Major Decisions: College, Career, and the Case for the Humanities by Laurie Grobman

Author:Laurie Grobman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.
Published: 2020-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Analytical Thinking and Problem-Solving in the Humanities

George Polya put forth an early structured strategy for problem-solving that included understanding the problem, developing a plan, carrying out the plan, and looking back.15 Since Polya’s work, academics in disciplines such as psychology, mathematics, business, philosophy, and more have continued to theorize problem-solving. Generally, they include some or all of these steps, depending on the nature of the problem:

• Identify the problem.

• Identify the causes.

• Brainstorm, explore, and evaluate potential solutions.

• Select the solution.

• Plan and implement the solution.

• Check the impact of the solution.

• Reflect on the process.16

We do not aim here to provide a formulaic approach to problem-solving in the humanities. Rather, we argue that humanities education promotes the kind of complex problem-solving skills identified above, noting that a critical and creative thinker is always aware of the need for modifications based on the problem at hand and the many surrounding contextual issues. Further, problem-solving is recursive, not linear, meaning the problem-solver must circle back and forth between steps. Each step involves various other skills, such as information gathering and analysis.

Studying human experience is by its very nature complex and challenging because human nature is messy, unpredictable, and resistant to simple or easy solutions. So are real-world problems, rarely presented to us as neatly packaged. Therefore, in humanities classrooms and in the world beyond it, complex problem-solving requires negotiating multiple, interconnecting, and often competing perspectives. Problem-solving education in humanities curricula is what we’d call “purposeful floundering.”17 Students often want clear step-by-step instructions or guidance, and they want answers quickly. But it is this discomfort within the complexities that in our view is the best method for teaching complex problem-solving.

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