short essay about humanities

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✍️Essay on Humanity in 100 to 300 Words

short essay about humanities

  • Updated on  
  • Oct 26, 2023

Essay on Humanity

Humanity could be understood through different perspectives. Humanity refers to acts of kindness, care, and compassion towards humans or animals. Humanity is the positive quality of human beings. This characteristic involves the feeling of love, care, reason, decision, cry, etc. Our history reveals many acts of inhuman and human behaviour. Such acts differentiate the good and the bad. Some of the key characteristics of Humanity are intelligence, creativity , empathy and compassion. Here are some sample essay on Humanity that will tell about the importance and meaning of Humanity!

Table of Contents

  • 1 Essay on Humanity 100 Words
  • 2.1 Importance of Humanity 

Also Read: Essay on Family

Essay on Humanity 100 Words

Humanity is the sum of all the qualities that make us human. We should seek inspiration from the great humanitarians from our history like Mahatma Gandhi , Nelson Mandela , Mother Teresa , and many more. They all devoted their life serving the cause of humanity. Their tireless efforts for the betterment of the needy make the world a better place. 

In a world suffering from a humanitarian crisis, there is an urgent need to raise awareness about the works of humanitarians who died serving for a noble cause. World Humanitarian Day is celebrated on 19 August every year to encourage humanity. 

Here are some examples of humanity:

  • Firefighters risking their lives to save someone stuck in a burning building.
  • Raising voices for basic human rights.
  • Blood donation to save lives is also an example of humanity.
  • A doctor volunteering to work in a war zone.

Also Read: Famous Personalities in India

Essay on Humanity 300 Words

Humanity is the concept that lies at the core of our existence. It contains the essence of what makes us humans. It encompasses our capacity for empathy, compassion, and understanding, and it is a driving force behind our progress as a species. In a world often characterized by division and war, the essence of humanity shines as a ray of hope, reminding us of our shared values and aspirations.

One of the defining characteristics of humanity is our ability to empathize with others. Empathy allows us to connect with people on a profound level, to feel their joys and sorrows, and to provide support in times of need. It bridges the gaps that might otherwise separate us, creating a sense of unity in the face of adversity. Even comforting a friend in distress is a sign of humanity. 

Also Read: Emotional Intelligence at Workplace

Importance of Humanity 

Compassion is the fundamental element of humanity. It is the driving force behind acts of kindness, charity, and selflessness. Humanity is important to protect cultural, religious, and geographical boundaries, as it is a universal language understood by all.

When we extend some help to those in need out of humanity, we affirm our commitment to the well-being of others and demonstrate our shared responsibility for the betterment of society.

Humanity balances out the evil doings in the world. It creates a better world for all to reside. Humanity is the foundation of the existence of humans because it makes us what we are and differentiate us from other living organism who do not possess the ability to think and feel. It is a testament to our potential for progress and unity.

In conclusion, humanity, with its pillars of empathy, compassion, and understanding, serves as a guiding light in a complex and divided world. These qualities remind us that, despite our differences, we are all part of the human family. 

Related Articles

Humanity is a complex characteristic of any human being. It includes the ability of a person to differentiate between good and bad and to show sympathy and shared connections as human beings. The human race can win any war be it harsh climatic conditions, pandemic, economic crisis, etc, if they have humanity towards each other. Humans have the potential to solve problems and make the world a better place for all.

An essay on humanity should be started with an introduction paragraph stating the zest of the complete essay. It should include the meaning of humanity. You need to highlight the positive characteristics of the act of humanity and how it can work for the betterment of society.

Humanity is very important because this characteristic of human beings makes the world a better place to live. It is what makes us humans. Humanity is the feeling of care and compassion towards other beings and gives us the ability to judge between right and wrong.

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Defining the Humanities Essay

  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment

Defining the Humanities

Cultural event, music as an expression of humanity, comparison of the cultural expressions.

Various definitions have been given to the term humanity. Therefore, humanities are the many characteristics and branches of humanities such as theater, human being, art, culture, literature, food, music and the stories that try to bring out the sense in the world as we see it.

It is a discipline that introduces us into place and ideas that otherwise would not have crossed our minds. To elaborate further, humanities shows how events that took place in the past affect the present and the future, and how a person can evolve from the experience he has gone through and by what he has seen.

Humanities also look into the contributions of people either collectively or individually. An individual may think of the many discipline that humanity has to such as psychology, science and math and others that impact human culture.

“The humanities can be distinguished from other disciplines such as the social sciences, physical and biological because the humanities include the study of human subjects and the study of languages and literatures, the arts, history, and philosophy while all other forms of human inquiry are limited to the study of subjects that are not human (Proctor, 2008)”

These essay aims at bringing out the differences between humanities and the other forms of human inquiry and expressions.

The essay will aim at relating a particular cultural event that took place at a particular point in time and try to explain how the specific cultural event brought to the fore the lessons learnt concerning the humanities, cultural practice, art, style and genius of the period represented.

One of the most important cultural events I have experienced and which relate too is music. By definition, “music an artistic form of sound communication via musical instruments and voice that produce sounds and tones (Shaw, 2010)”. Music has been sung from time immemorial and it is as old as mankind.

The past cultures had music as does the present cultures. Some of the oldest songs were composed in 4 th century and written in cuneiform. By definition, cuneiform is a composition of characters made up of a collection of small wedge-shaped basics that were in use in traditional Persian and Sumerian writing.

“The certainty of how or when the first musical instrument was invented, however, most historians point to early flutes made from animal bones that are at least 37,000 years old (Reich, 2009)”

The music that was played in the late 50’s in Greece represented the humanities or the specific culture of the people of Greece during that era. Therefore, it can be seen that, music as a humanity reflects and mirrors the values and practices held through the life of an individual.

The music played today has undergone dramatic changes from the music that was played 50 years ago. The instruments used have also improved with the use of more modern instrument. The music has also changed with new genre of music coming up.

In the medieval age, only two styles of music were played and they were monophonic and polyphonic music only. From the medieval age, we came to the renaissance period which changed the way songs were composed and sung.

The classic genre of music was practiced in the Baroque era where music writers started composing and singing using various instruments and singing different styles of music. This allowed the artist to tell his story in his own unique way by the use of music.

In the 20 th century, music writers and artists were in a position to use varied instruments which far much sophisticated than instruments used in the medieval era. They make use of computers to change what they want in music, add sound effects and conduct computer work to enhance the sound quality of music.

This period was characterized by the emergence of various styles of music that are widely listened today. The styles include blues, hip-hop, rap, rhythm, rock and roll, gospel among others.

Music was used to express the inner feelings of human beings. There were songs sung during particular periods only to express certain feelings. For example, dirges were sung during funerals to console with the bereaved family. There were war songs that were sung to give the fighters morale to fight.

Music was used a symbol of cultural heritage. Music is conceived through the ear and thus used to express what the human is feeling such as sadness and happiness

The selected form of cultural expression which is music compares to other forms such as literature and storied in that they talked about the issues affecting people at that particular period and how the experiences shaped the future lives. The stories were told by the elderly and passed on to the next generation.

These impacted the present lives. The literature written during this time touched on the contemporary issues affecting people at that time. The literature was written in pamphlets and in scribes while currently it is written in more sophisticated materials such as the computer and laptops.

Therefore, music and literature compare in the sense that they were used to disseminate information that would help shape the lives of people in the future. These cultural expressions have undergone major changes which have made them more refined than in the 19 th century.

Proctor, R. (2008). Defining the Humanities. Indiana : Indiana University Press.

Reich, J. (2009). Culture and Values: A Survey of the Humanities. New York: Cengage Learning.

Shaw, P. (2010). The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

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IvyPanda. (2019, July 3). Defining the Humanities. https://ivypanda.com/essays/defining-the-humanities/

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Home — Essay Samples — Science — Humanities — The Importance of Studying Humanities

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The Importance of Studying Humanities

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Published: Sep 12, 2023

Words: 772 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

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Understanding the human experience, appreciating cultural diversity, engaging with complex social issues, developing a well-rounded education, promoting lifelong learning, challenges and opportunities.

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short essay about humanities

Library Home

A Short Handbook for writing essays in the Humanities and Social Sciences

(8 reviews)

short essay about humanities

Dan Allosso, Bemidji State University

Salvatore F. Allosso

Copyright Year: 2019

Publisher: Minnesota Libraries Publishing Project

Language: English

Formats Available

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Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Aaron Lefkovitz, Professor, City Colleges of Chicago on 5/4/22

This writing manual the author wrote and used for decades at the University of California, Davis is very comprehensive. It reviews multiple aspects of how to get started with writing, such as analyzing texts and taking notes, discovering a topic,... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This writing manual the author wrote and used for decades at the University of California, Davis is very comprehensive. It reviews multiple aspects of how to get started with writing, such as analyzing texts and taking notes, discovering a topic, preparing for discussion, creating a thesis, ordering evidence, building an argument, coherent paragraphs, effective sentences, appropriate words, revising, and a revision checklist. Also, it has a valuable appendix and even references to such philosophers as Aristotle, so it is comprehensive in both a practical and theoretical sense.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content of A Short Handbook for Writing Essays in the Humanities and Social Sciences is accurate, error-free, and unbiased. This can be read in the “Analyzing Texts, Taking Notes” section, where the author begins with unbiased, clear questions, such as “what is a text?” The author then goes on to quote from such sources as author W.H. Auden (1907-1973), English-born poet and man of letters who achieved early fame in the 1930s as a hero of the left during the Great Depression.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

A Short Handbook for Writing Essays in the Humanities and Social Sciences does represent relevance and longevity, in the sense that its chapters can be carried down from one generation to another without much variation, for example read in the “Discovering a Topic, Preparing for Discussion” chapter. Here, the author mentions that texts students work with at the college level of their education are mostly givens, as far as English classics, History primary and secondary sources that are important to understand a particular event and period, as well as the ways texts were chosen out of multiple texts in that they fit together and lead to a particular place.

