define humanities essay

Humanities: Definition and Types Essay

Introduction, types of humanities, reference list.

There are various academic disciplines that study the human condition such as human genetics and physical anthropology. These disciplines usually use empirical methods of the natural and social sciences to study the human condition. Humanities are also a discipline that helps to study the human condition (Commission on the humanities, 1978, p.215). This essay gives a definition of humanities and the difference between humanities and other modes of human inquiry and expression. In addition, current examples of various types of humanities such as art, music, architecture, philosophy and literature and how these examples reflect on current developments on politics, social economics, and technology is also given.

Humanities are academic disciplines that analyse human beings behavior and their way of living critically and analytically. There are various examples of humanities which include; language, history, philosophy, religion, performing arts and music. Other subjects such as technology, communication studies, cultural studies and linguistics are sometimes considered as humanities.

What distinguishes humanities from other modes of human inquiry and expression such as human genetics is that humanities studies how human beings, understands their own entities as human beings. Humanities study human beings critically and analytically (Commission on the humanities, 1978, p.215). However, other modes of human inquiry and expression such as human genetics and physical anthropology look at human beings as entities which are chemical, physical and also biological in nature.

• Art: This is a type of humanities that involves drawing and painting. Drawing is a means of making an image on a surface using various tools while painting involves applying of ink on a surface.Examples of current art are carvings. Carvings are done on stone or plastics because of the unavailability of hardwood. Current technology provides tools which are used in carvings. Carvings are used for decoration and therefore they are on demand. Therefore people make money buy selling them to the public (Commission on the humanities, 1978, p.215).
• Music: Music as an example of humanities involves the act of sound production and it is a form of performing arts. Currently music production and recording is mostly used. The recorded music is sold by producers to the public and hence they earn and develop economically. Some songs are educative while others are for entertainment. According to the current technology songs are easily recorded and can be listened to or watched in future. Therefore the current technology has contributed to the current form of music. In addition, politics supports song writing and production because the government enacts laws to protect producers such as copyright and also inviting them to present their songs during public occasions.
• Literature: It could imply any symbolic record which may involve letters, or images. Book writing is supported by the government. This is because writers are protected by some rights enacted by the government. Book writing is a form of business and it is also a form of enriching the society with knowledge. Current technology of computers has helped in printing of materials.
• Philosophy : This is the study of problems that affect human beings on matters such as knowledge, truth, justice, rights, and justification, beauty, wrong and validity (Thomas, 1987, p.4). Constitutions are the current examples of philosophy.They are written to guide people on what is right or wrong and also on their rights. Politics have encouraged people to write constitutions before they can be registered either as an organization or a society.
• Architecture: this is a type of humanity that involves both art and engineering. Modern architecture use steel and metal to ensure buildings have a solid structure. The roofs are made of high quality ceramic tiles and windows are made of glass. Sometimes the walls and doors are made of glass. Many People live in aesthetic buildings and also where they fell secured and this has influenced the current architecture. The technology has improved and there are heavy machines for constructing. Government has also influenced modern architecture in that it ensures that buildings constructed mostly in towns are aesthetic.

Humanities is different from human genetics and physical anthropology because it analyses human condition critically while the other disciplines consider man as biological and chemical in nature. The subject has developed and hence has included more subjects such as communication studies, cultural studies and technology. Humanities have been influenced by development in areas such as politics, socioeconomics and technology.

• Commission on the humanities. (1978).T he humanities in American life : report of the commission on the humanities. California: University of California Press.
• Thomas. N. (1987).What does it mean? A very short introduction to philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University.
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2021, December 25). Humanities: Definition and Types. https://ivypanda.com/essays/humanities-definition-and-types/

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• Writing Analytically by Rosenwassler and Stephen
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• Djoser and Imhotep Art History
• The Immortality of Art and Architecture: Roman Pantheon and Greek Parthenon
• Modern Technologies: Impact on Employment
• How a Business Idea Becomes an Innovative Product
• Halloween Celebration in the United States
• Healthcare Service Provision: Business Start Up
• Facts, Rules and Issues in Legal Procedure
• The Science and the Scientific Work
• Cognitive Science: Psychology and Philosophy
• Science, Non-Science and Pseudo-Science
• The Topic of Gender, Sex and Communication
• Discovery and Justification by Kantorovich

• Future Students
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Center for the Humanities

What are the humanities.

The humanities are the stories, the ideas, and the words that help us understand our lives and our world. They introduce us to people we have never met, places we have never visited, and ideas that may never have crossed our minds. By showing how others have lived and thought about life, the humanities help us decide what is important and what we can do to make our own lives and the lives of others better. By connecting us with other people, the humanities point the way to answers about what is ethical and what is true to our diverse heritage, traditions, and history. They help us address the challenges we face together as families, communities, and nations. As fields of study, the humanities emphasize analysis and exchange of ideas and may be interdisciplinary.

• History and Art History study human, social, political, and cultural developments, as well as aspects of the Social Sciences that use historical or philosophical approaches.
• Literature, Languages, and Linguistics, as well as certain approaches to Journalism and Communication Studies, that explore how we communicate with each other, and how our ideas and thoughts on the human experience are expressed and interpreted.
• Philosophy, Ethics, and Comparative Religion, which consider ideas about the meaning of life and the reasons for our thoughts and actions.
• Jurisprudence, which examines the values and principles which inform our laws.
• Critical and theoretical approaches to and practices of the Arts that explore historical or philosophical questions and reflect upon the creative process.

The humanities should not be confused with “humanism,” a specific philosophical belief, nor with “humanitarianism,” the concern for charitable works and social reform.

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• Published: 09 April 2019

The place of the humanities in today’s knowledge society

• Rosário Couto Costa   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7505-4455 1  

Palgrave Communications volume  5 , Article number:  38 ( 2019 ) Cite this article

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Over the past four decades, the humanities have been subject to a progressive devaluation within the academic world, with early instances of this phenomenon tracing back to the USA and the UK. There are several clues as to how the university has generally been placing a lower importance on these fields, such as through the elimination of courses or even whole departments. It is worth mentioning that this discrimination against humanities degrees is indirect in nature, as it is in fact mostly the result of the systematic promotion of other fields, particularly, for instance, business management. Such a phenomenon has nonetheless resulted in a considerable reduction in the percentage of humanities graduates within a set of 30 OECD countries, when compared to other areas. In some countries, a decline can even be observed in relation to their absolute numbers, especially with regards to doctorate degrees. This article sheds some light on examples of international political guidelines, laid out by the OECD and the World Bank, which have contributed to this devaluation. It takes a look at the impacts of shrinking resources within academic departments of the humanities, both inside and outside of the university, while assessing the benefits and value of studying these fields. A case is made that a society that is assumed to be ideally based on knowledge should be more permeable and welcoming to the different and unique disciplines that produce it, placing fair and impartial value on its respective fields.

Introduction

In August 2017, the World Humanities Conference took place in Liège, Belgium. The theme was Challenges and Responsibilities for a Planet in Transition , and it was organized in cooperation with UNESCO. The rationale for this conference can be summarized as follows:

“The humanities were at the heart of both public debate and the political arena until the Second World War. In recent years their part was fading and they have been marginalized. It is crucial to stop their marginalization, restore them and impose their presence in the public sphere as well as in science policies Footnote 1 ”

I participated in this event and it gave me hope that it would be possible to reverse the general trend of devaluating the humanities, something that has been going on since the early 1980s, namely in the UK and in the USA (Costa, 2016 ). Such a phenomenon has coexisted with an acceleration in globalization and a widespread rise of neoliberalism, two trends which have been gradual and simultaneous in their origins (Heywood, 2014 ). In regard to the growth of neoliberalism, while in the 1980s only four countries had what could be reasonably categorized as neoliberal governments (Chile, New Zealand, the UK and the USA), at the beginning of the 21 st century that number had multiplied all around the world (Peck, 2012 ).

