Most of the time I am in general agreement with Right of Center perspectives on the nation's educational system and while I can definitely follow the argument (posted below) and agree with elements I think that overall this time the conservative is at least half wrong: All of the above is correct but still it is wrong in regards to what actually has been slamming nails into the coffin of Liberal Arts. So what happened to literature courses and other courses traditionally attached to Humanities Studies? What happened was a bipartisan fixation on promoting S.T.E.M studies above all else. Science, technology, engineering, and math is ALL that either the Left or the Right either praises or howls about as being of vital importance to the future of this nation and that's ALL they've howled about for decades now, and so as a result public schools and universities gradually began shifting education emphasis over to S.T.E.M studies at the expense of the Humanities. That's really all there is to it. Yeah the Left has utterly trashed what remains of Humanities studies but only after the Right abandoned them in favor of a monomaniacal fixation on S.T.E.M.; but the Left doesn't get a free pass on this either since the Left, too, has been talking up S.T.E.M. studies for forever and a day as if they were the be-all and end-all of vital academic studies.
The humanities were destroyed by liberals, specifically the deconstructionists, years ago--the 1970s or so. That said, I'm all in favor of a liberal arts and sciences education. By that, I mean a common core of arts and sciences that all students take. The thing is, in my observation, most current liberal arts professors are ignorant outside of their field and a few related fields. Most science professors are very well rounded, and can discuss a wide variety of subjects in the humanities and in most of the sciences (not just their narrow field). Sowell is exactly correct on the destruction of the liberal arts from within.
The emphasis on STEM is not political. Its about money, the govt and corporations will give money to fund STEM programs in high schools, colleges, and universities because that's where the manpower needs have been identified. As to the political side, the Left started it, not the Right. The Left intentionally sunk its teeth into the humanities because that's where the bleeding heart emotional arguments have a natural home. Its not an accident that the English, history, political science, and journalism departments have become nothing more than indoctrination centers for the "progressives". There are no classical liberal arts programs which teach true humanities and critical thinking because the Left destroyed them. Departments that view "womens studies" and "African American Studies" as actual intellectual academic subjects have lost all sense of the purpose of true education.
The reason why STEM has become so popular is that's where the jobs are. STEM grads can get jobs with a mere Associates and a Bachelors is a guarantee of a good salary. An English or History Masters, might get you a job teaching high school if you're VERY lucky And the reason for Trendy subjects dominance in the Humanities is that it's really the only area where there's any call for them. Women's Studies and Afram History majors are in some demand as compliance officers in the corporate diversity programs
