What is Arts and Humanities? Defying Stigmas and Affirming their Essence

Unraveling Metaphors: The Undervalued Significance of the Humanities and Their Place in Society

Many would find Martha Nell Smith’s piece, “The Humanities Are Not a Luxury: A Manifesto for the Twenty-first Century,” to be a very engaging read because she argues that the humanities identify and express the journeys and vicissitudes that we, as humans, face in our lives. Smith clarifies that all of the arts and humanities are included when she mentions the humanities. In her introduction, Martha Nell Smith shares her declaration of the manifesto when she compares her idea of humanities to Audre Lorde’s idea of poetry: “They are not luxuries, they are a “vital part to our existence,” (48).

Smith also mentions that her manifesto should have been subtitled “mind your metaphors,” (48). This is the problem Smith finds; our language and our metaphors have been twisted to fit the narratives of our politicians and companies in their advertisements. Martha Nell Smith uses sources such as famous poets Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson to support her claims, as well as evidence to dispel myths surrounding majoring in the humanities. She includes a plan of action that consists of five recommendations, as well as implicitly asking the question: “After all the information I have discussed, why is there still such a stigma about the humanities and the people majoring in them?”

Martha Nell Smith made it obvious what her point was in the very first sentence of the article. The arts and humanities are the centers of who we are and how we express ourselves. As luxurious as they may seem, the humanities are not, and Smith explains that by referencing Audre Lorde’s essay from the 1980s. This background information was perfectly placed in the introduction of her article because Smith then identifies her problem: We need to “mind our metaphors” (48). Smith then writes about a comment that the famous poet Robert Frost made when he discussed the importance of thinking critically, especially people in college (48).

In her manifesto, Martha Nell Smith agrees that metaphors are beneficial in the sense that these figures of speech allow poets to create their brilliant works of art, but when used by politicians and the like, they are hoping we do not think critically about the metaphors they are using. This is when she uses the University of California’s president, Mark Yudof, as an example. In 2009, Yudof declared on television that the humanities’ “core problem” was that they “cost” but do not “pay” (49-50). With this counterargument, Smith ties in an essay from 2010 titled “The Humanities Do Really Make a Profit” by Robert Watson. Smith uses this essay in her manifesto as evidence to show that humanities and social sciences do indeed produce “more tuition income than 100 percent of their total expenditure” (51). Interestingly, Smith includes that Mark Yudof agreed with Watson in 2010 that the humanities did pay off (51). Among all the evidence and claims, another metaphor Smith expresses in her article is that Mark Yudof’s “core problem” is considered a “crisis,” but she claims that with a crisis comes a turning point” (51). Among all the included sources and evidence Smith has written about, it is clear enough to see that she implicitly asks the question: “Why are the humanities and those who major in them stigmatized?”

Arts and Humanities: Confronting Stigma and Embracing Their Indispensable Impact

From early on in the article, Martha Nell Smith uses her own past arguments with her father to show how the humanities are stigmatized. “A Ph.D. in English? Are you insane? You’ll never get a job,” Smith remembers her father telling her (50). She also writes that over the span of a century, influential people such as the president of the ACLS and renowned historians have made statements regarding their underappreciation for the arts and humanities (52). Smith argues that the humanities are very much here, but there is still anxiety about the humanities, even calling it “systemic” (53). Smith offers five recommendations as her action plan to help the audience fight the stigma against the humanities and to help be mindful: (1) to dispel the myth that the humanities do not bring in profits, (2) reflect and fight actively for the humanities, (3) people who study arts and humanities are the most articulate people, do not disregard their work, (4) be mindful of technology in the humanities, it can be vexatious, and (5) remember that the humanities bring “public good” to the sciences,” (53-54).

Martha Nell Smith argues that the humanities are what helps humans explain life in her manifesto, “The Humanities Are Not a Luxury: A Manifesto for the Twenty-first Century.” Again, Smith made it obvious that the main topic of this article was the importance of the arts and humanities, but her problem is that even though metaphors can be beneficial, people can use them for their own agendas, hoping that they can sway an audience without them thinking too hard. Throughout her manifesto, Smith uses past arguments with her father and negative comments from intellectual people to show that there is a stigma against the humanities and the people who major in them. Martha Nell Smith also includes famous poets as sources, as well as evidence from Robert Watson’s essay to write an exceptional manifesto about the humanities.

References

1. Nussbaum, M. C. (2010). Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities. Princeton University Press.
2. Snow, C. P. (1959). The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. Cambridge University Press.
3. Greenblatt, S. (2010). Literature and History. Princeton University Press.
4. Pinker, S. (2018). Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress. Penguin.
5. Appiah, K. A. (2018). The Lies that Bind: Rethinking Identity, Creed, Country, Color, Class, Culture. Liveright.

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