course, rather than a specific course.
Note 3 – Two electives within Primary Concentration and one elective within Secondary Concentration must be upper-level electives.
Career Prospects
As a Comparative Humanities graduate you will be remarkably versatile, making you ideally suited to wide range of professions:
- Advertising
- Banking
- Education
- Entrepreneurship
- Fundraising and grant writing
- Human Resource management
- Insurance
- Journalism
- Law and politics
- Media and communications
- NGOs
- Public relations
- Publishing houses
