<p>I don’t question your support for humanities classes, I just question the ability of the typical student to take a significant number of humanities classes while pursuing a degree in a subject removed from the humanities. And vice versa. Even people who combine a STEM major with a humanities major will still be concentrating in one area of technology and one area of humanities. I know there are schools that emphasize “Life of the Mind,” or “The Great Books”. But IMO, for most people, attaining a breadth of knowledge is more a matter of lifetime learning, part of which might be done in an academic setting, but a good deal of which is likely done by other means. A good deal of academia is involved not with imparting knowledge, but in the evaluation of how well the student has absorbed that knowledge (eg tests, grades, etc.) Sometimes it’s easier to learn without those encumbrances. And bear in mind that I love school. I’ve taken one class or another most of my life.</p>
<p>In some instances, for reasonably curious individuals, it is almost as good or even better to learn outside a classroom. It depends what your purpose is for learning something… Let me take one example from your “list”. Islam. I am no expert on Islamic history or the Islamic religion by any means. I would love to have been able to take a course or several courses in Islam while in college. Just as I would have loved to have been able to take courses in Buddhism, Hinduism, Zorastrianism and Swedenborgism for that matter. But I didn’t have the time for that, or the money. So I’ve got a copy of the Glorious Koran on my bookshelf. I personally find it tough reading. So I’ve also got a couple books on comparative religion. I have access to the internet and the library. And although I haven’t been able to make it to Mecca or Medina, I have been to Southern Spain and Morocco, where Islam played a significant role.</p>
<p>However, because Islam not only contains important cultural and historical elements, but is also a religious faith, I’ve actually learned the most about it from my Muslim friends and colleagues. Discussing it with them, asking questions about ritual prayer or the pilgrimage to Mecca. I’ve been able to learn something by observing them fasting, giving alms. So obviously I may not know a lot of the specifics I would learn in a yearlong class. But I have been able to pick up a little bit along the way. </p>
<p>Of course I would agree that it is better to have an educated society than an ignorant society. How much it correlates with morality I’m not sure. Supposedly learned people can be pretty nasty. And a lot of intellectual thought is neither moral nor immoral. I think that to the extent I am a decent person it has come more from my parents and my interaction with other people than anything I learned in school, in a book, or on the internet. But I’m not prepared to debate this issue in depth, I don’t really have a strong opinion other than my personal experience.</p>