History is a subject rooted in the past, but it’s also connected to today and tomorrow. It informs our present, showing us how we arrived at the nation and world we inhabit today. And, as a topic of study, it can also tell us where we might be headed as a society—or even as individuals. On a smaller, more personal scale, a graduate degree in history builds critical skills that enable you to excel in your current or future career.
Connecting With the Past
Just as an individual is shaped by their experiences, our society, and indeed our world, are shaped by the events that have happened throughout time. Understanding the conflicts, revolutions, traditions, and eras of progress and regression that have come before gives us deeper insight into humanity. Studying history also gives us a better understanding of and appreciation for the many communities who share the world with us.
Living in the Present
History provides important reference points for us as a society, illustrating mistakes that we should not make again and providing templates to follow when addressing contemporary problems. It can act as both a warning and a source of optimism.
Looking to the Future
In addition to an awareness of our historical origins and their influence on modern times, a formal study of history provides invaluable practical skills that will benefit you in many career paths and in your daily interactions. These skills include:
- The ability to write and speak clearly, intelligently, and with considerable authority.
- The ability to think critically, taking in information, analyzing it, distinguishing between differing interpretations, and forming a unique, cogent viewpoint.
Most employers value and actively seek employees with the skills listed above, sometimes referred to as “soft skills.” A report from The Wall Street Journal, as quoted by Forbes, explains that more than 90% of business executives asserted that soft skills are as valuable as “hard skills” in a career. Further, nearly 90% of them said that finding candidates with the required soft skills was a challenge. Having these soft skills can provide you with a tremendous competitive advantage at hiring time—one of many compelling reasons to pursue a graduate history program.
Enhance Your Professional Future by Studying History With Us
If you’ve completed a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or college, you may be ready to take the next step with an online Master of Arts in History from The University of Texas Permian Basin. As a graduate-level program, our MA in history takes a more nuanced, in-depth look at key topics than the survey-level courses offered in an undergraduate program. Through dedicated, single-topic courses, you’ll undertake a detailed exploration of eras and events including:
- The American Revolution
- The Civil War and Reconstruction
- The Third Reich and Holocaust
- World War I
With a master’s degree in history under your belt, you’ll be primed to pursue doctoral-level studies or law school, as well as fulfilling leadership positions in education, management, government, and law enforcement. You could also seek a career as a historian, a rewarding research-intensive profession in which you’ll help preserve and occasionally even shine a new light on the past. Whatever career path you choose, here’s some encouraging news: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that master’s degree holders generally enjoy steadier employment and earn about 20% more than those whose highest level of education is a bachelor’s degree.
The Convenience and Quality of the Online Learning Format
UT Permian Basin makes earning a master’s degree in history convenient. Delivered in an asynchronous, 100% online format, our program enables you to complete coursework on a more flexible schedule from nearly anywhere in the world. This makes it possible to earn your degree around any professional and personal commitments you may have. Many students complete our program in as little as two years! No GRE is required for admission, and you can choose from thesis and non-thesis options, depending on your preference. The mode of delivery will not impact the quality of the curriculum and courses are taught by distinguished faculty who teach the MA in history program on campus.
History has lessons for us all. Learn them online as you elevate your professional potential with a master’s degree in history from UT Permian Basin.
Sources:
https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/historical-archives/why-study-history-(1998)
https://www.historians.org/jobs-and-professional-development/career-resources/why-become-a-historian
https://ncph.org/what-is-public-history/about-the-field/
The term liberal arts has long been connected with education. In colleges, there are liberal arts programs starting at the associate degree level and continuing all the way up to the graduate level. “Liberal” has many connotations, but what are liberal arts? How did they get their name, and why are they considered important in education?
First, let’s look at the origins of the term “liberal arts,” which is believed to have first appeared in a work written by Greek scholar Cicero (106 B.C.-43 B.C.) and ultimately published as De Inventione (“invention” or “discovery”) in 1470 A.D. According to Merriam-Webster, the roots of the modern usage of liberal arts “can be traced to the Latin word liber, meaning ‘free, unrestricted.’ Our language took the term from the Latin liberales artes, which described the education given to freeman and members of the upper classes, and involved training in the mind (grammar, logic, geometry, etc.).”
