...Defining the Humanities Defining the Humanities The humanities are past stories and events that help form our lives by looking back on how others lived and thought about life. The humanities are essential for understanding the past that is responsible for the creation of the present. The humanities are academic disciplines which study the human condition using methods that are largely analytic, critical, or speculative. This differs from academic disciplines which use an empirical approach in which evidence is gathered using the senses. The study of the human condition, the humanities cover areas such as art, music, architecture, philosophy, and literature. All other modes of human inquiry are about studying non-human subjects. If it does not encompass the human condition, it is not generally classified as humanities. Art Art has long been a means of expressing social or political ideas. Anselm Kiefer took art and brought it to an entirely new level by using his art to bring attention to national identity and collective memory. In the process his art began evolving to include occult symbolism, theology, and mysticism. All of his work shares a common theme of the trauma experienced by entire societies and the continual rebirth and renewal in life. Kiefer’s works are usually designed in a depressive and destructive style in large scale formats. He often uses photography in conjunction with earth and raw materials. Kiefer is known to include...
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...Humanities Today Paper Marlon Chambers HUM/102 Jan 22, 2015 Nancy Erickson Humanities Today Paper In this paper, I will discuss humanities. I will differentiate between the humanities and other modes of human inquiry and expression. I shall list types of humanities and explain why each one gives reflects current developments in politics, socioeconomics, and technology. Colorado State University defines humanities as, “The branches of learning (such as philosophy or languages) that investigate human constructs and concerns, as opposed to natural processes. The humanities, such as classical and modern languages, literature, history, and philosophy, have the overall goal of the exploration and explanation of human experience.” Art has long been a means of expressing social or political ideas. Anselm Kiefer took art and brought it to an entirely new level by using his art to bring attention to national identity and collective memory. In the process his art began evolving to include occult symbolism, theology, and mysticism. All of his work shares a common theme of the trauma experienced by entire societies and the continual rebirth and renewal in life. Music defines periods of history as well as generations. It evolves with societies/cultures and tends to give people their identity. Music has a strong connection through celebration, remembrance, expression of emotions, and ministering to others. It allows the human race to connect to...
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...Defining and Experiencing the Humanities Tim Williams HUM/100 July 22, 2014 Dierdre Finnegan Defining and Experiencing the Humanities I define Humanities as simply how we as humans live, think, love, communicate, and why we do it the way we do it. We can trace our cultural history for insight about whom and why we are, and why we intertwine the humanities within our modern lives. In this paper, I will provide a first-hand account of my experience attending the Zulu Ball in New Orleans on February 2, 2014. It was a lackluster experience that left me and my guests less than impressed. Nonetheless, the evening was clearly a lesson in our humanities. Please read on as I attempt to convey why I think this is so. First thing…Traffic! The very thought of traffic makes me cringe. I was aware of our destination and its proximity to downtown New Orleans. I was also aware that there would be at least a moderate delay when attempting to access the major arteries that connect the east side of this great city to the west side. In anticipation, my guests and I departed my residence in what we thought was ample time to compensate for possible traffic issues. Unfortunately, this was not the case. We arrived at our destination after almost three hours of bumper to bumper, snail’s pace commuting. Needless to say, the evening was already off to a bad start. Upon arrival, things continued to decline. Mind you, this was a black tie catered affair. However, when we arrived...
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...Kaplan Online University HU300: Arts and Humanities: 20th Century and Beyond Professor Lisa Dimitriadis Mr. Karl Gibson April 15, 2011 When I think of music and how it influences my life I come up with many different types to consider, and at various times. Music I associate with my childhood are various songs heard during family picnics, family gatherings, and times or events of this nature. I grew up as a child in the 1960’s and listened to what my parents were listening to. Songs like Finger Popping Time by Hank Ballard and the Midnighter’s, I got a Woman, Ray Charles, The Great Pretender, Sam Cooke and Think by Aretha Franklin, who is said to be the Queen of Soul. These songs were of good times, happy times, they made me feel that everything was well in the world, despite the horrific turmoil in the U.S. caused by the Vietnam War. I still look back at those times as some of the best times in America and my musical experiences. I think the music then reflect my childhood experiences of sensibility, freedom, fun and laughter. My adolescence year’s music seemed to change a bit in America as well as for me and what we listened to in our home, as well as on my own. I was never much of a rebel so I guess music in my adolescence years was more of a way for me to fit in. Songs in the late 70’s were changing over Woodstock was over as well as the whole Love & Peace movement. We were bringing troops home from Korea and the long dreaded Vietnam War was...
