The traditional “humanities” are often perceived as a study of arts, laws, religions, and other fields that encompass cultures. However, in my experience with humanities at Davidson, we spent about three weeks learning about the Scientific Revolution, something I never considered to be part of the humanities. This challenged my beliefs on the humanities, leading to the new definition below:
The humanities (lowercase-h) represent the study of the change and growth in humanity over time, as well as what makes humanity diverse, requiring studies that include a variety of perspectives. This does include the traditional humanities, such as art, religion, philosophy, language, etc. but this definition expands it to include anything that is representative of humanity, as long as it focuses on the growth and change that humans are making. One goal within the humanities (lowercase-h) is to find some sort of truth and understand identity. Humanities (uppercase-H), however, is simply the course at Davidson which deals with the humanities (lowercase-h), focusing on revolution.
For this definition, I used Dr. Robb’s “cluster definition,” in that the humanities must satisfy most or all of the conditions listed above.
At the beginning of the Humanities course, we focused heavily on politics and philosophy, two categories within the traditional humanities (lowercase-h). These texts, however, all centered around major changes within humanity, which often fit in with the overarching theme of revolution in Humanities (uppercase-H).
Focusing on identity was also a key theme in this unit – we studied Amin Maalouf, who discussed how his upbringing, with French and Lebanese culture, defined his identity. People would often question how he understands this intersection of different cultures, asking “what do you really feel you are?” even when he defined himself by all his experiences rather than putting himself into a box (Maalouf 2). This fits in with the goal of finding truth and understanding identity within the humanities, as he was able to find identity at the intersection of different worldviews.
Our second unit focused on paradigm shifts, or widespread changes in thought. Studying the humanities is a continual examination of the paradigms of the past, and an attempt to recognize our paradigms of the present. The Borges story is a great example of this, as it requires us to deconstruct everything we know about language – which is one of the ultimate paradigms we live under – to understand another world and try to recognize its truth.
We also studied the Rwandan Genocide, with reflections upon the human gaze and body as a means of expression. Sarita See discussed the “somatic and the sensual as a means of opening the Filipino American past,” an artistic depiction of collective identity and struggles (See 4). This poem offers a depiction of identity of an oppressed group, one that is not often shown or discussed. The depiction of a marginalized group is revolutionary, as it represents a shift in thinking.
We discussed the graphic novel March and John Lewis’s impact on the Civil Rights movement. His Christianity is heavily depicted in the novel, showing the importance of finding one’s identity for making change. Religion is one of the traditional humanities, which fits in well with the course. Religion can be used as a means to find one’s individual truth, which can inspire change.
One of the goals of the humanities, to tell untold stories, was extensively studied in Unit 5. Unit 5 focused on the archive and how we tell stories. We focused on telling stories through dance and non-Western archives. Archives are undoubtedly a large part of the humanities, as we cannot study our history without them; before Humanities at Davidson, I only considered “traditional” archives like history books and databases. I learned, through Unit 5, that non-Western archives, such as oral history and dance, are necessary in recognizing our traditions and histories. Oftentimes, these archives express truth and identity.
Unit 6 bridged the gap between traditional sciences and traditional humanities. Most people consider visual arts to be part of humanities, but do not consider how science feeds into this. Charles Percy Snow argues that intellectual discourse is divided into scientists and literary intellectuals (people who study the traditional humanities); he says that there is “a gulf of mutual incomprehension” between the groups (Snow 5). Since these two groups are so severely divided, there is not often a crossover between the disciplines. However, Eric Kandel’s discussion of “scientific reductionism,” the examination of art through a scientific lense, promotes the value of interdisciplinary thinking. This is why the Humanities program at Davidson is valuable; we do not solely focus on the traditional humanities, but we look at a variety of subjects and disciplines to find truth.
Unit 7 began with the novel Sophia Petrovna, about a woman’s struggles with senseless disappearances and bureaucracy during Stalin’s purges. In the time it was written, the author, Lydia Chukovskaya, random individuals faced persecution. Therefore, Chukovskaya did not publish the novel until the 1960s. This novel represents the truth of many Russians during the purges. However, she could have faced oppression as an “enemy of the state” for telling her perspective, as it was not the story told by the state. The humanities are so valuable because they lead to products that document otherwise untold perspectives – without Chukovskaya’s novel and other similar accounts, we might never know of the horrors faced by Russian citizens of the time.
Unit 8 focused on the Red Army Faction (RAF), a militant leftist group in Germany, popular in the 1970s. This group fought against the German state, which they perceived as a group of fascists. If studying humanities studies change and growth over time, it is imperative that we study groups like these. The RAF signaled a change in perspectives of leftist groups around the world and their desire to fight.
Citations
Kandel, Eric R. 2016. Reductionism in Art and Brain Science : Bridging the Two Cultures. New York: Columbia University Press. http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.davidson.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1341916&site=ehost-live.
Maalouf, Amin. “Deadly Identities” Al Jadid, Vol. 4, No. 25 (Fall 1998)
See, Sarita. “An Open Wound: Angel Shaw and Manuel Ocampo” in The Decolonized Eye: Filipino American Art and Performance. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. pp. 1-9
Snow, Charles Percy. The Two Cultures. London: Cambridge University Press (1959).
