Martha Nussbaum’s “Democratic Citizenship and the Narrative Imagination” asserts that a liberal arts education and the study of literature play a critical role in the development of judgment, sensitivity and imagination, three qualities that are essential for fostering excellent citizenship in a democratic society. Nussbaum echoes a prominent constitutional scholar, Alexander Mieklejohn, who, when arguing against an opponent who denied the practical and political application of the arts, asserted that citizens need the arts “because they will be called upon to vote.” In other words, a study of the arts equips citizens with the qualities that they need to become valuable members of a democratic society, which Nussbaum dubs “world citizenship.”
The significance of Nussbaum’s primary argument, that literature and the arts develop sensitivity, imagination and empathy cannot be overlooked. However, after attending a joint lecture hosted by professors in just three of the arts disciplines – history, political science and literature – my perspective and understanding of the role of the arts in society has been altered, and I think that it can contribute to Nussbaum’s discussion. Not only do the arts allow citizens to develop qualities essential for world citizenship, but they also allow citizens to interpret society and place themselves in a much broader social, political and historical context, something that no other faculty can achieve to a similar degree.
The various disciplines contained by the faculty of arts provide a wide range of lenses through which members of society can better come to understand society, and, in doing so, become more effective citizens. History places the present in context, and describes the conditions and factors that have reverberated throughout time, creating a particular moment or a particular situation which a citizen experiences. The first step toward becoming an effective world citizen is recognizing your place and situation in the grand narrative of society, and understanding that your choices and actions in the present dramatically impact the future. Political science allows us to understand the mechanisms that govern society, and the study of political science allows a world citizen to interact with and understand the processes of government and law, and how these processes might be altered or advanced for the greatest benefit to society. Literature, as Nussbaum argues, allows citizens to develop empathy, which, in combination with a study of history and political science, forces citizens to consider the applications of their choices in the present and the way in which they interact with the mechanisms of power that govern society. As was discussed in the joint lecture, a discussion that I feel is worth highlighting, literature tells the story and relates the issues of those whose voices have been forgotten or ignored, from the Japanese Canadians interned in WWII to the young First Nations children at the mercy of the residential school system.
Nussbaum argues that literature and the arts develop empathy necessary for world citizenship. While this is certainly a valid point, my experience in the joint lecture showed me a number of other key roles that the arts plays in fostering world citizenship. History places our actions in a broader context, political science allows us to interact with the forces that govern society, and literature shows us the impact and significance of our actions through telling the story of the forgotten and ignored. Armed with Nussbaum’s argument and my own gleanings from the joint lecture, I think that I have the beginnings of a solid response for any smug engineers or business students who question the practical applications of my field of study!