Clarity rating: 5

There is a great deal of clarity in A Short Handbook for Writing Essays in the Humanities and Social Sciences, as this text makes difficult subjects easier to understand for most students, simplifying such potentially daunting topics as “creating a thesis”. In this chapter, the author asks a variety of questions, including what interpretation is the author trying to persuade the reader is valid, what are the reasons for this interpretation, how is the interpretation different from other interpretations, and what part of the text will be examined and emphasized, as well as what are the author’s assumptions and potential objections. These clear questions provide a sense of clarity for the reader and add to the text’s strengths.

Consistency rating: 5

This text is very consistent. Each chapter starts with an interesting quote that frames the chapter narrative in a compelling way. Then, the chapters start with very first-hand/direct testimony given to readers who can read the paragraphs in a way that is meant to speak to them rather than use jargon and difficult to understand sentences. Chapters follow similar structures in terms of longer paragraphs followed by definitions and clear statements that function to provide additional information with regards to the content and theme of the chapter discussed.

Modularity rating: 5

A Short Handbook for Writing Essays in the Humanities and Social Sciences does have easily and readily divisible sections that are useful to the reader in that they break up the narrative and provide all sorts of additional information in an aesthetically pleasing way that can be assigned at different points within the course. There are not enormous blocks of text without subheadings and the text does not seem to be overly self-referential. Instead, there are all sorts of references and data from disparate sources that provide for an interesting and informative read.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

This text is full of effective, concise, and clear sentences, and is organized well in terms of the ways chapters are structured, starting with a quote that has a particular relevance to the chapter theme, including boxed reminders that set themselves apart from the general narrative, and including various bullet points and examples from literature.

Interface rating: 5

Everything that I have read in this textbook signals that it is indeed free of any kind of significant interface issues, including navigation problems, distortion of images/charts, and any other display features that may distract or confuse the reader.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Additionally, the text seems to be free of grammatical errors even as it does seem to contain some spacing issues but that could be on my computer only.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

As far as the text’s cultural relevance, it does seem to rely quite heavily on dead White European philosophers, from Aristotle to Wittgenstein, to add to and accentuate a point, however it is not offensive in the sense that it does not go out of its way to denigrate a particular race, ethnicity, or other cultural background.

This text does a fine job of introducing students to basic essay writing in the Humanities and Social Sciences, its brevity functioning as a strength in that it keeps things fairly simple while adding philosophical and historical contexts to stay academic as well as relevant and consistent.

short essay about humanities

Reviewed by Megan Anderson, Assistant Professor, Limestone University on 12/7/21

With only 9 chapters, this text does not cover every essay writing skill students need, but it does include focus on the higher order elements of writing. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

With only 9 chapters, this text does not cover every essay writing skill students need, but it does include focus on the higher order elements of writing.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

As the title suggests, the content is sparse, but it appears accurate.

While there are various theories on the teaching of writing in terms of pedagogy, writing skills do not really change in the sense of timeliness. The examples used are relatively common references from history and literature.

Clarity rating: 4

Again the content is minimal, but the material is written in a clear, easy-to-understand manner that would work for even first-year students.

The text is consistent in terms of terminology and framework, and even tone.

Modularity rating: 3

Each chapter is very short so they are easily assignable. And while there are headers, each chapter appears as one long page. Splitting up the content into just a few pages and spacing out the material a little more would be preferential.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 2

While I believe that the text covers many of the essential elements of writing, the chapters appear out of order to me. I would have the chapter on "Effective Sentences" before the one on "Coherent Paragraphs". It is also problematic to me to have a chapter on "Ordering Evidence, Building an Argument" listed before the chapters on basic writing components.

Interface rating: 3

The interface could be easier to navigate. There is no next button to move to easily move from chapter to chapter and to access the nine chapters, you have to click on a plus sign linked to what is called "I. Main Body". It is not very difficult to figure out, but it is just not as thought out as it could be. Like having a Roman Numeral I without a Roman Numeral II is a little odd. It also cannot be saved as a printable PDF.

I do not see any grammatical issues.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

While I do not see any references that are culturally insensitive, there is also no real attempt at diversity or inclusion. Examples are really all from canonical texts, meaning white male authors, like Shakespeare, Hemingway, and Melville.

Reviewed by Anthony Accardi Jr, Adjunct Professor, Middlesex Community College on 5/30/21

In the text "A Short Handbook for Writing Essays in the Humanities and Social Sciences" by Salvatore and Dan Allosso the authors present a simple, easy to follow guide for students to use when organizing, planning, researching, and writing an... read more

In the text "A Short Handbook for Writing Essays in the Humanities and Social Sciences" by Salvatore and Dan Allosso the authors present a simple, easy to follow guide for students to use when organizing, planning, researching, and writing an essay. In addition to essay structure, the authors also provide help with the “basics of effective writing”, including paragraph writing, sentence writing and avoiding common grammatical errors.

The concise format of the text requires that the author’s stay “right on point” which they do effectively and accurately.

By following each step outlined in this text, a student would undoubtedly improve his/her essay writing skills. Each topic the authors address is relevant to the development of a good essay. The strong emphasis put on the steps for writing an essay make this text a guide students will surely refer to again and again throughout their academic careers.

The conversational style used by the authors makes this text easy to read and understand. Most students find writing a nerve-racking ordeal. The authors deal with this by using straightforward language to explain concepts and reinforce the explanations with simple, easy to understand examples.

The authors have designed a textbook consistent from chapter to chapter and "as a whole". In general, each chapter begins with a quote from a famous author about writing, followed by an explanation of the chapter’s topic, followed by a working example. The authors' down to earth writing style is consistent in every chapter of the text.

The short length of the chapters makes them ideal to be read as individual assignments and their compartmentalized structure is suited well for associated writing assignments.

The structure of this text is one of its strongest points. The authors have organized the chapters in a logical order that students should follow when writing an essay.

The text interface is easy to navigate with no issues noticed.

The text is free of grammatical and syntactic errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The authors have created a text that shows an awareness of the need for cultural sensitivity and is inoffensive and completely class appropriate. . The Chapter titled “Appropriate Words” touches on avoiding the use of “Sexist Language”, which indicates concern for gender respect. Improvement could be made by using a more diverse group of authors for the opening chapter quotes.

I think this text is an excellent source for helping students understand the basic steps needed to write a good essay.

Reviewed by Aerie Bernard, Adjunct Faculty, Humanities, College of DuPage on 4/20/21

This short text provides an approachable primer for novice essayists and reminder of standard practices of academic writing for more experienced writers. Rather than go into great depth, the chapters briefly outline the process of writing academic... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This short text provides an approachable primer for novice essayists and reminder of standard practices of academic writing for more experienced writers. Rather than go into great depth, the chapters briefly outline the process of writing academic essays at the high school or undergraduate level. The text is comprehensive in that it is organized linearly to guide the writer from taking notes and developing a thesis through writing drafts and revisions. There is no index or glossary provided; however, the table of contents and short chapters ensure that the text is easy to navigate.

The content is accurate and error-free. The text is written by educators who attempt to address what they identify as common errors in student writing. As such, the bias present reflects a preference for standard English and traditional structure in academic writing.

Because the text focuses on standard practices in academic writing such as writing strong topic sentences, creating arguable theses, and avoiding passive voice, I doubt the text could become obsolete anytime soon. The text speaks to current trends in academic writing by including tips such as how to use gender neutral language and gears itself towards the high school and undergraduate level by modeling and promoting the use of a conversational tone in academic writing. Short, well-organized, worksheet-like chapters allow plenty of room for one to add to, update, or adapt this text.

The authors advise student essayists to use language and style that illustrates “genuine human conversation.” The text successfully models a balance of accuracy of language with a conversational tone. It is a pleasant read.

The text is consistent in its use of terminology, framework, and voice.

Short chapters with limited scope provide introductions and jumping off points for further discussions and activities related to academic writing in the humanities and social sciences.

The chapters are arranged to illustrate a start to finish approach to writing essays. Each chapter focuses on an element of essay writing. The organization is clear and logical.

