THINK the humanities are irrelevant or dead? The Chinese and Russians don’t.

At a time when support for the humanities is in decline in the United States, countries with a reputation for crushing free speech are introducing Western-style, liberal-arts education to their universities.

Ironic? Yes. But their reasons for doing so are clear: The humanities and social sciences offer a clear competitive advantage in our increasingly interconnected world.

Read more of Julie Ziegler and Michael Zimmerman's editorial in the Seattle Times.