What’s going on? Is it a concern that study of the humanities won’t lead to a job? The attraction of more interesting courses of study that appear to be contemporary, leading to entrepreneurship and innovation? A response to America’s obsession with the need to improve math and science scores? As usual perhaps only time will tell.

As an undergraduate in the ‘70s, I studied comparative literature for my bachelor’s. I was often asked: “What will you do with the degree?” I always answered: “teach” because that’s what I felt I was called to do from about the age of eight.

I often think about the way my mind was trained during those three years, reading, analyzing, writing and arguing; understanding the power of stories, human relationships, events in historical context, to name a few. I know that I was brilliantly prepared to teach (and for many other professions too), but also to live and understand much of the complexity of life. This past week I read in the Harvard Magazine about the apparent decline in students studying humanities courses (link here), a 35% drop, for example in English concentrators between 2006 and 2012.

Harvard has responded by adding three new humanities courses in the art of listening, looking and reading; courses that Harvard hopes will attract undergraduates to the humanities. (They are apparently defecting to economics, government and psychology.) Interesting.

What’s going on? Is it a concern that study of the humanities won’t lead to a job? The attraction of more interesting courses of study that appear to be contemporary, leading to entrepreneurship and innovation? A response to America’s obsession with the need to improve math and science scores? As usual perhaps only time will tell.

We cannot actually do without the humanities, however; there’s that key word in there: human. I polled a few department heads and teachers here at CSW and history chair, Patrick Foley responded on Sunday morning (thanks, Patrick) with:

…I do believe that true Humanities needs to be ever growing and provide nurture to the human soul. Humanities should not only look back, but needs to look at the present. Humanities also in its very namesake, must take into account ALL of human collective wisdom and medicine. Humanities may be fading because in the 21st century, we see ourselves as more inter-connected globally. When a discipline of academia uses Humanities as its umbrella, it should cover all of the human experience. Maybe this is what is missing and why some find it lacking. Maybe CSW recognizes the need to study and explore the human condition in all corners of the world. Maybe CSW keeps blowing the horn of the present state, the present growth of the mind as essential, not the mere preparation for a future task. We celebrate, cultivate and engage in the Humanities, for we are fully human.

_______________________________________________________________
Pocket Change is a web diary written by Jane Moulding, head of school.