Humanities is a fascinating group of subjects! It encompasses human behavior, culture and history. It is the study of humanity and a means of understanding the affairs of mankind. As you investigate how to learn humanities, you will see that a large portion of the study focuses on the seven arts; investigating and analyzing them and their effect on humanity.
Humanities also encompasses law, philosophy, religion and literature. Studying humanities helps us to broaden our minds by introducing us to ideas, people and places we never knew of. A major focus of these studies is the exchange of ideas. For example, in music the focus would be understanding the impact a certain style of music or song hand on the culture of its day, rather than becoming a proficient musician yourself.
Of course, humanities go hand in hand with many other subjects, and a musician who wishes to have an impact with his or her music may well study humanities, as well as work on becoming a more skilled musician.
Choosing how to learn and master humanities depends on what your end goal is. Many go into the class expecting it to be boring facts with little relevance to their lives, but instead discover that humanities offers extremely relevant information, relevant for nearly every career choice.
Whether you major in one of the humanities disciplines, or only take the class as an elective or a minor, you will gain a deeper understanding of mankind; where it has been, and where it’s going, and what part you may have in the journey.
Humanities deepen the human experience. Through exploring these studies you will learn how to think both creatively and critically, the value of asking questions and reasoning, and through these skills acquire a new understanding of the world that surrounds you.
Photo Credit: Matteo Bittanti