Humanities

Why Study Humanities at UNC Asheville?
Earn a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from the University of North Carolina Asheville and gain a deep understanding of human cultures, histories, and ideas. This interdisciplinary program weaves together philosophy, literature, history, and the arts to prepare students for meaningful careers in education, law, public service, communications, and beyond. Students can also explore complementary minors such as Anthropology, Political Science, or Religious Studies to broaden their perspective, or take individual courses as non-degree seeking students to enrich their personal and professional growth. With opportunities for faculty-mentored research, study abroad, and hands-on community engagement, UNC Asheville’s Humanities program equips graduates with the critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and cultural literacy needed to thrive in a complex, interconnected world.
Humanities Programs

Courses and Curriculum
Focused on exploring human culture, history, and ideas across time and place, the Humanities minor complements the liberal arts mission of UNC Asheville by emphasizing critical thinking, communication, creativity, and cultural literacy. Through an interdisciplinary approach, students develop a deep understanding and appreciation of the complexities of human experience from both historical and contemporary perspectives.
I have been surprised at how much this endeavor has fostered my personal growth and self-confidence.
Humanities Department Faculty
Get to know the dedicated and interdisciplinary faculty who guide and inspire Humanities students. Learn about their research interests, teaching approaches, and the diverse perspectives they bring from fields such as philosophy, history, literature, and the arts to the UNC Asheville academic community.
Reid Chapman
Lecturer in Education; Coordinator of 6-12 Social Studies Licensure
Office: 119 Zageir Hall
Phone: 251-6768
Email: rchapman@unca.edu

Eva Hericks Bares, Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer of Art History and Humanities Coordinator
Office: 213 Owen Hall
Phone: (828) 258-7724
Email: ebares@unca.edu

Alvis E. Dunn, Ph.D.
HUM 324 Coordinator ; Associate Professor of History
Office: 206 Whitesides Hall
Phone: 251-6620
Email: adunn1@unca.edu
Office Hours:
Wednesday 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Thursday 11:45 am – 12:45 pm

Megan R. Underhill, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Office: 206 Zageir Hall
Phone: 6976
Email: munderhi@unca.edu
Office Hours
By appointment only (email to schedule)

Lise Kloeppel
Chair & Associate Professor of Drama; Coordinator of K-12 Theatre Arts Licensure, LA 478 Coordinator
Office: 112 Whitesides Hall
Phone: 251-6940
Email: lkloeppe@unca.edu

