Western’s Humanities program attracts students who want to major in more than one humanities discipline, using interdisciplinary methods of investigation. The humanities support the study of cultural history on a global level, including Europe and the Americas, China, Japan, South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and predominantly Islamic areas. Its courses give attention to historical development and cross-cultural interaction, both in the past and in the modern period. Students learn to analyze individual works of the humanities and to relate them to social and cultural developments. Religions supports the study of religious beliefs, practices, identities and organizations, and how they have influenced and been influenced by other aspects of society and culture. The degree program includes a broad survey of several world civilizations as a basis for understanding their religious traditions, both as they developed historically and with their modern interactions and changes. Students study the origin, history, and methods of the academic study of religion. They are introduced to methodological issues in the study of religion and learn to use methods appropriate to different kinds of problems. The concentration includes the study of religious tradition in both a broad survey of Western culture and a focus on one non-Western culture. Students study the origin, history, and methods of the academic study of religion as it has developed in modern Europe and North America.