humanities
Literature and philosophy
The humanities are academic disciplines that study human culture, thought, and expression—including literature, philosophy, history, languages, art, and religion.
Unlike the sciences, which seek empirical truths about the natural world, the humanities explore meaning, values, and the human experience through interpretation and analysis.
She majored in the humanities before going to law school.
The term often appears in discussions about liberal arts education and its value in developing critical thinking.
Study of right conduct
- metaphysicsPhilosophy of existence's nature
- epistemologyTheory of knowledge
- logicScience of valid reasoning
- aestheticsTheory of beauty
ontology · phenomenology · existentialism · rationalism · empiricism · stoicism · pragmatism · utilitarianism
Study of human cultures
- ethnographySystematic study of peoples
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- traditionsLong-established customs passed down
New and unusual
- poetryMetrical literary composition
- proseUnversified language
- fictionImagined narrative work
- dramaTheatrical art or turmoil
narrative · mythology · epic · tragedy · comedy · sonnet · haiku · allegory
Study of the divine
- divinitySacred nature or nougat-like sweet
- spiritualityConnection to the sacred
- mythologyBody of traditional tales
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
doctrine · eschatology · liturgy · mysticism · ecclesiastical · scriptural · interfaith · pilgrimage
Scholarly study of compositions
- aestheticsTheory of beauty
- criticismJudgment of faults
- iconographyAnalysis of artistic symbols
- compositionArranged elements forming whole
ballet · opera · sculpture · painting · architecture · cinema · photography · curatorial
Study of physical remnants
- historiographyStudy of history-writing
- antiquityGreat age, ancient era
- civilizationsComplex organized human societies
- archivesStored historical documents
artifacts · chronology · oral-history · paleography · genealogy · monuments · empires · revolutions
Rules for arranging words
- semanticsStudy of linguistic meaning
- phoneticsStudy of speech sounds
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
- etymologyWord origin study
pragmatics · sociolinguistics · phonology · lexicography · dialectology · bilingualism · grammar · cognates
ethics
Study of right conduct
- metaphysicsPhilosophy of existence's nature
- epistemologyTheory of knowledge
- logicScience of valid reasoning
aesthetics · ontology · phenomenology · existentialism · rationalism · empiricism · stoicism · pragmatism · utilitarianism · deontology
anthropology
Study of human cultures
- ethnographySystematic study of peoples
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
traditions · diaspora · identity · representation · intercultural
novel
New and unusual
drama · narrative · mythology · epic · tragedy · comedy · sonnet · haiku · allegory · satire
theology
Study of the divine
- divinitySacred nature or nougat-like sweet
- spiritualityConnection to the sacred
- mythologyBody of traditional tales
ritual · doctrine · eschatology · liturgy · mysticism · ecclesiastical · scriptural · interfaith · pilgrimage · theodicy
musicology
Scholarly study of compositions
- aestheticsTheory of beauty
- criticismJudgment of faults
- iconographyAnalysis of artistic symbols
composition · ballet · opera · sculpture · painting · architecture · cinema · photography · curatorial · conservation
archaeology
Study of physical remnants
- historiographyStudy of history-writing
- antiquityGreat age, ancient era
- civilizationsComplex organized human societies
archives · artifacts · chronology · oral-history · paleography · genealogy · monuments · empires · revolutions · periodization
syntax
Rules for arranging words
- semanticsStudy of linguistic meaning
- phoneticsStudy of speech sounds
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
etymology · pragmatics · sociolinguistics · phonology · lexicography · dialectology · bilingualism · grammar · cognates · semiotics
- Arts & Sciencescreativity, music, painting, sculpture, literature
- culturemusic taste, beliefs, food preferences, custom, festivals
- school subjectsmath, English, science, history, reading
- academic fieldsmathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, history
- academicsprofessor, course, university professors, math, professors
- disciplinesbiology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, psychology
humanitiesSTEM
Four-discipline academic grouping
sciences · hard sciences · natural sciences · applied sciences · engineering
humanitiesinhumanities
Acts of extreme cruelty
cruelties · atrocities · barbarities · inhumanity · brutalities
- arts and humanitiesStudies of human expression
- humanities coursesStudies of culture and thought
- humanities departmentsUniversity divisions for liberal arts
human, humane, humanity, inhuman, humankind, inhumanity, humanism, humanist, humaneness