A journey of the emotions : integrating opera history into honors humanities

The task of incorporating music into an Honors Humanities course can be daunting to anyone who is not a musician, for the language of music and music theory can seem incomprehensible to those unfamiliar with it. But, focusing on the philosophical reasoning behind specific movements of music can be the pathway to studying the role music has played in human history. By examining history and society through the lens of opera's development, it is possible to link many humanities fields: art, drama, literature, philosophy, history, and music. Opera synthesizes all of these fields, while providing a unique, additional voice to history's ongoing conversation about the human experience. This project designs an Honors 202 course that uses opera history as its underlying, guiding concept. Through weekly lesson plans, discussion questions, readings, listenings, and assignments, the course aims to guide students through the history of opera, human emotions, and the human experience in a way that is accessible to non-musicians and musicians alike.