Interface rating: 4

I had no difficulty accessing or reading the text online with my laptop and my phone. I was not as successful viewing the EPUB as a download to my phone. The text was too small in Bluefire reader and the app would not allow viewing at a larger font size. I do not know if the limitation was due to the EPUB or the reader app.

I did not notice any grammatical errors.

The text addresses the importance of avoiding problematic language in academic writing in the chapter “Appropriate Words” and cautions that writers avoid repetition and wordiness, cliches, jargon, pop culture references, empty words, words with contested meanings, code words, and overextended/mixed/misapplied metaphors. I notice the absence of resources, strategies, and discussions about words relating to race, ethnicity, background, or identity. Also, examples throughout the text are primarily Western, male, and white. Steps towards inclusiveness are present, such as strategies for gender neutral writing, but there is room for improvement.

Reviewed by Sarah Fischer, Assistant Professor, Marymount University on 2/1/21

The book is *short* and useful. It gives excellent advice for how students can and should select strong evidence, how to write effective openings and closings, and discusses many common grammatical errors. However, the book does not spend enough... read more

The book is *short* and useful. It gives excellent advice for how students can and should select strong evidence, how to write effective openings and closings, and discusses many common grammatical errors. However, the book does not spend enough time on how to organize the body of an essay or how to organize sentences within a paragraph.

This book is well-researched and contains no errors (in terms of subject matter, usage, or grammar).

Very relevant, especially because so many books on writing are long, and the longer they are the less likely students are to read them. This book does very impactful work in a very limited number of pages.

Clarity rating: 3

The book is very clear and accessible for professors and advanced students. Many of the examples from English and History papers utilized in the book would be quite difficult for many first-year students to follow, however.

Formatting is quite consistent; terminology is consistently and appropriately used.

Sections of this book are small, easy to understand, and not overwhelming for any level of student to read.

This book's organization flows in a logical way.

I did not notice any interface issues.

I did not notice any grammatical errors in the text.

The authors took care to be culturally sensitive.

A few short exercises at the end of each section, which instructors could create for their classes, would help students practice the book's lessons as sort of intermediary step between reading about possible pitfalls and working on their own to eliminate issues from their writing.

Reviewed by Deirdre Sullivan, Adjunct Faculty, English Department, Berkshire Community College on 6/27/20

A Short Handbook for Writing Essays in the Humanities and Social Sciences by Salvatore Allosso and Dan Allosso is a comprehensive and concise work on how to write good essays on the humanities and the social sciences by clearly defining the... read more

A Short Handbook for Writing Essays in the Humanities and Social Sciences by Salvatore Allosso and Dan Allosso is a comprehensive and concise work on how to write good essays on the humanities and the social sciences by clearly defining the definitions of those disciplines. I have not seen many indexes and/or glossaries with these online books, so I don't think it is really necessary for the comprehension of the text.

The content was accurate, without error, and unbiased in its content, syntax, and point of view.

I think the light tone, conversational style, and relevance to all who practice the art of writing is both timely and long-lasting. There is a universal appeal to this approach, and while language is always changing, the rules for written work have more longevity.

The book is written in such a way as to engage even the most reluctant reader into a kind of conspiratorial allegiance on how to approach the art of reading well and writing with lucid accuracy, technical prowess, and enlightened awareness.

The text incorporates terminology into the structure and framework of its chapters with clarity and consistency.

The text is proportionate to reasonable reading and writing assignments. In each chapter, there is a clear way of recognizing and analyzing concepts on writing for use toward student outcomes in a writing course.

This text is logically organized to support and sustain its thesis and the thorough exploration of its guiding elements.

There are no significant interface issues, problems with navigation, or distractions to confuse potential readers.

There are no grammatical errors to my reckoning.

The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. The book embraced multi-culturalism with quotes, questions, and persuasive argument as to how a writer must be objective, open-minded, and thoroughly engaged in standing by their work.

I really loved the conversational style between authors and readers. This father-son duo has clearly taken delight in sharing their love of the world through the art of writing. I really liked the quotes they chose to support their ideas. Perhaps one day, I will use their book in my composition classes. A truly remarkable discovery!

Reviewed by Dayle Turner, Professor, Leeward Community College on 6/27/20

The text covers fairly well the important considerations of writing essays for humanities and social sciences courses. The authors assert their intention of taking students “step-by-step through the process of writing essays for an upper-level... read more

The text covers fairly well the important considerations of writing essays for humanities and social sciences courses. The authors assert their intention of taking students “step-by-step through the process of writing essays for an upper-level high school class or a college course.” The steps of which they speak include analyzing texts, note-taking, formulating essay topics, creating theses, ordering evidence, building arguments, writing coherent paragraphs, composing effective sentences, using appropriate diction, and revising. The text lacks an index and glossary and the inclusion thereof would certainly strengthen the comprehensiveness of the work.

The content of this text is accurate and the steps covered are mostly applicable for first-year college students and high school juniors and seniors.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The content appears up-to-date. Text is devoid of visual imagery, making it potentially less appealing to contemporary/millennial students, but its structure invites relatively easy updating, and all links were accurate.

The text is mostly clear and provides adequate examples to explain the application of material discussed in each chapter.

Consistency rating: 4

The text's consistency would be excellent if an index and glossary were included.

Modularity rating: 4

This text is organized in such a manner that students can be assigned short readings without having to jump hither and yon between chapters or different parts of the book.

There are nine chapters in the text. They are presented in a logical and purposeful order. Critical reading and note-taking comes first while a revision checklist is available at the end. This makes sense as it is important to provide students with suggestions for information-gathering and revision.

The interface is free of any distracting issues. The text is mostly easy to navigate.

I noticed no grammatical errors.

The text successfully represents a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Examples are sensitive and free of stereotypes.

This book would have been beneficial to me as an undergraduate. Most of what it covers are things I had to learn by experience, and the quality of my earliest scholarship would have been much improved with the benefit of these lessons. The text has value as a supplementary or recommended material, particularly for students whose plans include graduate school or writing-intensive professions. Students who are most prepared will get the most out of it, but the text also offers good examples

Reviewed by Matilda (Tillie) Yoder, Librarian, Goshen College on 7/10/19

The scope of this text is very clearly outlined in its title - it aims to guide students through the process of writing essays for humanities and social sciences courses. The Allossos succeed in creating a work that does just that, discussing... read more

The scope of this text is very clearly outlined in its title - it aims to guide students through the process of writing essays for humanities and social sciences courses. The Allossos succeed in creating a work that does just that, discussing techniques and strategies for writing well but assuming that readers will have a reasonable familiarity with English grammar. Contents included how to develop ideas, how to formulate effective arguments, how to identify weak points in writing, and how to revise effectively. It is worth noting that the authors are not concerned with formatting, emphasizing the writing process and not the finicky details of citation structure, title page layout, or font size.These issues are easily addressed on a great many websites and reference works; more concerning is that there is no real discussion of plagiarism or how to manage citations and references, which is an important part of any humanities or social sciences essay that requires research and not a single text.

There is no glossary or index for this work, though the table of contents lays out chapter topics very clearly. An index would be quite useful for instructors and students wanting to use the book in its entirety. Similarly, a reference list with links to related works and websites might also be of use for those who would like more in-depth information on particular techniques not elaborated on in this short work.

The content of this guidebook is accurate, although its narrow focus does mean that is not comprehensive (and it does not intend to be). The strategies outlined in it are standard practice and are conveyed succinctly. Quoted authors are all referenced by name but not in any further detail; simple citations for these quotes would model best practices for the students reading the material.

The content of this guidebook is general enough in nature to remain relevant for some time. The examples given throughout the book reference works of classic Western literature or established understandings of history that American schools are likely to continue to teach - Shakespeare’s plays, the history of slave uprisings in the Americas, the Civil War, and Hemingway all feature. Notably, references are only discussed in the context of example passages, and so no knowledge of the events or plots is necessary to understand what the authors are saying.

The Alessos practice what they preach in this instance, writing directly and clearly. Jargon is almost non-existent, and where it does exist it is always defined and explained. Concepts are clearly illustrated with multiple examples and outlined step by step. The overall vocabulary and level of writing is appropriate for students in grade 11 or above.

Key terms are used continually throughout this work; in particular, the authors emphasize the importance of unity, coherence, and emphasis in effective writing. Vocabulary terms are introduced and used consistently, although alternative terms are listed to ensure understanding.

This guide could be easily divided into distinct sections useful for a wide variety of classes throughout the humanities and social sciences. History and English classes would find it particularly relevant, but introductory writing teachers, writing tutors, and academic support offices would also find much that is useful here. The sections on how to construct a thesis and the revision checklist are particularly applicable to me in my work as a writing tutor. I can see myself having students read specific sections of this book depending on what their particular roadblocks to writing are.

The organization of this text is logical, beginning with the process of note-taking and brainstorming, and moving on to persuasive argument building, thesis construction, essay structure, writing, and revision. The revision checklist at the end of the textbook is also organized in such a way that it leads students to look for major issues in their writing before the minor ones.

