Arts and Humantities in Higher Education

Introduction

"The arts and humanities are more essential than ever to the endurance of our democratic values of tolerance, pluralism and freedom. At a time when so much is happening to change the way we work and live, the way we relate to one another and the way we relate to the rest of the world, we cannot fully understand the past, nor envision the future we need to pursuer without the arts and humanities."- (www.nytimes.com)Excerpts from First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's remarks to the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, Washington, D.C. February 25, 1997.

Thesis Statement

Arts and humanities are vital subjects to be taught in higher education as they can help us think, make decisions upon the mistakes that had already be done in the past and also the great things people accomplished.

Arts and Humanities

What are arts and humanities? Is it simply history, philosophy, literature, arts and music? Arts and humanities are far beyond that. It helps us to have a better vision of the past and how the world is changing through out times. On the other hand, However, with the never-ending demands of new technology and invention, the society is starting to pay less attention to the importance of arts and humanities. Therefore generations today are lacking the knowledge of these subjects. As a result, generations today without arts and humanities are lacking the ability of critical thinking as well as how the world revolves around us, and the ability to read, reason and communicate.

The study of humanities has been around since mankind began investigating and questioning the world they lived in. According to an article (chronicle.com) when the National Endowment for the Humanities was established in 1964, Congress created the following definition of humanities which included the study of:history, literature, philosophy and ethics, foreign languages and cultures, linguistics, jurisprudence or philosophy of law, archeology, comparative religion, the history, theory, and criticism of the arts, and those aspects of the social sciences.

History of Arts and humanities

Arts and humanities are two such things, which have been interlinked for as long as we can remember. There have been times when they have done wonders for the human race and they will continue to do so for all times to come. There are no specific reasons for the history to have shaped out in this manner (Fiero 89-109).

The development of the human race, human kind and the civilization depends on such literary works and an art is another kind of literature although people may find it a touch unrealistic and hard to believe. But anything that has a direct bearing on our thinking patterns is bound to have that kind of a direct impact in any case and in any form.

Arts have gone though various and distinct phases through the annals of history and it is something that will continue to grow over the years. There is no such thing as a rich or a poor culture. But at the same time it is ...