humanities classes

humanities classes

The Importance of Humanities Education in the Modern World

1. Introduction to Humanities Education

Buchanan and Powell approached their diverse issue by relying on an idea so ancient that its source would have been lost in antiquity if, between them, the causes of continuous textual transmission had not operated. Their idea was that the humanities have unique importance in world culture because they are a prime tool people have devised for achieving self-understanding. Now, at the end of the millennium, could it be that in the resolution of our various crises, the humanities would once more assume such a role?

One of the most difficult questions to answer in modern education is what the importance of the humanities in the educational process is. Some believe that the humanities in general (and the arts in particular) do not teach people to think for themselves. Others say that the humanities would never lead to successful professional careers. The position I represent is in many ways antithetical to popular sentiment which associates progress and financial prosperity with science and technology. I think the humanities are crucial to modern life.

2. The Value of Critical Thinking and Analytical Skills

The humanities can be an essential part of re-imagining these values in a new form. As Geoffrey Harpham writes, creativity and innovation are closely linked to an aesthetic sensibility and way of thinking, seeing, and acting. Artists are often our environmentalists, forcing us to recognize our conduct and bear witness to loss. The humanities bring us into contact with experiential teaching and learning that is part of how we process life. They promote mental, physical, and spiritual health that anchor a culture of empathy that the world so desperately needs. And they challenge us. Challenging what orients us grounds us in the present. By learning to put aside subjectivity and care for the multiple dimensions of a person or a work of art, we can increase awareness and adapt our patterns of thinking.

Humanities is a discipline of exploration, existentially, in the deepest senses. When we consider the phrase “the human condition,” we are in the realm of the humanities. Through reading and considering the problems faced by others throughout history and in different geographies and cultural areas, we are developing the ability to place ourselves in relation to the world and imagine what else we might be. This is an act of the intellect that is especially important today as we meet new cultures and people with different norms and expectations from their environments. Our capacity to make ethical choices has never been more tested. The humanities provide a key to this cultural citizenship. We learn to see the world with others and imagine how others see us.

3. Cultural Literacy and Global Awareness

What is our understanding of the living and breathing pulse of a culture that keeps a society anchored and focused? Can we appreciate where our culture came from, who we are, and where we fit into the great human adventure that has passed down to us their goals, beliefs, religion, fine arts, sciences, and technology that have prospered and given direction to so many peoples? We owe it to ourselves and to our past and our future, and we can never again agree that human differences and previous ways of thinking no longer possess the relevancy that our ancestors valued as the creative process evolved.

As the world grows remarkably smaller and increasingly interdependent, maintaining a soft ethically- and humanistically-based education and cultural literacy has assumed major importance. As students are prepared to live and work in an environment that is changing culturally, intellectually, and globally, the old silos that have divided knowledge into academic departments no longer serve our growth and awareness. To become global citizens, students must attain global awareness. Some are surprised to learn that ancient Egyptians buried their domestic pets in graves or that the Aztecs were great astronomers or that Shinto is the only living religion practiced by a large number of Japanese in the modern world. Yet traditions have valuable knowledge to impart about the nature of human existence and the behavior and actions of humans across the entire spectrum of time.

4. Creativity and Innovation in Humanities

The title of a paper prepared by 21 leading thinkers in diverse fields, ranging from economics and law to journalism, culture, and art, published by the Latin American Center for Competitiveness and Sustainable Development, which presented it within the framework of the World Economic Forum, left no room for doubt. If we are to continue to have a world of widely shared values and life, there is no alternative but to promote a practice of free dialogue, understanding, and respect for the diversity that shapes our reality. Our main concern is to share the finding that, contrary to present-day prejudices about the apparently catastrophic state of the humanities, concepts such as creativity and innovation provide a domain which is very dynamic indeed and which enriches natural and exact sciences, as well as human and social sciences. We also argue that the humanities are valuable tools in understanding nature, knowledge, and development and further assert that several conceptual contributions from the humanities are still relevant and under-utilized policy tools for the development of Latin America, and Brazil in particular. Finally, we claim, beyond the obvious benefits for the individual, society, and country, there are also significant economic impacts derived from the intellectual capital of the humanities.

Humanities education serves to lift us up and allows us to obtain inspiration from the past, achieve well-being, feel enriched, and experience art and beauty. Research confirms that the humanities help us to learn and think more critically, give us tools to reflect on ourselves, help us learn from our mistakes, and provide wisdom. This is echoed by the voices that question the extent of the use of the instructive and narrowing abilities of science, awakening us to the recognition that Homo sapiens, translation noticeable as knowing human or knowledgeable human, is endowed with tools for knowing, thinking, and feeling, unique means which afforded the hominid species the ability to surpass its zoological limitations and significantly change the world it inhabits.

5. Conclusion: Nurturing Well-Rounded Individuals

More emphasis should be given by formal education systems worldwide to teaching the basic knowledge within humanities disciplines in the school before the stereotypical perceptions are formed and impression is expressed by the external environment. The aim is not to create a future artist, humanist, or philosopher, but a broad-minded person who would have foundations in critical thinking, communication, and empathy for other fellow beings and the ability to analyze the impact of human actions on other human beings. A well-educated person tends to influence the rest more positively and becomes more receptive to differences. A country’s population who are capable of developing thorough, critical analyses of socio-political events within broader contexts is likely to be a more active participant in the democratic process. Only a well-educated society is able to defend its values of liberty, equality, and dignity with which history provides it.