Big Think

Ray Smith on February 15, 2008, 6:05 AM

Career-oriented courses are indeed important, but so too are the courses that will nurture your humanity. A culture of shallow ladder climbers is at risk for becoming a heartless machine. Please study hard for your career, but please also take the time to develop your inner-most self.

Theodore Brown on February 15, 2008, 10:17 AM

My thought is not all that quick; I hope there is room here for a somewhat extended reply. cuixotiq© has loaded a lot into his little question. The phrase “purpose does forcing” is coupled to “career-driven college student”, with the effect that studies of the humanities, social sciences and arts are implicitly made into commodities, things that have the prosaic purpose of advancing one’s career. The irony is that they very well might do that, though not unless they are accepted for their intended purpose, which is to open the mind to worlds of thought, analysis and appreciation that would otherwise be unrecognized and unexplored. It does add a great deal to life to be able to appreciate art and good writing,to have a sense of history, to be able to place oneself in the flow of humankind through time and place. At the least it imbues all the career striving with some sense of its proper place in the totality of one’s life, and thus mitigates the ennui that inevitably comes to those whose career aspirations tend become the driving force for daily life. At best it can enhance career aspirations by making one a more interesting person, one with a larger vocabulary, superior writing and speaking skills, and a more refined sense of humor. And, its not like medicine; it can be fun!

Rob Del Vecchio on February 15, 2008, 12:59 PM

If all everyone did was do their job, would life not be boring without some sort of hobby or ulterior interest?
Also, they key word is ‘lofty’; is not our society ‘lofty?’ I would say that life in the United States is certainly lofty in terms of food (we’re not starving), culture (television, radio, internet), politics, and a number of other topics. It should be our duty as the younger generation to keep this loftyness alive.

Ignorance also plays a role in this. How does one know about, for example, art history, if one has never been exposed to it? Furthermore, how does that same person know that they enjoy art history or not?
The key here is education, and without education, we become ignorant.
You’re paying thousands of dollars for this education, the least you can do is appreciate the full-bodied education that you are getting along with your career oriented education.

Eric Beck on February 15, 2008, 1:22 PM

The temptation here is to fawn over the humanities. But we should address the specificity of the question, i.e., relevance to the COLLEGE student. I agree that a well-rounded LIFE is vital to happiness. But college is a relatively short period of time where one has the luxury of pure study without the pressures of paying the bills. So it would seem that college should be devoted to a curriculum that focuses on the student’s career choice. And the REALITY is, that is what college is for: prepping a child for a career. It is naive to think otherwise. The child that deviates from a focused career path in college loses to competitors who do not, and hence, he or she misses out on the limited ops with the Big 4 or the Big 5 or whatever “The Big” is now. Another reality is, after graduation, you better hit the ground running. If you can start the race farther ahead in the pack, all the better. Then, at the end of a work day, or work week, time exists to go to a play, read a book, hit a museum. And GUARANTEED, far more pleasure will be derived in THAT context, then as a run-up to a test, for a grade.

Christopher Horne on February 15, 2008, 3:05 PM

I believe that to an extent, you have a point: what purpose does it serve to study art history if you’re going for an MBA? Well, I can say that from my experience, it’s a double-edged razor. History can teach a great deal about more than the topic at hand. While I was attending art history courses, I learned a great deal about religion%u2013a side effect of the courses, so to speak. In turn, this elevated my knowledge of the world and how it developed from monarchies to merchant class driven societies and in turn, democracy. On the other hand, if you are after a job in accounting, none of those topics will come up in the workplace except perhaps in the lunchroom, and hence they’re lofty indeed. If you’d rather get it over quick without extraneous courses that won’t go toward making your MBA or accounting degree any more the better, then opt out on the four year college and go a tech school where you’ll be taught ONLY what you need to know (and you will find work once done). Otherwise, true, every big word you learn in college in your “19th Century English Lit” class will serve no purpose other than to entertain guests at a game of Trivial Pursuit at a party. BUT!!! The REAL point is to hone in your interests, since statistically more students change degree paths than not and with a rounded education, you’ll get a shot at seeing what career you want to drive toward. Without these courses, you’ll never know if you would REALLY rather be a librarian (where those lofty humanities are vital) than an IT specialist. That’s my food for thought.

colleen fitzgerald on February 15, 2008, 4:18 PM

I think the idea of ‘intrinsic value,’ as opposed to ‘worth value,’ may need to be considered in discussing the importance of the study of the Humanities. Just think about the name for a moment.
An aspect of the arts that seems to be often overlooked is the aesthetic affect. By this I mean, the ability for an artifact to affect, to have emotional affect, on a person engaged with it. After recently going back into “Tamburlaine,” I was, again, truly impressed with the complexity expressed about the relationship between obligation to the human aspect of the individual and the consequences of actions an individual chooses. What most impressed me was that the play was able to evoke nuanced thoughts on the nature of empathy and obligation, and how those elements related to a right fierce warrior. Is that not worth the commitment of a single semester?

Richard Ahern on February 15, 2008, 7:12 PM

Great question! I think about it all the time looking back over a 30 year in the law. I took an undergraduate degree from the Business School at a prominent eastern university confident that the business courses would be my ticket to security and riches. As it turned out, the course that has affected my life the most was the History of Art, part II, that I took in my last semester after dropping public speaking, closely followed by literature, history, philosophy, & etc. These courses unlocked the world for me as I became mature enough to explore it. Never did use Accounting 101. One never knows how fate is going to punch one’s carefully crafted ticket, so prepare to be surprised. All the best of luck to you.