This marginalization of the humanities has been a gradual process that manifested itself at different times throughout the countries in which it can be observed. A global approach was used for studying this process (Costa, 2016 ), along with available OECD data which consisted of a subset of thirty countries and recorded the period between 2000 and 2012 Footnote 2 . Under these circumstances, “graduates by field of education” Footnote 3 is arguably one of the few relevant indicators that we can establish. On analysing it, one can conclude that despite some variance in tendencies for each individual nation, there is an overall shift that allows us to confidently corroborate such a devaluation when we compare figures for the year 2000 with those of 2012. This approach was further complemented with the analysis of case studies and existing academic literature on the topic (Costa, 2016 ).

With that in mind, it seems paradoxical that in a so-called knowledge society, one that should be ‘nurtured by its diversity and its capacities’ (UNESCO, 2005 , p.17), not all knowledge fields would be valued in an equitable manner. So why does it happen and why namely at the expense of the humanities? Conversely, what are the reasons for looking at the humanities in a more positive light? These reasons have long been known, but can nowadays lack sufficient recognition. The goal of this comment is to address these questions.

The way to find the answers to these discussion points begins with an analysis of political documents written within the framework of international organisations such as the World Bank and the OECD during the transition into the 21st century. This analysis identifies some political guidelines that have plausibly influenced the global shift in the number of graduates by field of education occuring between 2000 and 2012. Afterwards, we take a look at the impact that these guidelines have had both within and outside of the University. Once done, we reflect on the benefits of studying the humanities and on the complementarity of the various knowledge fields within society.

The political constraints of the devaluation of the humanities in an academic context

Taking into account the already long history of the University, its most recent transformation has been marked by the principles of neoliberalism and the pace of this change has increased since 1998 (Altbach et al., 2009 ). It is in this particular institutional context that the devaluation of the humanities has been taking place. If we pay attention to the general guidelines that have been at the core of this paradigm shift, we can see that the humanities have been confronted not so much with a direct and explicit denial of their benefits, but with the exalting of skills and traits strongly connected to other knowledge fields, such as business administration. This reasoning is based on the following analysis of some specific documents that are enlightening examples of this occurrence.

At The World Conference on Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century , organized by UNESCO in 1998, in Paris, two talks expanded on how the University was already undergoing a process of transformation—one from a practical point of view, and the second from a conceptual one.

In the first talk, titled The Financing and Management of Higher Education: a Status Report on Worldwide Reforms (Johnstone et al. 1998 ), the authors explain how the World Bank implemented its political agenda in order to reform the University throughout the 90s in several countries. A political decision to reduce public investment fundamentally altered the financial and managerial scenarios of the University. A result of this was that the academic sector was steered towards the markets, with an explicit mention in the report that this shift was meant to align with neoliberal principles.

The consistency of this reform has been hailed as remarkable by the cited authors. It has followed similar patterns across all countries independently of existing differences between them with regards to political and economic systems, states of industrial and technological development, and the structuring elements of the higher education system itself.

In the other talk, titled Higher Education Relevance in the 21st Century , Michael Gibbons ( 1998 ), counselor to the World Bank, affirms the urgency of a new paradigm for the University, and theorizes such a transformation. Accordingly, the main mission of the University would be to serve the economy, specifically through the training of human resources, as well as the production of knowledge, for that purpose. Other functions would be cast into the background. In order for this institution to adjust to its new priorities, the author affirms that a new culture would have to impose itself on the University: a new way of considering accountability—so called “new accountability”—with financial accounting at its core; the dissemination of a new practice of highly ideological management (“new public management” or “new managerialism”); and a new way of utilizing human resources with the goal of maximizing efficiency. In short, an entrepreneurial outlook on the concept of “University”.

A few years later, the document The New Economy. Beyond the Hype (OECD, 2001 ) essentially anticipated the impact of the then new model of University on the prioritization of the various fields of knowledge. The success of this “New Economy”, where a noticeable rise in investment in information and communication technologies (ICT) was apparent, required individuals qualified not only to work with these technologies but also fit to answer the new organizational challenges brought about by them. Due to this, areas such as ICT and management began to become promoted more strongly, namely in higher education and research, and the connection between higher education and the job market strengthened.

An indirect discrimination of the humanities was thus induced, with real-world consequences. One of the symptoms relating to such a social phenomenon has been a progressively lower relative representation of graduates in humanities and, in some countries, also of the absolute representation, especially with regards to doctorate degrees. For instance, in the period between 2000 and 2012, while the number of humanities graduates rose by a factor of 1.4—and that of total graduates by a factor of 1.6 overall—those in the area of business administration increased by a factor of 1.8 Footnote 4 . For perspective, this accounts for virtually a fifth of total graduates. In other words, although academia within the humanities is growing, it is doing so at a disproportionately lower pace than when compared with other fields.

As Pierre Bourdieu had already outlined in Homo Academicvs (Bourdieu, 1984 ), alterations in the relative representation of students of certain areas, and thus of respective University staff, have an impact not only on power balances within the University, but also on its influence on society itself. The author saw these as morphological changes—a point of view that shapes the following considerations.

The impact of shrinking resources within academic departments of the humanities

With regard to the internal impact of shrinking resources within academic departments of the humanities, we can identify several clues as to how the University has generally been placing a lower importance on the humanities Footnote 5 :

Cuts in the financing of research and teaching;

a lower share of the space and structure within the University, through the elimination of courses and even departments;

undervalued human resources (fewer job offers, falling wages, overloaded work schedules, aging staff, lack of opportunities for the young);

a decrease in library resources and the like;

the use of evaluation methods typical of scientific activity and which are unadjusted to the specificity of the humanities, indirectly resulting in pressure to change communication practices specific to these fields and weakening their social impact;

the extent to which some fields in the humanities are weakened, reaching dimensions so residual that they become at risk of disappearing.

These phenomena, even when not simultaneous, contribute to paving the way to further devaluation as they ultimately work together to make the humanities look progressively less attractive. In an academic context we are essentially confronted with a vicious cycle of devaluation. The next two sections deal with a series of reasons for why it becomes urgent to break such a cycle.

If on the one hand we are witnessing a shrinking of resources within academic departments of the humanities, on the other we can see a clear reduction in the relative representation of humanities graduates entering the job market. Without going too much into detail on the interdependence between these two phenomena, they stand as symptoms of a clear loss of influence of the humanities on society itself – perhaps the result of a growing incomprehension of their usefulness. Indeed, the field appears to be held hostage to a way of appreciation that is overly focused on the economy, established by those who govern and apparently accepted by most of those governed. Governors in particular tend to have a peculiar, restricted and limited way of evaluating, classifying and neglecting the humanities, even if opinions amongst themselves are not always in agreement. Through this lens, the field can be pretentiously seen as a luxury, as economically irrelevant, or even as useless - worse still, as an obstacle to access the job market Footnote 6 .

These dynamics make it even more difficult for academics in the humanities to convince others of the relevance of their area. Therefore, when competing with other areas for resources, the overall trend has been to deprioritise the humanities.

In the above-mentioned report titled Towards Knowledge Societies , UNESCO recognized that political choices tend sometimes to place a high importance on specific disciplines, namely ‘at the expense of the humanities’ (UNESCO, 2005 , p. 90). These words are coated with a subtle yet sharp sense of loss. But what is in fact lost when the humanities see their presence in society diminished?

The benefits of studying the humanities

An analysis of several sources of information, such as surveys, studies and websites, has made it possible to understand the point of view of different social actors who believe there are advantages to graduating in the humanities (Costa, 2016 ). Students (Armitage et al., 2013 ), graduates (Lamb et al., 2012 ) and researchers (Levitt et al., 2010 ) in the humanities share their opinion on what the main advantages are, and their takes coincide with the way humanities courses are promoted on the websites of the universities that were taken into account in the analysis Footnote 7 . As it would turn out, these advantages match the profile of the ideal employee as outlined by a group of employers as a condition to achieve success at their companies, according to a separate study that is unrelated to the humanities in particular (Hart Research Associates, 2013 ). In other words, even neoliberal standards and concerns are adequately addressed.

At its core, this acknowledgement of the value of the humanities can be looked at in three independent, mutually reinforcing levels: the comprehensive knowledge, skills and mindset that come with studying the field, and which are not easily outdated. These assets represent the genuine and specific character of studying these disciplines, and substantially differ from the priorities set by the political guidelines mentioned earlier. The following picture clarifies the scope of each of these levels (Fig. 1 ).

