UNIT 1: The Nature of Art

Introduction to
the Humanities
Topic 1

Ma. Jocille S. Alabata, RPm

Notre Dame of Marbel University
Objectives
•At the end of each lesson, the students
should have been able to:
a. Reflect on the importance of humanities
b. Define Humanities
c. List reasons on why humanities matter
d. Recall a poem, story or song that has
moved or made a difference to them
2
•In what way can art help
you as an individual?
•In what way can art help
you in your chosen
course/field?
3
 In what way do we process and
document the human experience?
 What are the Humanities?
•The Humanities- study of how people process and
document the human experience.
•In what way do we process and document the human
experience?
•We used philosophy, literature, religion, art, music, history
and language to understand and record our world.
•Knowledge of these records of human experience gives
us the opportunity to feel a sense of connection to those
who have come before us, as well as our contemporaries.

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Why do the Humanities Matter?
Insight into Everything
• Through exploration of the humanities we learn how to
think creatively and critically, to reason, and to ask
questions
• Because these skills allow us to gain new insights into
everything from poetry and paintings to business models
and politics
• Humanistics subjects have been at the heart of liberal
arts education since the Greeks first used them to
educate their citizens
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Understanding our World
•Adds to our knowledge about our world.
•Values of different cultures, about what goes into
making a work of art, about how history is made.
•Their efforts preserve the great accomplishments
of the past, help us understand the world we live
in, and give us tools to imagine the future.

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Bringing Clarity to the Future
• Humanistic knowledge continues to provide the ideal foundation for exploring
and understanding the human experience.
• Philosophy – thinking about ethical questions
• Learning another language – gain an appreciation for the similarities in
different cultures
• Contemplating a sculpture – how an artist’s life affected her creative decisions
• Reading a book from another region of the world – think about the meaning of
democracy
• Listening to a history course – understand the past, and the future.

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• The humanities are the stories, the ideas, and the words that help us make
sense of our lives and our world.
• Humanities introduce us to people we have never met, places we have never
visited and ideas that may have never crossed our minds.
• By showing how others have lived and thought about life, the humanities help
us decide what is important in our own lives and what we can do to make them
better.
• By connecting us with other people, they point the way to answers about what
is right or wrong or what is true to our heritage and history
• Humanities help us address the challenges we face together in our families,
communities and as a nation.