...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...
Words: 877 - Pages: 4
...Defining Humanities: The humanities are the stories, the ideas, and the words that help us make sense of our lives and our world. The humanities introduce us to people we have never met, places we have never visited, and ideas that may have never crossed our minds. By showing how others have lived and thought about life, the humanities help us decide what is important in our own lives and what we can do to make them better. By connecting us with other people, they point the way to answers about what is right or wrong, or what is true to our heritage and our history. The humanities help us address the challenges we face together in our families, our communities, and as a nation. Academically, we refer to the humanities as the study of arts – the visual arts such as architecture, painting and sculpture; music; dance; the theater or drama; and literature. They are the branches of learning concerned with the human thought, feelings and relations. The study of arts is the study of mankind. Humanities, being the study of arts, have always been concern with the importance of human being, his feelings, and how he expresses those feelings. However, it should be stressed that the humanities emphasize analysis and exchange of ideas rather than the creative expression of the arts or the quantitative explanation of the sciences. Significance of the Humanities Art is very important in our lives. It constitutes one of the oldest form and most important means of expression developed...
Words: 617 - Pages: 3
...I chose the video “Paul McCartney’s Live Kiss.” Paul and The Beatles have always been some of my favorite musicians. I grew up listening to The Beatles and when they broke up, I continued listening to Paul McCartney and Wings after that. In my opinion, Paul McCartney and Wings is probably the best of all of the Pop Rock bands of all time. In this particular video he is in the studio, the Capitol Records studio in Hollywood, California, recording his new album. The Capitol Records Studio building was the first round building ever built and it is an icon of the music industry. It is also one of the best built studios in the world. They start out giving some history of the Capitol Records Studio, telling about some of the musicians that have recorded there over the years. The Beatles actually recorded their first few albums there, before they started Apple Records, so he probably felt right at home in that studio. He is recording a different style of music than he normally records for this album. He normally does Rock and Roll but for this album he is doing Blues and Jazz music. He wanted to record some of his favorite music from when he was growing up. Since he is doing just the vocals for the album, he chose some of the best and brightest jazz musicians in the industry to play the instruments for him. He listened to Fats Waller a lot when he was a kid so he did a couple of his tunes and one of Frank Sinatra’s as well. He also does a tune from “Guys and Dolls” that is only performed...
Words: 561 - Pages: 3
...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...
Words: 552 - Pages: 3
...Defining the Humanities According to textbook, The Creative Impulse, humanities is defined as “aspects of culture that look into the human spirit.” Humanities traditionally include the study of the arts, music, theater, dance, language, literature, and history. Many humanists like to dig deeper within the topic of history to look at technology and “early scientific thought.” The main focus of the study of humanities is to better understand what it means to think, feel, be motivated, take action, and to simply be human. We live in a very technologically advanced world today and sometimes we take the things we own for granted. We have computers and microscopic technology that run our lives on a daily basis from our alarm clocks in the morning, to communication throughout our day on our smart phones. If you take a second to look back in the past and see all of the accomplishments past civilizations made without the advanced gadgets that we have today, it should make you wonder and really open your eyes. The study of humanities is designed for people to use their minds and to draw connections to things they never knew before. As a child, my parents forced me to attend Thai school during the summer, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. all the way until 5 p.m. They signed me up for two courses, Thai language classes until 2 p.m. and Thai dancing that last three hours for a total of two months. At first, I was very mad because I never got a summer break like the rest of my friends...
Words: 725 - Pages: 3
...As humanity looks into the world they have two options to choose from. Did I come from a rock, or did I come from divine intervention? This will affect every piece of their life from relationships to personal growth and beyond. When a person finds their identity in God, it defines their relationship to the rest of the world and those within it. Natural World If you do not have a clue as to where it all began you cannot possibly know where you are going. The progressive nature of the world humanity lives in positively shows evidence of design. Simple logic shows humanity that laws exist. But how did these laws happen? Human reasoning should tell us that laws do not just snap into existence without reason. Somehow they have to have been created. Physical laws of science, themselves, give evidence that something started the law into motion. If law exists than a law maker should exist as well. Ray Comfort uses this example “When I look at a building, how can I know there was a builder? You can’t see them, hear them, touch them, taste them, or smell them…..Well the building is absolute scientific 100 percent evidence there was a builder.” (Comfort) The fact that humanity has any form of morality gives credence to something greater than man in this world. Human Identity When you are trying to identify who you are as a human being your origin is of extreme importance. If humanity came from nothing then humanity is technically nothing. No value. No meaning. No purpose. But if God...
