The Humanities

[John Dunn]

Pace Loren A. Billings I would regard this question as primarily
administrative with the additional complication that as with all
English-language terms relating to higher education the precise
meaning varies from institution to institution and even from
individual to individual.  For what it is worth I would usually
translate gumanitarnyj fakul'tet as Arts Faculty.  At the same time
in the U.K. research into language, literature, history etc. comes
under the wing of the Arts and Humanities Research Board, though
where, in the view of those who set it up, Arts end and Humanities
begin I do not know.  Its remit does, however, explicitly exclude
social sciences (economics, political science, sociology etc.), as
well as natural sciences, including mathematics.

Some people prefer an even narrower definition: in Glasgow University
there was until a few years ago a Department of Humanity.  Its
function was to teach Latin.

John Dunn.


>In my translation work I have recently been running into problems
>translating the Russian term:  “ÛÏýÌËÚý•ÌšÂ (ÌýÛÍË/ÙýÍÛθÚÂښ) [gumanitarnye
>(nauki/fakul'tety)].  Does our English cognate have a slightly different
>meaning?  According to Merriam-Webster:  c humanities plural : the branches
>of learning regarded as having primarily a cultural character and usually
>including languages, literature, history, mathematics, and philosophy.
>
>In Russian usage, do the gumanitarnye disciplines coincide with the ones
>listed above? My 4-volume slovar' russkogo gives the following definition
>for gumanitarnii: Otnosiashchiisia k obshchestvennym naukam, izuchaiushchim
>cheloveka i ego kul'turu.  Sounds more like "social sciences" than something
>that could include math.
>
>Any comments would be appreciated.
>
>Thanks
>Nora
>
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--
John Dunn
School of Modern Languages and Cultures (Slavonic Studies)
University of Glasgow
Hetherington Building
Bute Gardens
Glasgow
G12 8RS
Tel.: +44 (0)141-330-5591
Fax: +44 (0)141-330-2297
e-mail: J.Dunn at slavonic.arts.gla.ac.uk

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