the value of an arts education

i have been wanting to write this post for some time. i have to get this out, even though its 313am now. because of how mistaken and unfounded people's fears of studying arts is. because i need to type something else other than terms papers and concepts. because most importantly, i have to convince myself why i am in the arts course, contrary to what i thought i would be studying. and equally important, to convince everyone else that an arts education is worth its value.

this post corresponds to how i am really enjoying this semester academically. i guess when you are enjoying something then you see the real value and purpose of something. maybe not right, because my body is feeling the after-effects of spending too many hours thinking too hard and not getting adequate rest, but i really look forward to going for my lectures every week. this has all to do with how Jesus is adding and dropping this grace gift to help me enjoy this sem. im taking 5 arts mods this sem, that also means an unfinishable amount of readings that i would like to but would never get the time to go through all of them; namely Service Economy, Cities, Nature and Society, Soci of Deviance and Human Devpt over the lifespan.

i love to listen to what my lecturers have to say about that particular topic of that week. i love how they shape the way i see my world through the eyes of that discipline. i love how literally what i see in my life come to life in my studies. i know every discipline and course of study is practical and applicable to real life in some ways, perhaps even more than arts disciplines. but what i see is the value of an arts education is that it uncovers the supposed mess and disorder of society and life as we see it, through certain lenses, to give meaning and coherence to these different bits and pieces. the deconstructionist method that the arts teaches you helps you to look beyond the normal, beyond the obvious and taken-for-granted that appear to be the reason; to look at underlying forces, meanings and  processes that are really in place.

and more exciting to me, the arts teaches you to not take things as forever, as nothing is cast in stone nor is "natural". everything that we can see touch feel almost definitely came as a construction either by Man or a collaboration of Man and "natural" forces. it teaches that the structures we are operating under (especially the invisible social structures) are not the only way to do it, but rather can be changed, especially if it is something that is negative and bad. just as how everything is deconstructed, so can they be created conversely. thus, this gives us the ability to create and re-create, almost indefinitely, opportunities and spaces and platforms, to correct injustice and problems that we see wrong or nonsensical in society.

i guess this ability to create and make something out of nothing is what gives arts students the edge over students from other faculties. and also why we can go anywhere and everywhere. but sometimes ironically nowhere as well. this also supports (sometimes accurately) the stereotype that arts students are all full of fluff,  we go through tutorials by smoking and just talking. only mouth action, no real action. i see some truth in that stereotype, haha because im guilty of it sometimes. but, herein lies the valuing of communication and speech in our singapore society. talking is not seen as very productive nor effective in our result-oriented society. i agree, especially when you have people who are really just patronising you. but i believe when we talk, we are exchanging ideas and thoughts that would never been given life if didnt leave our mouths. when we communicate, you are making a statement, a contribution, a stand on something that you feel for. in speaking and in words is where we find traction, conflict and tension that helps us to further improve our individual or collective ideas. granted, this process doesnt always lead to something happening or something significant, but at least, you have said and felt about something.

i also see the arts as treating you as a thinking breathing entity, with opinions, views and beliefs that would facilitate and contribute to what you are studying. as compared to engine or sciences, where (i heard and know) you take wholesale what is given to you in textbooks and swallow it. this is not to say science students are stupid or rigid, in fact, the most brilliant people who ever lived are scientists and mathematicians (Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Wright Brothers etc.). i salute many of them for being so passionate about what they are studying. but, arts gives you the space and flexibility to frame your world as you feel it can and should be. (not always how you want it to be, that is alot more complicated) to give you that ability to accept grey areas, fluidity, flexibility, because in life nothing comes in square boxes or standard equations. it gives you that extra survival skill, if i can put it this way, to thrive in the 'outside working' world.

also, an arts education helps to make you a better conversationalist. im one good proof of this. doesnt mean you have to like to talk or start talking more (i dont), but you are able to talk about almost any topic under the sun. that means you can have lesser boring and mindless conversations about your bus journey or what you ate yesterday. and, as much as i hate to admit it, people who can talk are the ones who are going to make an impression (good or bad), make you stand out from the crowd, make you noticed.

on a side note, having done a presentation today, i really question this so-called cynical attitude towards the government. i dont understand why some people feel that if they throw a dig at the "Lightning Association" (and by using a sort of euphemism or symbolism doesnt make you look any smarter), they gain credibility. being cynical or skeptical doesnt always mean that you have the critical perspective. sometimes it just means that you are a hollow vessel echoing what everyone is saying. think about what you are saying and very importantly the tone you are saying that it in, see if it adds weight and validity to your argument. i have had enough of this stupid nonsense, and the smirk on people's faces when they think they have brilliantly found a loophole in one of the govt initiatives, and prove their worth as a thinking critical citizen.

i have more to say, but havent got the words to put them in, and i need to get some sleep. so there you go, my take on why an arts education is important and valuable. whats yours? :)