HSS in 21st Century Ireland .... Delivering the Knowledge Society
CLOSING ADDRESS OF PROFESSOR JOHN G. HUGHES, PRESIDENT OF NUI MAYNOOTH
The theme of this conference has been the importance of the humanities and social sciences in our knowledge-based society, an issue of critical importance to Ireland's schools and universities. As president of a university in which over 70% of the provision is in the arts and social sciences, I have found myself confronted with two negative propositions on the arts. One is that while young people may continue to be interested in the arts, we should seek to convince them that in our knowledge-based economy, the future lies in professional and technical studies, and we cannot afford - either as individuals or as a society - much investment in arts education. A second proposition is that the students themselves will lose interest in the arts as modern technology and the pursuit of wealth increasingly dominates their lives.
The first proposition - that there is no economic return to an arts or social science education - has been proven so patently false, not least by our speakers this afternoon, that I will spend little time on it. The knowledge economy is in fact increasing the economic returns to university education, including education in the arts, whose graduates have the skills in language, communication, team building, and creative thinking which are so valuable in the new economy. Humanities and social science graduates in Ireland earn higher incomes and have lower unemployment rates than the average graduate of Institutes of Technology or vocational colleges, institutions nonetheless often praised in the media as being more attuned than universities to the labour market. In fact, at a time when literacy and communication skills are declining, an arts or social science education nurtures skills and talents increasingly valued by modern corporations.
The second proposition might be restated by saying that in the knowledge-based society study in the arts will be valued only for its contribution to economic earnings later in life. For those of us who believe in the intrinsic value of the arts, this second proposition is more threatening than the first. If, for example, the study of James Joyce or Seamus Heaney becomes solely focused on getting a job, the arts as we know them will not survive in schools and universities.
However, I take a more optimistic view of the knowledge-based society, which holds that the rising standards of living associated with the new economy will in no way reduce, and indeed may increase, the desire of students to come to grips with questions such as: How can we build a multicultural society that reflects our values of justice, fairness and compassion? Such questions take on a special urgency in the knowledge-based society, as we confront the social and ethical dimensions of rapid change, from protecting our environment, to managing the results of genetic discoveries, to dealing with the veil in the classroom.
Far from obliterating the arts, the knowledge-based economy and its associated prosperity may well contribute to the growth of the arts in education and research, as young people turn more of their attention to issues of individual and social values and the foundations of a good society.
I hope this conference will be the first of many addressing this important issue. May I extend my thanks on behalf of the IUA to the Secretary General, Brigid McManus for her expert chairing of the final session, and to all of those who have given presentations. I would also like to thank the IUA secretariat for the excellent organization of the conference.
