UNIT 1: What is Humanities?

Question 1

What is Text? What is a primary source and secondary source?

Answer 1

-A Medium; What a primary source is made of (form and content); Anything that can be read or interpreted.
-Primary source is the original text
-A text that tells you about a primary source is a secondary source.

Question 2

What is Context?

Answer 2

The historical and cultural background of a text

Question 3

What is Subtext?

Answer 3

The secondary or implied meanings of a primary source; connotation

Question 4

What do we Mean by “Western Culture?’ (hint: two points)

Answer 4

Western Culture is a concept, comprised of:
- A lineage that ties Europe’s long history to be the ancient cultures of The Mediterranean (Greece, Rome) and then pushes back to prehistory.
- “Western” does NOT include the histories of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Pacific. Academia have privileged Western Culture.

Question 5

What is the Traditional system of labeling dated (privileges a Christian, Western calendar)

Answer 5

B.C= Before Christ
A.D= Anno Domini (The Year of our Lord)

Question 6

What is the Recent System (this one is used in various calendar systems)

Answer 6

B.C.E= Before Common Era (Equivalent to B.C)
C.E= Common Era (Equivalent to A.D)

Question 7

What is Humanities?

Answer 7

The study of how people respond to the human experience. It is also the study of human society and culture and the cultural productions (expressions) made by humans.

Question 8

What distinguishes Humanities from other disciplines (like anthropogony )?

Answer 8

It is concerned with primarily artistic/cultural achievements of humans.

Question 9

List all Major disciplines that are associated with the Humanities? (hint: there’s 11)

Answer 9

-Language (ancient and modern)
-Music
-Literature (poetry and prose)
-Arts (visual arts)
-Theatre (performing arts)
-Architecture
-Religion
-Philosophy
-Ethics
-Jurisprudence (law)
-Classics (ancient greece and rome)

Question 10

What are some disciplines that overlap with the Humanities

Answer 10

-Social Sciences like History, Archaeology, Anthropology
-Media and Cultural studies
-Area Studies like Asian Studies, Latin American Studies, etc.

Question 11

What is Culture?

Answer 11

The customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements, of a particular nation, people, or other social group. Culture is Temporal, Emergent, not definitive, can be contested (It is subjective).

Question 12

What are the Humanities good for? list 4 reasons

Answer 12

• Add to our Knowledge of the world
• Encourage students to think critically and creatively
• Offer insights into every aspect of our lives
• Allow us to “travel” through time

Question 13

What is “Studia Humanitatis”? What is Paideia?

Answer 13

It is a Latin term coined in the 15th century to distinguish religious vs secular education. This included new disciplines such as rhetoric, grammar, philosophy, arithmetic, medicine, music, poetry, and gym. This was to create a well rounded student.

Paideia the concept of learning, like equivalent to gen-eds

Question 14

What does the Humanities encourage us to do?

Answer 14

To get to know ourselves better. To understand who you are, where have you been, and where are we going.

Question 15

Why study humanities and science together? Name 2 reasons.

Answer 15

• Provide us with a well-stocked tool kit (with more than one tool)- More than one way to view the world or approach a problem.
• Develop experts with a myriad of skills to solve problems rooted in social (human) systems like:
  -Epidemic disease
  -Poverty
  -Food Safety
  -Climate Change

Question 16

What are some examples of Science-Humanities Integration?

Answer 16

• Music and neuroscience​
  How can music be used a therapy for memory impairment disorders?
• Mind/body connections​
  Alternative medicine (drawing from non-Western and indigenous perspectives)
• Religion and philosophy integrated into medical or therapeutic practices