During his State of the Union Address, President Obama encouraged students to go to to college so that they would be prepared for a competitive job market. These were wise words, but a close listen to his message was disconcerting. He encouraged young people to go onto study engineering, math, and the sciences.
Each of these fields is interesting and lucrative, but what about all of those he missed? He excluded so many of the liberal arts, like English and philosophy, as well as the fine arts. This exclusion did not go unnoticed by students and patrons of the liberal and fine arts alike. These are the studies that shaped our society, and by discrediting them Mr. Obama is fostering a generation that will see the arts as impractical. To that I say, find me a job that doesn’t value someone who can write or speak eloquently. Find me a job that doesn’t value someone who can think critically, or has an understanding of the human condition. The arts foster these skills and leave a richer, more beautiful society in their wake.
If you ask an average person if they can imagine a world without art, their answer will undoubtedly be no. Without artists our buildings would crumble, our lives would be visually monotonous and, frankly, boring. Despite this, if you ask the average person if they would want their child to study art, their answer would probably be no. Somewhere along the line making the world a more beautiful place has become “impractical.” When choosing what to study in college students are encouraged to be “practical.” The ridiculousness of expecting an 18 year old to not only be “practical” but to also somehow know what they want to do with their lives aside, how is something like art, music, sociology, or anthropology impractical? The job market is tough. Hands on skills are important, but so is knowing where we as humans came from and using this knowledge to help encourage our movement in the right direction is crucial to our society continuing to function.
A list of English majors that went onto great success, both directly related to English and otherwise, was featured in a recent article by The Huffington Post. The list included Mitt Romney, Barbara Walters, and Stephen King. According to Mark Edmundson, “Becoming an English major means pursuing the most important subject of all — being a human being.” This can easily be extended to anyone that devotes their lives to the arts and humanities. When the humanities were rediscovered during the Renaissance, the self-aware society that we have come to know, love, and (sadly) take for granted, was born. If suddenly these disciplines were to disappear, a bleak, ugly society would be left in its wake.
The pieces above were created by Amanda Bentley, a sophomore Fine Arts major. An interview with her regarding her choice to major in art, as well as her answer to the far too frequently asked question, “so, what are you going to do with that?” can be found below.
Obsessive Compulsive Undergrad 