Benefits of studying the humanities. Source: adapted from Costa, 2017 , with permission of the Portuguese Association of Professionals in Sociology of Organizations and Work–APSIOT. The figure is not covered by the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence

The attraction of studying the humanities lies precisely in that which one sets out to know and experiment with when one opts to study them. History, philosophy, languages and literature, to mention a few, are nuclear subjects that give us direct access to knowledge on that which is fundamentally and irreducibly human.

The challenge that this knowledge presents us with, and the effort of interpreting and attributing meaning to ourselves and that which surrounds us, are enhancers of the skills and mindset highlighted in the above graphic and their value is undeniable. Critical thought, acknowledgement of others, the ability to adjust to different realities and so forth are indispensable traits in any situation—in any institution, organization, government or company. It would thus follow that the humanities should be as explicitly and directly promoted by public policy as is specialized knowledge that directly serves firms and markets.

In spite of the value that can be recognized in studying the humanities, it stands that in the last few decades education in the field has been reduced to an almost insignificant dimension relative to other areas. It should be noted that demand in higher education is representative not just of the expectations of the students, or even of their educational and social backgrounds. It is also conditioned by the choices of a large group of social actors, interdependent amongst themselves Footnote 8 , such as decision makers – be it national or international, political or institutional –, employers and parents. But this depreciation has not been exclusive to higher education only. It has led to generalized deficits in knowledge, sensitivity and imagination, cognitive resources which are necessary to the acknowledgement of real problems within society and likewise to the development of possible solutions. The ability for citizens to possess and demonstrate a mindset of critical thinking has in this way been undermined.

One can thus argue that, at the very least from a social standpoint, much could be lost here. Martha Nussbaum warned in 2010 about the dangers this poses to democracy itself. The number of billionaires has nearly doubled as wealth has become even more concentrated in the last ten years since the financial crisis, worsening social inequalities (OXFAM, 2019 ). A society of consumption and uncontrolled, unregulated and acritical exploitation of natural resources is hindering sustainable development. Perhaps somewhat ironically, even the market economy registers some losses of its own in this scenario. The University of Oxford studied the career path of a group of their graduates in humanities, who had been students from 1960–1989, and subsequently produced a report that ‘shines a light on the breadth and variety of roles in society that they adopt, and the striking consistency with which they have had successful careers in sectors driving economic growth’ (Kreager, 2013 , p. 1). This conclusion contradicts the vision, or perhaps the bias, according to which graduations within the humanities are considered useless and of no value, especially for the economy and the labour market in general. The TED Talk Why tech needs the humanities Footnote 9 (December 2017) addresses this issue in the light yet personal manner of someone who has experienced it first hand.

On the complementarity of the various knowledge fields within society

In contrast to the trend within the humanities, from 2000 to 2012 and as previously mentioned, graduates in the area of business administration grew both in numbers and in relevance. Georges Corm ( 2013 ) considers that a new wave of employees, trained in accordance with the neoliberal ideas, has emerged in the job market. In his opinion, this is noticeable for instance in the case of MBAs, which in general have a similar format in use in the best schools around the world. Engwall et al. ( 2010 ) had already come to the conclusion that these graduates have become the new elite, taking up the leadership positions within organizations, replacing graduates namely in law and in engineering.

According to Colin Crouch ( 2016 ), ‘financial expertise has become the privileged form of knowledge, trumping other kinds, because it is embedded in the operation of […] the institutions that ensure profit maximization […]. Under certain conditions this dominance of financial knowledge can become self-destructive, destroying other forms of knowledge on which its own future depends’ (ibid., p. 34). Indeed, ‘serious problems arise when one kind of knowledge systematically triumphs over others’ (ibid., p. 35), a sentiment the author illustrates by giving examples related to engineering and geology. It can be argued that such a large pool of graduates and post-graduates in business administration has severely disrupted the balance and the complementarity of wisdom in society.

The environmental disasters and social crises that have marked the last decade, and which we have all witnessed, mean that the priority which had been given to some fields of knowledge is a concern not just of the academic community, but that it should instead be seen as an issue for all of society. If we start discrediting certain kinds of knowledge, we might end up discrediting all which are not in accordance with the interests that prevail in society at any given point in time, interests which in turn might not necessarily have the common good as their priority. This would be akin to opening a Pandora’s box.

Where has this led us? For instance, few of us are unaware of the difficulties that scientific evidence faces today in order to be appreciated and accepted by people who are farthest from the world of science, and who will more easily trust populist discourses (Baron, 2016 ; Boyd, 2016 ; Gluckman, 2017 ; Horton and Brown, 2018 ). Current disinvestment in the teachings of philosophy, particularly in the young, pulls us away from the basic foundations of knowledge and science, ultimately furthering the establishment of a post-truth society.

Concluding remarks

The process of devaluation of the humanities fortunately has not been enough to nullify the voice and ongoing work of their community. The World Humanities Conference, mentioned at the very beginning of this text, is a sign of the vitality and pertinence that this field still holds. When we look at the topics discussed at this conference, they are undoubtedly of great relevance for the society of today: ‘Humanity and the environment’; ‘Cultural identities, cultural diversities and intercultural relations: a global multicultural humanity’; ‘Borders and migrations’; ‘Heritage’; ‘History, memory and politics’; ‘The humanities in a changing world. What changes the world and in the world? What changes the humanities and in the humanities?’; and ‘Rebuilding the humanities, rebuilding humanism’. Events like this conference allow for the hope that a new and virtuous cycle for the humanities could be on the upswing for the benefit of all of society. One which will be more permeable and welcoming to all knowledge and skills, valuing all of its fields in a fair and impartial manner. Ultimately, the hope is to have a society that is zealous and proactive in the protection of a rich diversity of knowledge from the establishment and dominance of political hierarchies.

In: http://www.humanities2017.org/en .

Set of years for which OECD data are available in a usable way (verified in 23 May 2018 at OECD.Stat).

According to the ISCED 1997 (levels 5A and 6)—International Standard Classification of Education 1997 (first and second stages of tertiary education).

For this indicator, data for a subset of thirty OECD countries were used.

This systematization is based on the interpretation of a plurality of official statistics and reports on several countries (Costa, 2016 ).

Observations based on several publications, some of which are included in the bibliography (Benneworth and Jongbloed, 2010 ; Bod, 2011 ; Bok, 2007 ; Brinkley, 2009 ; Classen, 2012 ; Donoghue, 2010 ; European University Association, 2011 ; Fish, 2010 ; Gewirtz and Cribb, 2013 ; Gumport, 2000 ; Nussbaum, 2010 ; Weiland, 1992 ).

Harvard University ( http://artsandhumanities.fas.harvard.edu ), Stanford Humanities Center ( http://shc.stanford.edu/why-do-humanities-matter ), University of Chicago´s Master of Arts Program in the Humanities ( http://maph.uchicago.edu/directors ) and MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences ( http://shass.mit.edu/news/news-2014-power-of-humanities-arts-socialsciences-at-mit ). Data last updated from these websites: October 2015.

This statement is highly influenced by the thought of Norbert Elias, namely his concept of configuration (Elias, 2015 [1970]).

https://www.ted.com/talks/eric_berridge_why_tech_needs_the_humanities#t-7974 .

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Weiland JS (1992) Humanities: introduction. In: Clark BR, Neave G (eds) The encyclopedia of higher education. Pergamon Press, Oxford, p 1981–1989

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Costa, R.C. The place of the humanities in today’s knowledge society. Palgrave Commun 5 , 38 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-019-0245-6

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-019-0245-6

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The humanities belong to everyone

The humanities preserve our valued traditions and transmit them from generation to generation. The humanities listen to the voices of many generations and share them through history, literature, philosophy, ethics, religion, languages, archaeology, and all the other areas of thought and culture that make up the record of human activity.

The humanities have practical applications for everyday life. They offer individuals and societies the opportunity to test ideas or actions and to imagine their consequences. The humanities provide a context for envisioning the impact—positive and negative—of new ideas in our culture, politics, and daily lives. They benefit people by helping them to think about and to consider life’s surprises and challenges before they happen and by giving strength when they do happen. The humanities help us to make informed decisions.