Overall, the guidebook displayed well and is easy to navigate. There are no images included, and although images are not strictly necessary for this sort of topic, I believe that the text would benefit from some formatting changes. Some of the lists could use better visual clues in their subdivision, and example paragraphs would benefit from being presented in a diagram format where specific portions could be highlighted and remarked on more directly. Unfortunately, this title is not available in PDF format, which would be useful for anyone wanting access to the book without an internet connection. Epub format would be useful as well.

I noticed no grammatical errors or typos in this text.

All references to culture in this text appear in example writing passages. Because of this, no deep understanding of the referenced work or work is needed, because it is the writing and not the content of the passage that is the focus. However, almost all of the references included are focused on classic works concerning Western literature and history (Kafka, Dostoyevsky, Beowulf, etc.). A broadening of examples would be welcome, but as it stands the text is inoffensive and reflects what is taught in many English classes in American schools.

Table of Contents

  • Getting Started Writing
  • Chapter 1: Analyzing Texts, Taking Notes
  • Chapter 2: Discovering a Topic, Preparing for Discussion
  • Chapter 3: Creating a Thesis
  • Chapter 4: Ordering Evidence, Building an Argument
  • Chapter 5: Coherent Paragraphs
  • Chapter 6: Effective Sentences
  • Chapter 7: Appropriate Words
  • Chapter 8: Revising
  • Chapter 9: Revision Checklist

Ancillary Material

About the book.

A retired master teacher of English and Comparative Literature teams up with his son, a History professor, on a new version of the writing manual he wrote and used for decades at the University of California, Davis.

About the Contributors

Dan Allosso , Bemidji State University

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Humanity Essay | Essay on Humanity for Students and Children in English

February 13, 2024 by Prasanna

Humanity Essay: The definition of humanity would be as quality of being human; the precise nature of man, through which he is differentiated from other beings. But being human does not necessarily mean that an individual possesses humanity. If you want to know the quality of humanity in a person take notice of how they do for people who give nothing back in return to the favour they have offered.

You can also find more  Essay Writing articles on events, persons, sports, technology and many more. Like, see many more facts and matters about humanity essay in this link, What is humanity essay.

Long and Short Essays on Humanity for Students and Kids in English

We provide children and students with essay samples on a long essay of 500 words and a short essay of 150 words on the topic “Humanity” for reference.

Long Essay on Humanity 500 Words in English

Long Essay on Humanity is usually given to classes 7, 8, 9, and 10.

When we talk about humanity, there can be various perspectives to look at it. The most common way to understand humanity is through this simple definition – the value of kindness and compassion towards other beings. When we scroll through the pages of history, we come across lots of acts of cruelty being performed by humans, but at the same time, there are many acts of humanity that have been done by few great people.

The thoughts of such great humanitarian have reached the hearts of many people across this planet. To name a few people, such as them are Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela. These are just a few names with which most of us are familiar with. By taking Mother Teresa, as an example of a humanitarian, we see that she had dedicated her entire life to serving the poor and needy from a nation who she barely had any relation. She saw the people she served for, as humans, a part of her fraternity.

The great Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore, expressed his strong beliefs on humanity and religion in his Nobel prize-winning piece, Gitanjali. He believed that to have contact with the divine one has to worship humanity. To serve the needy was equivalent to serving the divine power. Humanity was his soul religion. Their ways of life have taught us and will be teaching the future generation what it means to be a human—the act of giving back and coming to aid the ones in need. Humanity comes from the most selfless act, and the compassion one has.

But as we are progressing as a human race into the future, the very meaning of humanity is slowly being corrupted. An act of humanity should not and can never be performed with thoughts or expectations of any personal gain of any form; may it be fame, money or power.

Now we live in a world that, although it has been divided by borders, it is limitless. People have the freedom to travel anywhere, see and experience, anything and every feeling that ever existed, but we still are not satisfied. Nations fight now and then to attain pieces of land in the name of religion or patriotism, while millions of innocent lives are lost, or their homes are destroyed who are caught in the middle of this meaningless quarrels. The amount of divisiveness caused by human-made factors such as religion, race, nationalism, the socio-economic class is causing humanity to disintegrate slowly.

Humanitarian crisis such as the ones in Yemen, Myanmar and Syria has cost the lives of million people. Yet the situation is still far from being resolved. All it needs to save them is for people all across the globe to come ahead and help them. Humanity is just not limited to humans. It’s also caring for the environment, the nature and every living being in this universe. But most humans are regressing to the point that they don’t even care about their surroundings.

In this era of technology and capitalism, we are in desperate need to spread humanity. The global warming, pollution, extinction of species every day could be controlled if we and the future generation understand the meaning of humanity rather than just subduing ourselves to the rat race.

Short Essay on Humanity 150 Words in English

Short Essay on Humanity is usually given to classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Humanity is an integral part of life which tells that to help other living beings, try to understand others and realize their problems with our perspective and try to help them. For expressing humanity, you don’t need to be a well-off person; everyone can show humanity by helping someone or sharing with them, part of our ration. Every religion in this world tells us about humanity, peace and love.

But humans have always indulged in acts that defy humanity, but we, as a generation, have to rise and strive to live in a world where everybody is living a fair life. And we can attain by acts of humanity. In last I would only say to any religion you belong to be a human first be a human lover strive for humanity as every religion teach us humanity and share your life with others as life is all about living for others and serving humanity that is why “no religion is higher than Humanity.”

10 Lines on Humanity in English

  • Humanity is a collective term for all human beings.
  • Humanity is also used to describe the value of kindness and compassion towards other beings.
  • Humanity is one of the characteristics that differentiate us from other animals.
  • Humanity is also a value that binds us together.
  • When humans achieve something of importance, it is generally referred to as an achievement for humanity or the human race.
  • Humanitarian is a person who wants to promote humanity and human welfare.
  • Examples of a few famous Humanitarians are- Mother Teresa, Swami Vivekananda, Nelson Mandela.
  • The world at present is facing several humanitarian crises.
  • Yemen is the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, with more than 24 million people (some 80% of the population) in need of humanitarian assistance.
  • The divided world right now needs the religion of humanity to guide them.

FAQ’s on Humanity Essay

Question 1. What defines humanity?

Answer:  The definition of humanity is the entire human race or the characteristics that belong uniquely to human beings, such as kindness, mercy and sympathy.

Question 2. What are the qualities of humanity?

Answer: Qualities that form the foundation of all other human qualities are honesty, integrity, wholeheartedness, courage and self-awareness. These factors define who we are as human beings.

Question 3. How do we show humanity?

Answer:  Some says to show humanity is to model genuine empathy, to show gratitude, and to express respect and humility.

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These essays are usually some type of analysis or interpretation which require that you develop a thesis and then prove that thesis in the body of the paper. These are the types of papers (in contrast to lab reports or marketing proposals) closest to the style you have written in high school and UNIV 190. However, avoid doing some of the things that are common in high school papers: 1) data dumping, 2) spending too much space on summary 3) using a strict five-paragraph structure or 4) using an unintegrated comparison or counterargument.

Thesis driven

Because these papers are thesis driven, you must spend time and attention on your thesis. Here are some of the most common problems:

  • Ensuring that the thesis addresses the prompt
  • Ensuring that the thesis is analytical or interpretive so that it is not simply a fact, but is a unique position that you’re staking out and will need to defend.
  • Ensuring you are using the right style for your class. Some professors and fields prefer very bald styles: e.g. “In this paper, I argue…” They may also ask for an outline of the paper with the thesis. E.g. “I will first define the term, then demonstrate….” While other professors and fields require that you NEVER use words like “In this paper I argue…” nor give an outline. In the humanities, that is considered extremely bad style.

Analyzing a topic requires that you consider all of the following and then focus only on those which are the most appropriate:

  • Comparison – consider what you main idea/thesis can be compared to. It is useful to compare to something completely different and to something quite similar. If a large portion of your paper requires comparison, be sure to use an integrated comparison. Don’t just talk about one item in one paragraph and the other item in another. Compare both according to some point in EACH paragraph.
  • Classification–this is an extension of comparison. You classify when there are many similar items to compare. It is also a sort of vertical comparison. What broader or more general category does your idea/topic belong to?
  • Cause/Effect, Reason/Result — Look for relationships
  • Problem/Solution — This can be related to cause/effect or to comparison. What caused the problem? What effect will the solution have? Compare the alternative solutions to decide which is best.
  • Ethos/Pathos/Logos/Kairos — Have you analyzed your topic from all perspectives? Ethos = Credibility including your analysis of the counterarguments, Pathos = Values, Logos =Reason, Kairos=Timeliness/Current Relevance
  • try to use three different pieces of evidence to support each major point
  • use examples of specific actions, people or places
  • use quotes–be sure to integrate these by adding a sentence before or after to explain how you are using the quote as evidence. Many students make the mistake of paraphrasing or rephrasing the quote. That is not useful and doesn’t count as explanation. In fact, if you can paraphrase it, then there’s no point in quoting it. You use a quote because the words that author used are exactly the right words; i.e. there’s no better way to say it. In fact, you may use some space to explain why those words are so great.
  • use numbers or facts

Writing Core Humanities essays

Writing is a major component of the Core Humanities program. It is also an essential skill that will help you to succeed in other courses and in your life beyond college. People who can express themselves clearly in writing have definite advantages over those who cannot, so take advantage of the writing opportunities provided in each course to practice getting better at this.

