Humanities facts for kids
The humanities are a group of subjects that study human culture and society. They help us understand what it means to be human, how people think, and how societies work. These subjects often explore big ideas about life, art, history, and how we communicate.
Some of the main subjects in the humanities include:
- Languages: Like learning English, Spanish, or French.
- Literature: Reading and studying stories, poems, and plays.
- Music: Understanding how music is made and its history.
- Philosophy: Thinking about big questions like "What is truth?" or "What is right and wrong?".
- Politics: Learning about how governments work and how societies are organized.
- History: Studying events and people from the past.
- Media: Looking at how news and information are shared, like through TV, radio, or the internet.
- The classics: Studying ancient Greek and Roman cultures.
- Religion: Exploring different beliefs and spiritual practices.
- The visual and performing arts: Creating and enjoying art like painting, sculpture, theater, and dance.
Sometimes, other subjects like anthropology (the study of human societies and cultures), communications (how people share information), and cultural studies (how culture shapes our lives) are also considered part of the humanities. These subjects became very popular during the Renaissance period, which was a time of great rebirth in art, science, and learning in Europe.
Contents
Exploring the Arts
The arts are a big and important part of the humanities. They are all about human creativity and expression.
Different Kinds of Art
The arts include many different forms:
- Visual arts: These are things you can see, like painting (creating pictures with paint) and sculpture (making 3D art from materials like clay or stone).
- Performing arts: These are arts that are performed live, such as theatre (acting in plays) and dance (moving to music).
- Literature: This is the art of written words, like novels, poems, and plays.
Sometimes, even subjects like language are seen as part of the arts, especially when we talk about "language arts," which focuses on reading, writing, and speaking well.
How Humanities Study Humans
The humanities focus on the human condition. This means they look at what it's like to be a human being, our experiences, thoughts, and feelings.
Different Ways of Thinking
Unlike natural and social sciences which often use empirical methods (meaning they rely on experiments and observations), the humanities use different approaches. They often use methods that are:
- Analytic: Breaking down ideas and texts to understand them better.
- Critical: Carefully evaluating ideas, arguments, and works of art.
- Speculative: Thinking deeply about possibilities and abstract ideas, often without a single "right" answer.
These methods help us interpret meaning, understand different perspectives, and explore complex human experiences.
Related Topics
- Human nature: What makes us human?
- Liberal arts: A broad education that includes humanities, sciences, and social sciences.
- Trivium: An old way of learning that focused on grammar, logic, and rhetoric.
Images for kids
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The philosopher Plato – Roman copy of a work by Silanion for the Academia in Athens (c. 370 BC)
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Bust of Homer, the most famous Greek poet
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The works of Søren Kierkegaard overlap into many fields of the humanities, such as philosophy, literature, theology, music, and classical studies.
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Concert in the Mozarteum, Salzburg
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Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong (1107–1187) of Song Dynasty; fan mounted as album leaf on silk, four columns in cursive script.
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Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci, is one of the most recognizable artistic paintings in the world.
See also
In Spanish: Humanidades para niños
