Advantages of a liberal arts education in today's technologically advanced world

As we try to navigate through one of the most challenging times in our lives, with the assistance of technology its limits to replace the human interface are exposed. This situation offers an opportunity to look at the relevance and advantages of liberal arts education, with the cardinal feature of retaining the element of empathy for community and strangers when we are witnessing compassion fatigue. As prominent American political theorist Wendy Brown has highlighted in her work – Undoing the demos: neoliberalism’s stealth revolution – the shift in education, from being a public good to self-investment or investment in human capital for self. In addition to offering opportunities for recognition and a middle-class life, liberal arts education offers hope to reinvest our emotions and efforts in solidarity with fellow citizens and people across the world in COVID-19 driven times.

The other fields of education like engineering, medicine, law, information communication technology (ICT) or other professions that depend upon technology-driven management information systems (MIS) which can lead to entry into the upper-middle class, or continue one’s membership in it carried forward from family, are now looking up to liberal arts graduates to connect the technology with us. Liberals arts graduates bring the element of emotions, individual differences to approach and access to technology. These are a few reasons that are driving IT giants like Google, Facebook, Twitter and others to recruit liberal arts graduates trained in qualitative and quantitative research capacities to serve as the glue between technology and human beings.

Liberal arts education offers a historic opportunity to young people that have witnessed the emotionally draining pandemic. Higher education in general, and liberal arts education in particular, offered social mobility and middle-class life to people after the Second World War. In addition to these advantages, a liberal arts education can equip one to assist organizations and societies to reduce, if not eliminate, emotional detachment in the technology-driven human interface. It will permit liberal arts education to establish itself as a catalyst to forge solidarity in the society in addition to advancing one’s life. Moreover, liberal arts education also supplements the gap of human element that was missing in GDP growth and technology-driven development endorsed across the world after the Second World War.

Liberals arts graduates bring the element of emotions, individual differences to approach and access to technology. These are a few reasons that are driving IT giants like Google, Facebook, Twitter and others to recruit liberal arts graduates trained in qualitative and quantitative research capacities. to serve as the glue between technology and human beings.

Committing to liberal arts education may make one feel that one is settling for second-best by not opting for engineering or other technology-driven professions, but as we try to revive ourselves after the pandemic, liberal arts education will make one forge opportunities with market, government organizations and community initiatives. Prominent British Sociologist Anthony Giddens argued for the Third wave – a collaboration of state, market and people to overcome the market failure. I would say that liberal arts education has the potential, not only to lead a good individual life, but also to help communities and private organizations revive and prosper in collaboration with state and community organizations. So returning to one of the primary concerns of education in our times – return on investment – committing to a liberal arts education not only offers economic opportunities but also recognition and the satisfaction of relating with the lives of others.

The genesis of liberal arts education was based on the principles of intellectual autonomy and freedom. These principles came under attack when families started to pressurize their grown children to take up lucrative professions like engineering, law, medicine and business education, based purely on the economic return logic. However, the pandemic has given us first-hand experience, to reflect and factor in the issues of solidarity and helping others. Thus, economic prosperity with shared solidarity should be a good combination to look forward to, for having a satisfying professional life in the times to come. The decision to pursue liberal arts education is no more an individual choice, given our lived experiences in past 16 months than can be considered from being devastating and historic, to a crisis. The decision is about your choice to relate with fellow human beings and work as a bridge to connect the lives of people, with technology with a human touch.

About the author

Dr Brijesh Tripathi is an Assistant Professor at NMIMS Jyoti Dalal School of Liberal Arts, Mumbai 

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha