Humanities Unit 1

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UNIT 1

What Are the Humanities?

WHAT ARE THE HUMANITIES? 1

Disciplines (subjects) of the Humanities:

• Visual Arts • Sculpture • Printmaking • Photography and Film • Architecture • Theater • Dance • Music

What Are the Humanities? The Humanities is considered to be interdisciplinary because it possesses more than one subject at a time. The subjects found in the Humanities are Painting, Drawing, Architecture, Sculpture, Ceramics, Music, Theater, Dance, Film, and Photogra- phy. The focus of Humanities is on how and why human beings achieve creatively and use their imagination. For generations, people have been using their minds creatively and fi nding ways to live in environments where they can be safe and secure, with enough food and water. For this reason, it is noticeable in studying the origin of the earliest known ancient civilizations that they began near rivers. Being able to stay in one location long enough to plant and harvest became the assurance of a group of people who developed a way of life, which would become the defi nition of community living. Since the beginning of recorded human his- tory, it seems that humankind had the desire to create expressions, which are now considered art. These art works that remain for us to view today are sculptures such as the fertility goddess “The Venus of Willendorf” named after its place of origin, Willendorf, Austria. This sculpture is the most famous early image of a woman, Venus, found in 1908 by the archaeologist Josef Szombzthy in Willendorf (source: http://72.52.202.216/~fenderse/Venus.htm).

What Are the Humanities?4

Cave paintings remain on the interior cave walls of Altamira, Spain and Las- caux, France. These paintings were produced by prehistoric artists who painted with a combination of materials gathered from organic material such as berries, blood, and soot. These earth tones reflect their environment and capture what was important to them at their time and place. They painted using the same elements of art as artists utilize today when they paint. For example, they used line, textures, and shapes as do many twenty-first-century artists. The prehistoric artist painted the subjects of bison, deer, and other animals on cave walls thousands of years ago. We are fortunate to have traces of these prehistoric treasures today to examine, be- cause they give us an idea as to how they really lived. They were inventive humans who were creative and communicated by painting. This creative achievement made by prehistoric people helps us understand why communication and expressing ideas is so important everywhere around the globe. The arts can help us understand our past and help us learn to better communicate and express ourselves to others. If we learn more about our own cultural heritage, we find that we are able to listen to others better and share ideas with them. This is why it is so important to study Humanities. Studying the Humanities is vital in today’s way of life. Living with the understanding of the Humanities helps us to better respond to our feelings. Hu- manities help us find more to live for and add more meaning to life. We learn to respond better to others’ concerns and learn to respect other cultures than the one we know. Through the humanities, we learn to live a life of caring. We try to learn to walk in another person’s shoes. If we do not know where we came from we will not know where we are going.