Words: 1060 - Pages: 5
...Defining the Humanities Michael Hunt HUM/100 July 27, 2015 Frank Varisco Defining Humanities To numerous individuals, characterizing the word humankind is distinctive Humanities that are places or regions, individuals, times in a man's past, that helps that individual distinguish and make subsequent to of the world. The purpose of composing this paper is to depict humanities and give edification on how humanities contrast from different types of human expression, and in addition portraying a social occasion that was experienced or encountered, and how that social occasion indicated pertinence to humanities, style, craftsmanship, virtuoso, and society of the time period that it speaks to. Characterizing Humanities Humanities covers expansive period that gives samples on how the world, over the course history decided to express, comprehend, and adjusted to central focuses encompassing human life. Humanities likewise enters in on various commitments that people provided for society in the improvement of the numerous types of workmanship. Controls of the humanities, for example, reasoning, history, and abstract studies offer models and routines for tending to situations and recognizing vagueness. They can help us confront the strain between the concerns of people and those of gatherings and advance common and educated exchange of contentions, while exerting current issues in authentic point of view. They likewise offer voice to feeling and creative shape to experience...
Words: 852 - Pages: 4
...Defining and Experiencing Humanities Robert S. Baskett HUM/100 26 January 2015 Hayden Roberts Defining and Experiencing Humanities The definition of humanities according to me is a study in history, more specifically the culture, art, and technology of ancient cultures. So far in life I have yet too learn anything about humanities or ancient cultures and can’t imagine how it could be applied in real life situations. However I have attended many concerts and events in my life. So I can definitely talk about that. Most recently I drove an hour away from home to the Central Florida Fairgrounds for the annual Scottish Highland Games and Festival. The highland games are a collection of events that go I don’t know how far back in history but it was back when England ruled over Scotland and Northern Ireland. England had outlawed the practice of training with weapons so the Scottish used everyday objects to achieve their purpose. The Scottish invented games like the caber toss, the hammer throw, and the sheaf toss. Each one of these games requires a great deal of skill and muscle. Yet there was much more to the event than just the games there was my personal favorite the sheep dog competitions. The sheep dog competitions were my absolute favorite because of the relationship between dog and master. These dogs are so in tune to the job they’re doing that they aren’t distracted by anything. The herder or master doesn’t even move or speak the entire competition;...
Words: 357 - Pages: 2
...Year Nine English AEP Frankenstein/Science Fiction Essay (Reading and Writing Task) Topic: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the Science Fiction text that allowed all other examples of the sub-genre to follow. Discuss this proposition with specific reference to the Drama Script and Film versions of the novel, along with any other relevant Science Fiction texts you have read or viewed. * Your essay should especially consider Shelley’s context and that of other writers you refer to, as well as your own context as a reader. * You should make specific reference to the texts you are discussing via both direct (quotations) and indirect (explanations) evidence. * Be sure to plan your response so that each paragraph has its own unified idea. A sample paragraph structure might look like the following: 1. Introduction – Thesis: e.g.: “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the first text which uses scientific experimentation as the basis of its plot. In doing this, it paved the way for all Science Fiction which followed…” 2. Body P1 – Author context + sub-genre features – what changes have occurred over time as a result of context? Consider Mary Shelley, H.G. Wells, Ray Bradbury 3. Body P2 – Discussion of Frankenstein 4. Body P3 – Discussion of other text e.g.: War of the Worlds (make some reference to Frankenstein as well) 5. Body P4 - Discussion of other text e.g.: There Will Come Soft Rains (make some reference to Frankenstein as well) ...
Words: 1268 - Pages: 6
...or martyr of the story, Creon is the true Tragic Hero. Creon represents the characteristics of a morally sound man who is nonetheless subject to error. His fate is evidently greater than the error committed, and in spite of his pride, he comes to the realization that the curse of his fate was brought by his actions. These defining traits establish Creon’s significance as the tragic hero of “Antigone”. One of the most compelling factors to prove that Creon is a tragic hero as opposed to Antigone is his depiction as a noble, or “good” person, in the context of his fate. As described in Poetics, “Concerning "character" there are four points to aim at. The first and most important is that the character should be good. The play will show character if… the...
