Saving the Humanities
An article written by Connor.
Yesterday I learned that recent discussions concerning cutbacks at my old university may lead to an entire campus being closed. A few years ago I graduated from the philosophy and religion course there and found myself staying on for a masters degree in the same subject. For the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and feel, if nothing else, that my time there was important in influencing my decisions, skills and ambitions. Now, it appears that scrapping the whole humanities department is on the cards. My overwhelming reaction is that this is a great shame. Of course, I’ve mentioned on numerous podcasts before, the problems surrounding academia - the gatekeeping, elitism and fading relevance against the grain of a more cynical age. Not to mention how some university experiences can be vacuous and hollow. But it's actually because, not in spite of these reasons that I’m finding myself writing in defence of keeping the humanities, at this university and any others.
The financial difficulties surrounding the humanities are by no means a novel or isolated problem of course. Universities all over are asking tough questions about their place in the modern world, especially given the current climate. In an effort to remain relevant they have commercialised and diversified to combat the increasing demand and market for vocational skills. Offering degrees in golf course management and customer service, they’ve banked on a gambit to compete with the increasing popularity of apprenticeships and training courses.
Job prospects and employability for people with history and literature degrees have always been somewhat niche. This is very different from saying they have no value. Aside from the immense undeniable personal value, there seems to be some confusion about the vocational nature of higher education. Many people seem to think that degrees are only valuable at a personal level. This is possibly because there needs to be a cultural shift whereby we normalise the value of pursuing knowledge for its own sake. Indeed, employers and graduates alike seem to believe that their degrees in creative writing or Arthurian myth have little value outside of their field. Perhaps, in some cases they are right…. This is due to the way that degrees are taught, with little emphasis on the wider implications and even applications of learning about famous military victories for instance, or how religions are structured. It is also indicative of a more general attitude - an erroneous one that dismisses the subjective value in art, fiction and poetry in favour of more “tangible” and quantifiable skills. But the answer is not to abandon the old ways entirely. We need only to firmly remind ourselves that the humanities not only are economically valuable but that don’t even have to be!
It is no accident that humanities have always played a vital role in the modern university. From Plato’s academy to Oxbridge, education has not only been about learning skills but about cultivating character, understanding life and shaping culture. Transforming out of European Christian institutions, (which is where all the silly robes and hats come from) the modern university was built around the idea of Bildung. This idea basically means self-cultivation, maturity and a sense of learning that enriches wider society and helps one understand their place within it. Lene Rachel Andersen and Tomas Björkman describe it much more eloquently…
“Bildung is the way that the individual matures and takes upon him- or herself ever bigger personal responsibility towards family, friends, fellow citizens, society, humanity, our globe, and the global heritage of our species, while enjoying ever bigger personal, moral and existential freedoms. It is the enculturation and life-long learning that forces us to grow and change, it is existential and emotional depth, it is life-long interaction and struggles with new knowledge, culture, art, science, new perspectives, new people, and new truths, and it is being an active citizen in adulthood. Bildung is a constant process that never ends.”
Here it is less about passing exams and more about developing as a person - emotionally, spiritually, intellectually and morally. Its a concept that feels alienated and much-needed in contradistinction to the current model and its evolving form, however this is how universities started, with humanities at the very centre. Though it had many historical antecedents we owe our notion of modern academia to the Humboldtian model of higher education, or simply Humbolt’s ideal. Blossoming from the enlightenment, it firmly found its place in 1810 at the University of Berlin. The main values espoused were the ideas of striving to be a citizen of the world with individual autonomy, academic freedom and scientific reason, away from dogma. Whilst today we see a great ravine between humanities and STEM fields (not to mention some salty relationships), this idea advocates a marriage between the arts and sciences. While contemporary universities indulge in glorified job training, this notion looks to passion and learning for its own inherent value. This idea seems to have been diluted and eroded over time and is now often only recognisable in the humanities. Arguing for this last bastion of a holistic idea of education makes this very much a moral argument as much as a practical one. The clue is in the name - this is where people discover what it means to be human; something needed in today’s world.
