WHAT ARE THE HUMANITIES?
The humanities are academic disciplines which study the human condition, using methods that are largely analytic, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural and social sciences. These include: history; philosophy; languages; literature; ethics; linguistics; archaeology; comparative religion; jurisprudence; the history, theory, and criticism of the arts and architecture; and those aspects of the social sciences employing historical or philosophical approaches. Scholars working in the humanities are sometimes described as “humanists”.
The humanities include but are not limited to the study of history, literature, modern and classical languages; linguistics;jurisprudence; philosophy; comparative religion; ethics; and the history, criticism, and theory of the arts. Social sciences that employ qualitative approaches such as cultural anthropology, archaeology, and political science are considered part of the humanities, as are interdisciplinary areas such as women’s studies, American studies, and the study of folklore and folklife. In elementary and secondary education, the humanities are found in social studies and English language-arts courses, as well as in advanced courses in history, literature, foreign languages, art or music history, and related subjects. Projects may also apply humanities perspectives to current political, social, or economic concerns and issues.
The humanities grow out of an interest in the language, literature, thought and the history of humankind. They emphasize analysis, interpretation, and exchange of ideas. The humanities include, but are not limited to, the disciplines of history, philosophy, literature, folklore, American studies, women’s studies, ethnic studies, foreign languages (both classical and modern), linguistics, comparative religion, ethics, cultural anthropology, ethnomusicology, jurisprudence, art history, literary criticism, and philosophical approaches to the social sciences. These fields are differentiated from the creative expression of the arts or the quantitative explanation of the sciences or social sciences.
The humanities are an extremely broad set of academic disciplines. The humanities can be defined essentially as “anything that isn’t an empirical science.” This encompasses the classics, history, languages, law, literature, performing arts, philosophy, religion, and visual arts. Some disciplines may be considered part of both the humanities and the sciences: for instance anthropology and linguistics. Most college graduates have their degree in one of the humanities. A quick review of each of the main fields: Classics is the study of the culture of classical antiquity, especially Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. The classics historically had a very important place in the humanities. The “Renaissance” of the 14th through 17th centuries was so called because it was a revival and assimilation of classical Greek and Roman ideas which had been lost for centuries. The Renaissance also incorporated ideas and technologies from the Islamic Golden Age of the 8th – 13th centuries. History, o
As the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Oklahoma Humanities Council (OHC) is mandated to provide the citizens of Oklahoma with opportunities to learn about the human experience through programs based on humanities disciplines. These disciplines include subjects such as: history, language, literature, art history and criticism, archaeology, jurisprudence, ethics, and philosophy.
