uage, as opposed to the study of religion, or "divinity". The study of the humanities was a key part of the secular curriculum in universities at the time. Today, the humanities are more frequently de

fined as any fields of study outside of natural sciences, social sciences, formal sciences (like mathematics), and applied sciences (or professional training). They use methods that are primarily critical, specula

tive, or interpretative and have a significant historical element—as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of science. The humanities inclu

de the academic study of philosophy, religion, history, language arts (literature, writing, oratory, rhetoric, poetry, etc.), the performing arts (theater, music, dance, etc.), and the visual arts (painting, sculpture, photography, filmmaking, etc.). The word humanities comes from the Renaissance Latin phrase studia humanitatis, which translates to the study of humanity. The studia humanitatis was a course of studies that consisted of grammar, literature, rhetoric, history, and moral philosophy, primarily derived from the study of Latin and Greek classics. The related Latin word humanitas inspired the Renaissance Italian neologism umanisti, or "humanists" which referred to scholars dedicated to these fields and were instrumental in reviving classical learning, a hallmark of "Renaiss