The Value of Fostering Empathy in Undergraduate Students through the Study of Art

Employers note that recent college graduates lack soft skills crucial to their success in the workplace. Using representations of artwork in the classroom may impact students’ soft skills by positively impacting their emotional intelligence (specifically their levels of empathy). Pairing works of art with discussion of the artist’s background and artistic intent helps foster understanding and awareness of experiences often outside the average student’s realm, thus helping to ignite feelings of empathy and understanding. While artists have been triggering empathetic responses in viewers for hundreds of years, contemporary artwork appears to have the greatest impact on students due to the opportunity to relate directly to a living artist through interviews, videos, and other reflective materials.