Taking this exposition class will allow me to effectively convey my thoughts and opinions. As mentioned in the preface, The New Humanities Reader differs from most other expository textbooks in that the selections in the book allow the student to learn about modern day society. This allows the student to not only learn how to think differently but to also inform the student of current global events.

One reason this course shouldn't be necessary is that all throughout high school I have studied a wide range of topics from Shakespeare classics to persuasive essays in English class. And yet, perfecting the art of five paragraph essays is not enough. In the employment world, I can't make a living off of writing five paragraph essays. However being able to make a connection between environmental issues and public distress will allow me decide how I can make an impact on society.

By "using writing as a way of thinking new thoughts," students will be able to think critically. Rather than having surface level thinking skills, young adults will be able to make connections amongst several disciplines. The applicant who knows how his profession interacts with others in society will be able to be of better service to the community. Having a community in which everyone knows about each other's fields will help bring advancements.

In the second part of the reading, the book defines the humanities "as the human dimension of all knowledge." For this reason the author chooses to use selections that share common themes popular in today's society. By using different contemporary works, the student will be able to learn current events while developing a new line of thought to build correlations between different phenomenons.

The "shared horizon" is seen as the common thread between two different topics. No matter how unalike two works may seem, the two most likely will have one common factor to allow a new understanding between both topics. Finding the "meaning" of a work is defined as finding a connection between two different works. The reader can only uncover the meaning of a selection once an outside selection can be identified as having a similar theme.

As a whole, The New Humanities takes a fresh and interesting approach to teaching young adults how to write. I found many of the points made in the passage valid. An example was that learning specialized subjects in depth are futile if the student cannot make connections between the information learned in the lecture hall and the real world. By teaching the student this new thought process, this book will be instilling creativity in future generations to come.