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Humanities Honors Program for Undergraduate Students at the Technion

Humanities at the Technion

The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology seeks to contribute to Israel and to humanity at large, via scientific and technological research and education. In the past century, we have provided our graduates with scientific and technological training of the highest standards and supplied our researchers with state-of-the art research environments. Recently, we have come to the realization that in order to best perform our mission, we must also develop in-house capacities in the humanities, and encourage our students and faculty members to engage with ideas and methods in history, philosophy, literature, ethics, etc.

Therefore, our immediate plan, which we have already initiated, is to substantially develop the Department of Humanities and Arts in the Technion by recruiting new excellent faculty members, develop and offer new and exciting courses, and promote relevant research activity and opportunities throughout the Technion.

Humanities Core Studies

The Technion educates Israel's scientific and technological leadership. A century of Technion history teaches that our graduates reach impactful positions and are situated in significant decision points. We expect them to steer the Israeli and international technological R&D boat with integrity and professionalism, guided by a deep sense of commitment to their society. Indeed, “Nurturing and Educating Leaders” is explicitly defined as one of the four pillars of the Technion’s strategic plan (2021-2031), which stresses the importance of science and engineering in a societal, historical, and environmental context. We seek to equip our graduates with the means to understand human beings, as individuals and as a society, and their environment.

We believe that core studies in the humanities – such as history, languages, philosophy, and literature – offer key methods to nurturing such leaders. Moreover, training in the humanities would broaden the future graduates’ horizons, open their minds, and expand their toolbox in significant ways. For example, the study of history and literature enriches and develops the capacity of human imagination; training in logic develops critical ability for questioning presuppositions that are usually taken for granted; philosophical training habituates one to challenge underlying assumptions in both practical and theoretical pursuits; it also stimulates the mind to conceive questions from new angles, improve communication skills, and develop creative thinking abilities.

There is a tendency to draw a dichotomy between education in the humanities and training in the natural sciences and engineering. We believe otherwise. We think that scientific and humanistic training are not contradictory but rather complementary. Engineers and scientists with training in the humanities are in a better position to develop an edge. One would not want the future scientist, engineer, or developer to be mindless of what it is that they develop. Courses in philosophy, history and literature enable scientists and engineers to expand their cognitive boundaries and thus to enhance their capacity to understand the complex role of technology in current culture and society.

Attached below full program***