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THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY OF LANGUAGES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

IN THE 21ST CENTURY

The humanities and social sciences are hampered by a number of problems

today because of a great deal importance given to sciences and engineering
subjects. This paper advocates the need for greater support for the study of
humanities and social sciences in general and languages in particular. The
humanities and social sciences work to improve understanding among the people
and the constituent organs of society. Social sciences focus on the dynamics and
social processes behind the societal, economic and cultural developments of society.
They have the capacity of contributing to the formation of an egalitarian society and
also providing a vision for future societies. Study of social sciences gives us various
types of knowledge including systems of welfare, markets, organisations, value
systems, policies, political systems and the much needed language to communicate
all the concerns in these areas. Social sciences offer an understanding of the
multiple layers of society from small localities to global systems.

The themes and issues taken up in the various subjects of social sciences
cover a variety of very important facets of society from the ancient times to the
modern era. Humanities and social sciences also hold the promise of addressing a
whole range of pertinent questions directly related to the challenges facing the world
of today and tomorrow. They actively contribute to the understanding of the profound
scientific, social, political and economic changes occurring in the world as well as to
the process of cohesion in this global village. In effect the disciplines covered under
the head social sciences make important contributions for reaching the strategic
goals of the future societies.

Social Sciences also lay a strong foundation for the making of the future
citizen as they address the needs of the youth. They look at the problems of the
youth, their need and demand for strengthening employment prospects, need for
increase in social welfare and education systems. Further the social sciences also
answer the ways in which governments can secure economic reform and social
cohesion in this much advertised knowledge-based economy. Indeed, the language
of social sciences is the language of a brilliant outlook for future and its neglect
would only injure society. Because of the decline in importance to Social Sciences,
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a drop in the admissions has been witnessed in the number of students in these
disciplines in colleges and universities and this in turn has reduced the number of
people entering the teaching positions in social sciences.

There were times during the late eighties and early nineties of the 20th
Century, in India, when anyone with a basic knowledge in computers could get a job
in some position or the other, and some could even go abroad and land in first-rate
companies. This had changed the mindset of the parents and students and a steep
decline was witnessed in Social Sciences and Humanities, for, they (i.e. the students
and parents) believed that a degree in engineering and in computers is a safe bet for
employability. But it is during this period that the media, both the electronic and print
media, started highlighting the lack of communication skills, and the societal skills of
people – the basic need of the youth - working in the MNCs and other companies
with computer knowledge as their base. The media also highlighted the increasing
rates of crime, and the insecurity faced by the women employed in companies which
work for 24 hours, 7 days a week. I am not complaining about the companies that
have created a great number of jobs for the youth in India and the world over but I
am concerned that the people who are working there night and day are not trained
properly to be good citizens or makers of a good society and good life.

All knowledge has its origin in man’s quest for making his living comfortable.
While the engineering and other technical branches of science try to survey, design,
plan, blueprint, structures and machinery for making our living comfortable,
humanities and social sciences grope in to the nature of human thoughts, relations
and interactions while using these technological marvels. Mere technology will be of
no use if man doesn’t know how to use it in a humane manner. Using technology to
build a balanced society implies and mandates conformity with the generally
accepted standards of goodness or rightness in conduct, character and also
compliance with the code of the particular mode of living. To state in simple terms
Social Sciences and Humanities relate to the understanding and controlling of
human nature while science and technology endow man with the understanding of
the natural and physical world. Both these areas are a testimony of man’s pursuit for
truth, there is no doubt about it.

We are gathered here, not to question the importance being accorded to

sciences but how to stress on the fact that Social sciences and Humanities have the
capacity to make people use the benefits of science in the correct method. The
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purpose of language is to emphasize about humanity’s search for a good society,

good conduct, and good life. In the past the curriculum of languages was replete
with examples of how people struggled in pursuit of a proper conduct in a given
profession. The study of such episodes not only provided a key to the attitudes and
behaviours to be adopted, but also indirectly supplied the vocabulary and structures
to answer anyone in these and other areas. Language acquisition was thus an
unconscious contribution of the study of social sciences and humanities and our
great orators and masters of language of yester years didn’t attend any of the so
called language learning institutions which today are to be seen in every nook and
corner of even a small town. Thus the decline in importance to Social sciences and
Humanities has given a commercial aspect to the teaching of languages. An SSLC
of the past was capable of expressing himself freely, fluently and fearlessly in
English while even post-graduates of today are not able to speak in an appropriate
manner.

The syllabi of languages and Social sciences have seen a great change.
Languages have been relegated to the level of being mere examination subjects and
it started the decline in the social capabilities of the people in communication.
Yesterday a retired lecturer was lamenting on the use of unacceptable language in
the public forums, educational institutions and the media. She is endorsing what
several of her generation are feeling; if you can’t even communicate properly, where
is the guarantee for tenderness and moderation, the essential requirements for
harmonious co-existence in society?

The gravity of the situation, I am sorry to say, is not felt by the university
boards or even the UGC in India. In Europe and America Research Councils have
been established to promote the knowledge and skills of the youth in the society to
sustain its capacity for innovation, competitiveness and quality of life and to address
key issues such as human security and social cohesion, all subjects dealt by Social
Sciences and Humanities. These councils are aware of:

 the rising demand for social sciences and humanities knowledge and
expertise from diverse sectors of society;

 the need for renewal of full-time university faculty in social sciences.

 the changing nature and needs of research (multi- and inter-

disciplinary, large-scale collaborative research); and
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 the increased focus on mobilizing social sciences and humanities

knowledge to ensure that this knowledge gets into the hands of the needed sector.

The U.G.C., in India, has to assert itself and set the curriculum of social
sciences in such a way that it not only voices the concerns of the society but also
attracts good and talented students into social science. Unless proper steps are
taken to highlight the importance of Social Sciences and support them appropriately
the expanding private sector and the corporate sector and the explosion of the
information technology sub-sectors may contribute to the elimination of the subjects
of social sciences from academic institutions. This will be a death knell to the
progress of humane society, and if we remain mute witnesses to this situation as
teachers and students, we should acknowledge our own failure.

So, through this timely seminar, let us demand for due importance for the
study of social sciences and social science research. Let us demand that due place
is to be given to social sciences in all subjects from Management to Technology.
Let the powers that be remember that social sciences are a means to an end, the
study and manipulation of human behaviour and it has the capacity of even
predicting human behaviour and curing any type of social malaise. Where
Technology can’t remain neutral it is the social science education that can suggest
ways and means of being neutral morally and ethically. Can any nation, worth its
history and position in the world, relegate such an important subject to the back
seat? It is only a foundation in social sciences and humanities that the youth of
today will absorb proper behaviour and train themselves on how to continue the
human race on the face of the earth. Shall we encourage them and train them
through the teaching of social science to work for the continued existence of human
race on the face of the earth? Or shall we in our lopsided approach, do away with
the social science and humanities components from our curriculum? This is a
question to be answered earnestly and immediately.