The Web of The Humanities

One reason I love HUST is that it brings the richness of the material alive by allowing it to be fully contextualized and connected. I think this point is illustrated while reading Erasmus. The meaning of his text is greatly enhanced when I have an understanding of his little letter to his friend Thomas Moore( I hear he is kind of a big deal) and his relationship with Martin Luther (the 16th century reformer - not the civil rights activist). If I did not know the climate in which he was writing "The Praise of Folly" and his personal background the criticisms of the church and theologians would have gone right over my head ( at least more so than they already do).

However, I think it is even more significant the way in which contextualizing a work can add to a greater understanding of the time period and the broader theme which it is addressing. "The Praise of Folly" is great but it is most beneficial to me in so much as it adds to my understanding of Erasmus, the world he lives in, and the realities surrounding this period in Western Civilization. Without an interdisciplinary approach to material a great deal is lost and some might say it is ALL IN FOLLY