Humanities: Wanted, Dead or Alive

Friend 1: "I earned a degree in Western Civ?"
Friend 2: "Congratulations, but what are you going to do with that?"
Friend 1: "Ummm..."

Many fields, like health care and business, have jobs that logically follow completion of a college program. A physical therapy major, for instance, becomes a physical therapist. A business management major heads into, you guessed it, business. What about an English major? A gender studies major? That's no so cut and dry.

The future of humanities -- philosophy, literature, history, religion and cultural studies, among others -- is iffy. Dorothy Hale, English professor at the University of California-Berkeley, explained in today's higher education forum that budget constraints are spelling the demise of humanities. Case in point: her department has lost senior faculty, no longer has a receptionist and had its telephones removed. That's right, you can't call your professor anymore.

As a result, the English department is in triage mode, bandaging up its wounds while hoping the bleeding stops. Faculty, what's left of them, continue to teach and research their disciplines, but Hale says they've also taken on the role of fundraisers. They blog in an attempt to justify their positions and prove humanities still have some value.

Not so fast, says Debra Humphries, vice president for communications and public affairs with the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Humanities aren't dying, or even contracting. In 1987, humanities majors represented 9.98 percent of all college graduates. By 2007, that had risen to 12.12 percent. Employers continually plead for college graduates that can communicate effectively and think critically, in addition to being masters of their discipline.

Humanities can provide a broad base of knowledge and skills that can be applied to any field. And as long as colleges continue requiring underclassmen to take English 101 and Western Civilization classes, the humanities will persevere, just maybe not as majors.

Now for my thoughts... Who hasn't read a horribly written memo or e-mail from someone with a Ph.D.? People have to write. Who hasn't been intrigued by a scientist's invention, but the interview was a bust because the so-called expert couldn't convey his or her thoughts? People have to talk. Who hasn't interviewed a teenage scholar bound for an elite university, but the simplest of questions stumped the student? People have to think.

And a final thought... Thanks to EWA, the Lumina Foundation and all of the other sponsors that made this conference inspirational and educational. We wouldn't be here without their financial support. New Orleans in 2011!!!