The financial difficulties surrounding the humanities are by no means a novel or isolated problem of course. Universities all over are asking tough questions about their place in the modern world, especially given the current climate. In an effort to remain relevant they have commercialised and diversified to combat the increasing demand and market for vocational skills. Offering degrees in golf course management and customer service, they’ve banked on a gambit to compete with the increasing popularity of apprenticeships and training courses.
Job prospects and employability for people with history and literature degrees have always been somewhat niche. This is very different from saying they have no value. Aside from the immense undeniable personal value, there seems to be some confusion about the vocational nature of higher education. Many people seem to think that degrees are only valuable at a personal level. This is possibly because there needs to be a cultural shift whereby we normalise the value of pursuing knowledge for its own sake. Indeed, employers and graduates alike seem to believe that their degrees in creative writing or Arthurian myth have little value outside of their field. Perhaps, in some cases they are right…. This is due to the way that degrees are taught, with little emphasis on the wider implications and even applications of learning about famous military victories for instance, or how religions are structured. It is also indicative of a more general attitude - an erroneous one that dismisses the subjective value in art, fiction and poetry in favour of more “tangible” and quantifiable skills. But the answer is not to abandon the old ways entirely. We need only to firmly remind ourselves that the humanities not only are economically valuable but that don’t even have to be!
It is no accident that humanities have always played a vital role in the modern university. From Plato’s academy to Oxbridge, education has not only been about learning skills but about cultivating character, understanding life and shaping culture. Transforming out of European Christian institutions, (which is where all the silly robes and hats come from) the modern university was built around the idea of Bildung. This idea basically means self-cultivation, maturity and a sense of learning that enriches wider society and helps one understand their place within it. Lene Rachel Andersen and Tomas Björkman describe it much more eloquently…
“Bildung is the way that the individual matures and takes upon him- or herself ever bigger personal responsibility towards family, friends, fellow citizens, society, humanity, our globe, and the global heritage of our species, while enjoying ever bigger personal, moral and existential freedoms. It is the enculturation and life-long learning that forces us to grow and change, it is existential and emotional depth, it is life-long interaction and struggles with new knowledge, culture, art, science, new perspectives, new people, and new truths, and it is being an active citizen in adulthood. Bildung is a constant process that never ends.”
Here it is less about passing exams and more about developing as a person - emotionally, spiritually, intellectually and morally. Its a concept that feels alienated and much-needed in contradistinction to the current model and its evolving form, however this is how universities started, with humanities at the very centre. Though it had many historical antecedents we owe our notion of modern academia to the Humboldtian model of higher education, or simply Humbolt’s ideal. Blossoming from the enlightenment, it firmly found its place in 1810 at the University of Berlin. The main values espoused were the ideas of striving to be a citizen of the world with individual autonomy, academic freedom and scientific reason, away from dogma. Whilst today we see a great ravine between humanities and STEM fields (not to mention some salty relationships), this idea advocates a marriage between the arts and sciences. While contemporary universities indulge in glorified job training, this notion looks to passion and learning for its own inherent value. This idea seems to have been diluted and eroded over time and is now often only recognisable in the humanities. Arguing for this last bastion of a holistic idea of education makes this very much a moral argument as much as a practical one. The clue is in the name - this is where people discover what it means to be human; something needed in today’s world.
It seems we can’t help but perpetuate this narrative that all of our pursuits must be productive of capital to be considered worthy, whether it be socialising, reading, learning or even relaxing. In our spare time we feel ever-more guilty if we indulge in the “irresponsibility” of self-care and contentment. Many of our jobs now not only demand our time but our very personalities and soul also, tipping the previous work-life “balance” into moralistic chaos. And now, the very institutions that so value education seem to do so conditionally. Ironic, when one considers that a love of learning, intellectual curiosity and conversing with life’s big questions are priceless. “Only seek to understand the world so that your wallet grows fatter” ought to be the modern academic motto. The one place that should be a safe haven from this narrative and stand for something more pure and intrinsic is now driving the machine. It just might be worth considering that maybe we need less branding and more authentic experience.
