Orientation Pages
Course Description
What are the humanities? Many people see the humanities as a needless luxury, which should be reserved for those who have nothing better to do. It may be argued that the humanities are non-utilitarian, even non-functional. But it may also be argued that the humanities (human is critical here) are intrinsically human endeavors, and may be that which separates us from other species. At one time it was said that language distinguished us from other animal, but now we know that other species have communication systems. It was also said that "man is the tool-maker", but chimpanzees and orangutans make and use tools, too. For more than 30,000 years human beings have created works of art, which often serve a religious purpose. It seems that humans have an inherent need to express a sense of the spirit, the aesthetic, and to develop an understanding for some meaning in existence. This may, indeed, be non-utilitarian and non-functional, but certainly not needless. If life were only utilitarian and functional, it would be a very parched desert. In our frantic, modern life, it may vitally important to delve into expressions of beauty and the human spirit, and build a sense of meaning into our own lives.
Traditionally, humanities courses have focused on the artistic, literary, musical, and philosophical issues that have created the artistic tradition of the West. We are increasingly aware, however, that world culture is our heritage.. Thus, we will include an examination of the cultures of the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas along with a survey of the development of Western culture from prehistory through the European Middle Ages. In doing so, we will provide a perspective on the culture that subsequently developed.
A simple chronological approach to the development of culture quickly becomes impossible to maintain. We will follow a chronology as far as possible, but we will wander the globe and will necessarily backtrack often so that we can cover contemporaneous developments in different geographical locations. We will begin our study with the earliest examples and then move into the early Middle East and Egypt.
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