A world that solely prioritised technology and finance would advance very quickly. Our lives would be comfortable and efficient – but disconnected and monotone. A world that just focused on literature and art would be magical and empathetic – but also slow to improve.
There’s a lot of talk amongst students about the importance or unimportance of the arts. Some courses are even labelled as the “easy ones” and others are “doomed” to supposed unemployment. This is certainly not the case. Sure, the humanities don’t have pages of anatomy to learn by heart or calculations to solve but I can assure you that they don’t spend all day reading books and watching movies, (well maybe sometimes).
Many people have misconceptions about what the humanities actually entail. Academia can cover certain facets such as Philosophy, English or Media Studies but that’s not all. At it’s very core, the humanities is a study of the human condition. Think about your late night chats with your friends where you start to get vulnerable and talk about things that go beyond your day-to-day. Think about the music you listen to when you’re upset. Think of the sensations you feel when your favourite character in a series gets their way. The humanities can be found everywhere and you cannot really live without analysing your own humanity.
The best way to fully understand someone else is to put yourself in their shoes – that’s where great literature, art and music comes in. These tools act as a gateway into their own personal experiences. What better way is there to expand your emotional capacity and maturity than marvelling in the genius and beauty of a certain song or movie? Living in a society that pushes materialism onto us, keeping in touch with that softer part of ourselves keeps us human. We all live in our own bubbles, trapped within the influence of our upbringing and home. When we struggle to consider other individual’s opinions, assumptions and world views, miscommunication becomes a problem. This issue becomes aggravated when taken into the context of the entire world. It’s important to know a thing or two about the world around you, rather than your little bubble and the subject you study. Understanding other country’s cultural values and history helps you to be a more tolerant and well-rounded person. Engaging with the humanities helps you to better engage with the people around you.
What saddens me most is that people shy away from the arts in order to improve their career progression. We shouldn’t ignore the humanities because a starting salary isn’t ideal and people shouldn’t lose touch with the human condition just because they graduated. As a matter of fact, I believe that studying the humanities can make you a better scientist, a better doctor or a better lawyer. Considering that those jobs can make or break a person’s life, it is imperative that they understand the weight of their roles and in my opinion that can be done by studying the humanities. As of yet, the area where ethics
and tech meet is still grey and in need of exploration. Human moral judgement has only become more essential, especially when tackling new topics like social media, big pharma and AI. Another point I must mention is that although science is imperative to answering the environmental crisis, political understanding and media advertising will be crucial to push that message forward and achieve net zero.
People who study subjects in the humanities were shown to have better communication skills, work better in teams, have higher emotional intelligence and think critically. Naturally, humanities graduates have always had those skills but for a long time they were overlooked due to not being bound to a certain vocation. However, the work place is only getting more and more unpredictable and people aren’t sticking to the same job for long periods of time. This means that flexibility and transferrable skills are vital and that’s exactly what the humanities offer. Only a few jobs look for a specific degree nowadays.
What really matters is taking what you’ve learnt in your 3 to 4 years and applying it in a way that can add value.
When picking a degree think about what genuinely interests you and don’t be afraid to choose the ones that are deemed as less profitable or popular. Besides that, I BEG you to avoid choosing the one that you hate but looks good on paper. So, to my fellow humanities students who double check non-humanities students’ essays – I commend you and we’re going to be just fine.
This article was written by an independent writer whose views are not associated with The Third Eye. The Third Eye strives to be the student’s voice, and that entails giving them a platform to voice their opinions.