About the Collection

Although the definition of "humanities" has changed over time, generally the term refers to those branches of knowledge that are concerned with human thought and culture.  Humanities studies are intended to provide general knowledge and intellectual skills, rather than occupational or professional skills.  Subjects and their call numbers found in the Humanities Department include the following:

General Essay Collections (AC)

Includes books by Ellen Goodman, Sarah Vowell, and George Will.

Philosophy, Mythology, and Religion (B-BX)

Exception: BF (Astrology, the Occult, and Witchcraft), located in the Business, Science and Technology Department.  Books on Freemasonry and the Knights Templar are located in the Social Science and History Department. 

• B - BH -- Philosophy -- Logic -- Aesthetics 
• BJ -- Ethics and Etiquette
• BL -- Religion -- General Works -- Comparative Religions -- Eastern and African Religions -- Atheism
• BM -- Judaism
• BP -- Islam -- Bahai Faith -- Theosophy 
  • Nation of Islam
  • Moorish Science Temple
• BQ -- Buddhism
• BR -- Christianity -- Fathers of the Church -- Christian History and Biography 
• BS -- Bibles and Bible Study
  • Bibles in different versions and languages
  • People in the Bible
  • Bible commentary -- Old and New Testaments and Apocrypha
• BT -- Theology
• BV -- Practical Theology
  • Christian worship -- symbols -- rituals -- prayer
  • Church management
  • Missions
  • Living a Christian life
• BX -- Christian Denominations -- Catholic -- Orthodox Eastern -- Protestant

Language, Literature, and the Dramatic Arts, including Motion Pictures and Television (P-PT) 

Movies on videocassette and DVD are located in the Sights and Sounds Department.  Novels and short stories (including foreign language fiction) are found in the Fiction Department.

• P -- History of Languages -- LInguistics -- Mass Media & Communication Studies
• PA -- Greek and Latin Languages and Literature (Homer, Sophocles, Virgil, etc.)
• PB - PD; PF - PM -- Foreign Languages -- Dictionaries -- Grammars -- Literature
• PE -- English Language -- Grammar -- Vocabulary -- ESL
• PN -- Literature -- Writing -- Performing Arts
  • Literary history and criticism
  • Books on writing and getting published
  • Theater -- radio -- television -- film
  • Journalism
  • Quotations
• PQ - PT -- Literature
  • French -- Italian -- Spanish
  • British -- Canadian -- American
  • German -- Dutch -- Scandinavian

History of Books, Book Collecting, and Library Science (Z-ZA)

Exception: Z40-Z285 (Autographs, Printing, and Book Design), located in the Business, Science and Technology Department.