topics in the Humanities
Week 1
What are the Humanities?
This week we will examine what knowledge is, how we know what we know, and what good, if any, it is to have knowledge about topics in the Humanities. Keep in mind that the Humanities covers a broad range of fields including literature (English), history, art, music, dance, modern languages (like Spanish, French, etc.), philosophy, religion, theater, film, and photography. But first we have to figure out why we should even bother to learn about these things. The course materials for week 1 will explore the usefulness or uselessness of the Humanities, as well as look at how we know what we know.
After this week, students will be able to:
· Describe the controversy surrounding the value of the Humanities in higher education.
· Identify how studying the Humanities is relevant to the relationship between the individual and the community.
· Define epistemology and recognize its role in the study of Humanities
COMMENTARY: What are the Humanities?
Stanford University introduces their programs in the humanities this way:
The humanities can be described as the study of the myriad ways in which people, from every period of history and from every corner of the globe, process and document the human experience. Since humans have been able, we have used philosophy, literature, religion, art, music, history and language to understand and record our world. These modes of expression have become some of the subjects that traditionally fall under the humanities umbrella. Knowledge of these records of human experience gives us the opportunity to feel a sense of connection to those who have come before us, as well as to our contemporaries.
Within the contemporary American university, the humanities are comprised of a group of academic departments that deal with these questions.
Source: “The Human Experience: Inside the Humanities at Stanford University,” “Humanities at Stanford” http://humanexperience.stanford.edu/what
This is a good, standard definition.
And yet to me, studying how we “process and document the human experience” seems awfully darn vague.
In part, this is because the “humanities” are distinguished more by what they are NOT than by what they are.
In the old days in western cultures, the main academic disciplines were all “humanities.” As intellectual life developed–and especially in the past century–knowledge started to specialize and fragment. In the old days, a scholar might be good at almost everything–a so-called “renaissance man.” Today, that’s impossible. Our ways of learning about things are simply too developed, too specialized.
So today, the humanities are sometimes seen as what’s left over when the “other” disciplines are removed. The humanities are not science. Humanistic activities do not seek knowledge with a rigorous scientific method. The humanities are not primarily practical. They are not about accomplishing concrete goals. And the humanities are not quantitative. Humanistic studies aren’t focused on “how many” we can find of this or that.
The humanities, instead, explore the quality of life–the feelings and ideas we have about being human, being in relation with each other and our environments. Humanities are qualitative.
As far as we know, we are the only animals with explicit ideas about our place in the universe. Other animals adapt to their environments, like we do. They may shape their environment to please themselves, like we do. But even the very smart ones do not seem to recognize their lives as links in a chain of being, from their early ancestors through to their descendants. They don’t have stories about their collective past and hopes for their collective future. They don’t realize that they will die. They may experience the world with intelligence, but not with self-consciousness.
Self-consciousness–recognizing that “I am me” and “you are you” and we have a gap to bridge–this is an essential part of the human condition. Humans are born with big brains and few if any natural instincts. We survive only because we depend on and learn from each other. We learn not just practical matters, like how to find food, but also, how to treat each other, what it means to be part of a human community. Each individual’s identity is formed by relating to others. This is the essence of human culture–the transmission of ideas, values, behaviors, meanings, from person to person and generation to generation. Without society and culture, human beings can’t survive. We’re social animals, built to learn and live in groups.
The traditional focus of the humanities is simply–human culture. Not surprisingly, the western tradition focuses on western culture and civilization.
For most of human history, much of human culture involved communication for the sake of continuity. Each generation passed on what they found most essential about human existence. Some of these essentials are practical–where’s the food? Other essentials are less tangible but no less important–who’s in charge? What happens after death? What forces shape our lives and fate? What is beautiful to us? What do we love?
Collective human experience–our shared history–changed really slowly. Cultural practices–“philosophy, literature, religion, art, music, history and language”–kept each generation in touch with the others.
A few hundred years ago, however, the pace of change picked up considerably. Now we take it for granted that next year will be different from this year–maybe next month will be different from this month–maybe even tomorrow will be different–maybe even an hour from now.
In the modern world, we communicate constantly, bringing new ideas and possibilities into being.
We expect new, better, faster, smarter technologies to help us communicate and do everything else.
And we exchange ideas, practices, problems and solutions with other cultures–cultural diversity is recognized almost everywhere, and affects countless aspects of modern life.
These three elements of culture–communication, technology, and diversity–are the main themes of this course.
We’ll begin by exploring the role of the humanities with in the ever-changing “modern” world. The modern world (“modernity”) begins in the west at the end of the 19th century–the late 1800’s. By the mid-1900’s, when I was born (*cough*), the western world was thoroughly “modern.” This is the world you were born into, too. “This modern world” is our world.
Welcome, humans, to the study of what matters most to us–the humanities!
~~~Debra Rosenthal
Week 1 Learning Resources
Below are the required learning resources for this week.
Art and Epistemology
This essay from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy explores the question of what we can learn from art.
http://www.iep.utm.edu/art-ep/
The Real Humanities Crisis
In this New York Times opinion piece, Gary Gutting discusses some of the issues surrounding society’s lack of support for the arts.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/30/the-real-humanities-crisis/?_r=1
In this New York Times opinion piece, Gary Gutting discusses some of the issues surrounding society’s lack of support for the arts.
Study: Reading Novels Makes Us Better Thinkers
This article discusses a study that concluded that reading novels can help you make more sense of abmiguity.
http://www.salon.com/2013/06/15/book_nerds_make_better_decisions_partner/
This article discusses a study that concluded that reading novels can help you make more sense of abmiguity.
http://www.salon.com/2013/06/15/book_nerds_make_better_decisions_partner/
The Economic Case for Saving the Humanities
This article highlights some of the reasons why the humanities are important to society.
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/114392/christina-paxson-president-brown-humanities-can-save-us
This article highlights some of the reasons why the humanities are important to society.
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/114392/christina-paxson-president-brown-humanities-can-save-us
11 Reasons to Ignore the Haters and Major in the Humanities
This article gives some reasons why students should consider majoring in the humanities.
http://www.businessinsider.com/11-reasons-to-major-in-the-humanities-2013-6
This article gives some reasons why students should consider majoring in the humanities.
http://www.businessinsider.com/11-reasons-to-major-in-the-humanities-2013-6
The Humanities in Dubious Battle
This article discusses how some humanities students have transitioned into other careers.
http://chronicle.com/article/The-Humanities-in-Dubious/140047/
This article discusses how some humanities students have transitioned into other careers.
http://chronicle.com/article/The-Humanities-in-Dubious/140047/
The Value of a Liberal Arts Education in Today’s Global Marketplace
This article makes the case for advantages that liberal arts degrees afford students.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/edward-j-ray/the-value-of-a-liberal-arts-education_b_3647765.html
This article makes the case for advantages that liberal arts degrees afford students.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/edward-j-ray/the-value-of-a-liberal-arts-education_b_3647765.html
Best Majors for GRE Scores in 2013: Philosophy Dominates
This article highlights how well philosophy students fare on the GRE.
http://www.physicscentral.com/buzz/blog/index.cfm?postid=5112019841346388353
This article highlights how well philosophy students fare on the GRE.
http://www.physicscentral.com/buzz/blog/index.cfm?postid=5112019841346388353
Who Ruined the Humanities?
This essay discusses how higher education may have diluted the humanities.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323823004578595803296798048.html