According to the late literary scholar and philologist Ernst Robert Curtius, the liberal arts are so named because they are “the studies whose purpose is not to make money. They are called ‘liberal’ because they are worthy of a free man.” To clarify, slavery was common in the Greco-Roman world, where these ideas first took root.
Philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt made a strong connection between broad liberal arts knowledge and employment when he wrote:
“There are undeniably certain kinds of knowledge that must be of a general nature and, more importantly, a certain cultivation of the mind and character that nobody can afford to be without. […] If this basis is laid through schooling, vocational skills are easily acquired later on, and a person is always free to move from one occupation to another, as so often happens in life.”
Britannica explains that “in modern colleges and universities the liberal arts include the study of literature, languages, philosophy, history, mathematics, and science as the basis of a general, or liberal, education.” Further, it describes a liberal arts curriculum as a “study of three main branches of knowledge: the humanities, the physical and biological sciences and mathematics, and the social sciences.”
The Seven Liberal Arts
From the Middle Ages onward, the liberal arts constituted the core of secular education. The liberal arts were made up of the quadrivium—arithmetic, astronomy, geometry, and music—and the trivium—grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The quadrivium arts were said to pertain to the mind, while the trivium arts pertained to matter. Together, these formed the seven liberal arts, which were considered essential fields of study. Formal education has since combined some of these into a single subject and added new subjects along the way.
Liberal Arts Subjects as Part of a Humanities Degree
A good liberal arts education provides a solid foundation for a variety of important and rewarding careers, with broad skills that can add value to virtually any role. A Bachelor of Arts in Humanities encapsulates what a liberal arts education is all about. Humanities is a multidisciplinary major that includes history, philosophy, religion, literature, languages, social sciences (such as sociology, psychology, and anthropology), and the performing and visual arts. This degree includes all the required core general education subjects of most degree programs, such as English, math, and life and physical sciences and incorporates culture (art, drama, music, humanities) as a key part of its curriculum.
Earning a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities Online
The online Bachelor of Arts in Humanities program at The University of Texas Permian Basin can help you develop a variety of skills that will benefit you in your professional life and beyond, including:
- Communication
- Critical thinking
- Empirical and quantitative reasoning
- Personal responsibility
- Social responsibility
- Teamwork
At UT Permian Basin, we offer an immersive, affordable online BA in humanities program that gives you a greater amount of flexibility than many other available programs. You don’t have to adhere to a fully prearranged path, but instead can follow your own path. Our online BA in humanities program enables you to choose up to two concentrations (a total of 24 credit hours of specialized coursework) that align with your personal areas of interest, including:
- Art
- Communication
- English
- Spanish
- History
- Music
Some other university degree programs combine one major and one minor, but this doesn’t provide the same experience. UT Permian Basin faculty advisors work with you to create an individualized plan of study based on a multidisciplinary theme, set of problems, specialization, period, or perspective.
Benefits of Online Learning at UT Permian Basin
Our online BA in humanities program is presented in a 100% online, asynchronous format that enables you to complete coursework at your own pace, at any convenient time of day, from any location where internet access is available. If you have career and/or family responsibilities to manage while you’re earning your BA degree, you’ll find this flexibility invaluable.
Our program has six start dates per year, so there’s never a long wait to start your program once you’re admitted. These advantages enable you to complete your degree on an accelerated schedule. Program courses are taught by the same distinguished faculty who teach on-campus at UT Permian Basin. Upon successful completion of the program, you’ll receive the same respected Bachelor of Arts degree that campus-based students receive, and your diploma will not indicate that it was earned online.
Experience the value of a liberal arts education for yourself with UT Permian Basin’s online Bachelor of Arts in Humanities program.
Sources:
https://archive.org/details/europeanliteratu0000curt/page/36/mode/2up
https://bighistory.de/Education/
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/glossary/seven-liberal-arts
https://www.memoriapress.com/articles/what-are-the-liberal-arts/
A 2019 research report from the acclaimed Mellon Foundation addressed the overall value of humanities, stating that they’re “useful to society in the preservation and curation of culture” and also that the humanities “contribute to the maintenance and health of democracy via teaching skills of critical reasoning, debate, and evaluation of ideas.”
Being part of a culture gives us an innate sense of the history, customs, and values of our own social group, but this scope is often limited. In the context of education, humanities can help bridge this gap in cultural knowledge. The focus of an education in the humanities is not just on mastering a broad range of academic disciplines but on introducing students to humanities on the global scale. Humanities expand our understanding of different human cultures and enable us to understand ways in which they’re similar and ways in which they differ, in the present and historically, delivering a broader perspective on the world in which we live.
