In a recent conversation I had with V.T. Rajshekar, the Editor of Dalit Voice, he lamented the lack of interest, on the part of Indian students, media, and even the larger society, in the humanities and social science disciplines that deal with human beings, their ideas, values, and their social worlds.
My first response was “yes, but…” No doubt, in recent times, the humanities and social sciences have been downplayed to give way to the more applied/practical, and some might say “money- making” disciplines and enterprises. Medicine and Engineering. the conventional career choices, have always been the professions of choice for many Indians I know.
CRAZE FOR I.T
And in recent years, the growth in jobs in the Information Technology (IT) sector has fueled interest in employment in that very practical and applied field. In IT jobs, knowledge is often applied, and in that sense the work is concrete and practical. Besides, these professions pay quite well.
Don’t get me wrong. A well- paying job is very important. And, medicine, engineering, and IT jobs are quite lucrative. These jobs are also very necessary for society. The professional schools offer the much needed hands-on-training in the applied crafts. But, are we turning out to be a bunch of “Technocrats”? How about abstract ideas, critical thinking, problem-solving aptitude? What about the ability to wrestle with the difficult social issues of the day, with the intangible world of ideas and values, to appreciate literature, to write and communicate effectively. to teach, and to be of service to others?
WHO CAUSED FINANCIAL CRISIS
We need practitioners but also people who are comfortable with abstract ideas, with ambiguity, with the creative process, with focusing on issues of justice. For if there are no new ideas, no abstract concepts and no theoretical knowledge, what will we apply?
If the current economic recession is any indicator, focus on only the practice without concern for ideas and for other human beings can have brutal consequences.
Fortunately, I believe this is a cyclical process. Interests rise and interests wane, reflecting larger societal movements. For example, sociology in the US (my specialization) was quite popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s when the country was experiencing massive social movements like the civil rights movements. However, in the 1980s, Sociology academic departments saw a decline in enrollments. Parents would often ask faculty “why should my child major in Sociology or for that matter in History or English literature? What will they do with these degrees? Will they be able to find jobs when they graduate? Do these fields pay well? How will they survive?”
SPURT IN AMERICAN INTEREST
It is only recently that my academic department and others have seen a resurgence in the interest in Sociology, in other social sciences, and in the humanities fields. In fact, students are going further than the generations. previous They are combining their interest in the practical crafts with more abstract fields like sociology, anthropology. history, and literature. They are double and triple specializing.
Thus, while there is a growing interest in the abstract fields, the youth are also being quite practical. And this time they are doing it with a difference. They are combining both. They are not simply returning to the old ways, but are finding interesting new combinations with a healthy balance. Now, isn’t that progress? That gives me hope for the future.
