HUMANITIES

Humbat Jafarov (ID: 5172)
ENG 82B
Written Communication
Dr. Sylvia Y. Schoemaker Rippel
December 2, 2008

Humanities

According to Wikipedia, the humanities are academic disciplines which study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytic, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural and social sciences.
Examples of the disciplines related to humanities are ancient and modern languages, literature, history, philosophy, religion, visual and performance arts (including music).
Art is the process or product of deliberately and creatively elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. In its narrow sense, the word art most often refers specifically to the visual arts, including media such as painting, sculpture, and printmaking. However, “the arts” may also encompass a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music and literature. Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy which studies art.
Traditionally, the term art was used to refer to any skill or mastery. This conception changed during the Romantic period, when art came to be seen as “a special faculty of the human mind to be classified with religion and science”. Generally, art is a human activity, made with the intention of stimulating thoughts and emotions. Beyond this description, there is no general agreed-upon definition of art.
Music is an art form in which the medium is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch (which governs melody and harmony), rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture. The word derives from Greek μουσική (mousike), “(art) of the Muses”.
Literature is the art of written works. Literally translated, the word means “acquaintance with letters” (from Latin littera letter). In Western culture the most basic written literary types include fiction and non-fiction.