faculty focus
HASS for the future
As universities cut humanities budgets, professors emphasise the need for these skills in a changing world. By Antonia Maiolo
Continued reductions in funding could harm the future of humanities, arts and social science disciplines, a leading HASS academic says.
University of Queensland cultural studies professor Graeme Turner says there has been a gradual disinvestment in humanities and social sciences over the years, potentially hindering the capacity of the field to continue expanding.
“ This reflects the fact that most universities see more money in biomedical and engineering research, so they have tended to put their efforts behind that,” Turner says.
In light of these challenges, Turner is leading a major study – Mapping the Humanities and Social Sciences in Australia – to examine the health and capacities of these disciplines by identifying strengths and weaknesses.
The research is being undertaken by the Australian Academy of the Humanities and the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.
Turner says it aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the field to inform decisions by policy-makers, institutions and the research community.
The president of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, professor Lesley Johnson, expressed the importance of the project, saying the absence of hard data regarding the state of HASS is a major impediment to strategic planning for disciplines, institutions and policy-makers.
“ We are aware of the cutbacks and restructures of humanities and social science faculties over the last 10 years, but we currently have no longitudinal data that presents a clear picture of the sector,” Johnson says.
Turner explains that it’ s becoming increasingly difficult to attract and retain talented young staff, given a decline in the number of available jobs. And another problem is that the market tends to downgrade the skills HASS graduates gain because they aren’ t directed towards a specific career.
But the skills needed in the future are those that the humanities provide, including critical thinking, communication, analytical skills, and an awareness of the lessons of history, Turner says.
“ Capacity in important humanities disciplines is one area where the market has not provided what the nation needs,” he says.“ When you look at the spread of humanities graduates right across employment areas, you can see just how valuable it is.”
There is a need to re-state the view that humanities education is intrinsically valuable for various reasons, not simply because it might lead to a specific vocational outcome, Turner says, adding that HASS graduates acquire important generic skills that equip them for a wide range of careers without limiting them to just one.
It is now widely recognised that most future social issues require more than technological or scientific solutions,“ Even dealing with climate change will require a change in culture,” Turner says.
Professor Deborah Terry, president of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, agrees that HASS graduates constitute a significant component of Australia’ s workforce,“ contributing both generic and specialist skills to supporting national productivity”.
In a recent opinion piece,“ Lessons from the humanities and social sciences”, published in The Washington Post, the presidents of Stanford University and the University of Michigan say that most successful careers require social and emotional intelligence, cultural understanding, a capacity for strategic decision-making and a global perspective, which the humanities seek to develop.
“ Success in life requires a sensibility about the world and one’ s place in it that the humanities seek to cultivate, as well as an understanding of economic and societal context that the social sciences provide,” the article states.
Turner agrees.“ An education in the humanities does far more than equip a person for employment,” he says. n
24 | campusreview. com. au