To write well, you must first have a sound grasp of the rules of grammar, but this alone is not enough to ensure good writing. You also need to think about the way you organize your ideas, how you present your argument, how you incorporate evidence and how you move from one idea to another in your essay. The following guidelines will help you to produce clearly written, well-supported, persuasive essays and to hone your communication skills.

Start early . Unless you are incredibly brilliant, you will not be able to write a really good essay the night before it is due. Insightful, well-organized papers result from careful thinking, re-reading of texts and re-writing of rough drafts, all of which take time.

Decide on a thesis . Good essays are more than just collections of facts or quotations from the readings. They are written with a clear point in mind - something the author wants to say. If the assignment is in the form of a question, your thesis will be your answer to the question. Make sure you have an answer before you begin to write. Do not simply write down everything you know about a topic without addressing the question.

Make an outline . Once you have decided what you are going to say, think about how you are going to say it. What evidence will you use to support your thesis? How will you arrange the evidence? How will you make sure your reader sees the same connections between your evidence and argument that you see? Making an outline forces you to think in an organized manner and arrange your thoughts in a sequence that makes sense. You can always change the organization of your essay later if you think of a better way to arrange your material, but you should always draw up some kind of plan before you begin to write.

Pay attention to structure . The "classic" essay structure (introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion) is classic for a reason: it works. Your introduction should set out clearly and succinctly the thesis of your essay, each body paragraph should provide evidence and/or analysis relating to the main point, the conclusion should summarize (again, succinctly but in different words from the ones you use in your introduction) what you have said.

Use graceful transitions . Your essay should flow logically and coherently from one paragraph to the next. Start a new paragraph for each new idea and try to make the first line of each paragraph relate in some way to the point you made in the preceding one. This is called a transition, or how you get from one idea to another. Just like changing gears, accelerating, or braking in a car, your transitions should be smooth, so that the reader hardly notices them. Good transitions can turn an above-average paper into one that is really classy.

Acknowledge any words and ideas that are not your own . You must properly recognize other people's words by enclosing any phrases taken directly from another source in quotation marks and providing the source information (author's last name, followed by the page number) in parentheses at the end of the sentence in which the quotation appears [e.g.: (Casper and Davies, 49)]. Ideas taken from outside sources and paraphrased in your own words, as well as little-known facts and statistics, must be acknowledged in the same way as direct quotations. See the advice about  avoiding plagiarism  for more information about how to acknowledge and cite sources.

A first draft does not mean you are finished . Read over, correct and re-write your first draft to eliminate bad grammar and syntax, unclear sentences, clumsy transitions, typing errors and spelling mistakes. Keep in mind that the spelling and grammar-check functions on your computer, although useful for a first run through, are no substitute for reading your paper carefully yourself.

Keep to the page limit . Being able to express your ideas clearly and succinctly is a valuable skill and revising an over-long paper to keep within a defined limit helps you to get better at this. If your first draft exceeds the page limit, go back and cut out any unnecessary words or sentences. Finding ways to restate your ideas more directly usually results in a better paper.

Think you are done?  Not quite. Proofread your paper again before you submit it to eliminate any new mistakes that might have crept in when you were revising it. It is often helpful to ask a friend or family member to read your paper before submitting it to make sure it all makes sense and to pick up any errors you may have missed.

Ask for help if you need it . Remember that your instructors are here to help you if you get stuck. If you are having trouble understanding the readings or lectures, email or make an appointment to see your discussion leader or professor. Your discussion section meeting each week is also a good time to ask any questions you have about the material.

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What are the humanities?

The humanities refer to subjects that study people, their ideas, history, and literature. To put that another way, the humanities are those branches of learning regarding primarily as having a cultural character.

For example, one of the UK’s academic funding bodies, the Arts & Humanities Research Board or AHRB, tends to concentrate on the following sorts of subjects: Classics, Visual Arts and Media, Modern Languages, Music and Performing Arts, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Medieval and Modern History.

Key features – primary & secondary texts

In the majority of these subjects you begin with a primary text – e.g. a play or a film or a set of historical events. You are expected to show good knowledge of the primary text and to mount a discussion of it – or of aspects of it – that is located within current critical debate about it. You are expected to use your own judgement about other people’s judgements of the primary text.

Key features – logical argument

Readers of your essay will look for an argument that is clearly expressed in a logical order. They will not expect your essay to follow a specific set structure. For example, an English Literature essay might start with a plot summary of the work being discussed, a quote from the work or a quote from critical writing on the work. The important thing is to use your starting point to say clearly what you are going to write about and why; and to make the rest of your discussion flow naturally from it

Key features – balanced discussion

This is probably the one feature that distinguishes humanities essays from other sorts of writing. This does not mean that scientific papers or social science essays aren’t balanced discussions: it means that a humanities essay is more likely to have review various opinions and interpretations.

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Watch The Humanities: A Bridge to Ourselves to understand how humankind discovers itself

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humanities , those branches of knowledge that concern themselves with human beings and their culture or with analytic and critical methods of inquiry derived from an appreciation of human values and of the unique ability of the human spirit to express itself. As a group of educational disciplines , the humanities are distinguished in content and method from the physical and biological sciences and, somewhat less decisively, from the social sciences. The humanities include the study of all languages and literatures , the arts , history , and philosophy . The humanities are sometimes organized as a school or administrative division in many colleges and universities in the United States .

The modern conception of the humanities has its origin in the Classical Greek paideia , a course of general education dating from the Sophists in the mid-5th century bce , which prepared young men for active citizenship in the polis, or city-state; and in Cicero ’s humanitas (literally, “human nature”), a program of training proper for orators, first set forth in De oratore ( Of the Orator ) in 55 bce . In the early Middle Ages the Church Fathers, including St. Augustine , himself a rhetorician, adapted paideia and humanitas —or the bonae (“good”), or liberales (“liberal”), arts, as they were also called—to a program of basic Christian education; mathematics , linguistic and philological studies, and some history, philosophy, and science were included.

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The word humanitas, although not the substance of its component disciplines, dropped out of common use in the later Middle Ages but underwent a flowering and a transformation in the Renaissance . The term studia humanitatis (“studies of humanity”) was used by 15th-century Italian humanists to denote secular literary and scholarly activities (in grammar , rhetoric , poetry , history, moral philosophy , and ancient Greek and Latin studies) that the humanists thought to be essentially humane and Classical studies rather than divine ones. In the 18th century, Denis Diderot and the French Encyclopédistes censured studia humanitatis for what they claimed had by then become its dry, exclusive concentration on Latin and Greek texts and language. By the 19th century, when the purview of the humanities expanded, the humanities had begun to take their identity not so much from their separation from the realm of the divine as from their exclusion of the material and methods of the maturing physical sciences, which tended to examine the world and its phenomena objectively, without reference to human meaning and purpose.

Contemporary conceptions of the humanities resemble earlier conceptions in that they propose a complete educational program based on the propagation of a self-sufficient system of human values. But they differ in that they also propose to distinguish the humanities from the social sciences as well as from the physical sciences, and in that they dispute among themselves as to whether an emphasis on the subject matter or on the methods of the humanities is most effectual in accomplishing this distinction. In the late 19th century the German philosopher Wilhelm Dilthey called the humanities “the spiritual sciences” and “the human sciences” and described them, simply, as those areas of knowledge that lay outside of, and beyond, the subject matter of the physical sciences. On the other hand, Heinrich Rickert , an early 20th-century Neo-Kantian, argued that it is not subject matter but method of investigation that best characterizes the humanities; Rickert contended that whereas the physical sciences aim to move from particular instances to general laws, the human sciences are “idiographic”—they are devoted to the unique value of the particular within its cultural and human contexts and do not seek general laws. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries the American philosopher Martha Nussbaum emphasized the crucial importance of education in the humanities for maintaining a healthy democracy , for fostering a deeper understanding of human concerns and values, and for enabling students to rise above parochial perspectives and “the bondage of habit and custom” to become genuine citizens of the world.

16.8 Spotlight on … Humanities

Learning outcomes.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

  • Describe various disciplines in the humanities.
  • Evaluate employment opportunities for graduates with humanities degrees.

Although all college instructors value good writing, each area of study has its own set of criteria by which writing is judged. For instance, the loose informal style and speculative content of a reflective essay might be appropriate for an English class but inappropriate for an anthropology class in which the instructor would expect the more formal structures established in that subject area.

As a discipline, the humanities include subjects that focus on human culture and values. Some subjects are literature, languages, classics, art history, film, musicology, philosophy, religion, and often history, which sometimes is placed in the social sciences. The humanities are the foundation of liberal arts and, as such, include a wide variety of writing genres. Research reports, biographies, literary analyses, ethnographies, quantitative reports, proposals, books, journal articles, poetry, film scripts, novels, stories, technical writing, and professional documents are forms of writing particular to the humanities.

