The humanities form the foundation for the liberal arts and investigate fundamental questions of the human condition: who are we and how ought we to live? These disciplines cultivate our capacities for keen observation, aesthetic appreciation, and clarity in speech and thought. They help us to understand the minds and cultures of others and to engage respectfully in conversations about contested questions. The humanities help us to remember the human past, develop our judgment, and sharpen our moral and aesthetic sensitivity. Engaging the emotions as well as the intellect, the humanities enlarge our imaginations, foster self-understanding, and open the way to tolerance and courage, humility and wisdom. Because the grand challenges that confront us presuppose basic questions of who we are and how we ought to live, the humanities are relevant for every significant project in which we engage.
Furman is home to eleven thriving humanities departments: Anthropology, Asian Studies, Art History, Classics, Communication Studies, English, History, Modern Languages and Literatures, Philosophy, Religion, and Women’s Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Study of the humanities fulfills the promises of The Furman Advantage, preparing students for flourishing lives, successful careers, and responsible citizenship. In an unpredictable, rapidly changing political, cultural, and economic landscape, the practical and intellectual virtues the humanities cultivate are crucial preparation for life. Patient reflection, aesthetic and moral discernment, and judgment rooted in hard-won knowledge and conveyed with eloquence to others have never been more necessary for our individual and common endeavors.
Read more here:
- Humanities Indicators (database of comprehensive statistical information about the humanities in the U.S.)
- National Humanities Alliance Study the Humanities Toolkit