Place of the humanities in education being questioned
As countries compete for the most engineers and scientists, and the greatest technological and medical breakthroughs, and as funding to universities is being cut, the need for humanities in higher education is being questioned.
At a forum at McGill University on Tuesday debating the relevance of humanities education, about 40 academics and students who gathered in the arts building lamented the economic realities of the world today that pressures students to take programs that lead directly to jobs.
Yet enrolment in McGill’s humanities programs — which typically include literature, history, languages, the arts, philosophy and religion — has been steady, or increasing slightly, said Maggie Kilgour, who organized the event.
“In a world of economic uncertainty, it takes guts to study things that you think are important but that aren’t going to give you a skill set to market easily,” said Kilgour, an English professor at McGill. “In a time of economic crisis, when government resources are limited, humanities education seems to a lot of people to be a luxury. The question is why do so many of us still think it’s really important, and a necessity rather than a luxury?”
Ancient history professor Hans Beck said the humanities are needed today more than ever.
“The general apprehension in society leads to a need for critical reflection,” he said. “These are times when the need to re-evaluate and reassess is most necessary.”
When success is measured in scientists and engineers, the study of what it means to be human is perhaps just too esoteric, especially when compared with the study of a specific vocation.
The problems facing humanities education were detailed in a 2009 New York Times story titled: In Tough Times, the Humanities Must Justify Their Worth.
The debate has only intensified since then. Advocates for humanities note that people who take that path are better communicators and writers who can think creatively. Detractors say that in a tough job market and at a time when universities are facing budget cuts, humanities are a luxury we can no longer afford.
Kilgour said cuts over the years have led to larger classes at McGill (and everywhere), with some popular courses like American literature reaching 500 students, that has a significant impact on the learning experience, which often focuses on dialogue rather than lectures.
At the national level, funding for grants and scholarships by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada has dropped off slightly since reaching a peak of $344 million in 2007-08. It was about $337 million in 2012-13.
Of course, cuts aren’t unique to the humanities, but many attending the forum said the programs seem to be facing a crisis of confidence.
Citing articles that have debated both sides of the issue, Kevin Droz, a graduate student in English, said the beauty of humanities is that “you can’t memorize your way to an A. It’s not formulaic, it’s not rote, it’s as multi-faceted as the world in which we live.”
In fact, he said, reports of the death of humanities in higher education have been greatly exaggerated.
Yet some of the problems that plague the humanities did come up; the fact that people just don’t understand the humanities because no products are produced; the fact that science garners respect while the humanities don’t; that a guy who studied theoretical physics is now brewing beer.
Kilgour said economic conditions have led to a perception that the humanities are superfluous and redundant.
“The fact is the humanities do lead to careers, perhaps not as quickly or directly as a degree in medicine or engineering,” she said. “That’s why it’s so important for students to articulate why they are choosing to study such subjects, often against pressure from family and friends.”