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 thorugh 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 differenct 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