Recently, I was wooed by the lively array of cultural and creative outpourings during the 2025 JCDC Performing Arts competition, especially from our nation’s children. This small microcosm of the Humanities on display nationally is at once evidence of the persistent sustainability of the Humanities but also serves as a haunting reminder of the displacement of the Humanities not just as academic disciplines but within the wider spaces of society. With the horrendous global ‘fad’ of faculties of Humanities either closing or being absorbed into other faculties, it is clear that these once hallowed disciplines have lost much of their historical grandeur and relevance in this modernized world.
The term ‘Humanities’ is quite expansive and encompasses the following core areas: literature, philosophy, history, arts, languages, religion, and cultural studies. Despite the wide gamut of the Humanities, there has persisted an accompanying narrative of limited visibility and progress. This pathway of invisibility assigned to the Humanities is evidenced in the minimal or unfocused attention given to it in our Jamaican school systems: curricula, and policies. The truth is that while we as Jamaicans perhaps overextend ourselves by infusing grand designs of problem-solving and critical thinking within the NSC and CSEC curricula, we have missed greater opportunities for success in academia by allowing subjects like Literature and History to become invisible within our schools. These essential disciplines have become victims caused by limited and irregular funding opportunities, shrinking curricula, and the confused or neglectful gaze of administrators. We acquiesce too often to certain stereotypical perspectives regarding some subjects in the Humanities and, regrettably, continue to rob our students of the ability to be more autonomous learners and transformative citizens. Yet, no single entity is to be blamed for this plight and restoration will require the collective energies of our Jamaican people.
There are also clear warnings against ‘packaging’ that must be heeded. Beware the ‘exclusivity’ of regulations and policies that seek to promote technological advancement to the detriment of the Humanities, the heart and pulse of our lives. The world must recognize that STEM (STEAM’s forefather) with all its merits, is still limited in its capacity to offer a balanced and people-friendly solution to our problems. The insertion of an ‘A’ in the acronym STEM changes very little; STEAM simply becomes a half-hearted ideology and not a practice, steaming away in the sauna of invisibility. Similarly, the hawking of the heart of the Humanities, our culture, re-presented as ‘cultural tourism’, can begin as a viable alternative but may culminate in the selling of the spirit of the Humanities. Beware the tantalising lure of materialism!
Furthermore, we must not be easily swayed or appeased by seemingly collaborative talks about STEAM and STEM disguised as an innovative ‘new’ approach to education and living. We simply can’t, when STEM is still openly being paraded as the poster child while STEAM languishes as the foster child of academia. Current talks about STEAM have sought to present it as a life-support to the ailing Humanities, especially the education departments. In truth, it must be noted that the recent announcement by the government of a STEAM initiative to be implemented over 3 years offers some hope for the 800 primary and secondary institutions across Jamaica. This, however, also raises questions regarding the omission of key stakeholders like teachers’ colleges in this implementation. We are led again to ask, where are the STEAM schools or the tantalizing scholarships that are the rage and allure of STEM? The question is, ‘How much of a life-support can STEAM be when most resources and focus have been heavily invested in ‘rebranding’ STEM as the saving lifeblood of our technologically driven world?’
There can be no Renaissance or revolution if the concept of STEAM remains only a half-hearted notion/ideology that is never adequately highlighted, articulated, funded, or executed. It will always remain a mere theory and never a practiced reality or a viable alternative. The drive towards modernity in Jamaica (although necessary) must be tempered by a conscious realism and the desire to harness the artistic/cultural energy of the people as presented in our histories, literature and art. What good is modernity with all its materialistic trappings if we are oblivious to the essence of who we are as a people, this collective consciousness that lies at the core of the Humanities?
We have regrettably forgotten the obvious, but history will show that the Humanities led the charge in revolutions, as witnessed especially in the 14th through to the 16th century when the Renaissance laid the groundwork for the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. The latter, of course, evolved into the Industrial Revolution and further spiralled into other revolutions. History has certainly shown that man’s desire to better his condition with technological progress has always been sparked by the knowledge and creativity of the Humanities. If the Renaissance stimulated a spirit of innovation and scientific inquiry, how then can we seek, even within our schools, to divorce the two from that original marriage of ideas and purpose that was sanctified in history? To do so would be foolhardy and would force us to ignore the symbiotic and reciprocal roles that each could play. The Humanities must not become the sacrificial lamb or the eternal scapegoat because of our limited vision of development.
The Humanities must not become fads or mere disciplines of academia but must be refashioned as ways of life and the essences of a people who need to be reminded regularly of their identity and the roles that they need to play in this changing world. We need to recognize that ‘the Humanities matter’ and thus effectively harvest the warmth and the ‘heart’ of the Humanities to humanize the coldness and alienation that is sometimes associated with technology. Until this modern society recognizes the true importance and the potentially collaborative and unifying power of the Humanities in this technologically driven world, it runs the risk of perpetually harming itself.
Marcia Mills-McFarlane is an MPhil/ PhD candidate in Language Education.
Email: marcamillsy@yahoo.com
