It’s time to stop worshipping the liberal arts

Interesting letter to the editor of The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/nov/25/its-time-to-stop-worshipping-the-liberal-arts

 

Who is worshipping liberal arts?

This whole article is just him arguing against strawmen from the article it supposedly is in response to. The Guardian has really fallen off.

 

He's an idiot. Science and math are liberal arts, and some of the social sciences are STEM. It's time we stop worshipping STEM as if STEM subjects are so different from what ding dongs call "liberal arts." What they really mean is humanities and social science. Maybe if he had paid more attention in history and English, he would know that STEM and liberal arts are not mutually exclusive. There is overlap. Math and the natural sciences are highly theoretical and have roots in philosophy. In comparison to majors like engineering and accounting, natural science and math degrees do not provide a direct path to a profession.

 

The units of Columbia that became the School of Professional Studies initially offered only non-degree programs, including summer courses, many of these in the liberal arts.

Its first certificate programs in the 1990s were in business, classics, and psychology, the latter two liberal arts. Since 2002 it has also offered master’s degrees. These are available exclusively to students who have earned a bachelor’s degree… which generally will have included a significant liberal arts component and often will have been completed at a liberal arts institution.

Columbia SPS is a relatively small part of Columbia University. A larger part and a far larger source of Columbia’s reputation is its liberal arts programs.

Fears about commodifying can be addressed through… commodifying!

 

Well, it's not an article, it's a letter to the editor, so essentially one person's opinion.

I just thought it was interesting to hear from the STEM side because I'm seriously STEM-challenged.

 

Well if it is any consolation, I am from the STEM side and wholeheartedly disagree with everything he says. Maybe he is the one who is reality-challenged.