The unique methods by which someone can investigate humanities
are vast and not linear. Our humanistic experiences allow us to relate
to humanities in the same way they were formed. When it comes to
math, science, and even biological studies, there is a layout and
methodology in which you must carry out; however, humanities is
solely based on lived experiences and our interpretation of those
experiences. I think there is room to grow in humanities. Once you
complete a background search of the creator of the work you are
reviewing, you will start to learn more about the intentions of their
piece or even come to learn of their traumas. What makes humanities
interesting is that everyone's views and perceptions will be different,
based on their own life experiences. When thinking about
investigating the humanities, you can quickly compare how it feels to
investigate other sciences. In other sciences, like Mathematics, you
are using a set technique to find out 1 single solution for the most
part. That also goes with the other sciences as well. We also look at
artifacts in the other sciences like, where did it come from? When?
What can we tell about this artifact that gives us clues about when
this was made? d When looking deeper at Humanities, we look at
things and base our arguments and findings based off of our
opinions. We get to look for what it means to us, rather than looking
for the one right answer. We can ask ourselves, what was the artist
feeling? What were they going through at the time of creation?
What do they want us to feel? The bigger sense of emotion in the
humanities is awesome.
What I find most unique about the methods used to investigate
humanities is the fact that we learn about the people who created
different forms of art, while also taking a step back in time to learn
about what life was like in those time frames. We get to learn about
who they were as a person and how they lived their lives. In math, we
are answering numerical questions, and in biology we are learning
about the evolution of nature. Honestly, not only has investigating
humanities been humbling, it has also made me appreciate and value
all the work these artists put into their work coming from the time
frames they were in.
The investigation into humanities is different it allows you to come to
your own conclusions of literature, art, and music. Your own
interpretation may be different than someone else’s but not one
person is incorrect in their own interpretation. You can come up with
your own theory. Humanities is not as cut and dry like science and
math, there is usually one answer and the outcome does not involve
feelings
I am always multi-tasking and I find it hard to do anything else when
studying humanities, you must be focus and present to take in what
you are analysing.
When it comes to investigating the humanities, it is not as simple as
following a mathematical equation or conducting a research
experiment. When looking into the humanities, one is essentially
diving into their own deeper emotions to better understand the
creations of others. The humanities are the only field that I am aware
of where you ask yourself how an artifact makes you feel and what
emotions it may evoke. When researching artifacts in history with
not artistical significance like an old tool or weapon, you are trying to
seek out its origins, perhaps the people or person whom may have
held or created them. Although those questions get answered with
artifacts of the humanities, these artifacts force you to think beyond
just the basics and the physical and makes you think about not just
your own feelings and emotions, but those of the creator, and those
of the people who may have lived at that time.
I think that subjects such as mathematics, the natural sciences, or the
social sciences require for a person to seek fact-based information
and conclude that is widely accepted. In the case of studying the
humanities, however, people are expected to come to their own
opinions about artifacts such as a musical piece or a painting. In a
subject like mathematics, there is usually only one right answer. On
the other hand, in regards to studying art, music, and literature, there
is no right or wrong answer most of the time. Which emotion the
artifact is playing at or how and why the artifact was created is the
discipline that is required for the humanities.
Since humanities study humans' society, such as their culture, and
way of life in general, the methods used to investigate this are
already unique. Mathematics and sciences have many rules and
things that do not change. We know that if you multiply 4x4 it will
always equal 16. Yet, what is so fascinating about humanities and the
methods is that things are always different in certain aspects. They
are constantly changing. If we analyse a painting someone created,
the artist could convey an entire meaning, yet the viewer could view
it in an entirely different way. The world is one big melting pot of
cultures, none the same. People dress differently, act differently, eat
different foods, etc. That is what is so unique about the methods
used to investigate the humanities-they require analysing behaviour,
emotion, morals, values, etc., that are ever-changing.
What I think is most unique about the methods utilized to investigate
the humanities are the intersections between the subjective and
objective, the psychological and physical, what is seen and what is
not seen.
For example, with art, there it is impossible to accurately study a
piece with just one method of thinking. One must utilize patience and
ask themselves questions about what they are looking at in the piece.
I thought it was interesting that upon a brief view, and then reading a
deep explanation of the iconography portrayed within A Boy with a
Flying Squirrel, I was able to learn more about the complexity of
meaning behind the work.
