Through the excellence of our faculty in the areas of teaching, scholarship, creativity and service, the mission of the Department of Arts and Humanities is to educate students to think critically so that they will then be able to express effectively their ideas in a variety of media. The multiple disciplines represented in the department and the stimulating ethnic and cultural diversity of our faculty and students both create and reflect our commitment to the truest sense of the liberal arts. The critical, historical, and global perspective we offer in the study of languages, rhetoric, and the visual and performing arts is enhanced by courses that offer hands-on applications, including those that incorporate new technologies. Such inclusion further broadens the scope of the liberal arts tradition by taking advantage of contemporary advances to build on past wisdom while anticipating future innovations.

The faculty and staff of the Department of Arts and Humanities aim at developing a student's potential for appreciation of life. The department's course offerings support all degree programs at UHD and include classes in art and art history, communication studies, drama and drama history, humanities, foreign languages including French and Spanish, and music and music history.

Students who wish to pursue a general liberal course of studies may enroll in the program leading to either the Bachelor of Arts with a major in Humanities or the Bachelor of Sciences with a major in Interdisciplinary Studies (under the College of Humanities and Social Sciences). Students seeking specialized humanities training may pursue the Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Communication Studies or Bachelor of Arts with Major in Spanish, or the Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts. Minors are also available in Art, Arts Administration, Drama, Spanish and Communication Studies.

Dr. Ed Cueva, Chair

The Eula Project

September 2 – October 7, 2010

The O’Kane Gallery on the campus of UH-Downtown begins the fall season with Houston artist Melanie Crader’s solo exhibition, The Eula Project. Crader’s installation physically transforms the gallery into a facsimile of a domestic residence that begins the intersection of the present and a life lived decades ago. Upon the discovery of a box containing mundane objects found over 20 years after her grandmother’s death, Crader began exploring the similarities between their two lives. Utilizing the contents of the box as source material, The Eula Project explores the formation of an identity as it relates to space, aesthetics, gender, social class and memory.

For more information, contact the office of the O'Kane Gallery's Director, Mark Cervenka, 713-221-8043 or visit the O'Kane Gallery.

The Arts and Humanities Department is home to nationally and internationally recognized scholars and performers in fields as diverse as the human experience. Current and prospective students will discover that Arts and Humanities professors bring this expertise into the classroom every day. We invite you to click on the links below to become acquainted with our faculty.

ART • Susan Baker • Mark Cervenka • Floyd Newsum • Azar Rejaie • COMMUNICATION • Jean Dewitt • Toni Hoang • Windy Lawrence • Susan Osterberg • Nicholas Rangel • Hank Roubicek • Deborah Shelly • Martha Shoemaker • Deloris Wanguri • Thomas Workman • DRAMA • Tom Lyttle • David Rainey • Kate Roark • Kelly Robertson • HUMANITIES • Ed Cueva • L. Kirk Hagen • MUSIC • Carrie Allen • Yvonne Kendall • Robert Wilson • SPANISH • Bill Nowak • Raquel Chiquillo • Ana-Maria Medina • Pat Mosier • Edwin Padilla

We are teachers, scholars, performers, and active members in our community. The Arts and Humanities Department sponsors and supports a wide range of activites both on and off campus. We invite everyone to visit our gallery and our theater, and to learn about our commitment to public engagement and the liberal arts in general. Follow the links below to some special places, or learn about our degree programs.

PLACES  • O'Kane Gallery • O'Kane Theatre • Center for Public Deliberation • ACTIVITIES Toastmasters • DEGREES • B.A. in Communication Studies • B.A. in Fine Arts • B.A. in Humanities • B.A. in Spanish