William Bares
NEH Distinguished Professor; Professor of Music
222 Lipinsky Hall
Phone: (828) 250-2312
Email: wbares@unca.edu
Associate professor of music William Bares received his Ph.D in ethnomusicology from Harvard University under the supervision of Ingrid Monson, Quincy Jones Professor of African American Music. He taught at Harvard, Brown, Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory before becoming director of jazz studies at UNC Asheville. He has published articles in American Music, Jazz Research Journal, the Grove Dictionary of American Music, and Jazz and Culture, among others. An active pianist and music promoter in Asheville’s musical community, Bares coordinated “Ecomusicologies 2014: Dialogues”—a conference/festival that took place in Asheville in October 2014, and hosted the weekly Sunday Jazz Showcase at Asheville’s Isis Music Hall. His book, Jazz and the European Dream, is forthcoming on Routledge Press’s Transnational Studies in Jazz Series.
Education
- B.A., Amherst College
- M.M., University of Miami
- Ph.D., Harvard University
Courses Taught
- Jazz History (MUSC 357)/li>
- Humanities 414, Critical Perspectives on Contemporaneity (HUM 414)
- Humanities 414, The Individual in the Contemporary World (HUM 414)
- Music and Environmental Consciousness (MUSC/HON 178)
- African American Music: Slavery to Swing (MUSC 343)z
- African American Music: R&B to Hip Hop (MUSC 344)
- Music Experimentalism at UNC Asheville (MUSC 373)
- Transatlantic Jazz (MUSC 373)
- Music Business and Industry I (MUSC 382)
- Harmony and Improvisation II (MUSC 392)
- Harmony and Improvisation III (MUSC 393)
- Harmony and Improvisation IV (MUSC 394)
- Jazz Band: Big Band (MUSC 122)
- Jazz Band: Saxophone Quintet (MUSC 122)
- Jazz Ensemble: Thelonious Monk (MUSC 129)
- Jazz Ensemble: Eco-Music Ensemble (MUSC 129)
- Jazz Ensemble: Experimental Music Ensemble (MUSC 129)
- Jazz Ensemble: Trio Ensemble (MUSC 129)
- Jazz Ensemble: UNCA Scholarship Quintet (X-Tet) (MUSC 129)
- Applied Music: Piano (MUSC 191-491)
Publications
Books
- Bares W. (contracted; release 2020) Jazz and the European Dream: the Transatlantic Eternal Triangle, 2001-2008. Routledge Press, Transnational Studies in Jazz Series, Tony Whyton and Nick Gebhardt, eds.
- Bares W. EcoJazz: Jazz, Race and Nature [in progress].
Peer-Reviewed Publications
- Bares W. (2020). “A Jazz Course for the Information Era.” Jazz Education in Research and Practice, Vol 1, no. 1, Jan 2020.
- Bares W. (2019). “Europe, Western” in the SAGE International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture. (SAGE Publications, 2019; Janet Sturman, ed.). Pages and article url pending.
- Bares W. (2018). “Review: Erroll Garner: No One Can Hear You Read.” Jazz and Culture [formerly International Jazz Archives Journal] Vol 1, no. 1. Spring 2018.
- Bares W. (2016). “Young German Jazz and the Politics of Jazz Cosmopolitanism in Germany.” Continental Drift: 50 Years of Jazz From Europe. Medbøe, Moir, Atton, eds. Edinburgh, UK. Continental Drift Publishing, July 2016: 1-17.
- Bares W. (2015). “Transatlanticism as Dutch National Spectacle: Universalism and Postpolitics at the North Sea Jazz Festival.” American Music, Volume 33.3, Fall 2015: 345-374.
- Bares, W. (2012). “Way Out East: Cowboys and Pioneer Women on Berlin’s Jazz Frontier.” Jazz Research Journal, Volume 6.2, Nov 2012: 171-201.
- Entries for the Grove Dictionary of American Music, 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2012-2016):
- Bares, W. (2016). “Joe Zawinul” in the Grove Dictionary of American Music, 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2013; Charles Hiroshi Garrett, ed.), 641-2. Article url pending.
- Bares, W. (2013). “Roswell Rudd” in the Grove Dictionary of American Music, 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2013; Charles Hiroshi Garrett, ed.), 255. Article url: http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com:80/subscriber/article/grove/music/A2276429
- Bares, W. (2013). “Brad Mehldau” in the Grove Dictionary of American Music, 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2013; Charles Hiroshi Garrett, ed.), 432. Article url: http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com:80/subscriber/article/grove/music/A2276098
- Bares, W. (2013). “Marcus Roberts” in the Grove Dictionary of American Music, 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2013; Charles Hiroshi Garrett, ed.), 157. Article url: http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com:80/subscriber/article/grove/music/A2276381
- Bares, W. (2013). “Acid Jazz” in the Grove Dictionary of American Music, 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2013; Charles Hiroshi Garrett, ed.), 10-11. Article url: http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com:80/subscriber/article/grove/music/A2226805
- Bares, W. (2013). “Albert Murray” in the Grove Dictionary of American Music, 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2013; Charles Hiroshi Garrett, ed.), 608. Article url pending.
- Bares, W. (2013). “Stanley Crouch” in the Grove Dictionary of American Music, 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2013; Charles Hiroshi Garrett, ed.), 499-500. Article url: http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com:80/subscriber/article/grove/music/A2282477
- Bares, W. (2013). “Kevin Whitehead” in the Grove Dictionary of American Music, 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2013; Charles Hiroshi Garrett, ed.), 487. Article url pending.
- Bares, W. (2013). “Mike Zwerin” in the Grove Dictionary of American Music, 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2013; Charles Hiroshi Garrett, ed.), 662. Article url: http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com:80/subscriber/article/grove/music/A2263504
- Bares, W. (2013). “Tau Moe Family” in the Grove Dictionary of American Music, 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2013; Charles Hiroshi Garrett, ed.), 117. Article url pending.
- Bares, W. (2013). “Hapa” in the Grove Dictionary of American Music, 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2013; Charles Hiroshi Garrett, ed.), 41. Article url: http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com:80/subscriber/article/grove/music/A2284554
- Bares W. (2011). “Sounds of Silence: The Politics and Poetics of Norwegian Jazz.” American Music Review Volume XLI, No.1, Fall 2011: 9-11; 15.
- Bares W. (2011). “Play Your Own Thing, Play ‘Our’ Thing: ‘Young German Jazz’ und die deutsche Jazzidentität.” Hofheim 2011. Darmstädter Beiträge zur Jazzforschung, Band 11: 156-185.
- Bares W. (2007). “Jazz in the Loeb Music Library.” Golden Muse: The Loeb Music Library at 50 (Harvard Library Bulletin), Vol. 18.1-2, Spring-Summer 2007: 43-48.
Recordings
- Bares W. (2020). Take Two: Jazz Duets at the White Horse. Recorded in Lipinsky Hall, UNCA: May, 2016. William Bares, piano; various guest instrumentalists.
- Bares W., Ray J., Rodriguez J., Page Z., and Martin E. (2019). The Core: Turning Point. Recorded at Echo Mountain Studios, Asheville: Aug 15-16, 2016. William Bares, piano; Justin Ray, trumpet; Jacob Rodriguez, saxophones; Zack Page, bass; Evan Martin, drums.
- Bares W., Ray J., Rodriguez J., Page Z., and Martin E. (2016). The Core. Recorded at Echo Mountain Studios, Asheville: Aug 15-16, 2016. William Bares, piano; Justin Ray, trumpet; Jacob Rodriguez, saxophones; Zack Page, bass; Evan Martin, drums.
- Bares W. (2016). You Held the Light, I Found the Sign. © 2016 BaresMusic. Recorded at Balsam Pillow Studio: 20-21 June, 2012. William Bares, piano; Mike Holstein, bass, Austin McMahon, drums.
- Bares W. and DeCristofaro J. (2015). Dialogues. Recorded at Sound Temple Studios, Apr 2015. William Bares, piano; Jason DeCristofaro, vibes.
This faculty member teaches in UNC Asheville’s Humanities Program.


