Humanities and Technology
Program Director
Dr. Troy Catterson
(401) 341-4678
Classes are offered at our Newport campus.
About the Ph.D. Program
The Ph.D. offers the humanities as a foundation for understanding a world of accelerating and complex change. Cultivating expertise in traditional humanities fields and building skills as contemporary interdisciplinary scholars, students pursue doctoral research that makes a difference; bridging disciplines and exploring questions of human meaning in a dynamic study of the past, present and future. The humanities Ph.D. was inaugurated in 1989 as an interdisciplinary investigation of the question, "What does it mean to be human in an age of advanced technology?" In one form or another, this question still commands attention in the 21st century. The human-technology relationship remains at the heart of the curriculum allowing students to draw insights and integrate knowledge from a variety of fields: religion, philosophy and ethics; art, literature and new media; history, politics and cultural theory. Students begin by choosing a program area of inquiry that is relevant to their preliminary research problem or issue. Building upon previous studies, professional and life experience, students choose their concentration from four areas of inquiry rooted in the scholarly expertise of faculty, the history of the doctoral program and Mercy mission of Salve Regina University:
- Technology, Science and Society
- Culture, Language and Memory
- Global Ethics and Human Security
- Community, Self and Social Transformation
Each area presents a different web of possible relationships linking a range of theoretical issues, debates and practical problems with relevant methodologies and modes of inquiry from the humanities and social sciences. Students use the program area of inquiry to leverage prior knowledge and study, work and life experience in developing their own individualized foundation that leads to problem-focused and integrated interdisciplinary research and a distinguished doctoral dissertation.
Humanities (Ph.D.) Student Learning Outcomes
At the completion of the program, students will be able to:
- Interpret and evaluate primary evidence and literature, to explain and critique subject matter and perspectives from the Humanities and from the area of inquiry and specific concentration fields. Students will be able to succinctly explain and summarize state of knowledge in fields relevant to the area of inquiry and dissertation research in oral and written form.
- Engage in research that crosses the boundaries of traditional academic disciplines.
- Demonstrate advanced knowledge of a focused area in the Humanities and in their chosen area of inquiry.
- Be adept at clearly formulating and defending a complex argument for a thesis. They will be able to choose a methodology that is appropriate to proving their thesis.
- Bring a specific area of the Humanities into dialog with a particular area of technology and/or science.
(Source: Assessment Report 2022)