Smart Art: Humanities

An Introduction to the Humanities

Ask someone to what is meant by the study of geography, history, biology, or physics, and you'll probably get a fairly confident reply that's pretty close to being right. Ask someone what is meant by the study of the humanities, and you'll probably get a reply like, "Can you be more specific?"

Most of us just don't understand what this means, so don't feel bad if you don't. This is actually a general category of knowledge areas, and not everyone puts the same areas in that category. Stanford University has eleven humanities departments:

1. Art & Art History
2. Classics
3. Drama
4. East Asian Languages and Cultures
5. English
6. History
7. Linguistics
8. Music
9. Philosophy
10. Religious Studies
11. Division of Literatures, Cultures & Languages.

Other universities are similar, but not always identical. This is a good list, however, for getting a grasp of what's meant. If you add Law to it, you'll have a list that is more universal in application.

So it's not generally the case that you would go to university and "study humanities" to get a humanities degree. While such degrees are offered by some schools, it is far more likely you would get an English degree or a degree in one of the humanities rather than a degree by that name.

The humanities fall under another broad category, liberal arts. Generally, academics presents us with a fork in the road. You can pursue a liberal arts degree, or you can seek a science/math degree.

Under the rubric of science/math, we have engineering and all the other "quant" (quantitative) disciplines. Some people refer to these as the hard studies (hard meaning "not abstract," rather than "not difficult," though these programs are generally considered far more difficult to complete than liberal arts programs are).

If you do complete a degree in one of the humanities, you can expect below average pay. That said, there are outliers in these fields of study who do quite well financially. And in some cases, such as linguists, demand is currently high. The NSA is always looking for linguists, for example.

Because of the pay situation, many people with a humanities interest do not pursue a humanities-related career. The members of the rock band Boston (from the 1980s) are engineers by education. Some people will go back for a second career, after having "made it in the real world," and it's there they find true satisfaction in their calling. Others pursue their passion and personal development in parallel with their "regular job," often attending night school or taking a series of sabbaticals to do it.

Others become amateur historians, writers, musicians, etc., while slowly working on their academic credentials over a long time. Their passion is such that some of these people make significant achievements and are awarded honorary degrees in recognition of that.

Then there are people like Dr. Condoleezza Rice, who rise to Secretary of State based in no small part on their academic credentials in one of the humanities.

Another reason people choose to study the humanities has nothing to do with their career path or passion. They choose to do so because of a desire to develop personally. A person in a left-brained career such as, say, accounting, might want to get a right-brained degree in art appreciation because of the personal benefits that would accrue. In many cases, people with an established career don't have the time to seek a second degree so they study without that goal. They'll read books, watch videos, attend conferences, and, yes, buy posters.

Whether you choose the humanities for career or personal reasons, doing so need not be an either/or choice for the rest of your life. If you go the hard science track, adding humanities to your brainfood mix will be a very good thing for you.