The humanities encompass the full range of human thought and creativity, including history, literature, languages, religion, philosophy, music, theatre, and all of the performing arts and visual arts. In a formal educational setting, students may gain foundational knowledge in all of these but also be given the chance to learn more about specific subjects which appeal to them. This does more than strengthen an individual’s ability to identify from which era a piece of music originates or which art movement a particular painting exemplifies. It instills them with marketable, transferrable skills that can help them in their professional lives and beyond.
As the publication NH Business Review states in an article titled “The business case for humanities education”: “The humanities are part of an interconnected whole that yields a broad, deep education fostering 21st century career readiness and the ability to work with others to respond better to day-to-day work responsibilities, as well as life’s broader needs and challenges.”
Translating Humanities to Real-World Skills and Benefits
The truth is, studying humanities helps one develop skills that are beneficial in any role, in any field. Humanities studies are broad by design and the value of humanities in education is equally expansive. So, what humanities skills do employers seek? What kind of professions do humanities degree holders represent? What types of compensation do these roles offer?
The following skills—all introduced or strengthened through a humanities education—are among the skills and qualities today’s employers consistently value:
- Critical Thinking
- Teamwork
- Communication
- Empirical and Quantitative Reasoning
- Personal and Social Responsibility
Recent U.S. Census Bureau data shows that graduates of bachelor’s degree programs in humanities commonly work in roles including management, office and administrative support, sales, business and financial operations, and the arts and media. That’s a fairly broad spectrum that doesn’t relegate degree holders to employment within one position or industry.
The same census data indicates that bachelor’s degree holders in the humanities earned an annual median compensation of $52,000. This amount is in clear contrast to the earnings of those with an associate degree or limited college experience, reported as $40,000 per year, and those with a high school diploma alone, reported as $34,000 per year.
Earning a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities Online
The University of Texas Permian Basin’s online Bachelor of Arts in Humanities program can help you develop career-enhancing skills and join the many graduates who’ve recognized the value of humanities in education.
Our immersive, affordable online BA in humanities program offers students a tremendous amount of flexibility. As a student, you won’t be expected to follow a predetermined path. Instead, the program empowers you to choose up to two concentrations that align with your personal areas of interest, including art, communication, English, history, or music, for a total of 24 credits of specialized coursework in these areas. Our faculty advisors collaborate with you to establish an individualized plan of study with an interdisciplinary theme, period, set of problems, specialization, or perspective. Degree programs that combine one major and one minor don’t offer you the same experience.
UT Permian Basin’s online BA in humanities program is presented 100% online and allows you to finish assignments at your own pace, any time of day, from any location with internet access. Additionally, you can choose from six start dates a year. Courses are eight weeks in duration, which allows for an accelerated degree completion time. Each course is taught by the same renowned faculty who teach them in person at the UT Permian Basin campus. When you graduate, you’ll receive the same degree that campus-based students receive, with no mention of “online” on your diploma.
If you’re ready to experience the tremendous value of humanities for yourself, get started with our flexible, personalized online Bachelor of Arts in Humanities program.
Sources:
https://www.nhbr.com/the-business-case-for-humanities-education/
https://www.amacad.org/publication/state-humanities-2018-graduates-workforce-beyond
https://www.amacad.org/humanities-indicators/higher-education
https://www.amacad.org/humanities-indicators/workforce
More than 66,000 years ago, Neanderthals pressed their hands against the wall of a cave in what would later become Spain and splashed pigment on them. Their hand stencils have remained visible in the cave, known as the Cave of Maltravieso, to this day. Why did they do it? What were they trying to say? Were they trying to make a lasting mark for future generations to know they were there? We’ll probably never know.
Whatever the artists intended, their work has made an impression on subsequent generations since it was first discovered in 1951. The Cave of Maltravieso hand stencils are considered the first-known example of artistic expression on the planet. It’s noteworthy that these primitive images are still echoed by children in kindergarten classes, whose first artistic expressions are often tracing their own hands.
One of the oldest known examples of figurative art was found in caves in the Maros-Pangkep karst, located in Indonesia. There, various paintings depict animals and human-like figures interacting. One painting apparently shows an anoa, an animal similar to a water buffalo, being speared or roped by a group of human-like figures. These works reportedly date back to the Paleolithic era and are estimated to be nearly 44,000 years old.
