Humanities
Updated College and Career Ready Standards for the Humanities Course
Updated Humanities Standards were released in May 2025. There will be professional learning for teachers and leadership during school year 2025-2026. The updated standards will be implemented in school year 2026-2027.
Humanities: the academic fields that explore the human experience, integrating culture, literature, art, dance, music, theater, philosophy, and history. A course in Humanities is designed to explore the rich tapestry of human expression through literature, history, philosophy, and the creative arts, but also to advocate for the significance of these disciplines in shaping well-rounded individuals who contribute meaningfully to society. It is an interdisciplinary study of the interconnection between the creative arts (architecture, dance, media arts, music, visual arts, and theater), history, culture, literature, and philosophy. Emphasis is placed on critical thinking and discourse while nourishing empathy, understanding and appreciation of various cultures, including one’s own and that of their host nation and/or local community. Students engage in written, oral, and creative activities that focus on production and analysis of original works in visual arts, music, theater, literature, dance, architecture, and media arts, along with ample opportunities for student discourse.Â
In DoDEA, we offer Humanities as a course within Fine Arts, which counts towards a Fine Arts credit in high school. This means that although it is an interdisciplinary course, the lens with which it is being taught is through The Arts and its connection to philosophy, history, religion, literature, and human culture. We define The Arts as various branches of creative activity, such as architecture, communication and media arts, dance, literature, music, theater, and visual arts.
The standards for Humanities are divided into 4 Processes, reflecting the 4 Artistic Processes in the National Arts Standards (Creating, Presenting/Performing/Producing, Responding, and Connecting):
- Creating
- Responding
- Producing
- Connecting
The Anchor Standards
The National Arts Standards have 11 Anchor Standards. DoDEA’s Humanities Standards are similar; however, there are only 8 Anchor Standards, focused on the similarities between the National Arts Standards concepts, those of the 1988 DoDEA Humanities Standards, and those of the 2023-2025 Humanities Working Group.Â
Anchor Standards are the same regardless of grade band or level in Middle and High School and are the basis of the standards themselves, reflecting what students should be doing inside their Humanities classroom. There are adjustments that have been made for 6th grade, and specifically for the 6th grade wheel course, to reflect emotional and developmental readiness.
Artistic Process 1: Creating
- Anchor Standard 1:Â Generate innovative ideas by exploring the interplay between the human body, mind, and emotions as sources of creativity.
- Anchor Standard 2:Â Investigate and develop creative works that reflect cultural and historical understanding, utilizing a variety of creative expressions to convey or communicate complex cultural information.
Artistic Process 2: Responding
- Anchor Standard 3:Â Investigate and develop creative works that reflect the human quest for Truth, Love, Justice, and Beauty, through various perspectives.
- Anchor Standard 4:Â Evaluate creative works of human aesthetics, spirituality, and social constructs by critically analyzing motivations, inspirations, and the impact of symbols, themes, and ideas within and across various art forms.
- Anchor Standard 5:Â Synthesize cultural ideals of leadership and heroism in creative expressions, reflecting on their variations and significance across time and cultures.
Artistic Process 3: Producing
- Anchor Standard 6:Â Produce works that assess articulation of thematic elements reflecting characteristics of the human condition.
Artistic Process 4: Connecting
- Anchor Standard 7:Â Analyze and interpret the role of history and culture in shaping creative expressions of human nature, behaviors, and ideals.
- Anchor Standard 8:Â Connect the study of humanities to other disciplines through collaborative projects that combine artistic creation with a deep understanding of various cultural contexts.
The following is a link to the curriculum created in 1988, with the help of the Kennedy Center for the Arts. This is for historic purposes only, as current practices in education are not reflected in this document.
The standards from 1988 may still be utilized through school year 2025-2026.
