Liberal Arts and Sciences are Just as Important as STEM Fields

Gerald Greenberg, associate professor of Russian and linguistics, was interviewed by NPR’s 1A Program for the story “In Defense of Liberal Arts.”

The strength of a Bachelor’s Degree has made some adjustments over the years. Before, it was that all Bachelor’s Degrees were equal no matter what the student majored in. However, now it is different, degrees are no longer created equal.

Having a strong interest in Liberal Arts and Science, Greenberg says that Liberal Arts and Sciences create an atmosphere that crosses boundaries from one field into another. “The humanities are an integral part of liberal arts education, as are the social sciences and the natural sciences and the point is that when you have a liberal arts education you’re looking at different fields from different angles. Sometimes the same fields from different angles and the point is that you get to integrate what you’re learning from different fields to figure out how things apply in different areas that you may not have seen if you hadn’t had the other experience. And that’s sort of the issue with the humanities. I think, they have an image problem these days in this world of instant gratification,” he states.

Greenberg notes, “You really have to dig in to study things when you’re studying the humanities, it’s hard.” “It takes a lot of work and analysis and reflection to figure out what’s important, how to deal with what’s important and how that affects people that may be involve–I think that’s part of the problem,” he adds.