Humanities 103 is designed to achieve the following learning outcomes, per the BU HUB.

Aesthetic Exploration:

1. By surveying more than two millennia of art and literature, this course introduces students to various modes of aesthetic exploration.  In their homework, essays and exams, students will demonstrate both knowledge and appreciation of notable works of art and literature, including the cultural contexts in which those works were created, and will ponder their ongoing relevance.
2. Through tests, written assignments, and in-class discussions, students will demonstrate the reasoning skills and vocabulary necessary to interpret works of art and literature.
3. In class discussion and in their written work, students will evaluate and analyze a wide range of genres, modes and styles: epic, tragic, lyric and satiric literature; religious, allegorical and mimetic representation; and visual media from sculpture to painting to film.

Historical Consciousness:

1. Students will learn to understand and evaluate artworks in their respective historical and cultural contexts. They will learn to use historical evidence in evaluating interpretations of artworks.
2. Through exams, writing assignments, and in-class discussions, students will demonstrate an ability to interpret primary source material (textual, visual, or aural) using a range of interpretive skills and situating the material in its historical and cultural context.
3. In surveying specific periods in the history of literature and the arts, students will demonstrate knowledge of various philosophical and religious traditions, intellectual paradigms, forms of political organization, and socio-economic forces.  They will thereby learn how these have changed over time.

Critical Thinking:

1. Students will be able to analyze various forms of argumentation and interpretation when learning to understand and evaluate artworks.  They will identify key elements of critical thinking, including habits of distinguishing deductive from inductive modes of inference and recognizing common logical fallacies and cognitive biases. Students will learn to distinguish empirical claims about matters of fact from normative or evaluative judgments.  Students will learn to apply theories and principles in interpreting and evaluating various artworks.
2. Drawing on skills developed in class, students will be able to evaluate the validity of arguments and interpretations, including their own.  Students will learn key concepts that cultivate critical thinking and rational discourse.  They will also recognize the ways in which thinking about art may be shaped by values, moral character, and emotional responses.