The Western Humanities covers a broad scope within the world as me know it today. Many of the influences and inspirations that many claim to motivate them to make continuous advancements are from a basis of our past. Whether it is art, literature or social movements we as a civilization must always look at our past as a blueprint. Our history is our blueprint for life. I think the purpose of studying the Western Humanities is to take a look at our past. No matter what race color or religion a majority of our countries people are a descendent of the Western world. Its almost like looking as a very large family tree and learning about it.
There are many reasons that can be put together to define the actual meaning of humanities. Western Humanities, to me, can be found within the fine arts, geographical distribution, and religious influences. Overall, these factors have come together to give everyone across the world their history, known as humanities. First of all, the fine arts have impacted our world with so much inspiration. These influences can be seen everywhere from the streets of France to the art galleries of New York City. You may have even read a poem written in a particular form. The fine arts have been a form of expression since the beginning of our civilization.
One of the first known civilizations was an area known as Mesopotamia. Through this area an expression of art may be found in moldings and sculptures. As the west evolved so did these forms of expressions. Everything from the tools and thoughts to the materials used and the meanings behind them. A lot of meanings may have been in response to worshipping gods and warriors. As I look at todays world not much has changed with our expressions. The materials used may be different yet the emotional desire behind the expression may well be the same. Today we use things such as computer generations, pop music and controversial literary works.
The main focus of all of these examples is to express ones art. Art has been said to be within the eye of the beholder and that art was vandalism. Well, I admire the vandals. There are many great sculptures and poets from the Greek world to the Renaissance periods that it is no wonder that the influence carried throughout the rest of the western world. It seemed that with each generation or period in life, there were always more artists to come about. There were a lot of stresses throughout the days for most of these civilizations and a simple expression turned many heads.
These poets, writers, artists, painters and sculptures were not only admired for their work but set apart from everyone else. An excellent example of this is Michelangelo. During the sixteenth century he evolved as a true sculptural genius. He not only sculpted statues but is the creator of the magnificent ceiling artwork in the Sistine Chapel. There were other many greats such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Raphael, both painters. I have previously heard of these men as well as others but I didnt have a chance to look further into their works. Today it seems as these men are mentioned with the greatest of honor.
Though they did not lead a revolutionary war or invent the light bulb, they did revolutionize many of artistic values such as perception and detail. They seem to be seen almost as godlike from our history. There is a lot of freedom in expression and in our world nothing is more sacred. None of these art expressions would have been possible without some sort of predecessor. The geographic aspects of the Western Humanities is just as important as any. As far back as the Athenian and Roman Empire there was in importance for land and morals. This ongoing battle not only ensued in the west but all over the world.
As we studied the different civilizations, nations, rulers, and movements there became a better sense of understanding for the reasons of combined influence. Each empire and region became more diverse with each cultures influence. As areas like Italy and Greece expanded they came into contact with other city states such as Egypt, England, Norway, and the Middle East. Over the hundreds of years each influenced one another including culture, language and morals. I found that to be very intriguing. Before this semester I feel like I was in the dark about many of these events. I have to be honest not many more like all of these events.
The time periods covered in this course is extravagant and I am sure that there are thousands upon thousands of events that I didnt have a chance to touch base on. Finally, the mysticism that is religion was covered. As we learned about architecture, political powers and humanists there was always an underlying motivation for these factors and it seemed to be religion. Religion appears to the worlds motivator. Structure designs of the Byzantine empire reflected a great deal of Catholic influence. The Great Mosque of Cordoba was inspired by Islamic style. Every great religion was represented by its buildings of faith.
As the periods evolved so did the styles so much that it looked as if they were starting to inspire one another with its structure. The buildings were not the only effects of religion but so were wars, laws and many political scandals. It is almost unbelievable to learn that faith was such a solid reason for many misunderstandings. Even the misunderstandings within faiths, especially Catholicism. I was amused and almost possessed a sense of comfort when a faith was simply based on the gods of thunder or goddess of love. I feel that I understand the many different religions now that I have seen them unfold to what they have become today.
In summary, the Western Humanities influenced many of todays thoughts and expressions. The study of humanities has greatly impressed me. I have always been intrigued with political, geographical and art factors. The culmination of these teachings has explained why we are who we are today. The values and ideas of each of these factors continuously improved our world. Improvement is not necessarily defined as doing everything better but advancing. Although the western world experienced many trials and tribulations there are still many that have yet to be undergone for our civilizations family tree.
