While it may seem to simply be the difference between the size of a letter, the context between Humanities versus humanities are two distinct ideas. In my opinion, Humanities is a class or a way to study the humanities of the world. Therefore, humanities explore human interaction and our interconnectedness.
This semester, I have studied Humanities through various topics, units, and perspectives. By learning through these various lenses, I have learned how to notice similarities between topics, and I have learned how to notice differences among humans and our defining individuality. Unit one focused on how accessible historical artifacts define our understanding of how history panned out. Although, it was mentioned that it is impossible to discover and analyze every historical document that may help us in our understanding, meaning there are different interpretations on certain historical events and documents. Professor Quillen mentioned at the start of the unit how individuals define their own beliefs based on how they discover information and interpret information. In Humanities, there are only so much time to discover and interpret information, therefore depending on how we use our time will lead to our understanding of humanities. Unit two was filled with the ideas of language and translation, in which we explored by watching the movie Arrival and listening to a diverse panel lecture on translation itself. Language defines our connection to the world and to others but can be interpreted in many different ways. Therefore, the same words and expressions can translate into different meanings in various cultures, affecting our understanding of humanity and its history. Unit three was centered around ownership of a body and the meaning of citizenship. Within this unit, we had to think about our own definition of citizenship and how the government interacts with an individual’s citizenship. It was discussed that many governments need people to be a citizen, they cannot just be an individual. Also, it was brought to our attention how realistically, the need for citizenship goes against the idea that every individual is a part of humanities. Political structures that have been established by governments have divided humans into various categories, harming our human connection. People see themselves differently from other people who are not a part of the same structure they belong to. Unit four included various religious texts and had a heavy focus on the Civil Rights movements that have happened throughout history. Religion was a major factor in the issue of racial superiority throughout history, therefore it becomes a popular topic studied in Humanities. Professor Wills discussed the issues that stemmed from the commonality of “white privilege” and issues of gender, especially in relation to humanity. Racial issues and gender issues throughout history went against what humanity means because of the poor treatment of others. By studying humanities in Humanities and learning from our history, we as a society realize the harm we did against others and attempt to make our future have a more positive light than our past did.
