Our civilization faces a myriad of complex and interconnected environmental and social problems – and amazing opportunities. To prepare our students to tackle and overcome these challenges, we need to give them the tools to integrate and connect ideas from diverse fields and to convey complex, multi-faceted ideas. This is fundamental to our shared liberal arts endeavor.
As an economist, I study the choices people make. As an economic historian, I know that these choices can only be understood by understanding the humans that make them, influenced by the ideologies, cultures and societies they inhabit. Such a deep appreciation of the nuanced varieties of human experience, values and motivations can only come from the humanities. Supporting the CHI’s mission to foster a rich and vibrant domain of humanistic inquiry at the College is vital if we are to nurture a new generation of humanists – and wiser economists – to face the unknown problems of the future.