Liberal Arts Advocacy


Welcome!

This page explains the liberal arts and provides advocacy resources.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIBERAL ARTS ADVOCACY RESOURCES
•  Advocacy Organizations
•  Employment Outcomes for Liberal Arts & Humanities Students
•  Department-Specific Advocacy Resources
•  Articles
•  Videos & Podcasts

LIBERAL ARTS: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
•  What are Liberal Arts?
•  Are Liberal Arts “Liberal?”
•  What is Not Liberal Arts?
•  What is the Difference Between Liberal Arts & the Humanities?
•  What is a Liberal Arts College?
•  Why do Liberal Arts Matter?_______________________________________________________________________________

LIBERAL ARTS ADVOCACY RESOURCES

Advocacy Organizations

4Humanities 
•  Voices for the Humanities
•  Advocacy statements and campaigns
•  Issues in the Humanities
•  Infographics

American Academy of Arts & Sciences
•  Arts & Humanities

American Association of Colleges & Universities
•  What is Liberal Education?

American Council of Learned Societies
•  ACLS Advocacy in Action

National Endowment of Humanities (NEH) for All
•  Resources page with printable PDFs/info pages

National Humanities Center
•  Humanities in Class: Resources for Educators

National Humanities Alliance
•  Community case studies to illustrate the positive impact of the humanities
•  Strategies for Recruiting Students to the Humanities

Phi Beta Kappa
•  Liberal Arts Advocacy Toolkit

Study the Humanities
•  Toolkit
 

Employment Outcomes for Liberal Arts & Humanities Students

How Liberal Arts and Sciences Majors Fare in Employment:
A Report on Earnings and Long-Term Career Paths (AACU)
 

Humanities Indicators: State of the Humanities 2022,
From Graduate Education to the Workforce (AMACAD)

Humanities Majors Find Lucrative Careers

The Humanities Matter
Infographic demonstrating that humanities skills are in high demand
 

Department-Specific Advocacy Resources

Advocacy Resources for Art

History, Philosophy, and other department-specific recruiting strategies

Advocating for the Humanities—American Philosophical Association (APA)

Resources for English Departments and World Languages Departments
 

Articles (News, Essays, Advice, Opinions, Briefs)

Liberal Arts is the Foundation for Professional Success in the 21st Century (August 2017)

Employers Rate Career Competencies, New Hire Proficiency (National Association
of Colleges and Employers, December 2021)

Job Outlook: The Attributes Employers Want to See on New College Graduates’ Resumes
(National Association of Colleges and Employers, 2018)

Liberal Arts in the Data Age (August 2017)

“Stop Repeating Age-old Stigmas: Careers in the Arts and Humanities are Plentiful
and They Pay”
(Christine Henseler)

How will the rise of AI in the workplace impact liberal arts education?
(Daniel McLean, July 9 2024)

Have Americans Actually Lost Faith in Higher Education? (Blake, J., 2022)
 

Videos & Podcasts

Vision Podcast with Dr. Christopher Snyder, Dean of Mississippi State Shackouls
Honor College.
Discusses his research and the importance of liberal arts education.

What is a liberal arts degree & what can you do with it?

The Liberal Arts and the Making of T-Shaped People  
Gives strong examples of the difference liberal arts make in our world.

“Liberal Arts Education and the 21st Century”
(Carol Johnson, TEDxCentralArizonaCollege)

“Putting Liberal Education in Perspective
(Ria Mirchandani at TEDxBrownUniversity)

The Liberal Arts Influence” (Jillian Stevens, TEDxVCU)

“The Power of a Liberal Arts Degree” (Gonzaga College of Arts and Sciences)

Steve Jobs: Technology & Liberal Arts

Jason Patel—Top Benefits of a Liberal Arts Degree: The Ultimate Guide!

