This music certainly reflects current developments in politics (anti-Iraq war protests), socioeconomics (the poor in society), and technology (use of new instruments and recording techniques). The music affects our lives in so many ways, from enlightening us to social problems, to entertaining us, and even comforting us in times of stress, which makes it an important, even vital, element of the humanities. Architecture - a relatively recent architectural work is the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. This magnificent building seems to be a series of shining free-form flowing sheets of molten metal and spheres, and yet, it is elegant and quite sophisticated. Architecture, like the other humanities, has changed and become much more bold and free flowing, as this building illustrates. Architecture is more than simply designing comfortable living and working spaces, architecture is pleasing to the eye and excites the senses, just as this building does. It is extremely important to the humanities, because it gives a very vivid illustration of how building knowledge and sophistication has helped change the way buildings are created and designed, and it creates beauty even in a simple wall or roof.

Philosophy - Philosophy has always been a cornerstone of the humanities, because it seeks to delve deeper into humanity and why we exist - what our purpose is. A modern philosopher is the Dalai Lama...

He urges people to pursue knowledge, which is a central tenet of philosophy, because knowledge is power and knowledge is enlightening. Of all the aspects of the humanities, philosophy may be the most important, because it is vital to our self-awareness and appreciation, and it helps us understand others and accept them as they are.
Literature - Literature is probably one of the best-known and utilized areas of the humanities. Great literature has existed for thousands of years, and modern literature has taken much of its form and idea from ancient philosophy, language arts, and philosophy. A modern work of literature that embodies the humanities is "The Da Vinci Code." It tells the story of a well-known historic painting, it was a book made into an entertaining and controversial film, and it was a best seller. All of these things embody the modern humanities. They are often controversial, they entertain us and get us thinking about subjects, and they very often encompass more than one medium. In addition, this book looks at history, another important aspect of the humanities, so it represents everything the humanities have to offer us, from compelling drama to the urge to know more about a subject. The humanities enrich our lives, and make occupation and life much more fulfilling and complete.