Sadly, the boat that fixes this cultural issue may have already sailed. Yet, in the meantime we can do more to either make humanities employable or at the very least cost-effective. This can be done without ripping out huge chunks of what universities offer. If employability is the issue (and by extension a lack of applicants) then we can play the game on the market’s terms, so to speak. It's undeniable that subjects like history and philosophy have an incredible Impact on society and this should be capitalised on. Religion is a growing field and increasingly relevant topic and so its courses could be weighted to support engagement with current affairs. Philosophical questions are at the forefront of modern science and technology, advances in AI and topical legal issues and so graduates should come out with an understanding of these contemporary debates. Fiction is being explored in more interesting ways than ever and so there is room to equip creative writing graduates with knowledge of how to get published on the best platforms. There are valuable skills tied into humanities, on its own terms and those of rapidly expanding fields. If people refuse to believe this then at the very least we can make these subjects more rigorous and broad. Maybe we should be teaching more comprehensive and complete understandings of these subjects or combining them with “practical” skills beyond lazy research. Maybe it's an issue of redirecting funds? The answer to which could lie in the “Marxism” of those who often teach the humanities. Perhaps lowering the lecturer salaries and tuition fees of less-expensive degrees could provide an answer in attracting more prospective students. After all, why should a creative writing student pay the same as a chemistry student when the latter clearly costs more?
Just for the sake of balance I should say that I’m probably more sympathetic than most to the anti-academic sentiment. None of my family have ever been particularly convinced of the value of higher education, especially when it comes to a subject as “snobby” or “useless” as philosophy. Recalling my own experiences and those of my friends there were times where I would even agree with their remarks. I remember hearing stories of mere five-hour contact weeks at prestigious universities. Many of my fellow students and I have encountered pay strikes from lecturers that earn four times more than we ever will (and believing the minimum wage to be a “meagre” £10 an hour… if only mate!). My friend’s lecturer once took a sabbatical to study “the history of beards in medieval German literature” and gave poorly communicated lectures, stopping only to patronise students for not knowing the meaning of “meta-diagesis”. There is also the idea that a thesis be judged more on its novelty than quality and the absurdities of paying for the privilege to read some obscure journal article (literally locking away and taxing knowledge). With all this going on its no wonder that the cracks are beginning to show.
But as a student of philosophy I was also taught the value of engaging with the world, how self-reflection and dialogue can change attitudes and how ideas can be relevant to navigating modern life. It was from academia that I learned its very problems and subsequently the value of life and genuine, equal conversation. As paradoxical as it sounds, my lecturers impressed upon me that “real philosophy” was found outside of books, lectures and assignments and in the visceral reality of human experience. I guess what I’m saying is that I totally get it. However, that’s why the humanities need a reform, not removal.
We find ourselves the victims of a climate where engaging with ideas of literature and history is seen as a purposeless endeavour. We don’t solve that by contributing to it. If more universities like my own follow suit with this trend then the humanities will be pushed further and further into the hands of an elite few, jealously guarded as a privilege for the rich and only be accessible to Russell groups and Ivy Leagues. Thus, the already cancerous problem of insular gatekeeping, where subjects like philosophy exist only to create lecturers, would be cemented further. These subjects already have a reputation that they are the purview of a privileged and talented few. Seemingly, only boffins and toffs can enjoy understanding the world, the rest of us should be merely content to make money from it. To avoid the current insular pyramid scheme that seems to be in cycle humanities needs more investment, not less.
And what of the graduates who have left these institutions? Those alumni who, having gained such intellectual virtues and valuable insight into the history of ideas now look behind, scroll in hand, only to receive a sigh of regret and disdain. “I see your qualifications are interesting” their prospective employers say, “I didn’t think they gave those out any more!”. If the very institutions that award their graduates with these qualifications devalue and dismiss them then what chance do candidates have in trying to flog them or convincing themselves of their worth? Not to mention dismissing the hard work of those who have taught and continue to teach these subjects. If this trend continues then we end up further devaluing hard-earned accolades into archaic tokens of an apparently irrelevant passion.
Sacking off the humanities is not the answer to these problems; it isn't a viable option. In doing so, academic institutions are quite literally sacrificing the soul of a university; offering it up to the pyre of a commercialisation. This is too high a price to pay and too great a compromise that absurdly contributes to its own demise. Universities thus become the very problem that plagues them and brings us one step closer to cheapening not only knowledge and learning, but the value of the human experience itself.