I have always had trouble categorizing the humanities and giving it an ample and suitable definition that made it feel worthy. I have never been able to contextualize what it is, but I can tell you what it isn’t pretty decently. The humanities are separate from the studies of science, (Environmental, medical, social,etc..), mathematics,  and technology. This just leaves all the rest of things to kinda be roped into the humanities which in a way makes it so difficult to define as there is so much put together, but many of the topics vary widely and should have some distinction. If I were to give my best attempt however, I would describe the humanities as a study of thought, history, reasonings and the progression of humans on the planet that has no right or wrong answer, a study that is never ending and will always be changing, a study that can actively flip flop, that can show you multiple sides of a story while still being truthful, and is different from what other countries may consider it and what “global humanities” are. I know it seems like a mess and kind of a cop out with how much there is, but the humanities can be so much as it almost seems as if it is alive and its own separate entity among humans, moving, talking and teaching us as we progress. I was confused a little bit with Durings article, mostly with what his description of “meta-discipline” and that third paragraph he writes, it just didn’t sit well with me and I can’t figure out what he is trying to say. On top of this I was confused with his phrasing of “extra-mural-humanities” on the third page and what he meant by this. These paragraphs tripped me up and made it a little harder to grasp the following pages because I was stuck up on them. 

The humanities in the United States is different from the humanities of China, Germany, France, Britain, and every other country. The humanities no matter where you go have their own distinct sets of important text, maps, histories, literature, etc.. that shape the country. No two countries have the same exact “humanities”, there can be overlap and shared bits here and there but not everything will be the same. Even the “Global humanities” is different from each country because it takes pieces from everywhere to create something that is shared amongst the globe, so every country may be connected slightly but never completely engulfed. During states, “They (countries) have their own cognate formations with different names, regimes, and meanings”(last paragraph). As with people, not every humanity is the same and it never will be because not every country has the same shared experience, there is a different history that everywhere has. America and the Ivory Coast are completely different countries with very few connections between the two and will never have the exact same shared experience, as I will never know what it is like to be a person from that country because I have the knowledge and experience of an American. A clear distinction between the humanities can be made when comparing each country’s humanities to each other in this way because no place is the exact same and never will be, the people, culture, and society will be different everywhere you go .