Why humanities constitute as one of the oldest and most important means of expression?

1. Documents
2. Social Science
3. Archaeology

96% found this document useful (27 votes)

69K views4 pages

Meaning and Significance of The Humanities

Original Title:

Meaning and Significance of the Humanities

LESSON 1. MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE HUMANITIESMeaning of the Humanities

The term ‘Humanities’ comes from a Latin word

humanus

, which means ‘human, cultured and refined’. Generally,human beings possess and show quality like rationality, kindness and tenderness. Such basic qualities of humans gaindifferent connotations based on one’s environment, values, beliefs and experiences. They are the contributing factors to therefinement of human’s basic qualities.At present, we know of humanities as a loosely defined group of academic subjects united by a commitment tostudying aspects of the human condition and a qualitative approach that generally prevents a single paradigm from coming todefine any discipline. Unlike other subjects, it is not a group of scientific or technical subjects.Humanities, however, should not be confused with the term

humanism

, which refers to a specific philosophical belief,nor with

humanitarianism

, which is the concern for charitable works and social reform.Academically, we refer to the humanities as the study of arts – the visual arts such as architecture, painting andsculpture; music; dance; the theater or drama; and literature. They are the branches of learning concerned with the humanthought, feelings and relations.The study of arts is the study of mankind. Humanities, being the study of arts, have always been concern with theimportance of human being, his feelings, and how he expresses those feelings. However, it should be stressed that thehumanities emphasize analysis and exchange of ideas rather than the creative expression of the arts or the quantitativeexplanation 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 expressiondeveloped by man. It is a language, which is charged with feelings and significance that has sprung up among men livingtogether.Art is concerned with the communication of certain ideas and feelings by means of a sensuous medium – color,sound, bronze, marble, words and film. This medium is fashioned through a symbolic language marked by beauty of designand coherence of form. It appeals to our minds, arouses our emotions, kindles our imagination, and enchants our senses.(Machlis, 1963). Thus, each artwork reflects the ideals, hopes and fears of the times in which an individual live.The humanities are the stories, the ideas, and the words that help us make sense of our lives and our world. Thehumanities introduce us to people we have never met, places we have never visited, and ideas that may have never crossedour 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 aboutwhat is right or wrong, or what is true to our heritage and our history. The humanities help us address the challenges we facetogether in our families, our communities, and as a nation.

Why should we study the Humanities?

The different subject areas are studied not for their own sake but in the light of how they relate and speak tocontemporary man. More importantly, the course is expected to help the students grow up to be better human beings thanthey were before they enrolled in the course.The teaching of the humanities is intended to make the students realize that the mere possession of knowledge isuseless unless put to useful ends. Moreover, they would become aware that knowledge alone is meaningless unless it isaccompanied by values, sentiments, priorities, insights, inter-relationships and other transcendent realities not subject toempirical proofs also form part of the person’s education. In the humanities, the students are exposed to these, thus, thedevelopment of the whole person, which is the goal of present day education.

WORKSHEET ASSIGNMENT FOR LESSON 1

1.Give a definition of the ‘humanities’ which you think is the more appropriate and comprehensive.

2.

Explain the meaning of the statement “

the study of art is the study of mankind 

”.3.Given the significance and rationale of teaching the arts in tertiary education, why do you think you, as a hoteland restaurant management/office administration major, should study the humanities?

LESSON 2. SCOPE OF THE HUMANITIES

In the academe, the humanities is considered as part of the social sciences and the natural sciences, one of thethree major components of the liberal arts and sciences.The humanities is a multi-faceted subject. While the precise definition of the humanities can be contentious, thefollowing disciplines are generally recognized to form their core:

Philosophy.

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such asexistence, knowledge, truth, beauty, law, justice, validity, mind, and language. It is described as the love of truth, wisdom andintelligence by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance onreasonedargument.When man asks and seeks answers to questions such as:

Who am I? Where have I come from? What is themeaning of life? 

What can I do to remain an effective, responsible member of the society 

? , man is trying to see himself ashuman. Thus, he is searching for truth and wisdom. This is the philosophical approach in achieving the ultimate goal of thehumanities, which is to make man more human.

Psychology

. Psychology is the scientific study of the behavioral characteristics of an individual, including thefunctions and processes of mind, in relation to the social and physical environment. As a science, it gathers knowledge bycarefully observing and measuring events and experimenting. It is also an art because it develops skills in applying scientificknowledge to problem solving.Being the field of science that studies the mental processes of man, psychology is always concerned with humanthoughts, feelings and emotion. Furthermore, it seeks to explain the factors that affects how man expresses certain emotionsand executes certain behavior.

Sociology.

Sociology is the study of human social behavior, especially the study of the origins, organization,institutions, and development of human society. It focal interest is on how humans deal with other human beings within hiscommunal sphere.