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...Defining the Humanities University of Phoenix Tara Brigham HUM/100 Introduction to the Humanities Professor Marilyn Olander June 27, 2011 Humanities can be defined as human characteristics or different branches of learning. Humanities have affected every culture. One cultural event that I have experienced and I have seen how humanities have changed it over the years is music. Music that is made and played has evolved as humans have evolved over the years. The first music was made during the Middle Ages. The first two types or styles of music were monophonic and polyphonic. The Renaissance period came next and changed the way music was created and perceived. The Baroque period came after the Renaissance period. During the Baroque period composers experimented with different styles and instruments. Classical music came from the Baroque period. Classical music allowed the composer to tell a story or express his or her feelings through the music. The Romantic period was next. Composers experimented with different instruments including wind instruments. The music was more dramatic than any other time period. After the Romantic period came the 20th century. Music in the 20th century allowed the composer and artist to use technology to enhance the compositions. And now in the we have different styles and types of music because of the humanistic of music. We have country, rap, rhythm & blues, soul, gospel just to name a few...
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...Humanities Salvador Alingas HUM/100 November 4, 2011 Beverly Smith Humanities The term “Humanities” comes from a Latin word humanus which means “human, cultured and refined” www.scribd.com. Generally, Humanities is the collective study of the human life itself- its condition, values and qualities. Humanities study brings us in contact with the human culture, history, philosophy, experiences and activities. It also includes the study of human expression through music, arts and design, music, dance, theater and literature. It is a multi-faceted subject, but academically, we refer to the humanities as the study of the arts. The study of the arts is the study of mankind, thus, is the essence of humanities. Studying humanities helps us to get a better understanding of our own existence. The humanities are the stories, ideas, visions and expressions of people from all walks of life. It gives us more knowledge about the different cultures of people from the different parts of the world. It helps us understand our own heritage and our history. It brings us back to the past and transports our visions and imaginations and helps us to look forward to the future. The study of Humanities teaches us how to be creative and gain new insights about the world that we live in. Last summer, my family and I went on a trip to Washington, D.C. for the first time. The city is known to harbor the world’s largest museum, The Smithsonian Institute. The institute consists of 19 museums, majority...
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...legacy of his own. The fact that humans even want to leave legacy is interweaved into building blocks of civilization. As defined by dictionary.com civilization is an advanced state of human society, in which a high level of culture, science, industry, and government has been reached. (Dictonary.com) Are humans defined by their civilizations acceptance of their cultural ideologies? How do these ideologies play out in society and what role do these ideologies play in civilization? * The answer is the humanities rule our existence. Humanities because it is the outward expression of our selves our ideas and culture. Humanities capture the human spirit, soul, and inner thoughts and express them in three different ways through visual art, performing art, and literary art. These arts impress upon our society to shape our ideas of the world around us, and how we fit into the grand scheme of civilization. In reality you cannot have a civilization without humanities. * The humanities are broken down into different categories. The visual arts are comprised of painting, sculptures, architecture, photography, and film. (Pearson Education Prentic Hall). The pictorial arts are the derivative of the medium used to create it, how light and color are used, the creation method, patterns, and...
