The Humanities?
What are the humanities? The idea of the humanities as a distinctive category of knowledge and study first appeared in the United States early in the twentieth century, but at that date–unlike today–the “field” was understood to include only the organized study of Greek and Latin classics. Our contemporary understanding of the humanities–that it is a broad category containing diverse branches of learning that differ from the physical, biological, and certain of the social sciences–only arose in American universities around 1930. Today we characterize the humanities as an especially rich and interdisciplinary collection of fields and endeavors, each of which studies and interprets human thought and culture. The humanities thus include the study of literature, philosophy, history, art, and music, as well as other cultural forms and practices such as film, dance, theater and television. The fields and disciplines embraced by the humanities have changed dynamically in recent years, and the Institute acknowledges and encourages the vitality of empirical and theoretical changes in the humanities at Northwestern University.
Why the humanities? Studying the humanities allows us to know ourselves and achieve a necessary sense of what it means to be fully human--here and now as well as elsewhere and in the past. Perhaps more than ever before, we are challenged not to take what "being human"
means and has meant for granted. Whatever your future career may be, study in the humanities fosters a knowledgeable and critical perspective on individuality and citizenship in the complex contemporary world.
Northwestern University includes departments that specialize in the various humanities, such as the departments of Philosophy, Classics, English, French and Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, Slavic Languages and Literature, and Art History. There are scholars working in the humanities elsewhere in the university, such as the School of Communication (SoC), the Medill School of Journalism, the School of Education and Social Policy (SESP), the School of Music, and the School of Continuing Studies (SCS). In addition, Northwestern University has a variety of interdisciplinary programs that bring disciplines together in a dynamic association, e.g. WCAS American Studies and SoC Screen Cultures. The Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities provides a space for humanists from across the University to meet and exchange ideas.
The interdisciplinary approach favored by programs and departments across the campus is echoed by the credo of the Institute itself. Student engagement with the various humanities “entities” at Northwestern University gives undergraduate and graduate students alike the opportunity to engage in a stimulating exchange of ideas on a broad range of topics, exposing them to a variety of approaches and methods. The intellectual rigor involved promotes critical thinking and the ability to analyze events and research materials imaginatively. Students learn to think, speak, and write in a clear and cogent manner: abilities that are useful in every walk of life. What is more, they learn to question assumptions and to look at the larger picture, thus achieving an intellectually independent frame of mind.
Majoring or minoring in a humanities field is an excellent way to prepare for life, including a career in business. Here is what one NU graduate, now prominent in the corporate world, says about the humanities:
"I always try to hire humanities majors, especially those who studied literature, history or philosophy because those are highly analytical disciplines. A successful student in the humanities will have developed the ability to think critically, analyze material in depth and express themselves clearly and concisely. Moreover, the study of humanities involves dealing with the major themes of the great thinkers throughout time such as good and evil, truth and illusion, etc. What better ethical training can there be in the business world?"
Another NU graduate, Kathy Karth Jones, is a principal with Brandywine Asset Management. She serves as a portfolio manager, co-managing a $1.8 billion global bond fund and managing a start-up hedge fund for institutional clients. Ms. Jones received her B.A. with honors from Northwestern University in 1977, and received an M.M. in finance from the Kellogg School of Management in 1982. This is what she has to say about the value of the humanities and a liberal education:
"When students ask me why I chose to study history and get a liberal arts degree, as opposed to pursuing an undergraduate business degree at another school, I tell them that they have their entire life to study business. Business is a 'trade,' so to speak and can be learned in the working world as well as the classroom. Undergraduate education is a special time in life. I encourage students to explore what they find interesting and engaging. Students have "the rest of their post-undergraduate lives" to study business. Moreover, in the right liberal arts setting, usually without recognizing it, students gain invaluable skills which translate nicely into the business world such as written and spoken communication and critical thinking. It is surprising how important, yet how rare, these skills are found in the business world. Above all, among the successful and engaging CEOs and senior-level professionals, with whom I work every day, most have liberal arts degrees. Leveraging the skills they learned in the liberal arts classroom, they used their time after college to learn and excel in the technical elements of business."
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To learn more about individual departments and programs, please click on them:
African American Studies African and Asian Languages (PAAL) | African Studies (PAS) | American Studies | Art History Art Theory and Practice | Asian American Studies | Asian and Middle East Studies | Classics | Center for the Writing Arts | Classical Traditions Initiative | Comparative Literary Studies | Critical Theory English | European Studies | Film Studies | French and Italian | Gender Studies German | History | International Studies | Jewish Studies | Latin American and Caribbean Studies Legal Studies | Philosophy | Religion | Science in Human Culture | Slavic Languages and Literatures | Spanish and Portuguese | Writing Program
SOCIAL SCIENCES are often closely linked to the humanities in subject matter and methodologies. Scholars engaged in social sciences research often cross boundaries and collaborate with humanities fields. For example, Professor Cynthia Robin, an archaeologist in the Anthropology Department, was a Fellow at the Kaplan Center for the Humanities in 2002-2003, working on her research of ancient Mayan everyday culture, and in the winter of 2004 teaching a humanities class on Ancient Everyday Life. Here are some pertinent departments and programs: Anthropology, History, Linguistics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology
OTHER SCHOOLS with a humanities component:
