To all my students in Humanities I, kindly copy the following.
The study of humanities is essential as the world shrinks due to the explosion of information technology. Those who master the humanities and can "walk a mile in someone else's moccasins" will be far more marketable than those who can't. Those people who master cross-cultural understanding will be more successful than those who don't.
But, that is only the shell of a humanities education. Humanities study brings us in contact with the best life has to offer - History, music, art, philosophy, and literature. It is the study and contact with these topics that enrich our existence. Moreover a solid grounding in the humanities tends to extend our consciousness making us better people. Whether politically conservative, liberal, or independent the study humanities leads you through the development of thought and catapults ones understanding of why things are the way they are.
Top Ten Reasons to Study Humanities
1. To develop your mental flexibility through the practice of the critical thinking skills of analysis and synthesis.
2. To improve your communication abilities through the development of reading, thinking, writing, and speaking skills.
3. To learn to integrate information, ideas, and opinions from a variety of sources and perspectives.
4. To gain a global perspective thorugh a knowledge of world cultures.
5. To increase your respect for cultural and individual differences through a knowledge of the achievements of world civilizations.
5. To experience the connection between culture and your own community through museum visits, concerts, theatre performances and the support of local artists.
6. To clarify your personal values through the analysis of multiple viewpoints in ambiguous moral situations, examining the process of valuing, and understanding the nature of moral decision making.
7. To increase your personal resources for wisdom and perseverance through a study of the many different ways people have handled difficult situations in history, literature, philosophy, mythology, and religion.
8. To come to know what is enduring by studying what humans have found valuable throughout time.
9. To have your spirit awakened and your love of learning inspired by encountering and joining the great minds and hearts of human history in the search for meaning.