The humanities help us answer big questions. What is the meaning, value, and purpose of human life? What is justice? What is equality? What is freedom? How might a just society function? How do individuals relate to the state and society? What are the moral consequences of human action? Why do both cruelty and good exist? How do people best work together?

The humanities

• Give us wisdom and vision
• Clarify our roles as citizens in a democratic society
• Explain politics, religion, business, ethics, international relations, social and community values
• Encourage our participation in our communities
• Assist us in weighing the ideas, statements, and discourse we hear and read
• Help us understand and explain to what or to whom we give authority
• Awaken us to the possibilities of human life and culture
• Let us think big and understand much
• Make us curious about people and places
• Open us to the experiences of others and allow us to understand what we haven’t experienced ourselves
• Give us the means to recognize the common ground shared by all varieties of human thought and endeavor, and to bring about connections among them
• Help to make sense of the world we live in
• Tease our brains and expand our understanding
• Power our imaginations
• Preserve and share our stories
• Explore what it is to be human
• Assure us that we are not alone

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The Power of Humanity: On Being Human Now and in the Future

Humanity means three different things: a species; a behaviour, and a global identity. The historical relationship between these different dimensions of humanity has been elegantly discussed by the late Bruce Mazlish in his 2009 book The Idea of Humanity in a Global Era and it is important to distinguish between these three aspects of being human as we prepare to meet as a global humanitarian movement once again.

Humanity as species

The first meaning of humanity describes a particular kind of animal that biologists encouragingly call homo sapiens – or wise human – and which seems distinct from all other animals because of its powers of language, reasoning, imagination and technology. This biological and evolutionary use of the term has the same meaning as “humankind” and marks us out as a particular life form that is different to other kinds of animal and vegetative life.

The power of the human species is considerable over the non-human world. This is mainly because our intelligence has consistently invented and deployed tools and technology which means we have come to dominate the earth, and our imagination has shaped religious and political meanings around which we form competing interests and social movements.

Our tools mean we are not a simple species but always function as a hybrid species – part human and part technology – in a constantly changing mix of human and non-human components. This hybrid humanity must infuriate non-human life like lions and microbes who could easily “take us down” in a fair fight of simple life forms, but who have consistently encountered us in hybrid forms in which we merge our humanity with spears, guns, horses, cars, vaccines and antibiotics.

We operate routinely in these human-machine interactions (HMI) of various kinds. I am doing it now typing on my Macbook Air with an electric fan to keep me cool on a hot summer’s day. Our mechanization gives us exponential power and unfair advantage over non-human life forms both large and microscopic, which tend to remain simple in one form except for bacteria and viruses, our most threatening predators, which can change form relatively fast.

Our essential hybridity with other animal, plant and machine life is now in the emergent stages of a giant leap towards new forms of power which we cannot envision . New applications of biotech, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) mean that our hybrid humanity is about to expand exponentially in a way that is already changing what it means to be human. Today’s technologists are focused hard on simplifying human-machine interfaces – different types of “dashboards” which use our five human senses and recognize human gestures so that our humanity interacts seamlessly with AI of various kinds. These interfaces will increasingly be embedded in our bodies and minds as new levels of interactivity with technology which will inevitably change the experience of being human and the power of humanity.

Technology will not just change us where we are but also change where we can be. Humanity will be enhanced in time and space but also relocated across time and space. For example, because I am on Twitter or Skype, I can already be visibly present elsewhere, speaking and responding in thousands of different places across time and space. This is radically different from my great grandmother who could only ever really be visible and engaged in one place at one time, or in two places at two times when someone far away was reading a letter from her.

This time-space compression and its resulting context collapse which began with radio and television is an ever-increasing feature of being human. Some of our grandchildren will probably be talking and listening simultaneously in a hundred different places at once in embodied replicas as holograms or humanoid drones. They will probably be fluent in all languages, move through space much faster than us and live forever on earth and in space because of biological and AI enhancements. Our machines will develop new levels of autonomy which, although created by humans, are inevitably adapted by machine learning into new forms of non-human and non-animal life.

This all means that the power of humanity as a species is about to increase dramatically because of a revolution in human-machine interaction which will see new forms of hybridity beyond our current imagining. Our human power will become even greater but what about our wisdom and the way we use this new power of humanity? In short, what about the ethics of our behaviour in our new hybrid humanity?

Humanity as ethical behaviour

We now come to the second meaning of humanity which is used to describe a certain moral value that we can see operating across humankind as kindness and compassion for one another. We can therefore understand this second meaning as the kindness of humans. [1] This humanity is our first Fundamental Principle and primary purpose in the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and has been summarized as follows since 1965:

“To prevent and alleviate human suffering wherever it may be found (and) to protect life and health and ensure respect for the human being.”

This principle of humanity is the fundamental value at play in every Red Cross and Red Crescent worker wherever they are in the world today. If you stop one of them in whatever they are doing – taking blood donations in a major city, organizing relief in war or disaster, or negotiating with diplomats in the UN Security Council – and ask them why they are doing it, each one them should simply answer: “I am trying to protect life and health and ensure respect for human beings.”

This is humanity in action and it is the power of this humanity – humane behaviour towards other humans – that we seek to celebrate, improve and increase in our Movement’s 33rd International Conference in December.

Humanity in this sense is human behaviour that cares for other humans because of a profound and universally held conviction that life is better than death, and that to live well means being treated humanely in relationships of mutual respect. This commitment is a driving principle in the rules of behaviour in the Geneva Conventions, whose 70th anniversary falls this year, and in the Disaster Laws recommended by the Movement to ensure better disaster prevention, preparedness and response around the world.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is at once symbol, advocate and embodiment of this ethic of humanity and so is constantly working emotionally, judicially and practically to increase humanity as a dominant form of human behaviour in extreme situations. This is not easy, of course, because the human species is ethically ambivalent and not simply driven by an ethic of humanity. We are also deeply competitive, cruel and violent as a species and often believe that some things we have constructed are much more important than particular human lives. The reason that the call for humanity is so loud is because our record of inhumanity is so long, and the power of inhumanity is often greater than the power of humanity.

And what of humanity’s behaviour towards non-human life? In our era of climate crisis, environmental degradation and multiple species extinction, the moral principle of humanity is looking increasingly self-referential and incomplete as a primary ethic for the human species. Quite simply, it is not enough for humans only to be kind to humans.

The principle of humanity as currently expressed is a classic example of speciesism in ethics. It cares only about one species – our own. We may claim that the principle of humanity is a niche ethic for calamitous human situations which rightly trumps wider ethical considerations in extremis, but this is neither true nor realistic. It is not true because the principle of humanity already takes account of the natural environment in the laws of war and the norms of disaster response and so recognizes the importance of non-human life in its own right and as means to human life. Nor is it realistic at a time when our biggest existential challenge as a species arises from our relationship with the non-human world around us.

The principle of humanity must, therefore, keep pace with the ethical evolution of humanity (the species) and needs to expand its purpose and behaviour towards non-human life. This currently includes all animal and vegetative life. But, in future, it is increasingly also likely to include non-human machines like robots and AI which may develop their own levels of consciousness, feelings and rights as they increasingly merge with humanity – the species and its ethics – in hybrid forms.

Here time is pressing. We may have little time to work out what it means to apply humane behaviour within non-human machines and towards non-human machines. This means agreeing how non-human machines and new models of human-machine interactions can behave with humanity, especially as new weapons systems. It will also mean thinking about how we should show humanity to increasingly machine-like humans and human-like machines.

We may have even less time to think hard about what it means to show humanity to non-human environments and animals in the Movement’s humanitarian norms and work. At the moment, our humanitarian action can be profoundly inhumane to non-human life, neither protecting nor respecting it.

With all this uncertainty about what exactly it may mean to be human in future and the persistent record of our inhumanity to each other and towards non-human life, what sense does it make to try to aspire to a single global identity as billions of human beings?

Humanity as global identity

Over the last 200 years, a third sense of humanity has increasingly referred to a single global identity across all human societies. This is not a simple biological identity but the idea that as a conflicted species we can and must build a single global political identity in which every human has a stake. This global identity is a meta identity which transcends smaller identities shaped by culture, nation, class, political opinion and religion.

The purpose of this single political humanity is to build a human “we” in which can share a common species consciousness as one group sharing a single planetary “home” and so work together on common problems and common opportunities that face the whole of humanity.

