In distance education to date, the nature of teaching and learning in all academic domains has largely been understood in terms of behaviorist theories, more recently drawing on cognitive science from which principles and models for course design have been derived. This paper takes as its starting point contemporary critiques of such 'traditional' approaches, and argues that these approaches have failed to engage with the concerns and practices of distance educators in the Humanities. A potentially more fruitful approach to the teaching and learning of the Humanities is proposed, derived from linguistic and sociological theories of discourse. On this view, study at undergraduate level is understood as entry into distinctive forms of academic discourse. Some implications for the design of Humanities courses are explored, including course aims and structure; study context; intermediate discourse; the processes of reading, speaking, and writing; and course evaluation. (Contains 23 references.) (Author/GLR)