Courses and Instructors
Odyssey Courses
HUM 110 (Introduction to the Humanities I: Philosophy and Art History) and HUM 111 (Introduction to the Humanities II: Literature and US History) are non-degree, credit-bearing foundation courses in the humanities for adult learners in the Odyssey Project program.
Together, they form a two-course sequence that constitutes the full Odyssey Project first-year curriculum at Illinois. We recommend that students complete HUM 110 in the fall before enrolling in HUM 111 in the spring, but the courses may be taken in either order. Students who complete the coursework will receive University of Illinois credit (4 hours per course, with two non-degree courses offered) that will be transferable to a two- or four-year institution.
Odyssey Instructors
HUM 110, Art History: Associate Professor of Art Education Jorge Lucero is an artist who tests the pliability of the institution as material. For this work—which he sometimes calls “teacher as conceptual artist”—Jorge makes everything from teaching and publications to installations and events.
HUM 110, Philosophy: Dr. Jon Hale is Associate Professor of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership, as well as Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
HUM 111, Literature: Dr. Valerie O'Brien teaches English at the University of Illinois Laboratory High School. An award-winning instructor, she has taught a variety of literature and composition classes at the University of Illinois, including Introduction to Fiction, Modernist Poetry, Science Fiction, and Fairy Tales and Gender Formation.
HUM 111, U.S. History: Dr. Augustus Wood will be teaching history in the Odyssey Project this year. He is an Assistant Professor in the Labor Education Program and is a scholar of political economy and gentrification, labor, and social movements in modern African American urban history.
Critical Thinking and Writing (both HUM 110 and HUM 111): Michelle Awad holds a BA in Education Policy and Arabic Studies as well as a Master's in Education from the University of Illinois. She has experience teaching literature to high schoolers in Palestine as well as Urbana High School. She is interested in helping eliminate the barriers adult learners face when completing their education and is regularly inspired by Odyssey Project students.