Keya Maitra, Ph.D.
Director of Humanities, Professor of Philosophy
Office Hours:
Tuesday 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Wednesday 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Thursday 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
And by appointment: Please email me at kmaitra@unca.edu and I will send you a zoom link to meet virtually

Giovanny Pleites-Hernandez, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Political Science, Humanities 414 Coordinator
Office: 204 Zageir Hall
Phone: 251-6634
Email: gpleites@unca.edu
Office Hours:
Monday 9:30 am – 10:30 am
Tuesday 1:00 pm – 2:15 pm
Wednesday 9:30 am – 10:30 am

Bruce Cahoon
Adjunct Instructor of Humanities
Office: 220 Whitesides Hall
Phone: 250-2394
Email: bcahoon@unca.edu
Office Hours:
Monday 8:00 am – 9:30 am
Wednesday 8:00 am – 9:30 am
Friday 8:00 am – 9:30 am
Alison Heston
Adjunct Instructor of Humanities
Office: 120 Whitesides Hall
Phone: 232-5039
Email: aheston@unca.edu
Gregory Lyon
Adjunct Instructor of Humanities
Phone:
Email: glyon@unca.edu
Office Hours:
Wednesday 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Kelly McEnany, M.A.
Adjunct Instructor of Sociology & Humanities
Office: 212 Whitesides Hall
Phone:
Email: kmcenany@unca.edu

Alison Rose
Phone:
Email: arose7@unca.edu
Alex Severa
Humanities Administrative Assistant
Office: 212 Whitesides Hall
Phone:
Email: asevera@unca.edu
Emily Shanahan
Phone:
Email: eshanaha@unca.edu
Related Programs
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Deepen your understanding of human cultures, histories, and ideas, and build a foundation for addressing the complex social, ethical, and cultural issues that shape our world.