Vision Podcast Mississippi State University Dept. Chair Robert West discusses the importance of a liberal arts education (Jul 24, 2024)

The Return to the Humanities in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (Lindsey McInerney, TEDxAthens)

_______________________________________________________________________________

LIBERAL ARTS: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q1. What are liberal arts?
    Liberal arts include four areas:  1) sciences; 2) social sciences; 3) arts; and 4) humanities. Thus, biology is a liberal arts major—and so are majors such as economics, psychology, and computer science (Emory University, n.d.). Examples of liberal arts courses include:

  • Math and science: Biology, chemistry, geography, math, physics, statistics, earth sciences, etc.
  • Social sciences: Economics, anthropology, political science, psychology, linguistics, etc.
  • Humanities and the arts: History, philosophy, English literature, art, theatre, dance, etc.

Q2. Are liberal arts “liberal”?
     Liberal arts do not imply this education is liberal regarding f the political spectrum. In fact, the term “liberal arts” comes from the Latin words “liber” (meaning free), and artes (“subjects of study”) (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). Classical Greek and Roman philosophers identified two types of education: the liberal arts and servile arts (also referred to as the mechanical arts). Servile arts prepared students for employment in trade fields such as agriculture, blacksmithing, and masonry (Reed, 2022).
    In contrast, liberal arts meant a well-rounded education—the study of math, science, and the arts. This liberal arts education was thought to produce well-informed citizens who could think broadly, understand society, and solve problems. Plato and other classical philosophers viewed seven specific liberal art areas as critical for the well-educated citizen. These seven areas included grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, astronomy, music, and geometry (Wilson, 2022).
    Deriving from that classical heritage, liberal arts serve as the foundation of today’s universities and colleges. Many may recall the Gen Ed (general education) classes they took as an undergraduate in college, such as biology, statistics, anthropology, economics, political science—classes not directly related to our majors. If you took those type of classes in college, you received a liberal arts education. These Gen Ed classes are the hallmark of a liberal arts education, designed to create informed, well-rounded citizens with strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Q3. What is not liberal arts?
    Professional studies, vocational studies, and religious studies are not considered liberal arts.

  • Professional studies include career-oriented fields such as accounting, finance, human resources, engineering, counseling, law, dentistry, nursing, etc.
  • Vocational and technical studies are also not considered liberal arts (for example, data processing, refrigeration repair).
  • Religious training such as ministry or pastoral counseling are also not considered liberal arts. However, religious studies are considered liberal arts.

Q4. What is the difference between liberal arts & the humanities?
    Humanities are a distinct subset of the liberal arts.  Humanities includes art, literature, history, and philosophy. Liberal arts include the humanities, and also includes the sciences, mathematics, and the social sciences.  

Q5. What is a liberal arts college?
    Typically, a liberal arts college is a small undergraduate institution that focuses on providing a well-rounded education. These colleges focus on honing students’ problem-solving and critical thinking skills. They usually do not offer professional programs for specific trades, such as nursing or engineering. Learn More  

Q6. Why do liberal arts matter?
    If we eliminate the liberal arts, we are left with more narrowly-focused professional training only. Though that may work well for some students, many students benefit from and desire a more well-rounded education that teaches them to think well and solve a broader array of problems. As Emory University explains it, “A liberal arts education is the study of academic areas including science, social science, languages, the arts, history, philosophy, literature, and math. It’s not technical training for a single field. Rather it’s an intellectual grounding in many fields” (Emory University, n.d.).  
    Whether a student wishes to be a physicist, lawyer, banker, or anthropologist, a liberal arts education provides the foundation for their success. “A key thing to remember about the liberal arts: it’s not what you study—economics vs. English vs. physics—it's the result,” notes Emory University. “Liberal arts teaches (a student) to be an excellent verbal and written communicator, to think critically, and to be a pro-active problem solver.” Furthermore, employers prize liberal arts graduates because they “see the big picture, find innovative solutions to thorny problems, and relate well to people” in the career of their choice” (Emory University, n.d.).  
 
References for FAQs

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