“What are you going to do with that?”
It was the question I was most often asked as a college student when I said I was majoring in Art History.
But I was deeply interested in my art, history and literature classes. They made me curious. They helped me understand different perspectives. They taught me to think. And I leveraged all of that into a successful career as a nonprofit executive — and a fulfilling life.
The humanities are the academic disciplines that study the human condition. It’s our history, our heritage and the chronicling of what we are doing today so that future generations can learn from our experiences. Some people study the humanities formally with college majors and minors. Others do so informally as avid readers or amateur historians. Do you enjoy watching documentary films? Are you a collector of classic comics? Do you visit historic sites when you travel? Then you study the humanities!
And people who studied the humanities in school — or who actively study them now — can drive businesses and organizations forward in powerful ways.
They are excellent thinkers, communicators and leaders. The humanities give individuals the skills needed to be successful thinkers, communicators and leaders. In fact, one third of Fortune 500 CEOs have humanities degrees. While technical skills are critical for certain jobs, ensuring that you have team members who are also critical thinkers, good writers and strong leaders will give your company a competitive edge.
They are culture builders. A colleague who recently led a citywide project exploring the history and cultural impact of Superman on the city of Cleveland shared a story with me. He was at an event, and a man approached him wearing a T-shirt promoting a political belief far different from his. The thought crossed his mind that the man might hate him. But then these two seemingly different men started talking about Superman and discovered they shared many hobbies and interests. They found common ground. This is what students of the humanities do: They seek connection points, and they foster understanding. They help both clients and team members feel seen and heard, an intangible quality that leads to quality output for customers and happier, more engaged employees.
They hold our moral compass. In a future run largely by artificial intelligence, we need people asking this question more than ever: Just because we can, does it mean we should? Enter humanists. Philosophy majors and ethicists are needed more than ever, and tech companies like Google, Open A.I. and Meta are adding them to their payrolls for good reason. Thinkers like them are imperative in government, too, as we grapple with how to regulate this powerful technology. But businesses large and small need employees willing to gut check what our work — and how we do it — means.
Seeking out people and experiences grounded in the humanities will give your organization an advantage. So, as you hire for your future, give those English, history, philosophy and anthropology majors and minors serious consideration. You may have to teach them how to read a balance sheet, but the return on that time will be immeasurable.
And ask the engineers, computer scientists and business administration degree holders what they are reading and what they enjoy learning about in their free time. It will give you a deeper understanding of how they will approach problems, people and ideas as you work together toward a common goal.
Ohio Humanities is a nonprofit organization that shares stories to spark conversations and inspire ideas.