James Randazzo on February 16, 2008, 7:34 PM

It may be “said” and/or “read”, that some questions contain the answers within them.

Patrick Gavin on February 18, 2008, 4:12 PM

I might be a bit biased, as I am by profession a humanities librarian, but I%u2019ll give my take on this question anyway. Why humanities, the idealistic answer: our democracy depends upon a well-educated, critically-thinking population. Study in the humanities provides the chance for students to practice thinking analytically, critically, and speculatively (necessary to cultivate productive, responsible, and civically-minded members of our society). Why humanities, a practical answer:
- According to a study by the National Commission on Writing, %u201Cproviding writing training [to college graduates employed by states] costs taxpayers nearly a quarter of a billion dollars annually.%u201D
- In the private sector: %u201CBusiness professionals and instructors often view writing skills as one of the most important qualifications that employees should possess. However, many business employees, including recent college graduates, have serious writing deficiencies, especially in their ability to use Standard English. As a result, American businesses spend billions of dollars annually to remediate these writing deficiencies%u201D (College Board, the National Commission on Writing for America%u2019s Families, Schools, and Colleges, 2004).
Maybe with a bit more focus on the importance of the humanities, we can rectify these problems before sending our graduates out into the professional world. It%u2019s not necessarily easy to identify all of the directly-transferable job skills for any given job%u2026how one might master those skills might even be more difficult to identify. Maybe we should focus on providing an education that ensures our graduates at least have the skills necessary to read something, analyze it thoroughly (from multiple points-of-view), and produce a coherent response to it%u2026Should we accomplish this, my bet is that any other requisite skills will be acquired much more easily.

Ana Gabriela Ruiz Diaz on February 18, 2008, 5:29 PM

OMG! That was exactly what I was thinking right now that I’m taking Theology and Anthropology 2, but when you start trying to relate everything that you study in your career the clases that you take are all related. And in the end they are quite useful because they help you have a more adecute and better defined point of view. Because they give a an insight that is quite general about culture that you should have. This way you will have a better foundation to your point of view because you will have more knowledge. Some of the clases also have quite intreting topics, that can generate an interest that can help you figure out what you want to do with your life besides the objective part of working, that mainlky consists in producing money and goods.

Frederick Andresen on February 19, 2008, 1:15 AM

Everyone is right. The secret to a career success is not only about how to manage the details of the job, important as that obviously is, it is about relationships. In my 30 years in international business it is all about understanding the other culture. I have written a book on it. While America has been to a degree insolated from this, that was over, even before 9/11. Here in California you may be working with Vientamese, Hispanics, Russians, whatever. The foundation of success is a good liberal arts education from a good school whose teachers know thier subject and have been there, done that.

Fred Andresen, Author of “Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia.”
www.fandresen.com

Jessye Aldeghi on February 19, 2008, 12:47 PM

If a person knows nothing about anything but their career, I would say that person is a very flat individual.

Jesse Almendarez on February 19, 2008, 5:28 PM

Let me start woth a few facts about me. I have been in and out of schools since I was young, not because it was my fault but because of my life. They say Literature, Humanitties, and Lofty subjects are necessary. If not they should. Because they only teach you what is possible. You only learn what you choose to learn. The reason for these majors and lofty conversation. Is for the actual growth and knowledge that is required. Wierd you see required and some people look at that yeah right I forgot why I was here. Then is the second you need to take the situation into sight. And see your road, become your next goal, plan, objective, or task… They all are things everyone on earth has a conversation about, where do you stand in a conversation about the latest movie, music, books, or computer stuff.. And so when you get a job. Can you last the full length of work (A day of work)along side another person, people, customers, partners, associates, volunteers, and specialists. Again where do you stand, how intersting do you make your job?

Derek Scallet on February 21, 2008, 2:29 PM

Practical reasons to study the humanities.

I have worked as a senior officer restructuring both global 100 and regional companies. If you want my attention, you will need to offer me more than technical competency — i.e. your success is rarely based strictly on skill, even in the most professed meritocracy, and is, at least, equal parts relationship building by fully referencing the human condition.

Separately, I have found people with a background in the Humanities, as well as, a technical competency to be much better problem solvers. I.E. have the ability to think beyond the “accepted” that prevents the “constant improvement” that maintains success. Thereby their own technical competency is enhanced.

I struggled many years before ever achieving technical recognition or business or family success. In part, because I hadn’t fully absorbed the lessons from the Humanities. When I returned to history, literature,… I found solace and grounding that led me to pleasure and enjoyment that built my success.

Rick Lightburn on April 17, 2008, 1:06 PM

The one thing that we can be sure about for the career-driven student is that there will be a great sadness in his or her life.
We can’t be sure that he or she will have the career that he or she is being currently trained for. It’s highly unlikely, yes, but not impossible.
But it’s absolutely certain that everyone will know some deep sadness, or some great tragedy: parents or loved ones will die, loves will be unrequited, children will disappoint, ambitions will be frustrated, or something else will be bad.
We may not know what kind of sadness he or she will encounter, but encountering that sadness is absolutely certain.
And the “lofty subjects” like poetry and fiction, or philosophy and history and even many of the social sciences equip their students for moving on from that.
It is this fundamental usefulness that makes the “lofty” subjects so valuable.