Defining Humanities

Defining Humanities Paper University of Phoenix Introduction to Humanities - The Ancient World to Medieval Times HUM/100 Shonta Henderson April 9, 2010

Defining Humanities

Defining Humanities To many people, defining the word humanity is different Humanities are place, people, eras in a persons past, that helps that person identify and make since of the world. The intent of writing this paper is to describe humanities and give enlightenment on how humanities differ from other forms of human expression, as well as describing a cultural event that was experienced or encountered, and how that cultural event showed relevance to humanities, style, art, genius, and culture of the time period that it represents. Defining Humanities Humanities covers broad era that gives examples on how the world, over the course history chose to express, understand, and adapted to focal points surrounding human life. Humanities also keys in on numerous contributions that human beings gave to society in the development of the many forms of art. Disciplines of the humanities such as philosophy, history, and literary studies offer models and methods for addressing dilemmas and acknowledging ambiguity and paradox. They can help us face the tension between the concerns of individuals and those of groups and promote civil and informed discussion of conflicts, placing current issues in historical perspective. They also give voice to feeling and artistic shape to experience, balancing passion and rationality and exploring issues of morality and value. The study of the humanities provides a venue in which the expression of doddering interpretations and experiences can be recognized and areas of common interest explored. (263) Humanities include different pathways that study human beings, human culture, and the way humans express his or herself. According to the Human Traditions it states that the humanities can be distinguished from other disciplines such as the social sciences, physical and biological because the humanities include the study of human subjects and the study of languages and literatures, the arts, history, and philosophy while all other forms of human inquiry are limited to the study of subjects that are not human (Fiero, 2011).

Defining Humanities

Cultural Event An example of a cultural event that I experienced was a performance that my son was involved in two years ago. He is a musician waiting to be discovered, and a member of the band department at school which performs during school. I really enjoyed this particular play because I was introduced to something that I had never experienced before. According to Think Quest the term Baroque era describes the style or period of European music between the years of 1600 and 1750. The term Baroque was derived from a Portuguese word meaning "a pearl of irregular shape." The word Baroque was initially used to imply strangeness, abnormality and extravagance, applying more to art than music. It is only in the 20th century that this term has been employed to refer to a period in music history. His orchestras presentation entailed music by composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Claudio Monteviride, Antonio Vivaldi and George Frideric Handel. The baroque period was accountable for the advancement of tone that was very practical, but yet attractive. During this era, people did many innovative things. Musicians made many improvements to the music and created new techniques in playing his or her musical instruments. Baroque music was also responsible for the establishment or introduction of musical genre called opera. Many of these musical terms and concepts that were developed in this era are still being used today (Fiero, 2011).

Defining Humanities

Comparison of other Art Forms During this time the music compared to all the other music that was played and listening to, the music had similar styles. These attributes include but are not limited to being flamboyant, and elaborately ornamental with extensive ornamentation and detail (Fiero, 2011). The art, sculpture and painting from the baroque era also showed the artists passion for intricacy and beauty. Such painting and other art forms such as sculptures include works created by Rembrandt, Velazquez, and Poussin (Fiero, 2011). Architecture includes elaborate buildings and churches and one of the most elaborate of this era is Versailles Palace in France. During this time period many changes and enhancements were made to Europe. When the medieval era was over, the door was opened for the Renaissance period. The Renaissance era in turn gave rise to the Baroque era which then gave birth way to the Rococo era and then the Classical followed by the Romantic which lead to the Modern era and eventually the postmodern era (Fiero, 2011).

Defining Humanities

References Fiero, G. K. (2011). The humanistic tradition, Book 1: The first civilizations and the classical legacy (6th. Ed). New York: McGraw Hill. White, L. (1997). "The Humanities," in Handbook of the Undergraduate Curriculum: A Comprehensive Guide to Purposes, Structures, Practices, and Change, eds. Jerry G. Gaff, James L. Ratcliff, et. al. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997), 262-279. http://library.thinkquest.org/15413/history/history-bar.htm