Humanities

The humanities are a group of academic subjects united by a commitment to studying aspects of the human condition and a qualitative approach that generally prevents a single paradigm from coming to define any discipline.

In academia, the humanities are generally considered to be, along with the social sciences and the natural sciences, one of three major components of the liberal arts and sciences.

While the precise definition of the humanities can be contentious, the following disciplines are generally recognized to form their core:

• The Classics:
  • Ancient Greek
  • Latin
• Literature
• Philosophy
• The study of Religion
• History
• Jurisprudence
• The history, theory, and criticism of the arts
• Area studies
  • Women's studies
  • African-American studies
  • Regional interdisciplinary fields such as East Asian studies and American studies

The contents of the humanities are nowhere particularly proscribed. Some expand the definition to include other studies of human life using qualitative description and analysis:

• cultural anthropology
• sociology
• political science
• archaeology
• Some branches of economics

See also:

• The Two Cultures