Unit 1: Overview
This course is about the arts. But it is not a course in art history, and it is not a studio course where you learn to paint or sculpt. It is a course in the humanities, which means we will be asking a specific kind of question about the arts: what do they reveal about human values?
That question sounds abstract, but it isn't. A painting of a screaming child in a junkyard says something about war. A photograph of a tired woman holding her children says something about poverty and resilience. A building designed to make you feel small says something about power. The arts take ideas that are difficult to put into words and give them a form you can see, hear, or feel. This course will teach you how to pay attention to that process.
This unit lays the groundwork. It introduces the concept of values, distinguishes the humanities from the sciences, and begins to develop a vocabulary for talking about artistic form and structure. These are tools you will use in every unit that follows.
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you should be able to:
- Explain what the humanities are and how they differ from the sciences
- Describe the role of the humanities in clarifying values
- Distinguish between an emotional response to a work of art and a fuller, more informed perception of it
- Explain what artistic form and structure are, and why they matter
- Understand how abstract ideas can be expressed through concrete images
What you'll do in this unit
- Explore the Gallery at the top of the lesson, taking your time with each work
- Work through the lesson and open each numbered section
- Try the Experience It activity at the end of the lesson
- Write your reflection, then take the quiz