Example Answer (Do not copy)
Introduction
This essay is written as a reflective learning journal based on the weekly lectures, seminars, discussions, readings, and my own intellectual experiences throughout the semester. During the module it became clear that the humanities should not only be seen as a group of academic subjects. They are also a way of asking questions about culture, power, meaning, and how people understand their place in the world.
At the start of the module, my understanding of the humanities was quite traditional. I mainly connected them with subjects such as literature, history, and philosophy. I considered them important fields, but I often thought about their value in practical terms. For example, they were frequently described as useful because they help students develop transferable skills such as communication or critical thinking. This type of explanation reflects a wider debate in society where the humanities are repeatedly asked to justify their economic or practical usefulness (Carey).
However, my understanding changed as the semester progressed. The ideas discussed in the lectures and readings challenged my earlier assumptions and encouraged me to think more deeply about the purpose of the humanities. In this essay, I combine personal reflection with academic discussion to show how my thinking developed over time. My perspective moved from seeing the humanities as fixed academic subjects to understanding them as an active way of paying attention, questioning ideas, and thinking critically about the world. In this sense, the humanities encourage complexity, challenge authority, and remain important for understanding modern society.
Section I: The Value of the Humanities — Crisis, Defence, and Reimagining
1.1 The Humanities Under Pressure
The question “What are the humanities for?” may sound simple, but it often appears during times when the humanities are under pressure. In many countries, funding cuts, political criticism, and an increasing focus on market-driven education have forced humanities scholars to defend their value.
John Carey’s book What Good Are the Arts? directly addresses this issue. Carey argues against the common belief that the arts automatically make people morally better or more civilised (Carey). At first, this idea felt uncomfortable because the humanities are often defended in exactly those terms. However, Carey’s argument encouraged me to think more critically. Rather than presenting the humanities as naturally improving society, his work questions these assumptions.
The lectures in the early weeks of the module also warned against idealising the humanities as automatically good or morally superior. Carey’s argument did not weaken the importance of the humanities for me. Instead, it helped me see their value in a different way. If the humanities do not automatically make people better, then their real importance may lie elsewhere.
One possible answer is that the humanities create space for questioning and critical thinking (Drees). They may not guarantee empathy or moral improvement, but they encourage reflection, discussion, and ethical awareness. This distinction became an important insight during the module.
1.2 Humanities, Inequality, and Human Cost
The first week of the module focused on inequality, which highlighted another important role of the humanities. Humanities subjects examine social injustice not only through abstract theories but also through historical experiences, cultural narratives, and personal stories.
Through literature, history, philosophy, and theology, scholars examine systems of power and domination while also showing the human consequences of these systems (Small). Issues such as war, displacement, and gender inequality demonstrate how humanities research focuses on lived experiences rather than only statistical data.
This perspective changed the way I thought about the usefulness of the humanities. Organisations working in humanitarian fields, such as UNICEF or UNHCR, often rely not only on technical knowledge but also on ethical understanding, cultural awareness, and the ability to communicate human stories (Arslan et al.). These skills are closely connected to humanities education.
Humanities research can help explain how societies come to ignore vulnerable people and how violence or inequality becomes normalised through language, images, and ideology. Because of this, the humanities remain highly relevant in discussions about education systems focused on employability and in debates about modern technological governance.
1.3 Reading as Active Practice
Another important idea discussed during the module appeared in Week 7, when we explored the concept of reading as an active and demanding practice. Reading was presented not simply as absorbing information but as a process that requires effort, judgement, patience, and attention.
From this perspective, meaning is not fixed within a text itself. Instead, meaning develops through the interaction between the reader and the text. A reader’s previous knowledge, emotional reactions, and social background all influence how the text is understood (Cregan-Reid).
This idea changed how I approached the weekly readings. I began to see reading more like a conversation rather than a one-way transfer of information. Sometimes the text may challenge the reader, feel confusing, or raise difficult questions, but these moments can also lead to deeper understanding.
Kate Briggs discusses similar ideas in This Little Art, where she reflects on translation and interpretation (Briggs, 2017). Briggs emphasises that translation involves effort, uncertainty, and careful attention. Meaning is not simply transferred from one language to another; it is negotiated and shaped through the translator’s choices.
This perspective suggests that reading, like translation, is also an ethical activity. It requires patience, careful thought, and the willingness to remain with uncertainty rather than rushing to simple conclusions. These qualities reflect the broader approach of the humanities, which values slow, thoughtful, and relational forms of knowledge
