Informal Writing #7
The
following debate on the topic of “Whether the Humanities should be a
requirement for all college students” took place on October 24th,
2013. The debate took place between Gordon Hunter, director of the Trowbridge
initiative in the American cultures at the University of Illinois and the
editor of American Literary History, and Belinda Parmer, founder of the social
enterprise “Little Miss Geek”. Hunter was on the side for the Humanities to be
taught at public universities while Parmer was on the side against.
Opening Statement:
Hunter: A democracy can only be as energetic as the mind of its
citizens. The questions fundamental to the humanities are also fundamental to a
thoughtful life. What is good, what is beauty, do we need God? What is to
become of a culture when public universities are deprived of these very things
that make up the fundamental pillars of our society. Are private institutions
and the elite, going to be the only institutions that are allowed to experience
the cultivation of imagination?
Rebuttal:
Parmer: In theory, that is all good and well but lets look at this
from a realistic standpoint. I personally got a degree in French and Spanish.
With that degree I went to my first job interview, they say I had a degree in
both those languages and they asked me “what else can you do?” At that moment
it dawned on me that the humanities can be useful in theory, but they really
are not going to give you a skill set that will be useful in a job like a
technical major.
Question: With money being a
current hold back on many universities and their motivation on whether or not
to keep Humanities programs, what do you have to say to sway them either for or
against?
Parmer: I would say that studying the humanities is a waste in our
current economic situation. In an age where learning code impacts the world in
a far greater way than learning literature, we must put our focus on the
technical studies. If that means that humanities must be dropped in order to
provide proper funding, so be it
Rebuttal:
Hunter: We cannot give up on the humanities and continue a watered
down curriculum in order to provide for undergraduate seats. We must set out
our priorities and recognize that with the humanities, comes a higher developed
mind capable of learning.
Closing Statement:
Parmer: I feel into the gender-induced stereotype of following a
career into the humanities. Not realizing that that top three paying jobs for
females are all in the technical field. Now, I have a 5 year old daughter, I
will not let her blindly fall into the gender stereotypes that I did. I want
her to embrace the fact
that a science or technical degree will not limit her creativity but expand it
and broaden her horizons far more than my arts background could.
Hunter: We cannot allow for a articulately stale curriculum based
on what some call necessity, to override our need for a greater and more
expanding learning in the field of the humanities. The humanities have always
been apart of our culture and giving up on them at public universities is one
step closer to giving up on them in our society.
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