As a rule, knowledge in the humanities focuses on texts and on individual ideas, speculations, insights, and imaginative connections. Interpretation in the humanities is thus relatively subjective. Accordingly, much of the writing and research in the humanities is characterized by personal involvement, lively language, and speculative or open-ended conclusions.

The field of English includes the study of not only literature but of literary theory and history, and not only composition but creative and technical writing. In addition, English departments often include linguistics, journalism, folklore, women’s studies, cultural or ethnic studies, and film. In other words, within even one discipline, you might be asked to write several distinct types of papers: personal experience essays for a composition course, analyses for a literature course, abstracts or case studies for a linguistics course, procedural texts for a technical writing course, and short stories for a creative writing course. Consequently, any observations about the different kinds of knowledge and the differing conventions for writing about them are only generalizations. The more carefully you study any one discipline, the more complex it becomes, and the harder it is to make a generalization that does not have numerous explanations.

Careers in the Humanities

Because humanities subjects emphasize critical thinking and clear writing, the skills humanities students obtain are valued in many fields other than the most obvious ones. Humanities majors have gone on to careers in law, medicine (humanities plus pre-med), advertising, journalism, TV and film writing and production, public relations, graphic design, teaching, technical and medical/scientific writing, human resources, and many others. For more information about career opportunities for humanities students, see these sites:

  • Humanities and Social Sciences Careers
  • Top 10 Highest Paying Jobs for Liberal Arts Majors
  • 25 Great Jobs for Humanities Majors

Students’ Stories

Despite strong interest in the humanities—especially in reading, writing, and language—some students avoid humanities subjects as majors because they think they won’t find jobs after graduation. Such fear, however, is unwarranted, as many organizations actively seek students who major in languages or in other humanities disciplines. These graduates are valued for their ability to interpret and analyze text and to write clear, concise, and compelling prose. Moreover, employers realize that students who concentrate on studying people—whether real or fictional—develop insights into human behavior and understanding of how to deal with it. For example, these students who graduated with degrees in humanities subjects have found rewarding work in humanities-related and business fields.

Gabriela Torres majored in film studies, with a minor in theater. Although more interested in the technical aspects of both, she took creative writing classes and enjoyed performing in several college productions. Soon after graduation, Gabriela joined the human resources (HR) department of midsized corporation. Her job is to train new hires and conduct in-service workshops for current employees. Recently her role has expanded to writing, producing, and acting in training videos in which she uses the skills she learned in college—and more.

Derrek Wilson became an international studies major after he received a summer stipend to study in Europe. After only a few weeks there and trips to historic sites, Derrek says he got “hooked on history.” The broad focus of his interdisciplinary major allowed him to take courses in humanities subjects: history, geography, religion, archaeology, and world literature. He had studied Spanish in high school and continued in college. Derrek graduated last year and now works as an international program coordinator for his university. Responsible for logistics of foreign students coming to the United States and for American students going abroad, he oversees housing accommodations, student visas, and travel arrangements. He loves his job and the time he gets to spend in different countries, but he plans to go to law school in a few years—with, you guessed it, a specialty in international and immigration law.

Despite his parents’ warnings that he’d never find a good job, Nick Marelli majored in English. He put his literary interests to work in college as managing editor of the literary magazine and arts editor of the newspaper. When he graduated, he applied, on a whim (and to please his parents), for a management trainee position at a large insurance company. Thinking he would get nowhere without business courses, he was surprised when a recruiter called him for an interview. The interviewer then told him that the company actively seeks English majors because they know how to read carefully, digest and summarize information, think critically, and write clearly, concisely, and correctly. Nick says, “I was surprised when I heard someone other than an English teacher say that. I really like my work, where I’m learning a lot on the spot rather than in a classroom.”

Thinking, Writing, and Publishing

Critical writing requires critical thinking. When an individual or collaborative team articulates their perspective, they provide new knowledge for audiences. In essence, all texts have potential to create new knowledge. A writer of any type of text has the potential to enter a conversation and show audiences new ways to look at a subject.

Learning how to write analytically and critically offers a skill set for crafting various genres, such as information reports, proposals, cost/benefit analyses, instructions, and so on. After you have completed your analysis for this chapter, consider submitting it to an open-access academic journal that highlights the work of undergraduate students in the humanities, such as these:

Undergraduate Journal of Humanistic Studies

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  • Essay On Humanity

Essay on Humanity

Humanity definition.

Humanity is a cumulative term used for all human beings, showing sympathy, empathy, love and treating others with respect. The term humanity is used to describe the act of kindness and compassion towards others. It is one of the unique things that differentiates us from animals. It is a value that binds all of us. A human being requires a gentle heart to show empathy with others.

We as human beings are creative, and with our will and hard work, we can achieve anything in our life. When we reach something in our life, it is considered a milestone of the human race. The value of humanity should be included in academics in schools for a better future.

Humanity can be defined as unconditional love for all human beings irrespective of gender, caste, religion, etc., and it also includes love for plants and animals. The most significant humanitarian dedicates their life serving the poor and needy, which individuals can provide in their lifetime. Serving the impoverished means you are thinking about others more than yourself. If you are capable enough, you must help the poor and needy. It is a sign of good humanitarianism.

Importance of Humanity

As humans, our race is progressing into the future, due to which the true essence of humanity is being corrupted. We should remember that the acts of society should not be involved with our gain, like money, power or fame. Our world, where we inhabit, is divided by borders, but we are fortunate to have the freedom to travel anywhere in this world. A few countries or nations are in the constant process of acquiring land, which results in the loss of many innocent human lives.

Countries like Syria, Yemen, Myanmar and many more have lost many innocent lives. These countries face a crisis, and the situation is still not resolved. In these countries, there is no humanity, but we need it to tackle the ongoing problems. We all should come forward to show true humanity by helping the poor and needy and also for birds, animals, etc. Society will heal and make our environment prosperous.

The Great Humanitarians

While going through our history, we get to know about many humanitarians who used to live among us. These names are well-known personalities that almost everyone knows. A few examples are Nelson Mandala, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, etc.

Mahatma Gandhi, popularly known as the Father of the Nation, is a great example who devoted his entire life to free his country from the British rulers. He lost his life serving the nation and working to better the nation. Thus, he is a great inspiration for all humans.

Another inspiration is Nelson Mandela, a great humanitarian who served the poor and needy of the nation. The great poet Rabindranath Tagore truly believed in humanity.

These famous humanitarians’ acts and ways are great examples for today’s generation to help the poor and needy. As good human beings, we should indulge in acts of kindness and giving back. Humanity is all about selfless acts of compassion.

Conclusion of the Essay on Humanity

The happiest man on this planet is one who serves humanity. Real happiness is the inner satisfaction you can get from society; no matter how rich you are, you can’t buy inner happiness.

All religions teach us about humanity, love, and peace in this world. You don’t need to be a rich person to showcase your humanity. Anyone can show their humanity by helping and sharing things with the poor. It can be anything like money, food, clothes, shelter, etc.

But humans have always indulged in acts that defy humanity, but as a generation, we have to rise and strive to live in a world where everybody is living a fair life. And we can attain it through acts of humanity.

An essay on humanity will be of great help while writing an essay. The correct method of writing an essay will help them to crack their exam with flying colours. Students can also visit our BYJU’S website to get more CBSE Essays , question papers, sample papers, etc.

Frequently asked Questions on Humanity Essay

What is the meaning of humanity.

Humanity refers to all the basic qualities that are expected to be exhibited by humans.

Why is humanity important in one’s life?

As a human being, helping and lending support to fellow human beings is an important aspect.

Name some humanitarians who changed the world.

Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi are some humanitarians who changed the world with their actions and are still remembered today.

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How to Write a Short Essay

Last Updated: January 17, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 119,019 times.

Essay writing is a common assignment in high school or college courses, especially within the humanities. You’ll also be asked to write essays for college admissions and scholarships. In a short essay (250-500 words), you will need to provide an introduction with a thesis, a body, and a conclusion, as you would with a longer essay. Depending on the essay requirements, you may also need to do academic or online research to find sources to back up your claims.

Picking a Topic and Gathering Research

  • If you have any questions about the topic, ask your instructor. If your essay doesn't respond to the prompt, you likely won't receive full credit.

Step 2 Choose a single arguable point for your brief essay.

  • If you're writing an essay for an in-class test or for an application, tailor the essay to the given prompt and topic. Quickly brainstorm a few ideas; for example, think of positive things you can say about yourself for a college-entrance essay.
  • For example, the topic “depression in American literature” is far too broad. Narrow down your topic to something like “Willie Loman’s depression in Death of a Salesman .”
  • Or, you could write about a narrow topic like “the increase in the USA’s national debt in the 1950s” rather than a broad topic like “the American economy in the 20th century.”

Step 3 Find 1-2 appropriate secondary sources in an online research database.

  • Depending on the field in which you’re writing the essay—e.g., hard sciences, sociology, humanities, etc.—your instructor will direct you towards appropriate databases. For example, if you’re writing a high-school or college-level essay for your English class, visit online literary databases like JSTOR, LION, and the MLA Bibliography.
  • If you're writing the essay for a college or graduate-school application, it's unlikely that you'll need to include any secondary sources.
  • If you're writing a timed or in-class essay, you may not be able to find research articles. But, still do draw information from texts and sources you've studied both in and out of class, and build from points made in any provided reading passages.

