Top Ten Reasons to Study Humanities
by Roberta J. Vandermast,
Professor of Humanities, Valencia Community College, Orlando, Florida
10.To develop your mental flexibility through the practice of the critical
thinking skills of analysis and synthesis.
9. To improve your communication abilities through the development of
reading, thinking, writing, and speaking skills.
8. To learn to integrate information, ideas, and opinions from a variety
of sources and perspectives.
7. To gain a global perspective through a knowledge of world cultures.
6. 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.
4. 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.
3. 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.
2. To come to know what is enduring by studying what humans have
found valuable throughout time.
1. 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.
*from Innovative Abstracts, January 25, 2002, Vol. XXIV, No. 2