Once upon a time taking humanities was an enriching experience...
So true. I took a lot of humanities courses, and nearly all of them asked me to think about ideas I hadn't known about. Many of my professors also made a point of getting us to step outside our comfort zones.
I remember the professor in introductory philosophy spent time on the theme of "true beliefs." She stated the obvious (everyone has a set of things that they believe are true) and then worked out a logical argument showing that some "true beliefs" aren't true at all. The next logical step in the learning sequence was for all of us to ask ourselves which of our true beliefs were false. It was all accompanied by readings in classical philosophy. I wonder how much of this kind of thinking is taught now.
These days, if you're not majoring in the field, the humanities courses are just boxes to be checked off on your gen ed list. I've even heard grumblings about how little value they have, even as a major. It's a mess --- we've got ourselves in a state where we value the acquisition of narrow skillsets over the acquisition of broad knowledge followed by focusing in one area.
