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Humanities Today

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Humanities Today Karima M. Kibble HUM/102 April 5, 2012 John Bontempi

Humanities Today

This paper will discuss current forms of humanities and how we relate to them in present. This paper will differentiate between the humanities and other modes of human inquiry and expression. It will address the definition of humanities; provide examples of Art, Music, Architecture, Philosophy, and Literature and explain why each example reflects current developments in politics, socioeconomics, and technology.

Humanities provides people from different cultural backgrounds to experience and gain knowledge about present and past differences. Humanities; also the study of opposing studies of life combined with history. Today; humanities by name are no different from the past. As the world changes from day to day, so has the age of humanities and how people define themselves through the many forms self-expression also known as humanities. Art, music, architecture, philosophy, and literature are what our society thrives on. Without these humanities the world would not have a place in history and there would be a sense of displacement. We need humanities to continue learning so we can continue teaching generations to come of how we came to be who we are and how the present would be nonexistent without a past.
The saying “There is nothing new under the sun” encapsulates humanities back then to humanities today. While everything that is practiced presently did not just come into existence on its own, we must give proper credit to the true origin which brings us to the studies of humanities.
Our younger generation would never have the history needed to completely understand how the world came to be if there were not classes, instructors, teachers, parents etc... to educate them on humanities . They would never understand that everything they put their hands to do is because of what was experienced in the past. Yes, the world has certainly evolved, but would it have without “The Arts?” There are all sorts of new inventions, and new ways, and short cuts to everything; cellular phones, computers, internet, video games, even electricity has come a very long way.
As humanities relates currently to art, music, architecture, philosophy, and literature, we see forms of these every day. Art can be seen in galleries around the world in just about every city. Many visit cities such as New Orleans, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, to enjoy beautiful drawings and sculptures. Art is everywhere and can be anything at any time to anyone. It depends on the individual. Music is definitely a true expression of feelings, tied with emotions that so many can relate to. Music is also known as the universal language. Sometimes a song can take one to an entirely different space in the mind. There are millions of artists who create and express their artistry through song or through instrumentation. An example of a great artist today even though he has passed away who has sold millions and still counting is Michael Jackson. He was one of the world’s most famous entertainers. Architecture is art through planning, designing, and the construction of the beauty we see when taking a trip downtown into a city. This is truly a gift of the mind and is experienced every day by hundreds of thousands in their own city. Philosophy; is simply the way one views or comes up with theories. This too is experienced in everyday life. The method seems to be universal (the use of reason, and occasionally) rhetorical techniques. (Wilkens, 2011) Literature; without literature, the world would definitely be lost. The world simply would not exist if there was not a handbook to follow. The world would be like a car delivered in a box to be put together without any instructions or directions. We need all these forms of humanities to continue contributing and educating the new generation so they can have the knowledge of how everything we do came to be.
Humanities are the over-all experience of being a human. Some people have the creative space in their brain to make it a visual experience, an audible experience, while other are able to use touch. There is no wrong way to capture art in any form. Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. Whether through nature, drawings, sculptures, printmaking, design, poetry readings, poems, interior design, filmmaking, architecture, dance, classical instrumental music, hard rock, gospel music, blues, all forms of music. Expression, emotion, creativity, history is and will always be an individualistic thing because art is basically telling your story.

References Wilkens, John S., Evolvingthoughts.net (September 13, 2011)

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