What are the Humanities?

  • The Humanities ask questions about meaning, value, and significance.
  • The Humanities include all disciplines that employ interpretive, non-quantitative methodologies to probe and express the human condition.
  • Some subjects, such as art, history, music, religious studies, philosophy, and literature, lie almost entirely within the Humanities domain, while others, such as education and the social and behavioral sciences, have significant Humanities components.
  • The Humanities embrace one another across boundaries, stressing the importance of interdisciplinary study and collaboration, striving to connect disparate fields and to integrate knowledge around the experience of being human.
  • The Humanities are a primary vehicle of cultural memory. They preserve, transmit, and critique the experiences of humanity.
  • The Humanities deepen our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world.