Visual art has clearly come a long way from its simple beginnings as pigment hand stencils. As a subset of the humanities, which have grown over time to include the world’s languages, history, religions, philosophies, and performing arts, visual arts expanded over time, were formalized within education, and developed tremendous value to society and humankind.
Here we’ll examine some of the key eras during which the humanities developed and expanded, many of which were eons apart, and how the humanities came into importance in education and business in modern times. When did the formal study of humanities begin? Though an exact date isn’t known, we do know that one of the primary topics of study stems from ancient Greece.
Ancient Greece
Between the time of the Neanderthals and what we call ancient Greece, art found its way onto practical objects such as vases and bowls. Languages developed. Religions were born. Even then, works that would make an enduring impact in the humanities were being created.
The Odyssey and The Iliad, attributed to Homer, are some of the oldest surviving works of Western literature and are estimated to have been written in the eighth century B.C. They’re still widely read by secondary school and college students today. Homeric scholarship, the study of Homer’s works, is one of the oldest subjects in education. Around the time Homer’s epics were written, various forms of arts, crafts, and writing in Greece were flourishing, coinciding with expanded trade with other countries, which exposed people to more diverse cultural influences.
In the fifth century B.C., democracy thrived in Athens, and the city essentially became the world capital for philosophy, drama, literature, art, and architecture. The Parthenon and some of the other famed Greek monuments date from around this time.
The Renaissance
The Renaissance (meaning “rebirth”) was a revival of Classical scholarship and heralded a renewed interest in the study of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, which in large part was a study of humanities. The Renaissance is said to have started in Italy as early as the 14th century B.C. and expanded throughout Europe in the following centuries. During this period, fine art in particular grew in importance, with many influential paintings and sculptures stemming from this time. Philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli, poet Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch), astronomer Galileo Galilei, and dramatist William Shakespeare are among the most notable names of this era.
The exploration of lands outside the known world also began in earnest in the Renaissance, bringing new influences into Western culture. New inventions that would prove critical to education and the humanities, such as the printing press, also emerged during this time.
Key to the rise of what later would formally be called the humanities was the development of humanism during the Renaissance. While philosophy and learning had previously been dominated by clerics, humanism (not to be confused with modern secular humanism) was started by secular (nonreligious) scholars and writers.
Humanism put the focus of art and other forms of expression on human nature and the human form. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, it empowered men to “break free from the mental strictures imposed by religious orthodoxy, to inspire free inquiry and criticism, and to inspire a new confidence in the possibilities of human thought and creations.” Over time, the idea of humanism came to denote the humanities as we understand and use the term today.
The Rise of Humanities Education in the United States
Flash forward to the United States in the 20th century. World War II had a detrimental effect on higher education in the country, with many college-aged individuals leaving or foregoing college for military service. Following the war, the U.S. made a concerted effort to help returning service members resume their studies. Furthermore, Congress completely revamped and expanded the higher education system through the enactment of a series of laws. Following this legislative overhaul, college-level education in humanities soared from the 1950s through the early 1970s, and it’s been enjoying its own type of renaissance in the 21st century as employers express demand for the skills that students of humanities develop.
Our Online Bachelor of Arts in Humanities Program
The University of Texas Permian Basin’s online Bachelor of Arts in Humanities program can help you develop skills that will be valuable to you in any professional field, including:
- Critical thinking
- Communication
- Teamwork
- Personal and social responsibility
- Empirical and quantitative reasoning
Our engaging, affordable online BA in humanities program offers tremendous flexibility. As a student, you’ll follow your own path, choosing two concentrations that align with your personal areas of interest. Options include art, communication, English, history, and music. You’ll also complete your coursework 100% online, at your own pace, at a time and location that works best for you. Courses are eight weeks in duration, enabling you to complete your degree on an accelerated schedule, and you can choose from six start dates a year. All of our courses are taught by the same distinguished faculty members who teach them on the UT Permian Basin campus.
Keep the humanities alive and see how they can positively impact you, both in your personal and professional endeavors. An online Bachelor of Arts in Humanities program is the first step.
