Humanities

The humanities
help us understand others through their languages, histories and

cultures. They foster social justice and equality. And they reveal how people have tried to make
moral, spiritual and intellectual sense of the world. The humanities teach empathy.
1.
Humanities - Origin of the Term
The word "humanities" is derived from the Renaissance Latin expression studia humanitatis, or "study of
humanitas" (a classical Latin word meaning--in addition to "humanity"--"culture, refinement, education"
and, specifically, an"education befitting a cultivated man"). In its usage in the early 15th century, the studia
humanitatis was a course of studies that consisted of grammar, poetry, rhetoric, history, and moral
philosophy, primarily derived from the study of Latin and Greek classics. The word humanitas also gave rise
to the Renaissance Italian neologism umanisti, whence "humanist", "Renaissance humanism".
The humanities help us understand others through their languages, histories and

cultures. They foster social justice and equality. And they reveal how people have tried to make
moral, spiritual and intellectual sense of the world. The humanities teach empathy.
2.
Art appreciation helps open up the mindset of the people, by listening to different perspective
and views as well as interpretations of the art, it encourages thoughtful conversation and the
understanding that there is more than one approach to everything.
Art appreciation is extremely relevant for multiple reasons. It is a good way to understand the
history behind the work, and the period from which the piece originated
3.
art history, also called art historiography, historical study of the visual arts, being
concerned with identifying, classifying, describing, evaluating, interpreting, and
understanding the art products and historic development of the fields
of painting, sculpture, architecture, the decorative
arts, drawing, printmaking, photography, interior design, etc.
Art historical research has two primary concerns. The first is (1) to discover who made a
particular art object (attribution), (2) to authenticate an art object, determining whether
it was indeed made by the artist to whom it is traditionally attributed, (3) to determine
at what stage in a culture’s development or in an artist’s career the object in question
was made, (4) to assay the influence of one artist on succeeding ones in the historical
past, and (5) to gather biographical data on artists and documentation (provenance) on
the previous whereabouts and ownership of particular works of art.
4.
Formalism
Formalism is the study of the compositional elements of art by analyzing and
comparing color, line, shape, texture, and other purely visual elements of the
work.
Biography
Biographical interpretation of art focuses on the life and times of the artist.
It’s a natural approach for many art viewers, for whom the stories about the
artist inform and enrich the artwork itself.
Iconography
Iconographic analysis, also called semiotics seeks to understand the meaning
a work of art had at the time it was made. The iconographic method asks
“What was this artwork for?” and looks for recognizable symbols that
communicate purpose, like religious iconography or symbols of wealth and
power.
Critical theory
Critical theory, or ‘social critical theory’ is a broad term for a variety of
methodologies that attempt to understand artwork by the societal structures
and pressures that influenced it. Critical theory includes Marxist theory,
feminist theory, psychoanalysis, post-colonialism, and queer theory among
others.
M A RX IS M
While named after the famous philosopher and economist Karl Marx, the
Marxist art methodology more broadly examines art based on the economic
and social conditions that informed the artist and the work. Through the
Marxist lens, artwork is examined for its depiction and relation to class,
mass-production, and society.
F EM IN IS M
In the 1970’s, during the developing feminist movement, feminist art
criticism emerged as a way to examine of both visual representations of
women in art and art produced by women. For generations, women have been
under-represented in the art world, and the feminist lens on art history has
been pivotal in dismantling the underlying assumptions around gender and
artistic ability.
P SY C H OA N A LY S IS
In the early 1890s, psychologist Sigmund Freud developed the theory of
psychoanalysis, the idea that human behaviour is largely determined by
irrational drives that are rooted in the unconscious. Applied to art,
Psychoanalysis attempts to determine the subconcious influences and
motivations that underly artwork.
Q U EER TH EO RY
Just as Feminist theory works to broaden art theory past the male-centric
viewpoint, Queer theorists challenge the discourse regarding
heteronormativity, expanding the artistic dialog to include queer artists and
artwork, and re-evaluate art history to include historically marginalized
sexualities.
P OS TC O LO N IA LIS M
Postcolonialism examines the impact of colonialism and imperialism on art,
with an eye to the control and exploitation of native people, the politics of
knowledge, and the constructions of political power that sustain colonialism
5.
Art history provides a means by which we can understand our human past and its
relationship to our present, because the act of making art is one of humanity’s most
ubiquitous activities.
As an art historian you will learn about this rich and fundamental strand of human
culture. You will learn to talk and write about works of art from different periods and
places, in the same way that other students learn to write about literature or history.
But you will also learn skills unique to art historians. You will learn to make visual
arguments and, above all, you will train your eyes and brain in the skills of critical
looking.

Humanities

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The humanities

help us understand others through their languages, histories and

The humanities help us understand others through their languages, histories and

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