Spotlight on Humanities & Commerce

Why Humanities & Commerce Matter

The Humanities are about what it is to be human. They are subjects that seek to interpret and appreciate the human experience from individuals to whole cultures and civilisations, engaging in the discovery, preservation and communication of the Past and the Present record to gain a deeper understanding of the contemporary world. The discipline of Humanities gives us the tools to predict and propose the future. Commerce subjects equip students with specialized skills that are useful in tackling problems in functional areas of commerce, industry, and trade. It is an understanding of economic factors which are the lifeblood of modern society.

In 2023 the Humanities and Commerce subjects at Mount Alvernia have engaged students in rich and authentic learning experiences that aim to deepen their understanding of themselves and our world. Through their learning in Humanities and Commerce, students have broadened their horizons and expanded their knowledge and understanding.

Some highlights during 2023 include:

- the Year 7 ‘liveability’ report, where students got to explore the streets of Kedron and assess its qualities

- the Year 10 Geography field trip to Maroochydore to investigate environmental management

-  the Year 11 Geography field trip to Fortitude Valley to investigate urban places in Australia that face the challenge of sustainable development. These challenges pose particular problems that demand action to improve the sustainability and liveability of suburban areas

- the Year 10 Accounting and Economics class learning about the scarcity of resources using lego. 

Humanities and Commerce students build skills in writing and critical reading. The humanities and commerce encourage us to think creatively. They teach us to reason about being human and to ask questions about our world. The humanities and commerce develop informed and critical citizens.

Here are the top responses from teachers and students why Humanities matter:

1. Humanities help us understand others through their languages, histories and cultures.

2. Humanities and Commerce foster social justice and equality.

3. They reveal how people have tried to make moral, spiritual and intellectual sense of the world.

4. The Humanities teach empathy.

5.  Humanities and Commerce teach us to deal critically and logically with subjective, complex, imperfect information.

6. Humanities and Commerce teach us to weigh evidence sceptically and consider more than one side of every question.

7. Humanities and Commerce students build skills in writing and critical reading.

8. They encourage us to think creatively. They teach us to reason about being human and to ask questions about our world.

9. The Humanities and Commerce develop informed and critical citizens. 

Above are 9 really good reasons to choose a Humanities and/or Commerce subject, can you think of a tenth?

If you were a Humanities/Commerce student you could!