Fujinami 1

Shun Fujinami

Ben Smuin\A10

Paper #1: Critical Reading Assignment Summary

October 11, 2016

Summary: “The Humanities Are Not a Luxury”

In modern society money has become an extremely big influence on everyday life.

Decisions, ranging from the mundane daily tasks to the life altering, are made with the

economics of the situation in mind. Whether it is the price of groceries or a career path being

chosen, money is an important factor. It is commonly perceived that choosing to follow a career

in the humanities will not result in a wealthy lifestyle, but Martha Nell Smith’s article, “The

Humanities Are Not a Luxury: A Manifesto for the Twenty-First Century” argues otherwise.

Smith also provides insight into the necessity for the humanities in order to cultivate democracy

and critical thinking by quoting well known poets, and providing historical references.

Smith begins her article by claiming that all forms of art are necessary to transform our

ideas into physical accomplishments. The claim is supported with a quote from a well-known

poet, Audre Lorde (48). Smith moves on to address the language that is used to invoke ideas,

specifically the use of metaphors. Metaphors are used in a way to critically think about a subject

in a manner that creates comparisons (48). In the following paragraph, Smith sets up the problem

which she addresses in the article. The president of the University of California, Mark Yudof,

makes an announcement on national television that there is a lack of funding for the

humanitarian departments (50). Smith begins her argument against Yudof’s words by showing

the significance of the metaphors he used. Yudof used the term “luxury” while describing the

humanities, which serves to propagate the idea that the humanities are a commodity instead of a
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necessity (51).

In order to address Yudof’s claim that there is a lack of funding, Smith cites evidence

from an essay by Professor Robert Watson which states that the humanities departments actually

generate more than enough revenue to cover the costs. Smith even finds evidence that this claim

is actually further supported by Yudof himself (51). Another instance that Smith criticizes

Yudof’s choice of words, is the term “crisis”. Smith states that the use of such language causes a

reaction that is overly emotional and misleading (52). In order to prove that the humanities are

not in such a dire situation, Smith provides four quotes without context that claim the humanities

are no the verge of extinction (52). She then later reveals that each one of the quotes were over

thirty years ago, and the humanities are still very much intact (53).

Smith provides some background information about education by informing readers

about the rise of education in the U.S. immediately following World War II (53). This rise in

education is speculated to have been systematically stopped following the anti-war protests

occurring on college campuses around the country (54). Backing up this claim is evidence about

the way public education was viewed as a burden in the 80’s (54).

In order to change the way the public views the humanities, Smith has provided key

points for a specific plan of action. The first is to change the common misconception that the

humanities only drain money and do no create revenue. The next point is for people to view the

relationship between the humanities and the public change they create. The third topic in the plan

of action is to pursue humanities for their benefits in critical thinking and education instead of

prioritizing monetary gains. Fourth is to be weary of the affect technology has on people’s

morals. The last point Smith wants to enact is to make sure people in the humanitarian field have

a good relation with all other people in other fields (55).

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Works Cited

Smith, Martha Nell. "THe Humanities Are Not a Luxury: A Manifesto for the Twenty-First

Century." Liberal Eduaction (2011): 48-55. Web. 19 Nov. 2016.