Department of Humanities and Communication
Welcome!
Dear Students:
As you begin to think about your future and to make your plans, remember that whether you want to be an engineer or a scientist or a writer, you will always find yourself in a work environment that is richly diverse: ethnically, linguistically, and politically. You will also find that you will be near people with whom you may not agree intellectually and near others who are different in their social manners and religious convictions.
No other disciplines are better situated to prepare you for the challenge of societal complexity than Humanities and Communication, the Liberal Arts. Both provide foundations on which you can build -- practical skills of writing and critical thinking, as well as in intellectual objectivity and analysis. You will learn the value of coherence and cogency while also conducting research using both library and internet; you will write reports and proposal, and design manuals and webpages. You will also learn how to speak another language (French, Spanish, or German), and articulate your ideas and propositions using state-of-the art computer technology. These are preparations not only for someone who wants a good job but for someone who wants to write a book or start a corporation, pursue graduate studies or serve as a management consultant.
One of the advantages of Florida Tech is the mix of disciplines in close proximity to each other. The campus is small and students who work on engineering projects will find themselves near those thinking about Platonic Forms; others who learn C++ will find themselves near students practicing journalism or studying about Handel, contemporary film, political theory, Shakespeare, the Civil War, or the environment. It is very likely that in your Humanities courses you will find students who aim at becoming doctors of medicine sitting near students who want to become webmasters and designers, historians and teachers and copyeditors. I assure you that if you expect a degree program and a university to challenge your mind and heart, then you are at the right webpage.
A good program should succeed in its commitment to its students. It should show them how to wonder at the genius of Dante in the same way that it shows them how to write proposals or launch a public relations campaign. It must also convince students that careful thinking, meticulous writing, and imaginative planning are essential not just for success but for corporate survival, that all jobs in the 21st century will require solid writing and analytical skills, computer proficiency, and intellectual openness.
If you are willing to make the commitment to achieve those requirements, the faculty in the Department of Humanities and Communication will do their utmost to realize them for you.
Department Head, Humanities & Communication