Democracy and citizenship are a huge part of our country. It is dependent on being well rounded individuals in every aspect of life. In order to understand democracy and citizenship, the liberal arts and humanities have to play a role. Nussbaum states, “In other words, the roles of the arts in schools and colleges is twofold. They cultivate capacities for play and empathy in a general way, and they address cultural blind spots” (108). Nussbaum also mentioned that children at a young age will be able to understand school lessons better when arts are involved. The example that was given was learning about Rosa Parks simply through a textbook versus learning through a textbook and then performing a play. It reminded me of my elementary school days where we would cultivate plays for Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, Abraham Lincoln, and so on. I remember these historical events vividly and I think I owe it to the aspect of arts, imagination, and creativity in that process. This is very similar to the citizenship course at UNE. You are required to meet every other week, read several articles about an impending topic, and provide your own current events article to discuss. That’s a great aspect because it engages the students to be open and discuss with each other. However, the most important aspect of the citizenship class is actually performing citizenship. I did not fully understand the point of the class until I began my volunteer hours and actually began performing the act. It shows how the two topics relate. Nussbaum also mentioned “narrative imagination” in the beginning of the chapter (95). It is important to understand that people come from all different walks of life and being able to put yourself in the heart of volunteering, the heart of the community, or the heart of the humanities can help make well rounded citizens for our communities. It is the act of doing and putting yourself out there to understand. Sciences teach you the rights and the wrongs but they don’t dive into the possibilities of being both right and wrong like mentioned in previous classes. Citizenship and the humanities teach you both and provide students with narrative imagination.
Leave a Reply