Would you consider History to be in the Humanities?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by mattbrent, Jan 14, 2012.

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  1. mattbrent

    mattbrent Well-Known Member

    Hi folks!

    I just picked up another course at the soon-to-open local campus of our community college. It's HIS 205 - Local History. I'm trying to convince my former students to enroll in it. However, one of them said she needs a "humanities" elective. The degree plan for RCC states that "Typical courses include HUM, MUS 121, MUS 122, ART, PHI, REL, ENG (Lit)." I would argue that a history class would be considered in the humanities. What do you think? I'm trying to build my case in the event I need to email her advisor.

    -Matt
     
  2. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Somewhere on campus, probably either in the Registrar's office or the Provost's office, there is an official answer to this question. Find it and advise your student accordingly. Asking anywhere else is an invitation to misleading your student.
     
  3. mattbrent

    mattbrent Well-Known Member

    I'm not the student's advisor. I'm simply trying to build an argument that a history class would be considered part of the humanities in the event the advisor says otherwise.

    -Matt
     
  4. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    In many schools that is the case. In some schools it is not.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 14, 2012
  5. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    In my opinion, history can be either a humanity or a social science. In arguing for history as a humanity, you might point out that both California State University Dominguez Hills California State University, Dominguez Hills and Adams State College www.adams.edu offer the degree of Master of Arts in Humanities with History emphasis.
     
  6. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    Excelsior GE distribution areas are:
    Humanities
    Natural Science/Math
    Social Sciences/History

    My recollection is that most schools I have looked at generally include history with social sciences. But I would expect one could argue that some history courses could fall into the humanities (e.g. the history of music) or the sciences (e.g. the history of medicine).
     
  7. mattbrent

    mattbrent Well-Known Member

    RCC lists History with Social Sciences. However, the National Endowment for the Humanities lists History as one of the humanities.

    -Matt
     
  8. jam937

    jam937 New Member

    The National Endowment for the Humanities is a government agency so the wider their net (including history) the more money they get to spend. They currently get $146 Million per year of which only $63 Million goes out in direct grants.

    The National Endowment for the Arts gets another $146 Million per year of which only $66 Million goes out in direct grants.

    Look at all these people who got $25,000 each for writing prose! OMG!
    NEA: 2012 GRANT AWARDS: Literature Fellowships: Creative Writing (Prose)

    These people got $25,000 each for writing poetry!
    NEA: 2011 GRANT AWARDS: Literature Fellowships: Creative Writing (Poetry)

    People paid to convert foreign writing to English?!?!
    "$25,000 for translation from the Swedish of a collection of contemporary poetry by Håkan Sandel"
    NEA: FY 2011 GRANT AWARDS - Literature Fellowships for Translation Projects

    I am in the wrong business
     

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