Sources:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/cave-of-maltravieso
https://www.academia.edu/15790168/Pleistocene_cave_art_from_Sulawesi_Indonesia
https://www.britannica.com/event/Renaissance
https://www.britannica.com/topic/humanism
The humanities encompass the full range of human thought and creativity, including languages, religion, philosophy, and the broad spectrum of the arts (including the performing arts and the visual arts). Humanities education explores the commonalities and differences in self-expression that humans have exhibited through the ages and continue to demonstrate today. The humanities have always been and will continue to be the basis of human cultures and source of our perceptions of different cultures.
In the academic realm, a student may study any or all of the humanities as part of a formal degree program such as a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities. These programs expose students to diverse ideas from around the world, broadening their knowledge and developing their critical thinking abilities.
Are the Humanities Important?
People from all walks of life, across philosophical and political perspectives, agree on the importance of the humanities. Famed “Star Wars” director George Lucas said this of the humanities: “The sciences are the ‘how,’ and the humanities are the ‘why’—why are we here, why do we believe in the things we believe in. I don’t think you can have the ‘how’ without the ‘why.’”
Former President Ronald Reagan believed that, “The arts and humanities teach us who we are and what we can be. They lie at the very core of the culture of which we’re a part.” J. Irwin Miller, famed industrialist and civil rights proponent, also spoke to the transformative nature of the humanities when he stated, “The calling of the humanities is to make us truly human in the best sense of the word.”
The broadly applicable skills that the humanities offer also directly benefit individuals in their personal and professional lives. As American philosopher and law professor Martha Nussbaum notes, “Business leaders love the humanities because they know that to innovate you need more than rote knowledge. You need a trained imagination.”
What Skills Can You Gain by Studying Humanities?
Humanities expand our knowledge of human cultures and help us understand what binds us together and what differentiates us from one another. In addition to these high-level insights, however, they also provide practical applications that can enhance your professional skillset and give you a competitive edge. By studying humanities in a formal university-level program, you can acquire transferrable, marketable skills and qualities that will be an asset to you in your professional pursuits. What will you learn in a humanities program? Examples include:
- Critical Thinking—The ability to receive and analyze knowledge and to use your creativity to develop innovative solutions to problems.
- Communication—The ability to form unique viewpoints and to express yourself clearly and persuasively in both written and spoken forms.
- Empirical and Quantitative Reasoning—The ability to comprehend and use numerical data to formulate and deliver educated decisions.
- Teamwork—The ability to understand and accept the viewpoints of others and to work collaboratively with them to achieve common goals.
- Personal Responsibility—The ability to see the consequences for your actions and take responsibility for and justify the choices you make.
- Social Responsibility—The ability to see what’s best for society and the world as a whole and to act accordingly.
Employers want professionals who can come up with fresh approaches to solving problems, express themselves clearly, collaborate with others, and act in a responsible, ethical manner. These abilities are the foundation for nearly every career path, as well as many graduate-level programs. Equipped with these skills, you’ll be prepared to take on a diverse range of career paths, including:
- Teacher
- Writer
- Public relations manager
- Advertising sales agent
- Travel agent
- Counselor
- Event organizer
- Artist
- Lawyer
- Minister
- Military service member
Why Earn Your Degree in Humanities From The University of Texas Permian Basin?
The University of Texas Permian Basin’s online Bachelor of Arts in Humanities program goes beyond discussions of the world’s great works of art and philosophies. This immersive, affordable program empowers you with the key skills today’s employers value most.
Our BA in humanities program is unique in that, as a student, you’re not given a preset path to follow; the program enables you to choose concentrations based on your personal areas of interest. Our faculty advisors work with you to develop an individualized plan of study with an interdisciplinary theme, period, set of problems, specialization, or perspective that you can’t get by combining a major and minor in the traditional way. You’ll choose a minimum of two concentration areas in art, communication, English, history, or music, totaling 24 credits of specialized coursework in these areas.
Our program is flexible not only in terms of what topics you may study but in how you complete your degree. The 100% online format allows you to complete coursework anytime, at any location with internet access. You can choose from six start dates a year and enjoy condensed eight-week courses and an accelerated completion time. All courses are taught by the same esteemed faculty who teach on campus at UT Permian Basin. When you’re ready to graduate, you’ll receive the same valued degree that campus-based students receive.
Are you ready to learn more about the essential skills and flexibility our online Bachelor of Arts in Humanities program provides? Explore the benefits of humanities in more detail now.
Sources: