Analytical Narrative
My Narrative Journey
Introduction
This essay covers the how, what, and why of my Humanities 697 portfolio. In it, I briefly introduce the contents of each artifact before moving on to talk about each artifact individually then tying it all together in my summary. In each artifact’s section, I describe the sample, analyze and argue its value, tie it to program objectives, and describe its relationships to real-world life, employment, and vocational areas. My goal is to engage those familiar with the humanities and enlighten those unfamiliar with the humanities. Though many believe the humanities only includes the arts, in reality it includes academic disciplines that study human culture, history, values, and the human experience using critical, speculative, and interpretive methods.
My first artifact, “Feminism and the Enlightenment,” engages the origin of feminism during the European Enlightenment. It is an example of my later work, from HUMN 541, Enlightenment and the Modern World. I discuss why and what feminists fought for in those years. Artifact 2 comes from HUMN 530, the Renaissance, and is called “Humanism in the Renaissance.” In the paper, I discuss different Renaissance figures and how they contributed to the Humanist movement. Artifact 3 (HUMN 551), “Ethics and Emergent Technologies,” illustrates Evolution of Life and Intelligence. The paper covers the ethics of AI. I examine two other emergent technologies, genomics (the study of a person’s genes), nanotechnology (the study of very tiny objects), and their ethics. Artifact 4 is from HUMN 561, Society, Class, and Wealth, in “Social Contract Theory in the Declaration of Independence.” I discuss the influence that Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jaques Rousseau on Thomas Jefferson, the main writer of the Declaration. My last artifact is from HUMN 571, Individuals, Society, and the Spirit, and is called “Reading and Reflection.” It is a reflection paper about the readings of HUMN 571, which included Max Weber’s Essays in Sociology, William James’s Varieties of Religious Experience, Emile Durkheim’s Elementary Forms of Religious Life, Margaret Mead’s Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies, and Robert Bellah, et al.’s book Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life.
Artifact 1
“Feminism and the Enlightenment” includes the beginnings of feminism, how women were treated by men during the Enlightenment, and the education of boys and girls during Enlightenment years. The paper argues “the principles of the Enlightenment helped feminism to begin to flourish and come to fully flower in the nineteenth century.” The Enlightenment was a period of philosophical and intellectual resurgence and took place roughly 1685-1815.
This artifact is pivotal to how I see my scholarship as I care deeply about feminism and gender equality. The artifact illustrates the average woman’s plight during the Enlightenment and how women began to fight for rights, even though feminism and the resulting suffrage movement did not get going until the middle of the nineteenth century. By articulating written positions on ideas that stem from the great works of human thought and tying it to real life as women still fight for equal rights today, the paper fills program objective two. The number of successful female CEOs is nothing when compared to successful male CEOs, a phenomenon called the glass ceiling. Though I do not have a traditional career now, keeping the wage gap in mind could help me if I ever decide to start one. Awareness of the pay gap allows me to be more strategic in salary negotiations.
Artifact 2
“Humanism in the Renaissance” covers Vittoria Colonna’s impact to humanism (a democratic and ethical life stance that emphasizes the value, agency, and potential of human beings) in the Renaissance period (14th-17th centuries). Colonna, one of the foremost Italian female poets of the time, patronized artists and clergymen not only with money, but with her time. She wrote love poems to her dead husband and religious poems later in life. I include this artifact because I admire Colonna and all she was able to do during her lifetime to further humanistic values. Humanism is something I also admire because of its values which promote humankind. The artifact speaks to Colonna’s humanistic side; her poetry, patronage, and friendships all related to that side of her. It shows that these links to humanism made a real change in the lives of those surrounding her and to humanism in general. I believe this artifact relates to program objective four: examine the human experience from multidimensional perspectives from antiquity to modern times through examination of the leading authors and works of each age. Real people still write poems concerning lost love, religion, and so much more. People still feel as deeply about those subjects as they ever have, and humanism, as a movement, is still strong today. A possible career move for me at this point is teaching. If I could teach humanities, I’d want to ensure I taught about Colonna and her ties to humanism.
Artifact 3
“Ethics and Emergent Technologies” includes the ethics of AI (Artificial Intelligence), the first of three emergent (developing) technologies I include in the paper. I write about the two parts of AI ethics (the ethics of AI and ethical AI), Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics, misuses of AI, and establishing AI frameworks (guidelines). My paper states that “one can have whole conversations with AI, both teaching and learning from it. But is it ethical?” I argue that it can be if the people of the world come together and discuss what it would take to create ethical frameworks.
