One idea that elite universities like Yale, sprawling public systems like Wisconsin and smaller private colleges like Lewis and Clark have shared for generations is that a traditional liberal arts education is, by definition, not intended to prepare students for a specific vocation. Rather, the critical thinking, civic and historical knowledge and ethical reasoning that the humanities develop have a different purpose: They are prerequisites for personal growth and participation in a free democracy, regardless of career choice.
The article discusses the particular challenges to the humanities and those who choose to study them in hard oeconomic times. Faculty positions get retired rather than filled, jobs are hard to come by, budgets shrink--but the essence of the humanities is that they are even more relevant in a society where greed and unethical behaviour has brought the oeconomy down, and a well-versed and well-read President struggles to bring hope back to the country. Marketing the humanities is especially important now.
I love the humanities. Although I was a sociology major as well, I majored in history, then went back to school to complete a major in classical civilisation and a minor in Judaic studies. I was one class short of a linguistics major and also studied German, Latin, French, Ancient Hebrew, and Ancient Greek (I'd studied Spanish in junior high and high school). I went on to be 'all but thesis' for an advanced degree in mediaeval and early modern European history (it wasn't the thesis or the classes that were my downfall--I did well on papers and in class; it was the oral exam, of which I was terrified. Now I've gotten through much of that anxiety, but I'd have to start all over on my doctorate and I don't have the financial aid available for that). I spent years in school, and I have the student loans to prove it. Maybe I don't have the greatest standard of living in the world, but I'd never change my choices for what I studied. The breadth and depth of humanities is greater than any other course of study I could have taken.
I use it every day, from my Latin aiding my medical terminology, to research skills (honed through library school, too, of course), to an appreciation of art, literature, music, language, and history. I would recommend the liberal arts to anyone going into school, and if they're worried about not being employable, a double major is quite doable and a benefit, so you can do business and language or philosophy, and that may be the extra umphf that cinches a job offer.
I always planned on teaching and researching at a college. I never planned on being a librarian. But I've found it very fulfilling and I'm good at it, and although I am a medical librarian, I'm never very far from the humanities I love, either. When I first got my job, the chief of staff emeritus saw that I'd studied Latin and immediately shot some at me, which I answered in kind. We bonded over that and he is a great believer in the library, a staunch supporter I can draw on when times are tough.
Thanks to Steven over at Library Stuff for the link.
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