Words: 1008 - Pages: 5
...Since the beginning of its definition, the term “civilization” has been defined in numerous ways. It is nearly synonymous with the definition of culture (Wei, 2011, p. 1), perhaps leaving one in dismay to a conclusive definition and definite distinction between them. I personally believe civilizations are collectively defined through the study of humanities, as a progressive society of creative, intellectual, social and material development of a variety of different people. These studies are an essential way of understanding how we define civilization while bringing an understanding to the history and the marvels before our time. Having said that, the objective of this discussion is to distinctively define the controversial term “civilization” and elaborate its relation to the humanities. In order to accurately define civilization it is essential to compare many numerous similarities to the word culture and draw out distinct differences. For example, they both take into aspect the way of life of a certain group of people. These include customs, traditional beliefs, habits, languages etc. (Eagleton, 2000). One may conclude that they are one in the same. However, civilization is attributed to a group of people of a much larger scale. Beginning as a product of culture, through evolution these customs, traditions, beliefs, etc. all collaborated on a more populous scale, thus developing a more advanced civilization. In the same sense, a culture being notably more discreet is attributed...
Words: 715 - Pages: 3
...truth known to humanity is of God. This applies whether truth is discovered Scriptural or scientifically. From this basis the natural world, human identity, human relationships, and culture can be defined from a Christian worldview. More specifically, Romans 1 through 8 gives insight into these subjects. The Natural World The natural world is perceived differently based on the worldview an individual holds. From a naturalism perception the material or physical universe is the only reality. In other words, if you do not subscribe to the belief or existence of ghost, spirits, gods, or souls than you hold to the worldview of naturalism. On the other extreme, if you believe that everything is an illusion and only the spiritual universe exist than you hold to a pantheism worldview. From this perspective it is impossible to know what is real within the natural world because everything is unknowable. If an individual holds to the belief that there are gods and demons that create events to guide human actions than they have a polytheism worldview. Scripture states that God created the entire world and that His eternal power and divine nature, although invisible, can be understood and seen throughout creation (Rom. 1:20, KJV). Humankind has made a choice to ignore His presence by worshipping themselves and false idols seeking their own pleasures foolishly. It is because of this foolishness that God released humanity to their selfish lust (Rom. 1:24). Although humanity claims to be wise...
Words: 1028 - Pages: 5
...With no doubt, the most important intellectual task of the present, within the global cultural perspective, is the establishment, implementation and practicing of a new kind of humanism. Current global conflicts in politics, economics, social, culture and religion demand strongly for defining and strengthening a global culture of values, morals, ethics, and humanity. Thus, a new role of humanity in the context of human belief system needs to be redefined. Extremism, fundamentalism, and terrorism in all aspects of human life (religious in particular) as well as hunger, poverty and misery, and economic disparity between rich and poor globally provide sufficient evidence for the necessity of redefining humanity. With no equilibrium system in world...
Words: 1317 - Pages: 6
...important role for years to come in defining who we are as individuals, our belief systems, how we view our fellowman, the schools we attend and where we live. In addition, it affects morality and how we define right and wrong, social and political issues. The way we view the world has a direct correlation to our decision-making, which will not only impact our lives in a positive or negative manner, but those around us. The Bible tells us that God created the heavens and the earth and everything in it for his glory (Gen 1:1). The Universe did not come into existence by happenstance as the Secularist would have you to believe, but the work of intelligent design (John 1:3). The Bible is the standard by which the Christian Biblical Worldview is framed and our standard for living. Humanity began when God articulated that He was the architect of it. God took dust from the ground and created Adam and breathed life in him, and out of Adam came Eve. What makes humanity so special is that we were not spoken into existence, but sculptured by the loving hand of God, in his image and likeness. We did not evolve from the animal kingdom as Darwinism states. Humanity is unlike any other creation of God; we were created with a spirit and soul (Psalms 139:14). He created us with value and self-worth. God not only gave Adam the authority to name the animals, but to take rule over them (Gen 1:26). Animals are not to be worshipped nor exalted above humanity. The purpose of mankind...
Words: 959 - Pages: 4
...The Robot is More Human than You: Defining Humanity in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? As humans, we seem to be inordinately proud of our humanity. We tout that we are the smartest animals (ignoring the fact that we are still animals). We go around boasting that nothing else has the same level of intelligence as we do, that nothing is quite as human as we are. And, as far as we know, we aren’t lying to ourselves. Yet. But what about in the future, when we create something that does contest our humanness? Philip K. Dick explores this idea in his novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? The novel’s presentation of Mercerism, a fictional religion, and its unrealistically physical version of empathy suggests that using empathy to define...
Words: 1010 - Pages: 5