This political sense of being a single global group is experiencing push-back today as a broad-based politics of ethnic and economic nationalism expresses scepticism about globalism of all kinds. This political turn sees many people asking national politicians to think “more about us here” and “less about them over there”. But our Movement continues to argue that it is important to imagine and build a global sense of humanity because our common human problems are intense and interdependent, and can only be solved internationally not just nationally.

There are five truly existential problems that we all share as members of the human species, and always have done. Threats from each one can be significantly reduced if we work together to solve them in the spirit of Dumas’ Three Musketeers: “all for one and one for all”. This is what we try to do at the International Conference. Our perennial five problems are:

1. The problem of our violence as a species as it plays out terribly in war and violent crime. 2. Our struggle for fairness and our desire to reduce inequalities between us. 3. Our predators and their threat to our health which now take mainly microscopic form as infectious microbes, or chronic and autoimmune diseases in which we attack ourselves. 4. Our relationship with the non-human environment and its impact on human survival. 5. The promethean risk of our creativity and how our technological inventions help and harm as they change the world around us and redefine humanity itself in new hybrid forms.

These five deep species problems will all be raised in various forms at our Conference in December. They will require a powerful response by all humanity, with an ethic of humanity, to ensure the survival of humanity.

[1] Oxfam plays on the relationship between humankind and kind humans in their ongoing global campaign “Be Humankind” which was launched in 2008.

• ICRC, Artificial intelligence and machine learning in armed conflict: A human-centred approach , 6 June, 2019
• ICRC Report: The potential human cost of cyber operations , 29 May 2019

Other blog posts by this author

• Masculinity and War–let’s talk about it , 15 March 2018
• Impartiality and Intersectionality , 16 January 2018
• Habitat III: The smartest city is a safe city , 24 October 2016
• Remember the millions of people living in urban violence , 4 July 2016

The road less travelled: ethics in the international regulatory debate on autonomous weapon systems

10 mins read  Humanitarian Action / Humanitarian Principles / Identity / The most read blog posts in 2019 Alexander Blanchard

Protecting civilians in conflict: the urgency of implementing the Political Declaration on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas

9 mins read  Humanitarian Action / Humanitarian Principles / Identity / The most read blog posts in 2019 Laura Boillot , Laurent Gisel , Paul Holtom , Frederik Siem , Dina Abou Samra & Juliana Helou van der Berg

Great piece Hugo. I must say, the term “non-human machine” is a head-scratcher. It looks like a redundancy, but suspect you have a very good reason for using it.

On a more serious note, I think we need to be careful not to lump all push-back on the ideal of humanity as an expression of selfish nationalism or a rejection of our global family. The way we think and define humanity in humanitarian circles seems embedded in a (Western?) tradition of individual rights and freedoms. I don’t think that is necessarily a problem. But we should think about how this might translate into, for example, an approach to impartiality that obscures the needs of and undermines the social capital of a community via its systemic reduction of crisis response to the individual or household.

Oddly enough, I just blogged about this earlier today. Your upcoming conference seems a good place to reflect not just on the power and ideals encapsulated by our principle of humanity, but how we might comprehend and mitigate potential negative consequences of its (all too human?) operationalization.

I admire your aspirations for a global identity for humanity.

I bring good news that we already have such an identity. We are all the creation of One God, Allah, the Most Merciful. He Created us for a purpose, and we undoubtedly will return to Him and be held to account for how we used the life He gave us.

Allah the Exalted says: “O people, worship your Lord who created you and those before you, so that you may become God-fearing.” (Qur’an 2:2)

I humbly invite you to apply your rare intellect and your inspiring concern for humanity to a study of the Qur’an, in which you might find answers. Islam teaches that humanity will only succeed when we surrender to the will of God.

Thank you, Marc. You’re right “non-human machine” sounds weird. I suppose I was reaching for “human-like (but not human) machine”. It’s all quite complicated still to me….

And, yes, I share your caution on an overly-individualistic application of humanitarian action. We must always balance an individual caseload with a collective response. I look forward to reading your blog on this. Please tell us where it is. I gave a paper on the increasing “individualisation”of the civilian at Edinburgh University earlier this year and have lost it, rather annoyingly! If I find it, I will write it up……

Thank you, Sharriff, for your beautiful call (dawa) for me to embrace Islam. I have heard it and know well that our modern secular commitment to a single global identity as human beings is founded in a more original faith and its religious insight.

And I will keep reading the Quran as I study all faiths, and we will see what happens.

The tragedy is that humans are likely to accord ‘human’ rights to machines which are made in their own image while continuing to abuse the other animals who have as much (and, indeed, arguably more) right to planetary resources than the human animal. Every day, other animals have their lands and other resources stolen by humans. Every second of every day and night other animals are imprisoned without cause…tortured mentally and physically, and then murdered by an animal which is far too full of its own importance. We should respect these other animals, treating them as we wish to be treated ourselves…It’s time to get off our ‘human supremacist’ pedestals and to show (a very great deal) of humility towards the other animals whose home this planet also is. One final observation, the more I understand about other animals and the more I see of the human animal, the more I feel that the only thing that distinguishes us from other animals, is our capacity to destroy the planet.

Thanks for the article and the focus on the different dimensions of being human.

I really like this part: “(…) it is important to imagine and build a global sense of humanity because our common human problems are intense and interdependent, and can only be solved internationally not just nationally.”

I see in those lines a call for true solidarity, and to be aware of the reality that we as humanity have a common origin and a common destiny, that we are all in the same journey together and we cannot simply escape from each other closing borders or even closing our eyes and minds to difficult realities other humans are experiencing.

I see also a call for multilateralism and multistakeholder approach for the solution of the different challenges we face as human family.

Recently, I read the book The Good Immigrant. There is one article from Salena Godden, British poet, recalling our global citizenship and expressing: “United as a people we are a million majestic colours, together we are a glorious stained glass window. We are building a cathedral of otherness, brick by brick and book by book. “

Our species has developed a lot in the past years. New treatments, advanced equipment are there to solve those issues which were impossible to take care of. The development can be seen through medical, automotive and other industries. Thank you very much. I would like to know more about this! Smile makeover Malden

A really well-written and meaningful article! I found a small motivation in myself to write about change as I read your blog… Life is about growth, but many people remain the same without even sparing a thought even for a moment. Many people think that they have come up to a level by which nobody can demand anything from them. They are repulsive and unchangeable even if it is for their own good. If people aren’t adamant to change, they can see more of themselves which can help in the overall development of society, humanity and also the earth. Here are my thoughts about the change that needs to be brought about in humanity as a whole. https://thebetterhumanity.com/why-do-we-need-change/ Hope you like them! Thanks

Interesting insights- thanks very much for sharing them, and for reading!

Great piece Hugo. I must say, the term “non-human machine” is a head-scratcher. It looks like a redundancy, but suspect you have a very good reason for using it. Thanks for your nice post . I hope I will see this type of post again in your Website

its very nice fantastic

Human population densities are approaching that of animals in factory farms; thus humanity may end up in ‘factory cities’, whatever that might mean.

The power of humanity? Humanity is a disgusting species, more akin to a virus or plague than any mammalian species. Selfish, greedy, destructive, dishonest, disloyal and with only rare exceptions to the contrary. The planet will be far better off once we’re gone. I live completely off grid now, and there are signs across my property here in Europe spelling it out, in no uncertain terms, what will happen to anyone, anyone, who steps foot on my land. The more time I spend working the land, with my dogs, the less I like, and have time for, humanity. I’m ashamed to be a part of it.