Step 4 Use an article...

  • If you’re writing about current events or journalism topics, read articles from well-known news sites like CNN or the BBC.
  • Avoid citing unreliable websites like blogs or any sites that have a clear bias about the topic they’re reporting on.

Composing the Essay

Step 1 Create an outline...

  • If you write the essay without outlining, the essay will be poorly organized.

Step 2 Write a convincing,...

  • This thesis statement is far too weak: “ Death of a Salesman shows the difficulty of living in America after WWII.”
  • Instead, hone your thesis to something like: “Arthur Miller uses Death of a Salesman to show that the American Dream is materialist and impractical.”

Step 3 Use your introduction paragraph to explain the essay’s topic.

  • So, avoid beginning the paragraph by writing something like, “Since the beginning of time, all people have been consumed with the desire for their father’s approval.”
  • Instead, write something like, “In the play Death of a Salesman , Willie Loman’s sons compete for their father’s approval through various masculine displays."
  • Then, you can say, "To examine this topic, I will perform a close reading of several key passages of the play and present analyses by noted Arthur Miller scholars."

Step 4 Keep the introduction and conclusion under 75 words each.

  • In a short essay, the conclusion should do nothing more than briefly restate your main claim and remind readers of the evidence you provided.

Step 5 Use body paragraphs to prove various aspects of your central argument.

  • So, take the example about Death of a Salesman . The first body paragraph could discuss the ways in which Willie’s sons try to impress him.
  • The second body paragraph could dive into Willie’s hopelessness and despair, and the third paragraph could discuss how Miller uses his characters to show the flaws in their understanding of the American Dream.

Step 6 Add information from your research sources to strengthen claims.

  • Always cite your sources so you avoid charges of plagiarism. Check with your instructor (or the essay prompt) and find out what citation style you should use.
  • For example, if you’re summarizing the inflation of the American dollar during the 1930s, provide 2 or 3 years and inflation-rate percentages. Don’t provide a full-paragraph summary of the economic decline.
  • If you're writing an in-class essay and don't have time to perform any research, you don't need to incorporate outside sources. But, it will impress your teacher if you quote from a reading passage or bring up pertinent knowledge you may have gained during the class.

Step 7 Ask someone else to read your first draft.

  • If no one agrees to read the essay, read over your own first draft and look for errors or spots where you could clarify your meaning. Reading the essay out loud often helps, as you’ll be able to hear sentences that aren’t quite coherent.
  • This step does not apply to essays written during a timed or in-class exam, as you won't be able to ask peers to read your work.

Step 8 Revise the first draft into the final essay.

  • It’s always a mistake to submit an unrevised first draft, whether for a grade, for admissions, or for a scholarship essay.
  • However, if you're writing an essay for a timed exam, it's okay if you don't have enough time to combine multiple drafts before the time runs out.

Condensing Your Essay

Step 1 Quote only from secondary sources that are related to your topic.

  • So, if you’re writing about Death of a Salesman , an article about symbolism in Arthur Miller’s plays would be useful. But, an article about the average cost of Midwestern hotels in the 1940s would be irrelevant.
  • If you’re writing a scholarship essay, double-check the instructions to clarify what types of sources you’re allowed to use.

Step 2 Remove verbiage to keep your essay under the word count.

  • A common cliche you might find in an essay is a statement like, "I'm the hardest working student at my school."
  • For example, this sentence is too verbose: “I have been a relentlessly stellar student throughout my entire high school career since I am a seriously dedicated reader and thoroughly apply myself to every assignment I receive in class.”
  • Shortened, it could read: “I was a stellar student throughout my high school career since I was a dedicated reader and applied myself to every assignment I received.”

Step 3 Write short sentences...

  • Avoid writing something like, “Willie Loman can be seen as having achieved little through his life because he is not respected by his sons and is not valued by his co-workers.”
  • Instead, write, “Arthur Miller shows readers that Willie’s life accomplishments have amounted to little. Willie’s sons do not look up to him, and his co-workers treat him without respect.”

Step 4 Present only the most relevant argument in your essay.

  • For example, if you’re trying to prove that WWII pulled the USA out of the Great Depression, focus strictly on an economic argument.
  • Avoid bringing in other, less convincing topics. For example, don’t dedicate a paragraph to discussing how much it cost the USA to build fighter jets in 1944.

Short Essay Template and Example

short essay about humanities

Expert Q&A

  • When composing the text of your essay, resist the temptation to pull words from a thesaurus in an attempt to sound academic or intelligent. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
  • If your high school or college has an online or in-person writing center, schedule an appointment. Taking advantage of this type of service can improve your essay and help you recognize structural or grammatical problems you would not have noticed otherwise. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

short essay about humanities

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Write an Essay

  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/research_papers/choosing_a_topic.html
  • ↑ https://monroecollege.libguides.com/c.php?g=589208&p=4072926
  • ↑ https://www.utep.edu/extendeduniversity/utepconnect/blog/march-2017/4-ways-to-differentiate-a-good-source-from-a-bad-source.html
  • ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/essay-outline/
  • ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/thesis-statements/
  • ↑ https://libguides.newcastle.edu.au/how-to-write-an-essay/essay-introduction
  • ↑ https://lsa.umich.edu/sweetland/undergraduates/writing-guides/how-do-i-write-an-intro--conclusion----body-paragraph.html
  • ↑ https://mlpp.pressbooks.pub/writingsuccess/chapter/8-3-drafting/
  • ↑ https://www.trentu.ca/academicskills/how-guides/how-write-university/how-approach-any-assignment/writing-english-essay/using-secondary
  • ↑ https://patch.com/michigan/berkley/bp--how-to-shorten-your-college-essay-without-ruining-it
  • ↑ https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/style/ccs_activevoice/
  • ↑ https://wordcounter.net/blog/2016/01/26/101025_how-to-reduce-essay-word-count.html

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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 ).

figure 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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Krishna Janmashtami Essay in English for School Students and Kids

Janmashtami Essay in English: Check here 10 lines, small paragraphs and short and long essays on Shree Krishna Janmashtami 2024 in English.

Akshita Jolly

Janmashtami 2024 Date

According to Drik Panchang, Krishna Janmashtami 2024 falls on two consecutive days. This year marks the 5251th birthday of Lord Krishna. Devotees will celebrate Janmashtami on 26th August. 

Janmashtami Holiday 2024

Short and long essay on krishna janmashtami in english, 10 lines essay on krishna janmashtami in english.

Line 1: Krishna Janmashtami is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna.

Line 2: Lord Krishna is the eighth avatar of Vishnu, the supreme god in Hinduism.

Line 3: He is believed to have been born in Mathura, India, on the eighth day of the dark fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada.

Line 4: Krishna is a popular deity in Hinduism and is worshipped for his playful and mischievous nature, as well as his wisdom and compassion.

Line 5: Janmashtami is a major festival in India and is celebrated with great enthusiasm.

Line 6: Devotees fast and pray on this day, and temples are decorated and illuminated.

Line 7: There are also many cultural events and performances held on Janmashtami, such as dramas, dances, and music concerts.

Line 8: Krishna Janmashtami is a time for Hindus to celebrate the birth of their beloved deity and reaffirm their faith in him.

Line 9: The festival is also known as Gokulashtami, as it is believed that Krishna was born in Gokul, a village near Mathura.

Line 10: On the day of Janmashtami, temples are decorated with flowers, lamps, and arches. Devotees offer prayers and sing bhajans (hymns) to Krishna.

  • In some parts of India, there is a tradition of breaking clay pots (called matka phod) to symbolize the destruction of evil.
  • Janmashtami is also a time for family and friends to gather and celebrate. People feast on traditional dishes, such as kheer (rice pudding) and Puran poli (sweet stuffed flatbread).

Shri Krishna Janmashtami Paragraph In English

Janmashtami, celebrated in August/ September, honours the birth of Lord Sri Krishna, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He holds immense significance in Hinduism. The festival is marked by enthusiasm and profound devotion amongst Hindus. Lord Krishna's birth, occurring on the 8th day of the Krishna Paksha / Dark Fortnight, in the auspicious month of Bhadon (August-September), is celebrated at midnight. This is because it is believed that Shri Krishna was born during that time. To express their gratitude and devotion, devotees observe a day-long fast leading up to the midnight celebration. Toddlers and young kids are dressed as Lord Krishna and Radha, enhancing the festive spirit. Additionally, Krishna Leela - dramatic enactments of Krishna's life stories, are performed, infusing vibrant energy into the celebrations. Janmashtami is a festival cherished by people of all ages. Notably, children are actively engaged in the observance with rituals to exhibit their reverence for Lord Krishna. The festival is a testament to the profound love and affection that devotees hold for Lord Krishna and is marked by joyful celebrations that resonate with the spirit of devotion.

