Inessentials: The Blog

“In Tough Times, the Humanities Must Justify Their Worth”

That’s the headline from an article in yesterday’s New York Times. Reading those words makes my skin crawl.

Starting salary for a college professor in the humanities is somewhere around $45,000. Alex Rodriguez earned $28,000,000 last year to play baseball, and I need to justify the existence of what I do? Charles Prince, former Citigroup CEO took $10,400,000 in bonuses last year (in addition to his seven-digit salary), the same year he resigned for mismanagement, and I need to justify the existence of what I do?

Even if we forego all the arguments about how the humanities contribute to a life well lived, the progress of civilization, the important exploration of all things aesthetic, ethical, human … If we leave all that aside and just talk about what humanities professors are worth as educators, the idea that I have to justify the worth of someone who earns .16% of Alex Rodriguez’s salary is absolutely ridiculous. Times are extremely hard when it comes to finding a job teaching in the humanities, as the article briefly points out. Why the nation’s premier newspaper would harp on the existence of a profession so badly hit by the economy yet so in demand by the students paying tuition is absolutely mind-boggling. (In case you were wondering, this is why people become Marxists.)

[For the record, the article that follows this headline doesn't make much sense. For instance, it begins with the catchy idea that whatever America needs now, it sure won't find it in the humanities. There's no reason given for this claim, other than that there is an increased urgency to ask this question "in a complex and technologically demanding world." Now, one might think that in a complex world, "the critical thinking, civic and historical knowledge and ethical reasoning that the humanities develop" which the author praises in the humanities would be a useful thing, so useful that their instrumental worth is obvious. Just not obvious to a journalist, apparently. Then the journalist consults a law professor and two administrator in asking the question of what justifies the existence of the humanities, and talks to two professors in the humanities about enrollment figures. Let me humbly suggest that those questions were asked to the wrong individuals.]