Finding the value in social sciences in an era of animosity
By SABRINA FIGUEROA — sfigueroaavila@ucdavis.edu
As someone majoring in the humanities and social sciences, I have my fair share of “What are you gonna do with that?” questions. I used to answer genuinely, putting all of my energy into a beautifully crafted answer of my future plans, but now I simply answer with “barista” and hope they leave me alone!
But in all honesty, the question I highlighted above and the disappointed “oh’s” following after is exhausting. However, I don’t blame people for liking STEM as much as they do, and I have always admired the area. It’s insanely cool to mess around with chemicals, cells, computers, code, brains and the like! Science, technology, engineering and math are also extremely important for the well-being of society, whether it’s creating vaccines in a time of need, treating patients, coding websites to connect people faster or doing research in a lab. I have a friend who studies neuroscience and loves learning about how brains work, although that will never be my forte, it’s nice to hear someone so passionate talk about their work.
As much as I and many others appreciate the area of STEM, the humanities and social sciences rarely ever get as much appreciation in return. Some of the problems stem from the fact that we — in the United States — are highly individualistic and place a major emphasis on earning money. Those two things aren’t all bad, but they do have dangerous qualities highlighted in this case. Individualism is ingrained in our education, the media we consume, our constitution and even our economy. Capitalism makes it so that our human value lies in how much we individually contribute to society, especially in terms of money. Combine this notion with a high cost of living, and a lot of our major and career choices are based on survival. In other words, “What job will make me the most money?”
For many people who aren’t genuinely passionate about the subject, a career in STEM ensures job and financial stability — and that’s all that matters to them. This is not to shame people for having this mentality, as sometimes it’s not out of malice; It’s the unfortunate path our society has put us on. But, this path has also led us to devalue the humanities and social sciences in ways that could be potentially detrimental to our lives, whether it’s the literal belittlement of subjects within these areas or future doctors who lack enough empathy to do their jobs efficiently.
The humanities and social sciences teach us the inner workings and importance of being human: how and why we interact and create, our failures and successes throughout history and how people go about their lives based on their unique circumstances. If anything, these two areas of study are complementary to STEM — a symbiotic relationship.
Without seeing the value in the humanities and social sciences (and the arts, you’re included here too), we would never be able to learn from our mistakes as humans, our levels of empathy could decrease and societies could collapse. This trajectory may very well be occurring in the U.S. right now, as the current president has launched attacks aimed at higher education, labeling it as “indoctrination” that turns people “woke.” Though that may sound like a joke, it is the sad reality we live in.
These attacks on education include everything — from science to gender studies — and that’s because all forms of education pose a threat to power-hungry leaders. In many cases, education is what makes us ordinary people have individual power. Many people do not see it that way, though, with humanities and social sciences landing at the bottom of many lists.
Humanities and social sciences show us that human beings are strong and that we have persisted through hateful and rough times together. Hate, oppression and fascism can travel far if you don’t have the educational power to help fight them off. It’s not the time — though there’s never a time — to devalue any kind of knowledge.
Written by: Sabrina Figueroa — sfigueroaavila@ucdavis.edu
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