Higher education across the world has, of late, been witnessing a significant shift toward disciplines such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). These disciplines foster technical knowledge and analytical skills and are much sought after because they are considered job-oriented. Modern universities, driven by global economic uncertainties and market forces, and seeking external funding and research grants, seem to be under pressure to prioritise programmes based on these disciplines. Besides, elite private universities, eager to justify exorbitant tuition fees, offer state-of- the-art courses aligned with the STEM trend.
It is unfortunate that the excessive patronage extended to such new-generation programmes is at the expense of the Humanities, which includes subjects such as history, philosophy, language and literature. There has been a systematic and organised attempt to marginalise and deprioritise such academic disciplines. Such discrimination is evident in the slashing of departmental funding and downsizing of the faculty — developments that inevitably lead to declining student enrolment, programme termination, and, ultimately, the closure of entire departments.
The Humanities engage with human culture, history, and experience through critical and interpretive enquiry. They explore human values, expressions, and societies to deepen our understanding of what it means to be human. Studying the Humanities develops critical thinking, cultural awareness, empathy, ethical intelligence, and strong communication skills, shaping learners into well-rounded individuals. Endowed with historical perspective, moral sensibility, and creativity, such individuals stand ready to bring qualitative changes to social life.
Though these attributes may not always ensure lucrative jobs, unemployment is not particularly widespread among Humanities graduates. Their versatility, general awareness, leadership qualities, and flair for languages are indeed marketable. They have the potential to become great teachers who can mould the minds of millions; statesmen who think about the next generation and not just the next election; intellectuals who raise the level of public discourse; and social activists driven by justice, equality, and democratic values.
The decline and devaluation of the humanities and the shrinking space they occupy on university campuses does not augur well for social harmony and peace. The trend reflects a moral ambivalence and cultural degeneration, often camouflaged by the ostentatious display of material prosperity.
The diminishing role assigned to disciplines other than science, technology and business studies can undermine the cause of social justice and bring about cultural disintegration and moral corruption. It might spawn a generation that is too positivist and desensitised. A system that focuses solely on the creation of a knowledge economy would produce enormous wealth but promotes endless mass consumption, an outcome of a commercialised education system.
A better understanding of the complementarity of science and the Humanities is essential for a functional and progressive society. A convergence of the head and the heart, intellect and emotion, what Matthew Arnold called “sweetness and light” would be the panacea for a wounded civilisation. Scientific temper blended with creativity is essential for the modern man.
In this context, it might not be out of place to recall the insightful observations made by Jawaharlal Nehru, the visionary leader of India, on the need to combine scientific temper with the emancipatory potential of the Humanities. According to Nehru, a university must stand for humanism, tolerance, reason, adventure of ideas, and the quest for truth. He visualised the harmonious coexistence of the Humanities and science and technology on Indian campuses. He believed that critical thinking, humanism and social responsibility would humanise technology.
Herbert Marcuse, the German-American social critic and political theorist of the ‘Frankfurt School’, posited that denial of the study of Humanities and the broader philosophical capacity for critical thinking, contributes significantly to the creation of the “one-dimensional man”, who seldom questions the status quo and always accepts the dominant social order.
Modern society, propelled by technological rationality and consumerism, focuses on what is immediately useful. The prevailing education system that dispenses with critical thinking will promote a utilitarian culture that produces individuals who are unable to recognise their own alienation or challenge the social control under which they are reduced to blissful slaves.
Scientists seek to unravel the mysteries of the physical universe. But empathy, emotional intelligence and intuition nurtured by the Humanities are needed to know the inner universe, to strike a chord with the “still sad music of humanity” and to probe the possibility of a more fulfilling existence on this planet.
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