Cultural Diversity: A World View, Article Review Example

Even though Thomas Sowell’s speech “Cultural Diversity: A World View” was given in 1991, the content of his speech is still relevant and meaningful to the modern world. Sowell writes that important advances in philosophy, science, and economics were made not only to advance the well-being of a particular group, but humanity as a whole. Specifically, he states, “all people need to claim that legacy, not seal themselves off in a dead-end of tribalism or in an emotional orgy of cultural vanity”. While this statement is worded in a harsh tone suggesting that many people prefer not to take advantage of the advances of other cultures, Sowell is suggesting that it is important to embrace new ideas and creations and to build upon them in ways that will continue to benefit all people.

Sowell’s statement emphasizes the importance of the humanities. Many individuals consider the humanities to include subjects such as literature, music, and art; however, it is important to understand that humanities is really an understanding of the human experience. It is the wonder that contributes to innovations in these fields, and the scope of thought it deals with expands to the sciences as well. As a consequence, it is important to further our understanding of the humanities, including the contributions of a broad variety of individuals so that we can use their understanding to our advantage in developing new concepts.

In a Stanford Report entitled, “Can the arts and humanities ‘save us’?”, the author discusses the purpose of the humanities by stating, “What then can they do [the humanities? They don’t do anything, if by ‘do’ is meant bring about effects in the world” (Fish, 2009). A major concern in schools is that humanities cannot provide a benefit to the society because mathematic and scientific achievement have measurable benefits, while art, literature, and music has more abstract consequences in society. However, humanities is a collective measurement of what we are as rational animals, and it is essential to consider all field of academia to be equal. Even Sowell overlooks the arts in his discussion.

Sowell’s full speech intends to discuss cultural diversity, but it is impossible to do so without including the impact that the arts has on people around the world. Before trade between countries and continents was commonplace, the music and art of many regions was simplistic. However, once sea travel was made possible and many diverse cultures began to interact with one another, there was a clear evolution in the complexity of art. For example, the Phoenicians dominated the sea between 1200 and 900 B.C. and there are many traces of their culture that remain in areas in which they waged war and conducted trade (Mount Lebanon, n.d.). As a consequence, it is clear that art is a contributor to cultural diversity, and such cultural interactions help shape all societies involved.

Specific examples of how the arts contributed to the advancement of society include hieroglyphic records and oral story telling during the Middle Ages. While we now consider these practices to be mainly artistic in nature, it’s important to consider that these are the means by which ancient peoples recorded their history and spread news. Although these are considered to be archaic record techniques, it is thanks to the individuals who first decided to record events that we were able to build upon this practice and create newspapers, books, and digital records. It is therefore clear that humanities is the sum of the human experience, regardless of the field. It is how we think and use these thoughts to create new and unique discoveries. Humanities will help us continue to build upon modern ideas and drive us into the future.

References

Fish, S. (2009). Can the arts and humanities ‘save us’?. Retrieved from             http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/february11/future-arts-humanities-fish-021109.html

Mount Lebanon. (n.d.). The Phoenicians. Retrieved from http://www.mountlebanon.org/histphoenicians.html

Sowell, T. (1991). Cultural Diversity: A World View. Retrieved from http://www.tsowell.com/spcultur.html