Excellent piece but I have to leave a comment, I live in northeast of England and was raised and live in a working class community, my view of being human and humanity is almost alien to how you perceive it, I had to double check my self, television, schooling, religion and parents world views is what really shapes us into being, i was born in 1980, and if I speak honestly I see myself being of a loving nature from nature all equal in value. 1 law, do not cause harm to others willingly. We are everything and nothing, I wasn’t taught this but it’s built into our dna, it has to be, I see surfering and pain voilence mainly from television and media, what isn’t taught which should be primary is how to use our full brain potential, and energetic body system, I know it as kundalini and pineal activation, and from here we can operate from a super position, ie quantum. Even with all this confusion and old Newtonian way of thinking, inherently i see the majority existing with all the creators creations extremely well, for we know deep down we are one.. all information is in this space and time. It should be taught because a lot of people know how. everything is conscious, all is mind, mind if the all. There is solid foundations in place to build upon metaphysically. The metaverse already exists. So I don’t know what zuckerberg and co are creating, we need transparency and a universal language to communicate, so as to not be tricked, conned, confused by double speak and countless meanings of words, hood winked into thinking were something else. Have trust and faith in ourself we are made with a Divine spark within us, thank you to anyone who takes the time to read this, love and harmony to all

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts Michael! Sending love and harmony back your way. Best, Lizzie

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Essay on Humanity

500 words essay on humanity.

When we say humanity, we can look at it from a lot of different perspectives. One of the most common ways of understanding is that it is a value of kindness and compassion towards other beings. If you look back at history, you will find many acts of cruelty by humans but at the same time, there are also numerous acts of humanity. An essay on humanity will take us through its meaning and importance.

Importance of Humanity

As humans are progressing as a human race into the future, the true essence of humanity is being corrupted slowly. It is essential to remember that the acts of humanity must not have any kind of personal gain behind them like fame, money or power.

The world we live in today is divided by borders but the reach we can have is limitless. We are lucky enough to have the freedom to travel anywhere and experience anything we wish for. A lot of nations fight constantly to acquire land which results in the loss of many innocent lives.

Similarly, other humanitarian crisis like the ones in Yemen, Syria, Myanmar and more costs the lives of more than millions of people. The situation is not resolving anytime soon, thus we need humanity for this.

Most importantly, humanity does not just limit to humans but also caring for the environment and every living being. We must all come together to show true humanity and help out other humans, animals and our environment to heal and prosper.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

The Great Humanitarians

There are many great humanitarians who live among us and also in history. To name a few, we had Mother Teresa , Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Princess Diana and more. These are just a few of the names which almost everyone knows.

Mother Teresa was a woman who devoted her entire life to serving the poor and needy from a nation. Rabindranath Tagore was an Indian poet who truly believed in humanity and considered it his true religion.

Similarly, Nelson Mandela was a great humanitarian who worked all his life for those in needs. He never discriminated against any person on the basis of colour, sex, creed or anything.

Further, Mahatma Gandhi serves as a great example of devoting his life to free his country and serve his fellow countrymen. He died serving the country and working for the betterment of his nation. Thus, we must all take inspiration from such great people.

The acts and ways of these great humanitarians serve as a great example for us now to do better in our life. We must all indulge in acts of giving back and coming to help those in need. All in all, humanity arises from selfless acts of compassion.

Conclusion of the Essay on Humanity

As technology and capitalism are evolving at a faster rate in this era, we must all spread humanity wherever possible. When we start practising humanity, we can tackle many big problems like global warming, pollution , extinction of animals and more.

FAQ of Essay on Humanity

Question 1: What is the importance of humanity?

Answer 1: Humanity refers to caring for and helping others whenever and wherever possible. It means helping others at times when they need that help the most. It is important as it helps us forget our selfish interests at times when others need our help.

Question 2: How do we show humanity?

Answer 2: All of us are capable of showing humanity. It can be through acknowledging that human beings are equal, regardless of gender, sex, skin colour or anything. We must all model genuine empathy and show gratitude to each other and express respect and humility.

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Definition of humanity

Examples of humanity in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'humanity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

see human entry 1

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing humanity

• crime against humanity

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“Humanity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/humanity. Accessed 30 Apr. 2024.

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• Essay on Social Studies

Humanities Essay Sample

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Social Studies , Life , World , Education , Humanities , Students , Study , Human

Published: 04/01/2020

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Humanities, as a subject, that deals with the quality or condition of being a human. It is the study of the innumerable ways in which human beings, from every period of history and every corner of the world, process and document their experiences. Since the old days, humans have used literature, philosophy; art, music and religion to record and understand the world. All these subjects fall under the umbrella of humanities; therefore, the data of these records of personal experiences give humanity and individuals the opportunity to unite with those who came before us, that is, our ancestors, as well as contemporaries.

It is important to study humanities because it helps in creating meaning and purpose in life, overcoming diversity and communicating effectively. Ultimately, the experience for humans to work with each other meaningfully determines the success of people’s enterprises and this ability is honed through studying and understanding social sciences and humanities. For example, students who study engineering and technology need humanities to succeed in life and not only technical information. This is because they need leadership skills, cultural understanding and emotional intelligence. They also need a capacity for a global perspective and strategic decision-making in their career. Not all these skills can be acquired through technical familiarity, but through the study of humanities.

Humanities are also important because even people who hold leadership posts require it in dealing or addressing complex challenges that are interconnected to the world. These challenges vary in the field they are emerging from; therefore, a person needs to be equipped in all areas. Employers are looking for a candidate who understand what is going on earth, and this cannot be learned through technical information, but through the humanities, where a person gets to learn about the diversity in the world.

Humanities are an integral part of human life and every student’s life, even after school because it allows them to fulfill educational and civic responsibilities. This broad subject allows students to become better citizens and provide an insightful understanding into ethical, political, moral and ideological forces. This is because the society requires a successful individual that depends on charity, compassion, civility, altruism and generosity. This subject, therefore, emphasizes and evaluates the importance of good characteristics that will benefit the society. This study helps and allows a person to become familiar with the use of creative ideas that have already been thought of by great minds. These great minds help in innovations and technology that humans use today. For example, biology, history and literature offer an opportunity to understand human nature, as well as the society. The three humanities introduce ideas and thoughts outside a person’s interest, and help in critical thinking, and finding new directions in life. Great minds such as those of Charles Darwin helped in the development of the evolution theory. It subsequently helped in the development of humanities in those science students, and people understood the nature of humans.

The study and understanding of humanities have been held to be the most important subjects that any student can be offered in school. This is because it helps a person in acquiring knowledge of foreign cultures and languages. Globalization has increased recently, and there has been an increased need to learn and understand international markets. Understanding overseas markets can only be done through learning other people’s cultures and languages. By so doing, a person can obtain a successful career in the commercial industry. For example, when a person is a clinical nurse, he or she can be sent in any area in the world, and by having knowledge of different languages, he can interact with many people.

The subject of humanities help the individual understand and appreciate the value of the world’s music, literature and art in that by learning all the contents, a student understands and learns about their origin, educational background and other people’s social environment. Music and art are not only in the pictures, but they also speak to many people in various ways, thus transforming them to better persons. For example, music that was sung in the past had many lessons and many inspiring messages. Music also gave people freedom to express their traditions as well as their cultures, especially at a point in time when they had no other means of expression.

Humanities also helps both students and people to understand the impacts of science, medicine and technology on the society and the need for future scientific strategies in the world. For that reason, people are encouraged to learn and understand humanities to enable the world in understanding the need for future science and why it is needed. Therefore, this subject is very important in people’s lives, even after school as they help in the improvement of good communication skills that are necessary even after life after school. For that reason, humanities faculty in colleges and schools should put more resources on the subject and inform students of the future benefits, to help in the increase of humanity in the world.

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Research essay: a ‘monster’ and its humanity.

Professor of English Susan J. Wolfson is the editor of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: A Longman Cultural Edition and co-editor, with Ronald Levao, of The Annotated Frankenstein.  

Published in January 1818, Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus has never been out of print or out of cultural reference. “Facebook’s Frankenstein Moment: A Creature That Defies Technology’s Safeguards” was the headline on a New York Times business story Sept. 22 — 200 years on. The trope needed no footnote, although Kevin Roose’s gloss — “the scientist Victor Frankenstein realizes that his cobbled-together creature has gone rogue” — could use some adjustment: The Creature “goes rogue” only after having been abandoned and then abused by almost everyone, first and foremost that undergraduate scientist. Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg and CEO Sheryl Sandberg, attending to profits, did not anticipate the rogue consequences: a Frankenberg making. 

