Taiwan’s humanities and social sciences fields are facing several challenges, not the least of which is the dearth of bachelor’s degree applicants to National Cheng Kung University’s (NCKU) Department of History.
Fifteen general studies students were accepted and 18 were put on a waiting list, university applicant data showed. All 33 students were also accepted at humanities and social sciences departments at other universities as well. In the end, none of them chose to attend NCKU. Seven remaining spaces would be kept open for late admissions next month, in accordance with the university’s placement exam.
When university staff were asked about it, they attributed the loss of prospective students to the influence of artificial intelligence (AI), spurring academics in different to start debating whether the humanities are useful.
Amid these discussions, news reports last week said that construction of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s packaging plant in Chiayi County was temporarily halted due to the unearthing of historic relics and remains, drawing ridicule and derisive comments from some people about historians and archeologists.
As a professor in NCKU’s Department of History, I would like to shed light on some of their misconceptions.
The study of history is about scrutinizing the past, in service of the future. Historians certainly do not rote memorize facts such as names and dates, examine or reject historical figures and events, or sit around listening to or reciting tales all day long.
They use a range of research methods to acquaint themselves with the past, pressing closer to the truth about the past. They use contemporary viewpoints to describe history. This is all done for the benefit of future learning and knowledge.
A quote from the 2018 Japanese TV series Unnatural states that the legal and medical professions “work for the future.”
Historians do not dissect or test specimens, but they do analyze historical resources and information, and finely sift through data and information left by those who came before. History as a discipline exists as a means of explaining the current global issues.
The result of internalizing and habituating methods for studying history is called “historical literacy.” The anxiety stirred up within those in the humanities and social sciences by the rise of generative AI is a problem that could be addressed through historical literacy.
In a CommonWealth Magazine article titled “AI’s Promise and Peril,” I reflected on the past 400 years, throughout which humans have used new technologies to expand their cognitive abilities and to understand the history of the natural world. The humanities and social sciences could train generative AI, harnessing it to search for ways to create new models and methods.
History students must cultivate their mastery of historical literacy while taking their required courses, familiarizing themselves with professional resources by closely examining the past. Historical literacy helps people recognize problems.
Professional tools enable people to search for solutions faster than other methods. Whether they are legal, financial or medical professionals, many jobs need these kinds of skills. Graduates of history programs do not need to worry about being unable to forge a career path. Every field and industry has bright and shining history department alumni working in them, far more than people generally guess.
For those who wish to pursue a career in history, there is often a demand for those with master’s level training or higher. Those with sufficient training can also undertake history research in an institution.
In education, they can pass on historical literacy. In management, history is useful for preserving resources for future historical research.
This year, I attended a prospective master’s student information session, where I discovered that students coming for interviews felt rudderless concerning their futures. I hope they can become talented academics who take up historical research.
New department systems or curricula are unlikely to directly affect candidates enrolled in the middle of a degree program, as each student’s curriculum requirements are set based on their year of admission. As such, students must seek to improve themselves.
If I could offer another, more practical suggestion: Learn more languages. Not only should people learn or improve their mother tongues, such as Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), Hakka or indigenous languages, it would also serve them well to learn a foreign language. The great enemy of the field of history is ignorance of the world. If people could learn more languages to a high degree, it would surely open new doors and worlds for them. The insights they gain from tying together different experiences would mean they cannot be replaced by a computer.
Chien Hung-yi is an assistant professor in National Cheng Kung University’s Department of History.
Translated by Tim Smith
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