I included this artifact because it is about technology rather than traditional humanities subjects, and of great interest to many people. The ethics of AI is an important subject and is being debated today all over the world. I believe frameworks are necessary for the general ethics of AI, so everyone can follow, and it does not grow out of control. Recent events when AI broke out of its sandbox (testing ground) and hacked other companies show we need guidelines for AI. I believe this aligns with the sixth program objective: use advanced science and social science knowledge, methods, and logic to inform and influence scientific and/or social processes and structures. Ethics relates to real life because AI could quickly become a large, worldwide problem if not reigned in with guidelines for its use. AI is used every day by many kinds of people and needs better boundaries. Ethics relates to my possible career goals because as a teacher, I would probably use AI every day and teach its ethical use, as it is a big problem in academia. I would like to teach about responsible and ethical AI use.
Artifact 4
“Social Contract Theory in the Declaration of Independence” covers how John Locke’s version of social contract theory influenced Thomas Jefferson’s writing of the Declaration of Independence. Social contract theory is the idea that people give up some of their individual freedoms and agree to live by rules so they will have order, protection, and security given by a governing authority. I argue that Locke’s work, The Second Treatise on Government, was most influential to Jefferson, although I also compared works by Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jaques Rousseau in the paper.
This artifact belongs in my portfolio because both social contract theory and the Declaration of Independence are important to me; I believe we would not have one without the other. I enjoyed writing the paper, and I loved finding connections between the different authors. It is important to remember, especially during this 250th year of our country’s birth, the principles of social contract theory and the Declaration are still in force today. Locke’s work clearly influenced Jefferson’s, as shown by the number of references back to the Second Treatise he makes. The principles of the Second Treatise and the Declaration are still important because without social contract theory, our country would fall apart. The founding document is what we hearken back to in times of trouble, and we are living in troubling times. I believe this artifact ties to the first and second program objectives: critically analyze literary works for their contribution to the body of human knowledge and articulate written positions on ideas that stem from the great works of human thought. If I teach humanities, I would teach the principles of social contract theory because I believe they are applicable to everyday life and knowing our place in the world. As a society, we need greater understanding of each other and how we can contribute to society as a whole.
Artifact 5
“Reading and Reflection” is a personal reflection on works read in HUMN 571. The paper looks at each work critically and summarizes what I learned from each. I particularly enjoyed Robert Bellah, et al.’s book, Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life. The book looked at two kinds of individualism (a social and political philosophy that places the highest value on the individual person rather than on a group, community, or state) and how one hurts America and one helps America. Even though I enjoyed Habits of the Heart the most, we studied other works of sociology (unfamiliar to me at the time, but now I find it fascinating). “I enjoyed all of them [the works of sociology] at some level and they gave rise to thoughts I have never thought before.” That sums up the purpose of my paper.
I include the artifact because it shows the depth and level to which I absorbed the readings of HUMN 571. I believe the artifact ties into the fifth program objective: analyze the origins and implications of the concept of individualism as it applies in concepts of tradition, power, society, and culture. The course is titled Individuals, Society, and the Spirit, and in it we discussed all the above-mentioned concepts. The artifact relates to real life because individualism is alive and well today in the United States, and it is hurting our country. When we cease to care about each other, the bonds that make our country strong weaken. I believe these concepts are important to learn. If I become a teacher, they are among the things I would like to teach. I believe everyone should read Habits of the Heart because its message is strong, clear, and important to learn in today's world.
Summary
Taken together, the artifacts show progression from understanding human beings, to examining power and equality, to analyzing political and social structures, to considering individual responsibility, and to applying ethical reasoning to new technologies. That progression explains my relationship to the humanities program objectives. The papers demonstrate more broad usage of humanistic thinking: analyzing major works, articulating views, examining human knowledge from different historical perspectives, understanding individualism and society, and eventually using humanities-based ethical reasoning to think about scientific and technological progress.
The strongest unifying idea is that historical and philosophical ideas are not only academic subjects: I often argue that they help explain and address problems people still face today. Feminism connects to modern workplace inequality, social contract theory connects to political life, humanism connects to enduring human feelings and relationships, individualism connects to the strengths or flaws of societies, and technological ethics connects humanities thinking to the future.
Basically, this analytical narrative presents the humanities as a way of connecting past ideas to present problems and using those networks to think more sensibly about people, society, and the future. It also shows me becoming more comfortable moving beyond classic humanities subjects and applying the same analytical framework to modern issues such as AI.