The original Frankenstein told a terrific tale, tapping the idealism in the new sciences of its own age, while registering the throb of misgivings and terrors. The 1818 novel appeared anonymously by a down-market press (Princeton owns one of only 500 copies). It was a 19-year-old’s debut in print. The novelist proudly signed herself “Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley” when it was reissued in 1823, in sync with a stage concoction at London’s Royal Opera House in August. That debut ran for nearly 40 nights; it was staged by the Princeton University Players in May 2017. 

In a seminar that I taught on Frankenstein in various contexts at Princeton in the fall of 2016 — just weeks after the 200th anniversary of its conception in a nightmare visited on (then) Mary Godwin in June 1816 — we had much to consider. One subject was the rogue uses and consequences of genomic science of the 21st century. Another was the election season — in which “Frankenstein” was a touchstone in the media opinions and parodies. Students from sciences, computer technology, literature, arts, and humanities made our seminar seem like a mini-university. Learning from each other, we pondered complexities and perplexities: literary, social, scientific, aesthetic, and ethical. If you haven’t read Frankenstein (many, myself included, found the tale first on film), it’s worth your time. 

READ MORE  PAW Goes to the Movies: ‘Victor Frankenstein,’ with Professor Susan Wolfson

Scarcely a month goes by without some development earning the prefix Franken-, a near default for anxieties about or satires of new events. The dark brilliance of Frankenstein is both to expose “monstrosity” in the normal and, conversely, to humanize what might seem monstrously “other.” When Shelley conceived Frankenstein, Europe was scarred by a long war, concluding on Waterloo fields in May 1815. “Monster” was a ready label for any enemy. Young Frankenstein begins his university studies in 1789, the year of the French Revolution. In 1790, Edmund Burke’s international best-selling Reflections on the French Revolution recoiled at the new government as a “monster of a state,” with a “monster of a constitution” and “monstrous democratic assemblies.” Within a few months, another international best-seller, Tom Paine’s The Rights of Man, excoriated “the monster Aristocracy” and cheered the American Revolution for overthrowing a “monster” of tyranny.

Following suit, Mary Shelley’s father, William Godwin, called the ancien régime a “ferocious monster”; her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, was on the same page: Any aristocracy was an “artificial monster,” the monarchy a “luxurious monster,” and Europe’s despots a “race of monsters in human shape.” Frankenstein makes no direct reference to the Revolution, but its first readers would have felt the force of its setting in the 1790s, a decade that also saw polemics for (and against) the rights of men, women, and slaves. 

England would abolish its slave trade in 1807, but Colonial slavery was legal until 1833. Abolitionists saw the capitalists, investors, and masters as the moral monsters of the global economy. Apologists regarded the Africans as subhuman, improvable perhaps by Christianity and a work ethic, but alarming if released, especially the men. “In dealing with the Negro,” ultra-conservative Foreign Secretary George Canning lectured Parliament in 1824, “we are dealing with a being possessing the form and strength of a man, but the intellect only of a child. To turn him loose in the manhood of his physical strength ... would be to raise up a creature resembling the splendid fiction of a recent romance.” He meant Frankenstein. 

Mary Shelley heard about this reference, and knew, moreover, that women (though with gilding) were a slave class, too, insofar as they were valued for bodies rather than minds, were denied participatory citizenship and most legal rights, and were systemically subjugated as “other” by the masculine world. This was the argument of her mother’s Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), which she was rereading when she was writing Frankenstein. Unorthodox Wollstonecraft — an advocate of female intellectual education, a critic of the institution of marriage, and the mother of two daughters conceived outside of wedlock — was herself branded an “unnatural” woman, a monstrosity. 

Shelley had her own personal ordeal, which surely imprints her novel. Her parents were so ready for a son in 1797 that they had already chosen the name “William.” Even worse: When her mother died from childbirth, an awful effect was to make little Mary seem a catastrophe to her grieving father. No wonder she would write a novel about a “being” rejected from its first breath. The iconic “other” in Frankenstein is of course this horrifying Creature (he’s never a “human being”). But the deepest force of the novel is not this unique situation but its reverberation of routine judgments of beings that seem “other” to any possibility of social sympathy. In the 1823 play, the “others” (though played for comedy) are the tinker-gypsies, clad in goatskins and body paint (one is even named “Tanskin” — a racialized differential).

Victor Frankenstein greets his awakening creature as a “catastrophe,” a “wretch,” and soon a “monster.” The Creature has no name, just these epithets of contempt. The only person to address him with sympathy is blind, spared the shock of the “countenance.” Readers are blind this way, too, finding the Creature only on the page and speaking a common language. This continuity, rather than antithesis, to the human is reflected in the first illustrations: 

In the cover for the 1823 play, above, the Creature looks quite human, dishy even — alarming only in size and that gaze of expectation. The 1831 Creature, shown on page 29, is not a patent “monster”: It’s full-grown, remarkably ripped, human-looking, understandably dazed. The real “monster,” we could think, is the reckless student fleeing the results of an unsupervised undergraduate experiment gone rogue. 

In Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein pleads sympathy for the “human nature” in his revulsion. “I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health ... but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room.” Repelled by this betrayal of “beauty,” Frankenstein never feels responsible, let alone parental. Shelley’s genius is to understand this ethical monstrosity as a nightmare extreme of common anxiety for expectant parents: What if I can’t love a child whose physical formation is appalling (deformed, deficient, or even, as at her own birth, just female)? 

The Creature’s advent in the novel is not in this famous scene of awakening, however. It comes in the narrative that frames Frankenstein’s story: a polar expedition that has become icebound. Far on the ice plain, the ship’s crew beholds “the shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic stature,” driving a dogsled. Three paragraphs on, another man-shape arrives off the side of the ship on a fragment of ice, alone but for one sled dog. “His limbs were nearly frozen, and his body dreadfully emaciated by fatigue and suffering,” the captain records; “I never saw a man in so wretched a condition.” This dreadful man focuses the first scene of “animation” in Frankenstein: “We restored him to animation by rubbing him with brandy, and forcing him to swallow a small quantity. As soon as he shewed signs of life, we wrapped him up in blankets, and placed him near the chimney of the kitchen-stove. By slow degrees he recovered ... .” 

The re-animation (well before his name is given in the novel) turns out to be Victor Frankenstein. A crazed wretch of a “creature” (so he’s described) could have seemed a fearful “other,” but is cared for as a fellow human being. His subsequent tale of his despicably “monstrous” Creature is scored with this tremendous irony. The most disturbing aspect of this Creature is his “humanity”: this pathos of his hope for family and social acceptance, his intuitive benevolence, bitterness about abuse, and skill with language (which a Princeton valedictorian might envy) that solicits fellow-human attention — all denied by misfortune of physical formation. The deepest power of Frankenstein, still in force 200 years on, is not its so-called monster, but its exposure of “monster” as a contingency of human sympathy.  

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15.3: Sample Student Essays

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The essays below are intended as models for students' own writing in college.

• Sample summary "Spread Feminism, Not Germs" in PDF with margin notes     
• Sample summary "Spread Feminism, Not Germs" accessible version with notes in parentheses     
• Sample summary "Typography and Identity" in PDF with margin notes  
• Sample summary "Typography and Identity" accessible version with notes in parentheses

Summary and Assessment Essays (Critical Analyses)

• Sample assessment "Spread Feminism, Not Germs" in PDF with margin notes     
• Sample assessment "Spread Feminism, Not Germs" accessible version with notes in parentheses     
• Sample assessment "Typography and Identity" in PDF with margin notes  
• Sample assessment "Typography and Identity" accessible version with notes in parentheses  

Summary, Assessment, and Response Essays

• Sample response paper "Spread Feminism, Not Germs" in PDF with margin notes     
• Sample response paper "Spread Feminism, Not Germs" accessible version with notes in parentheses     
• Sample response paper "Typography and Identity" in PDF with margin notes  
• Sample response paper "Typography and Identity" accessible version with notes in parentheses  

Compare-and-Contrast Essays

The essay "Contested Territory" compares and contrasts two arguments on immigration: "Wouldn't We All Cross the Border" by Anna Mills and "The Weight of the World" by Saramanda Swigart. Annotations point out how the author structures the comparison.

• Sample compare-and-contrast essay "Contested Territory" in PDF version with margin notes
• Sample compare-and-contrast essay "Contested Territory" accessible version with notes in parentheses

Argument Analysis Essays (Rhetorical Analysis)

The brief essay "Henig's Perspective on the Gender Revolution" by student Jun Stephens can serve as an example of argument analysis.

