WHAT ARE THE HUMANITIES?
According to the 1965 National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act, “The term ‘humanities’ includes, but is not limited to, the study of the following: language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of the arts; those aspects of social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of national life.”
The humanities are the stories, the ideas, and the words that help us understand our lives and our world. They offer us the opportunity to learn from the past, explore the present, and shape the future. They are about culture, community, and connections. The humanities emphasize the exchange of ideas, critical and imaginative thinking, and the pursuit of wisdom. The humanities are sometimes defined as academic disciplines that study the human experience, past and present. They include the study of history; literature, philosophy, and ethics; foreign languages and cultures. They may explore legal, religious, and folk traditions. They also include critical approaches to the arts, science, technology, or politics.
Disciplines of the liberal arts are often cited when the humanities are definedhistory, literature, philosophy, the history and criticism of the arts, folklore, comparative religion, etc. What is essential to these fields of knowledge is a special approach to understanding the human experience based on reflection and dialog. This approach is at the core of the humanities. An important goal of humanities programming is to inspire discussion and to encourage a better understanding of ourselves and others, past and present.
