Importance Of Humanities

1200 Words5 Pages

In our everchanging world dominated by technology, many education systems have emphasized courses in the science and mathematics departments to adapt students to the next generation world while leaving the humanities behind. While some may argue this move is logical, many educators believe that the arts and humanities are important to us due to the fact that without them we wouldn't be able to explore an entire range of experiences and emotions, resulting in an empty miserable life and society. As Dean Robert R. of the McCormick School of engineering wrote “Arts and humanities are vital to this new world. The primary reason: without a grounding in these fields, an entire range of human experiences and emotions will forever be invisible to us. …show more content…

However under closer inspection, the arts and humanities are actually essential to creating and maintaining international competition, the type of competition that is only going to increase as time goes by. The humanities and social sciences teach students to understand and respect differences among ourselves. These intercultural skills allow international relationships to be made between businesses and countries, allowing economies to thrive. The humanities are therefore an essential tool that promote language learning and help deepen knowledge of other cultures; two important skills that facilitate international relationships. In The Heart of the Matter the american Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences argues that a “citizenry and a workforce knowledgeable about the international community and conversant with other cultures provide advantages for the nation’s business enterprise as well as for its government. In the interest of national security and competitiveness, government, foundations, and businesses should enter into new consortia to support the education of Americans for a global society”. The humanities therefore offer much more to a nation than democratic ideals, they also offer a wide range of business advantages. It is also notable that nations that have solely focused on the sciences such as China and Singapore have revised their academic methods in order to include the arts and humanities. The Heart of the Matter states that these nations “ are now aggressively promoting them, because they have concluded that the cultivation of the imagination through the study of literature, film, and the other arts is essential to fostering creativity and innovation”. The intercultural skills provided by the arts and humanities are extremely essential for an internationally focused nation that wants to exceed in the business world due to the many skills it