• Sample argument analysis essay "Henig's Perspective on the Gender Revolution" in PDF with margin notes
• Sample argument analysis essay "Henig's Perspective on the Gender Revolution" accessible version with notes in parentheses

The essay "Argument Analysis of Cory Doctorow’s 'Why I Won’t Buy an iPad (and Think You Shouldn’t, Either)'" can serve as an example.

• Sample argument analysis essay "Argument Analysis of Cory Doctorow’s “Why I Won’t Buy an iPad (and Think You Shouldn’t, Either) " in PDF with margin notes
• Sample argument analysis essay "Argument Analysis of Cory Doctorow’s “Why I Won’t Buy an iPad (and Think You Shouldn’t, Either) " accessible version with notes in parentheses

Visual Argument Analysis Essays

The essay "An Image Is Worth a Thousand Calls to Arms" by Saramanda Swigart analyzes a visual argument.

• Sample visual argument analysis essay "An Image Is Worth a Thousand Calls to Arms" in PDF with margin notes
• Sample visual argument analysis essay "An Image Is Worth a Thousand Calls to Arms" accessible version with notes in parentheses

Research Papers

Research-based definition arguments.

• Sample definition essay "Defining Stereotypes" in PDF version with margin notes
• Sample definition essay "Defining Stereotypes" accessible version with notes in parentheses . 
• “ Trust ” by Chris Thurman . This five-paragraph student essay defines the concept of trust and discusses its fragility and complications.  (CC BY-SA)
• “ Mass Incarceration: The Real Trends of the United States Justice System ” by Darius Porter. This nine-paragraph student essay defines the concept of justice through the lens of America’s war on drugs resulting in mass incarcerations. The author discusses the impact of mandatory sentencing laws designed to target people based on race and/or income level in order to enrich the current private prison industry. Source:  Successful College Composition  by   Kathryn Crowther et al., provided by Galileo, Georgia's Virtual Library.  CC-NC-SA-4.0 .

Research-Based Evaluation Arguments

• Sample evaluation essay "Universal Health Care Coverage for the United States" in PDF version with margin notes
• Sample evaluation essay "Universal Health Care Coverage for the United States" accessible version with notes in parentheses

“ The Story of My Working Thesis Malfunction ” by Amanda Kenger. The author walks the reader through her process of writing a thesis on Janet Jackson’s 2004 Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction. The author wrote four essays trying to define the focus of the final essay: A proposal essay, a critique essay, an antithesis essay, and a categorization essay. The author discusses the development of research skills and evaluates the writing process and final thesis. (CC BY-NC-SA)  

Research-Based Causal Arguments

The article "Climate Explained: Why Carbon Dioxide Has Such Outsized Influence on Earth’s Climate" by Jason West, published in The Conversation , explains why scientists are convinced that carbon dioxide causes climate change. Annotations point out how the author uses several causal argument strategies.    

• Sample causal essay "Climate Explained: Why Carbon Dioxide Has Such Outsized Influence on Earth’s Climate" in PDF version with margin notes
• Sample causal essay "Climate Explained: Why Carbon Dioxide Has Such Outsized Influence on Earth’s Climate" accessible version with notes in parentheses

“ Effects of Video Game Addiction .” This six-paragraph student essay focuses on the potential negative impact of excessive video game playing. Concerns mentioned are disruption in the player’s career, decline in overall health and hygiene, and a loss of valuable socialization. While video game players may perceive that they are involved in e-based communities, the author points out that these forms of communication rarely translate to face-to-face social interaction. ( English Composition I: Rhetorical Methods-Based,  CC BY-NC-SA) 

“ Crossing the Line: Remembering September 11 ” by Theresa Henkes. This seven-paragraph student essay discusses the negative impact of commercialization of September 11th by the entertainment industry. The author mentions special features, movies, magazines, and video games all designed to make money rather than help the nation mourn and heal. In contrast, voluntary and reverent memorials and museums offer the opportunity to reflect on the tragedy without the motive of financial gain. ( Excelsior OWL , CC BY 4.0)

Research-Based Proposal Arguments

The sample essay "Why We Should Open Our Borders" by student Laurent Wenjun Jiang makes a brief, general proposal argument. Annotations point out how Jiang uses several proposal argument strategies.    

• Sample proposal essay "Why We Should Open Our Borders" in PDF with margin notes
• Sample proposal essay "Why We Should Open Our Borders" accessible version with notes in parentheses
• “ Rethinking Recycling: Why Reusing Needs to Be User Friendly ” by Emily Hanna. This seven-paragraph student essay, in APA format, proposes colleges and communities adopt a recycling approach currently being used by the University of Maryland. This approach uses numerous color-coded bins, in a uniform manner across the entire campus, making the process of recycling easier thereby attracting more participants. Citing the cost of resources to produce new materials and the lack of landfill space, the author encourages other colleges to adopt a similar recycling approach. ( Excelsior OWL , CC BY 4.0)

Attributions

List and essay descriptions by Cynthia Spence and Anna Mills, licensed CC BY NC 4.0 .

Definition: what does Culture Means to Me?

This essay about culture portrays it as a dynamic, evolving force integral to human experience, rather than a static backdrop. The author reflects on growing up in a multicultural city, learning from diverse cultural expressions and narratives that shape social understanding and personal identity. The piece emphasizes the importance of cultural exchange and preservation in a globalized world, advocating for appreciation and protection of unique cultural heritages to enrich humanity’s collective tapestry.

How it works

Culture, akin to a vast mosaic, intricately pieces together the diverse expressions of humanity, blending colors of tradition, belief, and heritage into a breathtaking panorama of human experience. To me, culture is not merely a static backdrop but a dynamic symphony, continually evolving and reshaping our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

Growing up in a bustling metropolis, I was surrounded by a cacophony of cultures, each contributing its own melody to the urban orchestra. From the tantalizing aromas of street food stalls to the vibrant hues of traditional attire worn during festive celebrations, every corner of the city pulsated with the rhythms of diversity.

It was in this vibrant tapestry that I learned the true essence of culture – not as a distant artifact to be admired from afar, but as a living, breathing expression of human creativity and resilience.

One of the most profound insights I’ve gained from my encounters with different cultures is the power of narrative. Stories, passed down through generations, serve as bridges connecting the past to the present, weaving a rich tapestry of collective memory and shared experience. Whether told through the intricate brushstrokes of a painting or the melodic strains of a folk song, these narratives provide a window into the soul of a society, illuminating its values, aspirations, and fears.

Moreover, culture serves as a compass, guiding us through the complexities of social interaction and moral decision-making. From the elaborate rituals of initiation ceremonies to the unspoken codes of conduct governing everyday interactions, cultural norms provide a framework for understanding the world and our place within it. Yet, even as we navigate these cultural landscapes, it’s essential to recognize that they are not fixed or immutable but are subject to change and adaptation over time.

In today’s interconnected world, culture knows no boundaries, transcending geographical borders and linguistic barriers to connect people across continents and oceans. Through the wonders of modern technology, we can explore distant lands, engage with diverse perspectives, and forge meaningful connections with individuals from all walks of life. This global exchange of ideas and experiences has the power to challenge preconceived notions, break down stereotypes, and foster a sense of solidarity and mutual respect among people of different backgrounds.

However, amidst the whirlwind of globalization, it’s crucial to preserve and celebrate the unique cultural heritage that defines who we are as individuals and communities. Whether through the revival of traditional crafts or the preservation of endangered languages, these efforts serve as a testament to the richness and diversity of human culture and remind us of the importance of safeguarding our shared heritage for future generations.

In conclusion, culture is the heartbeat of humanity, pulsating with the rhythms of our collective history and aspirations. It is a source of inspiration, identity, and belonging, shaping our perceptions of the world and our place within it. As we journey through life, let us embrace the kaleidoscope of cultures that surrounds us, for in celebrating diversity, we enrich not only our own lives but the tapestry of humanity as a whole.

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PapersOwl.com. (2024). Definition: What Does Culture Means To Me? . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/definition-what-does-culture-means-to-me/ [Accessed: 1-May-2024]

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