Humanities in Hard Times

Today's New York Times has an article discussing the drop in interest in the humanities which tends to occur during recessionary times:

[I]n this new era of lengthening unemployment lines and shrinking university endowments, questions about the importance of the humanities in a complex and technologically demanding world have taken on new urgency. Previous economic downturns have often led to decreased enrollment in the disciplines loosely grouped under the term “humanities” — which generally include languages, literature, the arts, history, cultural studies, philosophy and religion.

Many in the field worry that in this current crisis those areas will be hit hardest.Already scholars point to troubling signs. A December survey of 200 higher education institutions by The Chronicle of Higher Education and Moody’s Investors Services found that 5 percent have imposed a total hiring freeze, and an additional 43 percent have imposed a partial freeze.

As a firm believer in and disciple of the humanities, I wanted to offer a slightly different viewpoint.  As tempting as it is to jump on the bandwagon of practicality during a fiscal crisis, I still see a strong role for the humanities going forward.  And I  truly hope that Anthony Kronman, former dean of Yale Law School and one of my mentors, is incorrect in his prediction that a humanities education may become "“a great luxury that many cannot afford.”

In law training, of course, having a humanities background of some sort is a great help.  Law still remains a field of reading and writing (and, yes, document production), and I've found that those purely science, tech or business undergrads have a real disadvantage when it comes to adapting to law school.   It's hard to write a memo or a brief when you've done virtually no writing at all in high school or college!  Certainly those coming from literary or historical training have a jump start in that first year of school, and possibly later on as well.

More broadly that that, however, learning and investing in the humanities provides a blueprint for living.   Not just ethical living, as the article points out, but a roadmap for a richer and more fulfilling life.  Whether it's Seneca or Saint-Saens, the liberal arts help us give texture and meaning to our daily existence.  And in a world where job security is non-existent and disaster looms around every corner, finding a way to live beyond and through the quotidian realities of survival seems all the more essential.  We aren't the first to go through a period like this, nor will we be the last.  Let the humanities light the way.