What are the Humanities?
If I were to describe the humanities to someone that was not familiar with the topic, I would state that the humanities encompass many disciplines that study the human experience, such as art, literature, history, music, and philosophy. These disciplines focus on how humans interact and relate to the environment around them. Since all humans are unique due to genetics, environment, culture, and socioeconomic status, the works and expressions of the humanities are unable to be hypothesized, theorized, tested or reproduced through a series of laws, such as the mathematics and science fields. As During states, the works of the humanities are unique interpretations, not truths, because what one experiences may be their truth, but not to another person (During, 2020).
When speaking about the humanities, I would also note how our society currently perceives them in the “real” or “working” world. With the rise of technology, it seems that interest in studying the humanities has reduced over time. As our society struggles with a lack of healthcare workers, electricians, cybersecurity analysts, etc., students may easily disregard the humanities for more lucrative fields of study. During addresses the humanities “crisis” within universities as they strive to come to terms with what the humanities should be in comparison to other interdisciplinary programs. Inadvertently, the humanities are becoming “flattened” or merged, through this process. However, During recognizes that outside the universities, the humanities are thriving (During, 2020). I would have liked him to expand on this and provide more examples, but I can identify that by definition, people need the humanities to enrich their life and to connect to the world around them.
As I was searching for humanities topics in the news, I found that some writers argue that the humanities will become more popular as technology improves and artificial intelligence takes over more analytical jobs. The fact is that artificial intelligence will never truly be able to express the human experience on its own, so the humanities would solely become a human’s occupation. During’s statement that the humanities are an “inherited archive” resonated deeply with me (perhaps as a history major?), as “a place where objects may disappear and reappear, and of an inheritance as a body of work that is intentionally delivered into the future and received from the past, but without necessarily constituting a tradition” (During, 2020). The humanities archive is built upon past interpretations, its inventory able to be critiqued and appreciated, and impressing upon future generations experience of the world.
Part 2- Framing During’s Project Using Harris’ Terms
My understanding of During’s project is that he attempts to neutrally analyze what the humanities are, seek how to identify their unique characteristics, and to understand the complexities of the term and topic. During states that instead of a basic humanities concept, there is a humanities world, which is “both open-ended and limited. It is open in that from the inside the humanities world one doesn’t see clear boundaries. But it is limited because, we, as if intuitively, know that the humanities are distinct from other worlds-from the worlds of science, sport, business, and so on…” (During, 2020). He argues that the humanities cannot be defined by certain objects, characteristics or purposes: the only way to identify what the humanities are is to tell their story.
