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Undergraduate Courses

The Kaplan Institute is committed to bringing the humanities to undergraduates, both those majoring in various humanities fields as well as non-humanities majors. Our public lectures and workshops are open to all undergrads at NU. And unlike many other humanities centers and institutes, we also organize classes, internships, and other activities aimed primarily at undergraduates.

Our Institute offers a small selection of interdisciplinary humanities courses available to all students of the University. These small, discussion-driven classes are taught in the Institute "smart classroom" by former Institute Fellows and reflect the work a Fellow has done the previous year at the Institute. The Jean Gimbel Lane Humanities Professors (who are sometimes NU professors and sometimes visitors from other universities) also teach the Humanities Seminar on various topics. The seminar is given once each quarter to a mix of undergrad and graduate students.

Representative quotes from the enthusiastic teacher evaluations of Institute HUM classes:

  • "I learned so, so much! ...I grew tremendously as a thinker and a writer."
  • "Small class size leads to lots of discussion. ...All in all, a really enriching class."
  • "The class was very interesting and changed my way of thinking on a number of issues."
  • "Good class if you're looking for something different than what you usually take."
  • "This class was very hard work intellectually but also incredibly interesting."

The Institute administers an internship program that allows NU undergrads to work in humanities and arts non-profit organizations in Chicago (museums, arts organizations, and theatres) during the academic year or the summer; at the Northwestern end they have a faculty mentor who helps them devise and complete a research project based on the resources of the host institution. Undergrads gain valuable professional and research skills thanks to this program.

We have a special relationship with Chapin Humanities Residential College and we organize "Chapin Chats," when we bring in prominent speakers from NU or other universities for an informal presentation and discussion with members of the college.

In 2007-08, forty-eight first-year students inagurated an innovative new program for freshmen in the humanities, the Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program, by taking four linked courses that investigate one of our culture’s most enduring questions: What is the nature of "the good society"? Students in the program engaged the works of some of the great thinkers and artists who have shaped who we are as individuals and members of society by asking how we might best organize our collective life. Details about this program may be found at the Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program's website.