500 Words Essay On Krishna Janmashtami

Introduction

Krishna Janmashtami is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu, the supreme God in Hinduism. It is one of the most important festivals in Hinduism and is celebrated with great enthusiasm all over India.

Shri Krishna Janmashtami

The festival is observed on the eighth day of the dark fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada, which falls in August or September. On this day, Krishna mandirs are decorated with flowers, lights, and other festive items. Devotees fast and pray to Krishna. Many devotees stay awake all night to commemorate His birth as it is believed that He was born at midnight.

There are many different ways to celebrate Krishna Janmashtami. While some people read the scriptures that tell the story of Krishna's life, others sing Krishna bhajans (hymns) in His praise. In some parts of India, there is also the tradition of doing Krishna-leela or enacting the story of Krishna's birth through a play.

A popular tradition on Krishna Janmashtami is Dahi-Handi or Matki-phor, which is to break a clay pot filled with milk and yoghurt. This is done to symbolise the destruction of evil. It is also an act of the devotee’s love for God as Krishna is known for His naughty childhood. Another tradition is to feed a poor person or donate food to a shelter.

Krishna Janmashtami is a time for Hindus to celebrate the birth of their beloved deity and to reaffirm their faith in Him. It is also a time for family and friends to gather and enjoy each other's company.

Krishna is often depicted as a young boy playing with his friends. He is also known for his love of music and dance. Krishna is a complex and multifaceted deity who represents many different aspects of the human experience.

The Importance of Krishna

Krishna is a popular deity in Hinduism who is worshipped for his playful and mischievous nature, as well as his wisdom and compassion. He is considered to be the embodiment of love, compassion, and playfulness. He is also known for his mischievousness and his ability to overcome obstacles. The story of Krishna's life is full of adventure and excitement.

The Significance of the Festival

Krishna Janmashtami is a joyous festival that is celebrated by Hindus all over the world. It is a time to celebrate the birth of a beloved deity, to reaffirm one's faith, and to spend time with family and friends.

The festival is also a time for Hindus to reflect on the teachings of Krishna. Krishna is a wise and compassionate teacher who taught his followers the importance of love, compassion, and service to others. His teachings are still relevant today and can help people to lead more fulfilling and meaningful lives.

Krishna Janmashtami is a colourful and festive occasion that is celebrated with great joy and enthusiasm. In conclusion, Krishna Janmashtami is an exuberant festival marked by jubilant celebrations. It serves as a reminder to honour the birth of Lord Krishna, strengthen devotion, and relish moments with loved ones. This occasion also invites us all to follow Lord Shree Krishna’s teachings about love, hard work, social relations, karma and so on, imparting timeless wisdom for enriched lives.

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  5. Humanity Essay

    short essay about humanities

  6. Humanities Essay

    short essay about humanities

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  1. Essay On Humanity in English for Students

    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.

  2. ️Essay on Humanity in 100 to 300 Words

    Essay on Humanity in 100 to 300 Words. Humanity could be understood through different perspectives. Humanity refers to acts of kindness, care, and compassion towards humans or animals. Humanity is the positive quality of human beings. This characteristic involves the feeling of love, care, reason, decision, cry, etc.

  3. Defining the Humanities

    Various definitions have been given to the term humanity. Therefore, humanities are the many characteristics and branches of humanities such as theater, human being, art, culture, literature, food, music and the stories that try to bring out the sense in the world as we see it. Get a custom essay on Defining the Humanities. It is a discipline ...

  4. The Importance of Studying Humanities: [Essay Example], 772 words

    This essay delves into the importance of studying humanities, including its capacity to foster a profound understanding of humanity, appreciation for cultural diversity, and the ability to engage with complex social issues. Moreover, it explores how the study of humanities contributes to the development of a well-rounded education and promotes ...

  5. A Short Handbook for writing essays in the Humanities and Social

    Reviewed by Anthony Accardi Jr, Adjunct Professor, Middlesex Community College on 5/30/21 Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less. In the text "A Short Handbook for Writing Essays in the Humanities and Social Sciences" by Salvatore and Dan Allosso the authors present a simple, easy to follow guide for students to use when organizing, planning, researching, and writing an essay.

  6. Essay on Humanity for Students and Children in English

    Long and Short Essays on Humanity for Students and Kids in English. We provide children and students with essay samples on a long essay of 500 words and a short essay of 150 words on the topic "Humanity" for reference. Long Essay on Humanity 500 Words in English. Long Essay on Humanity is usually given to classes 7, 8, 9, and 10.

  7. A Short Handbook for Writing Essays in the Humanities and Social

    This page titled A Short Handbook for Writing Essays in the Humanities and Social Sciences (Allosso and Allosso) is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

  8. Essays in the Humanities and Social Sciences

    Writing Resources. Essays in the Humanities and Social Sciences. These essays are usually some type of analysis or interpretation which require that you develop a thesis and then prove that thesis in the body of the paper. These are the types of papers (in contrast to lab reports or marketing proposals) closest to the style you have written in ...

  9. Writing Core Humanities Essays

    Writing Core Humanities essays. Writing is a major component of the Core Humanities program. It is also an essential skill that will help you to succeed in other courses and in your life beyond college. People who can express themselves clearly in writing have definite advantages over those who cannot, so take advantage of the writing ...

  10. Humanities essays

    The humanities refer to subjects that study people, their ideas, history, and literature. To put that another way, the humanities are those branches of learning regarding primarily as having a cultural character. For example, one of the UK's academic funding bodies, the Arts & Humanities Research Board or AHRB, tends to concentrate on the ...

  11. Collections: The Practical Case on Why We Need the Humanities

    Oh, the Humanities! Now I want to note here the standard defense of the humanities, which is that the study of human culture, literature and art enriches the soul and the experience of life. This is, to be clear, undoubtedly true. There is joy and richness in the incredible kaleidoscope of human expression and a deep wisdom in the realization ...

  12. Short English Essays for Students: Small Non-Fiction ...

    Short Essays for Students. This page contains short essays and other non-fiction writing for students or anyone who wants to read and think about an opinion piece. It will only take a few minutes or less to read any of these texts. They are all under 2,000 words. Each non-fiction selection has a short summary or teaser and some possible themes ...

  13. Humanities

    The humanities include the study of all languages and literatures, the arts, history, and philosophy. The humanities are sometimes organized as a school or administrative division in many colleges and universities in the United States. The modern conception of the humanities has its origin in the Classical Greek paideia, a course of general ...

  14. 16.8 Spotlight on … Humanities

    Humanities and Social Sciences Careers; Top 10 Highest Paying Jobs for Liberal Arts Majors; 25 Great Jobs for Humanities Majors; Students' Stories. Despite strong interest in the humanities—especially in reading, writing, and language—some students avoid humanities subjects as majors because they think they won't find jobs after graduation.

  15. Essay on Humanity For Students In English

    Humanity Definition. Humanity is a cumulative term used for all human beings, showing sympathy, empathy, love and treating others with respect. The term humanity is used to describe the act of kindness and compassion towards others. It is one of the unique things that differentiates us from animals. It is a value that binds all of us.

  16. Simple Ways to Write a Short Essay (with Pictures)

    Essay writing is a common assignment in high school or college courses, especially within the humanities. You'll also be asked to write essays for college admissions and scholarships. In a short essay (250-500 words), you will need to provide an introduction with a thesis, a body, and a conclusion, as you would with a longer essay.

  17. 5: Six Short Essays (Anderson)

    These essays, which she wrote and read on her weekly feature on Interlochen Public Radio, are published in her collection, Gradual Clearing: Weather Reports from the Heart, Arbutus Press, 2017. Six Short Essays by Karen Anderson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

  18. Essay on Humanity for all Class in 100 to 500 Words

    10 Lines Essay on Humanity (100-120 Words) 1) Humanity is kindness and sympathy for others. 2) Humanity teaches us to be kind and compassionate towards others. 3) It helps us understand and appreciate the diversity among people. 4) It reminds us to treat everyone with respect and dignity, regardless of their background.

  19. The place of the humanities in today's knowledge society

    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 ...

  20. Front Matter

    A Short Handbook for Writing Essays in the Humanities and Social Sciences (Allosso and Allosso) Front Matter Expand/collapse global location

  21. PDF The Senior Essay in Humanities

    Humanities majors in the Class of 2022 may choose to write their Senior Essays following any of three basic schedules. You may elect to write (1) a full-year Essay, to be written over the course of both Fall 2021 and Spring 2022; or (2) a one-term Essay to be completed during Fall 2021; or (3) a one-term Essay to be completed during Spring 2022.

  22. Essays

    To survive, we are asked to forget that our lands and bodies are being violated, policed, ripped up, silenced, sacrificed. Kelsey Day. More. The latest and most popular Essays from Aeon. Longform articles on philosophy, psychology, science, society, history and the arts, written by the world's leading thinkers.

  23. Krishna Janmashtami Essay in English for School Students and Kids

    Janmashtami Essay in English: Check here 10 lines, small paragraphs and short and long essays on Shree Krishna Janmashtami 2024 in English. By Pragya Sagar. Aug 22, 2024, 18:01 IST.