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...1. Define humanities: The humanities are academic disciplines that study human culture, using methods that are primarily analytical,[citation needed] critical, or speculative, and having a significant historical element,[1] as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences.[1] The humanities include ancient and modern languages, literature, philosophy, religion, and visual and performing arts such as music and theatre. The humanities that are also sometimes regarded as social sciences include history, anthropology, area studies, communication studies, cultural studies, law and linguistics. 2. What is the scope of humanities? 1. History, Anthropology, and Archaeology study human social, political, and cultural development. 2. Literature, Languages, and Linguistics explore how we communicate with each other, and how our ideas and thoughts on the human experience are expressed and interpreted. 3. Philosophy, Ethics, and Comparative Religion consider ideas about the meaning of life and the reasons for our thoughts and actions. 4. Jurisprudence examines the values and principles which inform our laws. These are: Arts, Music, Dance, Drama and Literature. 3. What is the different between the humanities and the sciences? Both the sciences and the humanities seek understanding; both offer explanations of various bits of the world. At a very abstract level, though, the kind of things each tries to explain is different. Science and the humanities...
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...Humanities Sze Lee Wan HUM/102 – INTRO TO THE HUMANITIES II RENAISSANCE TO THE PRESENT October 26, 11:59PM Humanities are the study of how people process and what they learn from their life experience. It also allow us to study human culture and like what is happening in the history and how all the culture is being past from our ancestors to us. Since human have been born, we have used philosophy, literature, religion, art, music, history and language to understand and improve our world. These methods of expression are the major expression that is being taught under humanities to us. This knowledge of the human experience in the past help to give us the opportunity to feel a sense of connection with the people who came before us and also help us to learn from their mistakes or enjoy what wonderful experience that they have experienced in the past. The Humanities are also essential for understanding the past which is responsible for the creation of what is happening at the present. The humanities are academic disciplines which is use to study the human condition using methods that are analytic, critical, or speculative. On the other hand human inquiry is about studying non-human subjects as well as expression. These two things can’t be study but only experienced in our daily life while we are communicating with each other. It is because when communicating with people they are so many factors that may affect the overall conversation and...
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...Today's Humanities Paper Paul Sibley Hum 102 August 14 2011 Mrs. Moody-Bouwhuis Today's Humanities Paper The definition of humanities according to Merriam-Webster: the branches of learning (as philosophy, arts, or languages) that investigate human constructs and concerns as opposed to natural processes (as in physics or chemistry) and social relations (as in anthropology or economics). We must be aware of the fact that the humanities are academic subjects that study the human form using analytical, speculative, and critical methods. There are many types of humanities and we I will try to distinguish the differences between just a few of them. The first discipline that I shall attempt to explain is Art: There are different types of art. The visual art is one that you can see as in a painting or drawing. There are paintings of President Obama, what do you see, do you judge by the content or character, or even by how it feels. Do you see a black man; is he responsible for all of the socioeconomic problems today; or do you say technologically where do we go from here? It is all in the eye of the beholder. Some will look at this painting and dislike it simply because of his race. Then there will be those who look at it from a political point of view and hate it instantly. I wonder if people in general will ever be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin as Dr. Martin Luther King so wanted. Discipline number two is another form of art...
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...Humanities and Its Value Many times when a person is asked about humanities he may not know exactly what the teacher is asking. “Humanities?” the student may think without realizing how profound and useful it is within the world. Humanities can include many different studies upon the world, in its most general description it is a complete study of human ideas and expressions with emphasis on both developing techniques and skills for studying art, as well as learning about actual artistic creations. Stanley Fish whom argued that Humanities is merely not a tool but a whole category of its own that is taught is most likely hitting the nail on the head. Intriguingly enough, Humanities is useful in its own way of studies of our interpretations through art, music and other categories of historic pieces. For example, throughout the world people may look at a piece and start interpreting it, while referring to its historic features such as the work of Yun Gee’s painting, the Lone Ranger. The lone Ranger is a painting in which has a historic value which refers to the time period where Chinese were migrating towards the U.S. during the time of the gold rush. They were merely looked down upon as workers because of how they looked and acted. Through the use of humanities people may look at this painting and come up with ideas, “Why did Yun Gee decide to paint this man the way that he did?” “What was the reason for the color in the background and the setting that it has taken place in...
