In this column, Nicholas Golberg makes a strong case for the Humanities. No matter what students major in, they need structured exposure to literature, language, and social sciences, to name a few disciplines. And enough need to major in these in order to teach others.
Had it not been for my interest and abilities in world languages, I might have been an English major, perhaps a Journalism major. I wanted to learn another language well enough to read, speak, think, and dream in it. At Penn State, I majored in German and did graduate studies at UC Berkeley and UC-Irvine (where I earned a Master's) and studied for an additional year before starting seminary.
A dozen years after my B.A, I was taking courses in English and Social Studies (also Education), to be certified in New Mexico as a teacher. By then I was also married. What took me so long? That's for another post.
Back to the Goldberg column: my academic strengths are in the Humanities. I smiled at the "dilettante student of German literature." I knew one, and maybe some thought I was. But I do not have the scientific or mathematical smarts. Maybe I could have been a business major; advertising interested me somewhat. I briefly considered going into Labor Relations. My interest in law school waned when I was at Penn State.
Goldberg talks about Logistics as a major. Companies want people who can get a product from point A to point B. However, does that need to be an academic major? Not really.
The thrust of the column is that without critical thinking skills learned in the Humanities, people will not read or think for themselves. They will be more susceptible to misinformation from both ends of the political spectrum. When blindly swallow anything that we are told, democracy and civilization are in danger.
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