What does the study of history, literature and culture have to do with the future of democracy? According to two of the nation’s leading scholars, quite a lot.
The Rice University School of Humanities and Arts co-sponsored an April 16 Progressive Forum event featuring Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an international authority on fascism and the protection of democracy, in conversation with Kathleen Canning, Rice’s Andrew W. Mellon Professor of History and dean of humanities and arts.
Canning, whose research centers on modern German history and the Weimar Republic, made the case for what a humanities education uniquely equips students to do.
“Teaching interpretation means they should be able to take any text in any course and actually argue with it, imbibe it, disagree with it, unpack it, suggest ways to revise it, to update it,” Canning said. “These are skills they will need for life.”
Those skills, Canning said, extend well beyond the classroom.
“It’s very hard to shore up democracy and to rebuild it, to repair it without the engagement of the younger generations,” Canning said. “Equipping them with the skill to analyze, interpret and argue their case on the basis of evidence is vital to the future of democracy.”
Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history and Italian studies at New York University and author of the bestselling “Strongmen: How They Rise, Why They Succeed, How They Fall,” echoed the urgency.
“It’s never been more important, politically, socially and psychologically and for our survival,” Ben-Ghiat said about the skills and values that come from a humanities-led education.
The Progressive Forum, which co-hosted the event, is dedicated to enriching democracy and culture by presenting leading thinkers across the sciences, humanities, business and politics.
