Why Do We Need the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences?

Higher education is damned if it does and damned if it doesn’t. I’m annoyed—really, really, really annoyed—by critics who decide which disciplines matter, and which are supposedly foundational to society’s prosperity. I am also prepared to annoy you with a lot of rock and stone idioms to prove my point. My question is simple: Do people prefer rocks over higher education?

The areas and majors called to be deep-sixed by critics often include:

Fine and Performing Arts

• Visual arts
• Theater
• Music
• Dance

Humanities

• Art history
• Classical studies
• Cultural studies
• Communication studies and rhetoric
• History
• Language and linguistics
• Literature
• Musicology
• Philosophy
• Religious studies

Social Sciences

• Anthropology
• Archaeology
• Criminology/criminal justice
• Geography
• Psychology
• Sociology          

The fine and performing arts, humanities, and social sciences aren’t piffies on a rock cake. They are the bedrock of a civil and healthy society. They explain where we came from, who we are and how to act and be. They help us communicate, make sense of the world and create wonder, hope and beauty. Our quality of life is made possible by people devoted to these disciplines. Science and business are not the only pebbles on the beach.

Let’s talk about a world without the fine and performing arts, the humanities, and social sciences. Take a moment to wonder:

Imagine being naked, sitting on a rock and staring into space all day, every day. If you stop educating artists (painters, sculptors, glass artists, ceramicists, photographers, jewelers, et al.), designers (graphic, fashion, furniture, et al.) and writers, you might as well say goodbye to your MCM decor, Tuckernuck office attire, Lululemon leisure wear, Gucci flip-flops, tassel jewelry, L.L. Bean boat and totes, ghostwritten books by Sarah Palin or Carly Fiorina, a stemless glass filled with a fine chardonnay, and Ford trucks.

All of the items listed (and more) required the vision, expertise and work of people who studied this stuff in college. Take a good look around—every material object you live with was created by people who likely majored in art, design or literature. You want these objects, but you have no idea how they are created. Either way, people in glass houses (designed by someone who went to college to study architecture) shouldn’t throw rocks.

Would you prefer to listen to rocks banging together? Or do you wish to listen to music by Sly and the Family Stone, the Rolling Stones, Stone Temple Pilots or Kid Rock on Spotify, created, produced and engineered by trained musicians and technicians? Do you wish to give up watching movies, concerts, plays, dance performances and television shows? Would you miss movies like Rocky, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, School of Rock or The Sword in the Stone? Well, you’ll have to give it all up if we stop training professional musicians, actors, dancers, lighting and sound designers, editors, screenwriters, scenographers, photographers, cinematographers, filmmakers, directors, choreographers, and the rest it takes to entertain you and connect you with the past, present and future. Are you ready to live without joy in a world that sounds like a rock tumbler?

Would you prefer to hit your head with a rock when life becomes challenging, leaving you desperate, hopeless and unable to cope? Or would you rather seek the support of a psychologist or minister to help you navigate death, divorce, trauma, tragedy or the stress of illness? Would you rather seek the guidance of a social worker to help manage long-term care for a loved one, adopt a child, find support for a disabled child or navigate Social Security and other governmental programs? The professions supporting people in their darkest days are trained by colleges and universities. Do you really have a heart of stone and believe these majors in the social sciences and humanities lack importance in people’s lives?

Do you wish to live under a rock? Would you really enjoy being dumber than a rock about the world beyond what you do for a living? Do you really want to be the person who doesn’t know the difference between Plymouth Rock, the Rock of Gibraltar, Stonehenge and the Rosetta Stone (archaeology and anthropology)? Literally, no one would want to talk to you, and no one would knowingly invite you anywhere. Let me clue you in: You do know that The Big Bang Theory is a comedy and everyone makes fun of Sheldon Cooper because he is incredibly one-dimensional, right? I have so many questions for people doubting higher education’s offerings.

Here are some more questions: Would you want legal representation by someone who doesn’t understand the importance of precedents (history)? Who cannot craft persuasive logical arguments and write responses to opposing counsel, conduct depositions and defend you effectively in court (classical studies, rhetoric, philosophy, languages)? Would you want an attorney who doesn’t follow the ABA Code of Professional Responsibility (philosophy, in particular, ethics) that protects clients, the judicial system and the public? I think not. I guarantee you’d shit a brick if your attorney didn’t keep confidentiality, had a conflict of interest or had been disbarred for illegal behavior.

Is throwing rocks your preferred means of communication? Are you a horny teenager throwing rocks at a window in the middle of the night to lure a crush into an amorous rendezvous so you can get your rocks off? Or do you conduct yourself like an adult, respectfully engaging potential partners as a whole person (women’s, gender, cultural studies)? Are you from the Stone Age, believing people who are different from you are less human and inferior? Or do you believe in democracy where all people are equal and have freedom and agency (women’s, gender, and cultural studies)? Don’t cast the first stone.

Higher education is on the rocks because ignorance has been captaining the boat. Undervaluing the arts, humanities and social sciences leads to ruin, adrift and helpless, facing certain death without intervention. The future doesn’t need to be carved in stone. Leave no stone unturned.