There is not a singular way to study the humanities. Sure, there might
be some methods that work better than others, but in the
humanities, one is not bound by "laws" or formulas.
Let us not forget that The Humanities are a crucial part of our lives
since they allow us to explore the most basic of humanity through
areas corresponding to art, literature, self-expression, and even
human behaviour. After reading, searching, and researching about
methods used for analysing works from the humanities, I can
conclude that the process to study the humanities is indeed different
from other disciplines such as mathematics, the natural sciences, or
the social sciences. For example, researchers support their answers
and conclusions in the natural sciences based on experiments,
analysis, and exploration of a subject. In contrast, someone
researching an object from the humanities have gone the extra mile
and investigated and scrutinized the piece, for example, the author
who created it, the materials used to create the work, why the author
made it, and how was the social and physical environment now of the
creation of the piece. In addition, when studying the humanities, we
are allowed to use more than facts, clues, or data to successfully
analyse the humanities. For instance, we can use our feelings, our
senses, and our beliefs to help us explore, appreciate, and interpret
the humanities.
The main uniqueness I find in investigating humanities is the aspect
of allowing emotion to drive the narrative. Whereas with
mathematics, natural sciences, and social sciences, the main
components are logic, data, and repetition. While humanities require
some repetition and hard facts are used, a large portion of the studies
includes emotional impact. Furthermore, humanities also focus
studying on the work of an individual, with the pieces usually having
specific messages that are not indicated. Whereas the other studies
require precise explanations with full explanations that leave no
room for emotional impact.
I think the biggest difference between the standard social sciences
and the humanities is the focus on expression. Humanities are all
about how humans express their emotions, whereas other social
sciences are primarily about the study of emotions, how they come
to be, and how they affect our actions. This means that there is a big
focus on the medium in humanities; more than any other social
science there seems to be a focus on the precise methods of human
expression. For example; why would an artist choose charcoal on
paper over oil on canvas, what does the colour palette the artist
chose say about the emotions they were trying to convey, or does
the artist choose to blend colours together versus keeping them
distinctly separate amongst other questions.
Humanities is a unique discipline that stands out from the rest of the
areas because it revolves around human beings, the society in which
they live and the cultural aspects. The methods that are used for
exploring humanities are distinctive because they intend to get an
integrated and comprehensive insight to capture the changes in the
human society. While conducting research in humanities, the
application of background is imperative because it helps to establish
the foundation on which the entire investigation and study is based
upon.
Since the humanities domain is vast as it encompasses visual and
performance arts, literature, religion and philosophy, the methods
that are employed to explore these areas also have unique attributes
in them. Unlike other areas, prior to starting the investigation process
in humanities, it is critical to gain an in-depth insight and knowledge
on the subject area. The methods such as textual criticism,
conceptual analysis and synoptic methods enable researchers to
critically evaluate sources (Research approaches in the Humanities,
Social Sciences, or Sciences: Humanities. Research Guides, 2021). By
employing these methods in the research context of humanities,
researchers can arrive at their own conclusions.
The methodology that is applied in humanities is not singular in
nature. On the contrary, each area that makes up the vast domain of
humanities has contributed to the methodology that is used for the
purpose of exploration and investigation. For instance, history which
may be regarded as social science and humanities makes use of the
historical method for investigation. Similarly, philosophy utilizes
phenomenology or conceptual analysis. The language and literature
and religion use the methodologies that have been derived from
textual criticism (Humanities Research Strategies: Home. Research
Guides, 2021). Thus, there exist a diverse range of methods that can
be adopted for conducting research and investigation, based on the
exact subject or domain that is being explored. It acts as the chief
fact that helps the investigation methods in humanities to stand out
from other research methods that are adopted in disciplines such as
natural science.
The methodologies that exist in humanities serve diverse purposes
and enable researchers to gain a better perspective into the research
area. For instance, the historical method helps to look at a specific
period and then perform an analysis of its texts and records. On the
other hand, textual criticism involves the analysis of a specific text
regardless of the discipline. Synoptic method focuses on the origin
and development of an idea. Each of these investigation methods
adds value to the humanities discipline.
I would say mathematics is the most important areas of study for
mankind and its application has almost in all fields and its
development throughout history. d It has many disciplines such as
arithmetic, algebra, geometry, mensuration, trigonometry, and
calculus. These disciplines deal with the numbers and elementary
operators, letters and symbols, shape, size, distance, and location. d I
would say that natural sciences seek to understand how the universe
and the world is working around us. The discipline of social science is
an academic discipline concerned with the society and the
relationships among the people. Humanities are the disciplines that
study the human culture, and this also falls under the discipline of
social science for example. d
Natural Science when compared to Humanities is vastly different.
