Interdisciplinary Concentrations

While all Furman students are required to successfully complete a major in order to receive a bachelor's degree, students may choose to supplement their major by concentrating on a specific topic from the perspective of different academic disciplines. To assist this effort, the university has identified certain groups of existing courses, the focus of each group being a specific area deemed appropriate for an academic concentration.

A concentration typically consists of 16 to 24 semester hours (four to six courses) of related course work. Furman offers interdisciplinary concentrations in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies, Black Cultures in the Americas, English for Speakers of Other Languages, Environmental Studies, Latin American Studies, Poverty Studies and Women's and Gender Studies.

Declare a concentration or review the concentration committee faculty rosters

Ancient Greek and Roman Studies
Ancient Greek and Roman Studies refers to those disciplines which study the culture, civilization and heritage of Greece and Rome from roughly the Bronze Age (3000-1000 B.C.) to the fifth century A.D., and those parts of the Mediterranean basin, Europe, Africa and Asia where these ancient civilizations either originated or spread. The concentration includes disciplines that deal with ideas and themes that originated in the classical world and profoundly influenced later thinkers and institutions. For more information contact Dr. Richard Prior.

Black Cultures in the Americas
The concentration provides students with critical, theoretically informed engagements with the complex, ever-changing cultures, histories, politics, and status of the diverse peoples of African descent who live in and help shape the various societies of the Western hemisphere. More specifically, it enables students to explore the complexity of black life and the ways in which race, gender, social class and sexual identities are constituted not in isolation but by and through each other, the larger white "mainstream," and other immigrant formations. For more information contact Dr. Cherie Maiden.

English for Speakers of Other Languages
English is the "lingua franca" of the twenty-first century. It has become the international language of business, science, technology, and travel and is the most widely learned second language in the world today. The concentration in English for Speakers of Other Languages will provide students with the opportunity to gain essential background knowledge, expertise and experience relevant not only for working with and assisting foreign nationals and immigrants both personally and professionally, but also for adult literacy development in the United States, teaching English overseas as a foreign language or in America as a second language. For more information contact Dr. Jerry Cox.

Environmental Studies
Many of the problems that will face humanity in the 21st century will be environmental. The expanding human population and dwindling supplies of oil, water and arable land could de-stabilize economic, political and social institutions. The concentration in Environmental Studies offers a program of study that teaches participating students how the Earth functions as a system and supports life; how the growing human population is transforming this Earth system; the complex relationships between culture (social, political, religious, and economic systems) and the environment; and that solutions are constructed in this social context. The concentration also provides a course experience in which students discover the interdisciplinary nature of environmental problem solving and work in teams to address environmental issues. For more information contact Dr. Greg Lewis.

Latin American Studies
Latin American Studies offers students a concentration that complements their major and provides a broad perspective on Latin America. Topics of study include, but are not limited to literature, politics, history, society, ecology and the environment. Some courses are grounded in problem solving; others are oriented toward critical thinking. For more information contact Dr.Jeremy Cass.

Poverty Studies
A coherent and intentional approach to cultivate a sense of social justice and civic responsibility, especially with respect to those many persons, both locally and globally, who awaken daily to lives of poverty. The concentration addresses the definition and measurement of poverty, the experience of living in poverty, historical conceptions of poverty, the causes of poverty, the obligation to address the causes of poverty, the rights and claims of the poor, addressing the detrimental aspects of poverty, and differences of opinion regarding the causes of poverty. For more information contact Dr. John Shelley.

Women's and Gender Studies
Women's and Gender Studies is a mode of inquiry that attempts to distinguish among the various forces that shape gender roles. As such it treats an important dimension of human experience often ignored in conventional curricula. Courses in Women's and Gender Studies examine women in different historical and modern societies and the ways in which political, social and economic factors affect their status and outlook. For more information contact Dr. Carmela Epright or Dr. Nick Radel.