Harassment in the humanities – Sameh Fawzi

It seems to me that professors in theoretical faculties, including arts, law, media, political science, and economics, are saddened by the constant attacks on the legitimacy of their scientific professions, as many of them have written articles or comments on social media defending the humanities, stressing their importance, and deploring calls for their elimination or reduction.

In this context, there are three considerations. The first consideration is that more and more people are studying humanities, many of whom are women, similar to the feminization of social sciences, which is not new today but has existed for decades. The labor market cannot accommodate a large number of graduates from theoretical colleges, nor can it absorb a large number of graduates from practical colleges, although the proportion is lower than that of graduates from theoretical majors. The second consideration is that the use of humanities has disappeared and weakened, and although they are important, reality no longer urgently needs them. This certainly expresses more of a crisis in reality than a crisis in humanities. Third, the theoretical level of graduates is weak, and the vast majority do not engage in research work, do not participate in public policy formulation, and do not conduct in-depth research on social phenomena. Although reality does not give social researchers room to operate, social researchers themselves lack the knowledge and skills to study reality and propose solutions to problems. Evidence is the statement of Dr. Sayyid Masri, one of Egypt’s most famous sociology professors, that sociology has neglected research on the inside of Israeli society, despite the fact that the other side has successfully conducted research on Egypt. Some people may insist on the weapon of boycott, but will boycott hinder in-depth research on the inside of Israeli society and the understanding of its composition and sharp divisions? If we consider Israel as a neighboring country – in the words of peace advocates – as well as a country in conflict on ethnic and Islamic grounds, and a country occupying Arab lands from an Arab perspective, then all this is not enough to attract attention to this study of Israeli society?

I would say that the crisis of the humanities is not just about people harassing, devaluing the humanities, but about interrelated problems, some of which are related to social realities, some of which are related to the interests and space given to them, and some of which are related to the weak abilities of most graduates and their low education level, who are in desperate need of funds for themselves and their research.

The interest in the humanities begins not in defending them, criticizing their attackers, but in finding a role for them, in benefiting from them, in relying on them to understand and analyze society, in relying on the conclusions of social research to set public policy. If this happens, the other two things will move forward, and the vitality of scholarship will be revived when the student and graduate of the humanities finds the need for him, he will also seek to develop his own abilities. Engage in research in the field of the humanities.