The process to find an answer in math or chemistry is a straight path
from the question to the answer. If your answer is right others can
follow the same path and get the same answer. Most in these
sciences have an analytical brain. I do not think they are easy paths
most times. Finding out how to see a black is not an easy task. I can
see why people have a hard time with humanities. Humanities do not
have an absolute answer. You must look at the whole picture and
even then, there is more than a single answer. Understanding that
one medium used in the piece was costly but still used in a piece can
give ideas as to what the artist thought was important. Even when a
piece is created for a purpose it can still bring multiple ideas forward.
You see this every time an artist has a piece that gets protested. I feel
like the Humanities ask you to feel more than anything else. I also
think that you need to have an open mind to learn as much as you
can about a piece. I think it helps open you other people’s
perspectives when some hate a specific art piece. You ask the
question of why they hated it. With physics you do not have to see
the destination or understand the historical contexts to seek and an
answer. I believe these differences can make humanities harder to
study because you are thinking outside of yourself and seeing how
you react to it. I also think that humanities impact the most when
trying to work in the world. It can be the start of a conversation and
the reason you stop a conversation. I feel like every profession is in
some way impacted by learning to study humanities.
There are so many things that I find unique about the methods of
disciplines used to investigate the humanities. I feel when looking at
subjects such as math, you are looking for one specific answer, it is
either right or wrong. When looking at the humanities there are
several different ways to view something and several different
options to choose from. For example, when analysing a song - there
is no "correct" way to view a song. While the writer of the song may
have based on it his or her own personal thoughts and reasons, the
words in the song may appeal to each person differently.
Another example may be a piece of art - the original creator had an
idea in mind when creating the piece (whether it be a painting, a
sculpture or even a dance.) It would be up to the audience to
interpret things with their own eyes and their own emotions. With all
of that being said, it makes it a bit more difficult in regards to
research because most of the information about something of this
nature due to the fact that there may only be information regarding
one size (the artist’s view.)
The uniqueness of the humanities is the use of human emotion and
creativity. The methods of discipline for mathematics, social and
natural sciences seem to be a straightforward method, using
equations and evidence to interpret. In Humanities there are many
ways to interpret artifacts. How does it make you feel? What does
this piece say to you? What do you think the creator was trying to
portray? When investigating the humanities, it is important to know
background knowledge as well was researching primary sources.
Primary sources include novels, diaries, advertisements, photographs,
letters, and eyewitness accounts. It is also important to research
secondary sources that analyse your primary sources. A few
examples of secondary sources are articles, reviews, and books.
In comparison to mathematics the humanities cannot be predicted. In
a mathematics discipline of study, we use given data and analyse the
research. In humanities the study is broader, because it is based on
human behaviour, social circumstances, and culture. For example, in
construction field, the engineer knows the exact material that will be
needed based on the project. Humanities is based on an individual or
a group of people related to a similar circle of interests. It is like for
example, we cannot predict the weather but with the help of
equipment and satellite we can estimate the climate change, that is
why we say 40% of rain. However, with humanities it is much harder
to predict what a person may say or do. If a psychologist has 10
patients(children) with similar behaviour, the psychologist would
most likely have to adjust the exercises for each child individually,
because although they all have similar behaviour issues, the
psychologist would have to take into consideration the childhood,
the family influence and the social class and background.
I think what is unique about the methods used to investigate the
humanities is that it uses human emotion. With math and science,
there is one way to do it and its based-on formula. However, when
viewing a piece of art or music, you investigated it using your
emotions and what you see. To me, this makes it a much more
interesting way to investigate. There is normally a "right" answer to
the humanities but there can be some fluctuation because everyone
feeling on a piece are different. Some may believe it depicts sadness
while others may believe it shows happiness, and I think that is so
interesting.
References
Humanities Research Strategies: Home. Research Guides. (2021).
Retrieved January 27, 2022, from
https://libguides.usc.edu/humanitiesresearch
Research approaches in the Humanities, Social Sciences, or Sciences:
Humanities. Research Guides. (2021). Retrieved January 27, 2022,
from https://libguides.wustl.edu/researchapproaches/humanities
