For this post, think about how you would describe the humanities to someone outside this area  

The humanities can be tricky to define. This is because the humanities cover such a broad range of practices/concepts. I believe that the true goal/ definition of the humanities can get lost in translation because there is so much misinformation around what it is we actually do. In my opinion, to begin to understand the humanities you must think outside the box or color outside the lines which can be difficult for more scientific and literal thinkers. I mentioned in class right brain vs. left brain thinkers. The way that I tend to think about it is people who are in STEM majors and careers are left brain thinkers who are more suited for and likely to do well with 

• Speech
• Analytics
• Order
• Reading 
• Writing
• Computations
• Sequencing 
• Logic 
• Mathematics

While people with majors and careers in the Humanities are right brain thinkers and tend to be more suited for and likely to do well with 

• Creativity
• Imagination 
• Intuition 
• Holistic thinking 
• Arts 
• Non-verbal cues 
• Rhythm
• Emotions    

Although that is not to say that the Humanities and STEM are solely confined to the limits of the concept of right brain and left brain. It is merely the tip of the iceberg and an example I like to think about to start breaking the question of how do we define the humanities into smaller comprehensible chunks. 

Think about the part of During’s article that best helps you do this. 

There were two parts in particular in During’s article that helped me describe/understand the humanities better.  Number one is the section that goes “We can think of the humanities as united by some single purpose.” In particular the sentence that states “a will to improve and enlightenment” when I think of the humanities I think of people who seek higher education to gain a sense of enlightenment and freedom. Ultimately so they can improve their own lives and the lives of those around them. The second part of During’s article that helped solidify my idea of the humanities was in the beginning when they talked about the misunderstanding that the humanities are “primarily about interpretation, critique, or value.” When it’s really so much more than that. In reality the humanities teach you how to think for yourself and think critically to create your own informed educated opinions.   

Focus on “Projects” (p. 25) in Harris and write a paragraph that “expresses your understanding of During’s ‘project.’” 

Experts have struggled to put a solid definition on the humanities. In some ways the humanities can be easy to recognize and define but there becomes large grey areas the more abstract things become. As time has gone on interest and participation in the humanities have significantly decreased because of “financial and ideological pressure.” or in other words people are pressured into careers that will “make more money” even if it isn’t necessarily what they are passionate about. During talks about how the humanities have become disunited and the contributing factors to the recent downfall is again people’s misguided preconception of what the Humanities actually are. They judge the humanities before they even get to know us. They don’t take the time to figure out why what we do is essential to a happy and well rounded society. Some of my main takeaways from During’s article were the following…

• The humanities use creativity and critique as tools that work hand and hand.  
• In order to fully understand we must look at the humanities as a story and start from the beginning and learn from the history.  
• We must try to deter misinformation and educate others of the importance of the humanities.
• We have to understand the limits of the humanities (not everything qualifies obviously) 
• We must keep an open mind to future possibilities and uncertainty in order to fully grasp and appreciate the humanities for all they have to offer.