These courses emphasize the study of cultural literacy, humanistic activities, and the artistic expression of human beings. Students evaluate and interpret the ways in which people through the ages in different cultures have responded to themselves and the world around them in artistic and cultural creation. Students also learn to value aesthetic understanding and to incorporate these concepts when constructing value judgments. This area of emphasis prepares students for a variety of majors within the humanities discipline, including creative writing, English, humanities and art, linguistics, literature and writing studies, museum studies, religious studies, and philosophy. It also provides lower-division preparation for a wide range of majors within the communication studies discipline. Upon completion of this program, the student will be able to develop communication, critical thinking, and intellectual skills that effectively prepare him/her for lifelong learning and for advanced study in a wide range of majors at the university level.