Why is liberal art important and necessary Research Paper

Why is liberal art important and necessary - Research Paper Example The liberal arts subjects are drawn from the major branches of the liberal arts. These include the social sciences which cover such subjects as sociology, geography, economics, political science, and anthropology. Another branch of the liberal arts is known as the humanities which cover literature, languages, history, and philosophy. The third branch is the creative arts – theater, fine art, creative writing and others. All these broad subjects are what are known as the liberal arts and they are, as you can see, quite wide and varied. They are usually available to students at an undergraduate level right at the beginning and at more advanced levels as we move up the higher education chain (Sigurdson 14). Why do I think these subjects are important? Liberal arts are not designed to equip you or enable you to specialize in a specific profession. Rather, they are there to prepare the students for life in the working world. Liberal arts equip you with the ability, first and foremo st, to have lifelong learning. Learning does not just end in the classroom or after graduation. It is a process through which we acquire knowledge skills and expertise throughout our life. It is, therefore, necessary for one to have courses that equip you to do exactly that – essentially be a student for life, learning and adapting to new knowledge, new aspects of life and learning how to adapt, live and even thrive with change. The liberal arts also give one the ability and capacity for free thinking. It teaches the student how to think, how to question and how to expand your horizons. The liberal arts also enable one to communicate effectively. It is not just a matter of learning how to speak a foreign language or two – though that is also covered in liberal arts – but how to interpret nonverbal communications, how to communicate in cultures other than your own, and how to express yourself in contexts that are different from your traditional ones (Sigurdson 18 ). The liberal arts give students a chance to not only explore and get their head round a large variety of subjects but also an ability to look at the world, themselves and others in a totally new light. It gives students an appreciation of different points of view and different modes of thought. It is an opportunity to learn about the evolution of human society, how it started out, how it came through civilization, what civilization is all about and what in the world has changed and how it has changed since this civilization came about. In liberal arts one learns what previous generations have learned, thought and experienced. What questions did they ask? What answers did the great philosophers seek? Liberal arts give you an opportunity to wrestle with abstract concepts and ideas. There arose questions such as: What is beauty and how does one decide that something is beautiful and the other one is not? Does this colour or make-up look good on me? How did our history shape us and ou r thinking? How did we interact with the environment and what impact has it had on us and us about it? What acts constitute sexual harassment in the workplace and why and how should they be reported? Thus, liberal arts result in a person who has a more rounded appreciation of himself, others and his environment. A classic story is told to explain the importance of the liberal arts.Three blind men who were told to touch an elephant and then describe what it looked like. The first one touched the elephant’s main body and decided because it was so big, this creature must be like a wall. The second blind man touched the elephant’s tusk and after racing it all the way to the tip, decided that the elephant must be shaped like a

Relationship between Instant Texting and Language Decline Essay

Relationship between Instant Texting and Language Decline - Essay Example It is common to find people busy with their phones in workplaces, in vehicles, in school, and in homes. This does not exclude streets, in which one can notice individuals walking heads down; perhaps text messaging or reading texts. With the increased use of mobile phones, a sensitive issue has emerged which concerns the over-use of text messages. According to David Crystal’s Texting, people extensively use instant messages, for their conversations, using abbreviations for most words (Crystal 15). An analysis of David Crystal’s works can establish the controversies associated with the relationship between language development and the increased use of text messages, for communication. The emerging issue of concern is whether the increased use of text messages has resulted in the decline of language, or whether it affects literacy. With respect to David Crystal’s works, text messaging makes extensive use of coded language which may be unfamiliar to non-users. Substa ntial understanding of the code language is of the essence for a mobile phone user to converse with friends using the code language. In the practice of text messaging, users condense multiple and single words via a technique which sees them replace words or syllables with digits or single letters. In the development of the coded language, used in text messaging, cell phone users may also get full of whole words within common phrases. The process of developing SMS language tends to be progressive; this has the implication that some phrases and words have been modified with time. For example, the phrase ‘Thank you’ has gone through three transitions which are ‘thanks’, ‘tnx’, and ‘tx’. The language used in text messaging is unconventional and can fall under a number of categories. G-Clippings, for instance, involves the removal of the letter g at the end of such words as ‘Going’ to read as ‘Goin’. The coded language can also fall under the shortening category in which some letters are omitted; for example, the word ‘after’ can be written as ‘aft’. In other forms, users contract the middle letters of various words while others make use of acronyms (Crystal 18). Others include the use of letter homophones, number homophones, and such non-conventional words as ‘nite’ for ‘night’. To some extent, the use of text messages results to a decline in spoken language. This is because the development of spoken language has a direct relationship with social interaction. In the era of technology, texting diminishes children’s ability to have face-to –face communication with others, a trait which affects them throughout the other developmental stages. Self-expression is a technique best acquired via practice; hence its development faces a significant degree of limitation from the mobile technology. The effect of this aspect is more pro nounced in the younger generation than the old generation. The childhood stage of an individual serves as the most appropriate time for learning; therefore, with the extensive use of text messages, children and teenagers may not develop adequate skills of spoken language. Research indicates that, with the introduction of latest technology, only a small proportion of teenagers talk face-to-face with colleagues, as opposed to the percentage of young people that sends texts several times in a day. Ideally, over-reliance on text messages, for communication, promotes social anxiety and shyness among children, a trait which extends even to the adult stage (Crystal 20). The mode of texting, stated by David Crystal, can significantly cause a decline in language with respect spelling. Ideally, individuals have