Humanities Moments

“You Have to Be There”

Contributed by Averill Corkin, Graduate Student, Harvard University
Averill Corkin
Averill Corkin describes the moment she decided to major in the humanities after seeing a video performance of the song “Du måste finnas” (“You Have to Be There”), in which a female refugee, overcome with loss and fear, questions the existence of God. She notes, despite the language difference, she understood the woman’s experience through the melody and the nature of her performance. She goes on to talk about the power of the humanities to connect us through our appreciation of art regardless of geographic, cultural, and language boundaries.

Title

“You Have to Be There”

Description

Averill Corkin describes the moment she decided to major in the humanities after seeing a video performance of the song “Du måste finnas” (“You Have to Be There”), in which a female refugee, overcome with loss and fear, questions the existence of God. She notes, despite the language difference, she understood the woman’s experience through the melody and the nature of her performance. She goes on to talk about the power of the humanities to connect us through our appreciation of art regardless of geographic, cultural, and language boundaries.

Source

The song “Du måste finnas” (“You Have to Be There”)

Contributor

Averill Corkin, Graduate Student, Harvard University

Identifier

you-have-to-be-there

Player

Location