March 20th, 2008
The Iraq War and Education…Five Years Later
March 19, 2008, marked the five-year anniversary of our country’s most recent military venture in Iraq. And though it’s been a bumpy ride to say the least–with enlistment and desertion rates rising and falling faster than the stock market–it’s clear that Americans have taken increased interest in matters of state. Al-Qaeda, nuclear weapons, Osama bin Laden, and ’surge’ have all become buzzwords for anyone who scours The New York Times on a daily basis. But what about education? Have our military endeavors affected how people learn and what people study?
Though engineering, accounting, and business take top honors as the fastest-growing fields in academia, college students across the nation are flocking to disciplines more ‘international’ in nature. Here are four such academic fields on the rise:
Security and Protective Services: With growing concerns about terrorism and heated debate on illegal immigration, majors such as safety and security technology are becoming more and more popular. Students in this field learn how to both recognize and defend against computer-based terrorist attacks, as well as how to use technological resources to crack down on unlawful entry into the country.
International Relations/Foreign Affairs: The need to strengthen political, economic, and cultural bonds with foreign powers has never been more apparent. International relations and foreign affairs programs address this need by examining historic trends, current events, and theories of established professionals.
Foreign Languages: Francis Bacon, one of my favorite thinkers, once said that intellectual errors stem from our inability to communicate effectively with others. As much as we’d all like to speak English everywhere we go…it just ain’t happenin’. Considering today’s most prevalent issues, degrees in Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese are becoming hot commodities for college graduates.
Religious Studies: Although the U.S. stands firm on its policy of ’separation of church and state,’ many nations do not believe in this division. Studying the religious and/or spiritual beliefs of a particular country or culture can prove invaluable on a political, economic, and especially a humanitarian level.
I can’t help but point out what a giant slap in the face some of these popular majors are for the current administration: foreign languages – take that, Freedom Fries! Religious studies – probably not in colleges run by those trumpeting intelligent design, no doubt. And, of course, international relations, which, as far as the last 8 years is concerned, is a whole new concept! It’s excellent to see that interest in these fields has grown over the last two terms. It fits perfectly into the US’s reactionary approach to most things: let it get really bad before we wake up and do something about it. But at least we’re doing something about it, right?
Comment by Nearly Graduated Office Worker — March 21, 2008 @ 10:16 am
I think the word ‘reactionary’ hit the nail right on the head. It often takes a momentous event, a proverbial wake-up call, for everyone to realize that something is terribly wrong. Hopefully through education we’ll figure out that reactionary isn’t good enough, and that we should concentrate on more preventative measures.
Comment by A. Dupin — March 22, 2008 @ 7:45 am
The war is not going to end soon, if ever. We need to be respectful and assist all nations / race with their troubles. I agree with preventative measures, in addition higher levels of training. I have been attending the ATAC Academy (www.atacacademy.com) for continuing education in Law Enforcement in the Middle East as a private contractor. I have found that the instructors of ATAC have provided more in all my years of military training. We are all in this together. Better education and understanding is a great start.
Comment by James — March 27, 2008 @ 12:20 pm
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