The State of the Humanities and Liberal Education

In February, the Modern Language Association (MLA) released a report on the relationship between majoring in English or a foreign language and pursuing a liberal arts education. Some of the statements in the report reaffirm the core values of the humanities while linking them to current issues that affect corporate America, such as globalization and technological progress:

The group concluded that the arts of language and the tools of literacy are key
qualifications for full participation in the social, political, economic, literary, and cultural
life of the twenty-first century. It affirmed the centrality of literature and reading to
undergraduate education. Interpretation, translation, and cross-cultural communication
are essential in today’s world. To meet the demands of technological innovation,
globalized societies, and the explosion of disciplinary knowledge, we recommend four
basic elements in the baccalaureate degree program in English and other languages: a
coherent program of study, collaborative teamwork among faculty members,
interdepartmental cooperative teaching, and the adoption of outcome measurements.

Over half of the report entails figures that chart the declining numbers of students graduating with bachelor's degrees in English or modern languages over the past several decades as well as statistics showing how many students go on to pursue and achieve graduate degrees in MLA fields. The writers of the report also make side comments about the importance of non-tenure-stream faculty in collaborating with tenure-track faculty on developing curriculum at the general education level as well as making sure the disciplines of English and modern languages provide adequate preparation for both the workforce as well as graduate study.

This is just one report of many commissioned by the Teagle Foundation, a philanthropic initiative that focuses on liberal education. On the organization's Web site, several disciplines provided similar assessments and recommendations "On the Relationship between the Disciplines and Undergraduate Liberal Education," including religion, economics, biochemistry and molecular biology, and history. In fact, the Resources section of the Teagle Foundation's site is packed with reports and essays on the state of liberal education in the U.S. that are of interest.

Finally, Chris Hedges' op-ed piece "Higher Education Gone Wrong: Universities Are Turning into Corporate Drone Factories" links the decline of the humanities with the swelling of corporate ranks by undergraduates whose lack of liberal education causes, reinforces, and condones moral nihilism. Unlike some of reports to the Teagle Foundation, then, the valorization of humanities disciplines focuses not so much on the practical, professional training it can provide to those undergraduates who are seeking to enter the workforce upon receiving their diplomas. Rather, the value of the humanities lies in its capacity to inspire and encourage careful critical thinking, questioning, and thus resistance against dangerous structures of power and the amelioration of our nation's current ethical climate--ideas inculcated by such thinkers as Adorno, Kant, and yes, even our beloved Newman.