Humanities disciplines: Classics (literature, history and language) Languages and Linguistics History Comparative religion and theology Literature Philosophy

Raymond Williams: the humanities are “a particular kind of learning associated with particular attitudes to culture.”

Some characteristics of the humanities: Comparative Creative Analytical/critical Collaborative Diverse Ethically grounded Qualitative

Some features of critical thinking: Critical thinking is a skill Theory and subject matter are meant to be applied. Collaboration is how knowledge is grasped and expanded. Motivations for critical learners include: problems, questions and issues.

More components of critical thinking: Identifying and challenging assumptions. Recognizing the importance of context. Imagining and exploring alternatives. Developing reflective skepticism.

Texts used: Williams, Raymond. Keywords. A vocabulary of culture and society. Fontana Press. 1976, Spellmeyer, Kurt. Arts of Living. Reinventing the Humanities for the Twenty-first Century. State University of New York Press Arroyo, Ciriaco Moron. The Humanities in the Age of Technology. The Catholic University of America Press Hoyrup, Jens. Human Sciences. Reappraising the Humanities Through History and Philosophy. State University of New York Press

Critical thinking resources: ok/critical.htmhttp://webster.commnet.edu/libroot/workbo ok/critical.htm htmlhttp:// html ng/strategy/crthink.htm