Introductory Reading Assignment

Renaissance art is a concentrated area of study. So is calculus, astrophysics or practically any class I will take here at college and any class I have taken prior. Yet it seems to me that this class aims to do something more than give me the information I need to draw the blueprint of a Volkswagen V8 engine, or write an essay on the symbolism present in Dante’s Inferno. The New Humanities gives me the impression that I will be taught how to see the big picture and connect my knowledge into a three dimensional network, using others work to further your own ideas, rather than a mere list, because maybe, just maybe, the combustion present in that engine has a connection to the fires of the Dante’s hell. Clearly, a conventional class would never give me the opportunity, or inspiration to pursue this farfetched relation between two apparently unrelated subjects. From my perspective, that is what this class will try to teach me: to make my thinking unbounded and more interconnected.

On the other hand, why is that necessary? When I interview for a position at Boeing the interviewer will not care whether or not I see a connection between mechanics and literature. He simply will not. Specializing and having in depth of astrophysics and aerospace engineering will qualify me for said job. So why should I waste my time widening my general knowledge when I can focus on gaining expertise in one field?

Well here is the thing; humans are are curious creatures. From Aristotle to Hawking to I; we all seek to understand the world around us as best as we can and the search for that knowledge may begin in reading textbooks but that knowledge is to no use if we cannot intertwine it with the information already out there and building on it, thereby expanding our picture of world view.

The quote, “to use writing as a way of thinking new thoughts,” reinforces the idea that people should share their ideas in writing so that the next generation can connect the different ideas already present and build on them, passing their knowledge on through their own pieces of literature. Sharing human ideas and elaborating on what others know to ameliorate our methods for explaining the world.

Similarly, the idea of a “shared horizon” is a clearly a pillar in the The New Humanities. This shared horizon is a connection between the writings and observations of past people and the pooling of that knowledge to further the our wisdom, thereby extending the horizon of the entire human race. “Instead of expecting knowledge to be true once and for all we might try to see it as pragmatic and provisional, always subject to revision given further evidence or new circumstances,” (xxxiv) exemplifies the idea of this shared horizon and can be used to reflect the philosophy that Miller and Spellmeyer have put forth in this first reading.

I thought the use of the term, “disparate worlds,” (xxvi) was interesting when discussing bringing ideas together in your own mind and expressing it to others. I find this intriguing because in school much of what I have learnt has been taught in separate spheres, subject areas not related to a bigger picture. Which in itself furthers the purpose of this reading.