The Core Foundation of the Humanities

The human body has always been central to sociology because sociology is about the organization of collections of human bodies into forms of social life. Sociologists have also always been concerned with the question of the boundarybetween the biological and the social in the formation of human identity; the so-called

nature/nurture

controversy. But until thelate 1970s the body as the physical expression or embodiment of human identity, personal experience, and action waslargely ignored by sociologists, who concentrated on the structuring of groups and societies. It has been concerned with theanalysis of a social institution or societal segment as a self-contained entity or in relation to society as a whole.

History.

History

is the study of thepast,with special attention to the written record of the activities of human beingsover time. It is a field of research which uses anarrativeto examine and analyze the sequence of events, and it oftenattempts to investigateobjectivelythe patterns of cause and effectthat determine events. The study of history has sometimes been classified as part of thehumanitiesand other times as part of thesocial sciences. It can also be seen as a bridge between those two broad areas, incorporating methodologies from both.

Archeology.

Archeology is the scientific study of past human culture and behavior, from the origins of humans to thepresent. Archeology studies past human behavior through the examination of material remains of previous human societies.These remains include the fossils (preserved bones) of humans, food remains, the ruins of buildings, and human artifacts—items such as tools, pottery, and jewelry. From their studies, archaeologists attempt to reconstruct past ways of life.Archaeologists concentrate their studies on past societies and changes in those societies over extremely longperiods of time.

The chronological data that the archaeologists gather can provide information such as how the use of a newstyle of pottery or type of weapon spread from one region to another over time. By analyzing this information for severalrelated archaeological sites, archaeologists assemble long sequences of past human cultures.Being the study of arts, humanities consist of the visual arts, literature, drama and theater, music and dance.

WORKSHEET ASSIGNMENT FOR LESSON 2

1.Which of the discussed core discipline of the humanities has the most valuable contribution to its formation?Explain.2.The humanities was formed from different disciplines of social science yet it is composed of different subjectareas of art. Do you think the Humanities is an art or a science? Justify.

LESSON 3. THE ARTIST AND HIS CREATIVE WORKSAn Artist

An artist is a person who exhibits exceptional skills in either various or specific areas and/or sub-areas of arts. Unlikeother people, he is more sensitive and more creative. He possesses to an unusual degree the talent for interpreting ideas inartistic form through the use of words, pigments, stone, notes, or nay other materials used by artists. When he sees or learnssomething that impresses him, he expresses himself in one medium or another so that others may understand it, too. He,thus, learns to project his creative impulse through the symbols of his art – a picture, a poem or a piece of music according tohis present inspiration and his training. However, the process of creation differs in degree from that of an amateur or abeginner.There are two kinds of artists in the field of the performing arts, the creators and performers. As such, a composer writes a song to be sung by talented singers; a dramatist or playwright writes a play to be staged by a company of actors; achoreographer composes a dance sequence which will be performed by a troupe of dancers. Music, theater and dance areperforming arts. Besides the creator, they require other artist who recreate what has been composed. In the real sense, asong cannot be considered complete until it has been sung or a choreography until it has been danced. Therefore,performers are equally important.Although the artistry of performers is based on the creation of others, they bring individual interpretations to their performances. Two great performers may render the same masterpiece quite differently. Thus, in the performing arts, theideas and interpretations of the performer are added to the original ideas of the creator. This dual contribution gives addedrichness and meaning to this field of the arts. It makes performing arts different from the visual arts in the way by whichcreative artists communicate directly with the observer.

The process of Creativity

The process of creativity is three-fold – the artist as the prime mover, communicating his ideas through the performer,as his interpreter to the audience. Each participates actively in the creative process; although in the case of the audience(observer, reader, listener), the intensity of the activity may be less than that of the artist who produces the work.Creativity is an artist’s trait developed in the course of his life to solve problems or express his feelings. His continuingreaction to the emerging conditions of the nature and social life gives birth to new ideas and methods. These in turn, he usesto overcome difficulties which in the process of confrontation with reality give the solution to a vision, create art, or activatesocial transformation.

The Process of Creation

Art experts are one on their view that there are three major phases of creation. First, the artist must have an

idea

;second, he must have a

material

to work on; and third, he must give

form

to his idea.

The Idea.

Artists are highly sensitive persons especially aware of the things that surround them. They noticethe sounds, colors and movements of people and things. Art expression is based on the so-called higher senses of light and sound, with other senses playing more or less indirect roles. A particular experience may impress an artistso much that he decides to use it as basis for a picture, a poem, a song, a play or a dance.A painter, depending on his cultural background, my be attracted by anything. He paints a picture from ascene where most people do not think beauty existed.A composer may write a song on the developing romance of a man to a woman, or on the pains of a broken-hearted. A dancer may do a dance on the pleasures and discomforts of growing up. As a basis for his dancemovements, he might use the idealism of adolescence, the developing charm of boys and girls, their sensitivity, their awkwardness, and occasional loneliness. In all these expressions, the artists clarify, identify, and give new meaningto the experiences which are nearly common to everyone. Through dance, the events of life are given symbolic andceremonial form.