Humanities are different disciplines that study different aspects of culture and society. In the Early Renaissance, the word humanities was used to contrast with religion and clerical study, the focus being on what would become known as classics, the most important area of academic study at that time in universities. Today, humanities scholars are trying to understand why people do what they do. In addition to examining why people choose one way or another, they also try to understand the effects of cultural diversity on the methods people use to reason, analyze data, make choices, and evaluate the world.
Traditionally, humanities courses were limited to a few specializations, such as art studies, literature, history, and sociology. The major courses were taught by either a professor of humanities or a specialist in a related field. For most colleges and universities, a major in humanities requires that a student be a member of a committee or a student representative on campus. There are some exceptions to this general rule, especially for graduate schools, which usually require students to be either a committee member or a student representative on a campus.
Introduction of Humanities:
Since the introduction of the discipline of humanities, there has been significant growth in the various disciplines. The major areas of humanities study include literature, history, art, science, psychology, sociology, and anthropology. These areas of study have developed because of the interdisciplinary approach to studying the humanities, with each discipline requiring its own unique approaches to problem-solving, as well as interdisciplinary tools and methodology.
- The major areas of study in humanities include literature, history, art, science, linguistics, and anthropology.
- The major branches of the humanities include visual and performing arts, humanities of arts, cognitive science, philosophy, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and natural sciences.
- All of these disciplines are impacted by human culture and social science, and they all contribute to a human understanding of life and culture.
- In addition, there is a close connection between humanities and the other disciplines due to their common study of the human mind and the connections between language and thought, as well as values and ethics.
Study of Literature:
The most common area of study in the humanities is literature. The humanities major usually elect to specialize in a specific genre, such as English literature, American literature, British literature, poetry, or theater. Some humanities majors even have the opportunity to choose a specialization such as literature, American studies, African-American studies, East Asian studies, Chicano studies, literature of the visual arts, or film studies. One can also specialize in a particular time period, such as the modern European humanities (in contrast to the more dominant history and social science fields). A more common specialization is in an area that is considered to be the natural, technological, or historical sciences.
Another common distinction in the humanities is the difference between the study of literature and study of the arts. For example, literary studies often include studying narrative forms such as narrative poetry, essays, and short stories; analyzing the various forms of communication such as storytelling; analyzing the creation of literature; analyzing the reception and interpretation of literature; and exploring the impact of literature on society. On the other hand, artistic studies typically include art history, visual art, and the study of the visual arts such as painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, and sculpture. A student interested in the humanities field may choose either one or the other but will typically choose one of the two areas of study to specialize in.