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...Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting one’s Reason and Seeking Truth in the Sciences “A Personal Analysis World Cultures – HUM 112 November 11, 2012 In analysis of the Discourse on the Method, I come to realize Descartes thought pattern was a simple yet complex one in the beginning. He basically took the thoughts of others and put them into a reality that coincided with his own so people would have a better understanding of the things and/or situations of this life. Descartes’s thoughts in my opinion are like a non-believer of God and His word at some point in life and then entering into the fullness and knowledge of the faith and seeking to live a Christian life after receiving knowledge of God and His redeeming power. He at the end starting to realize and offer the reader a gift and an answer to what living life is all about, “God.” I felt it was a bit hard to understand his point of view in the beginning of the passage because he was speaking of the existence of life on one’s own and not by God the creator of life. It was as though he was saying he created himself and there was no God to create creation or life; that the existence of life was natural and a part of an earthly way of life. For an unbeliever it is hard to understand what to believe at first because of the notion that people place on the table that God is good and he has, is, and will always do great things for His people, yet no one has seen him face to face. Descartes offers us reasons...
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...graveyards, hunting equipment, as well as weapons, art on pottery or cave walls, are some of the prehistoric finds, to name a few. These findings, when examined can tell scholars a lot about peoples lifestyle pre-written records. For example, by examining bones, a scholar would determine if people were malnourished, or whether they knew how to take care of broken bones or used any healing methods. What was prehistoric society like around the Amazon? Populations from North American and Europe did not find the prehistoric Amazon population interesting. The cultural differences were too vast, as opposed to societies around the Amazon. The Amazonian people believed in coexisting with their gods and relied heavily on their dangerous environment. I suppose the Amazon was a threat to societies around it, since they had not developed an acquired set of skills to survive. What ensured European domination in the New World? The Europeans were able to dominate the New World, by having armies that would take over natives ground, and have their own people settle. They also were in advantage knowing how to trade, how to build weapons, which were made of steel, as opposed to native culture who used leather, wood, and bones to build their weapons. How do you think an entire prehistoric group of people could simply disappear, such as the people around the Marajo of the Amazon? A lot of factors could wipe out a whole group. There are many ways this could happen. It could be due to diseases...
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...Unit 4 Project – Music Kaplan University HU300 – Art and Humanities: 20th Century and Beyond March 27, 2012 Limiting ourselves to one kind of music is as detrimental to our growth as if we were never to set foot outside our house and discover the unlimited life experiences waiting out there. (Janaro & Altshuler, 2009). For me music is the best creation humanity has made. It makes me cry if I am sad, dance if I am in a party, smile if it is romantic, sad if I am thinking in a bad love experience, and happy when I am home resting and listen to it. In my personal view, music is one of people’s spiritual nourishment. I listen to music every day and love to sing along to my favorite tunes. Music makes me feel good and can get my mind off things that are bothering me as well! Some music is relaxing while some really makes me more stressed. Music becomes my interest. I like this wisdom, "interest is the best teacher." As time goes by more and more music that I have been listening to, I can sing and understand the meaning of the song that really attracts me. While I am listening to the music, I slowly I begin to figure out my favorite idols and songs. If I listen to some really beautiful melody or rhythms that able to touch my heart, I will find the appropriate spare time to listen and learn how to sing until I have completely understood. My father’s favorite music was the Tango. Every day at five o’clock in the morning he used to turn the radio...
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...Take-Home Final Literature, arts and culture are viewed as, by some, not as important as the sciences and/or math. The prominent STEM movement across America is a testimony to this belief: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Some places include the Arts and call it STEAM, however, most do not. These right- brained people often ignore the value of the arts. The left side of the brain, on the other hand, compliments the creative side of the world, which includes the arts and culture of today’s age. In this class, I have read about 10 short stories, a Shakespearean play and a novel. I have not always been an enthusiastic reader, since my strengths lie in the math area, but I have begun to see the value of the humanities. Throughout this course, my analytical perspective of ‘the text’ changed through the realization that literature is interrelated with culture and art; these three things can be one and the same....
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