Oh The Humanities, II
I can imagine Slouka the newly minted PhD on the front lines, terribly upset that the jobs in the humanities are disappearing. Even Louis Menand sounds the same alarm bells.
What defenses are there available?
On the one hand, defining the good of the humanities in terms of market imperatives, i.e. "Humanities are good for undergraduates' careers because they teach critical thinking," or "Humanities are good for democracies!" seems to cheapen the humanities.
On the other hand, gesturing toward some higher, intangible good, i.e. "Humanities are a good in and of itself" seems needlessly theological/apologetic/fascistic.
So everyone says, "Humanities are good for society and community." (That, I submit, has yet to be determined.)
I wrote yesterday about escapes from and experiments in reality. The reality is: I am being trained to think, to teach about escapes from and experiments in reality. For some reasons that are not yet clear, this seems to be both important and sensible to me.
Want to see a flashy website? Herein lies the dream that religious studies professors can still "make a difference" or "make better people" or whatever. Teaching seems like something I would really enjoy - but what to teach, and for what good? At least I get to hang out with ideas I like to munch on.
Prof. Cohen, a West Coast Stereotype, wears dreads and studies South Asian Religions. I think this seems cool, but I also feel like I ought to think this is dodgy. Also, the weblink for "Freshman Seminar: Whither God" leads to a blank page.
What defenses are there available?
On the one hand, defining the good of the humanities in terms of market imperatives, i.e. "Humanities are good for undergraduates' careers because they teach critical thinking," or "Humanities are good for democracies!" seems to cheapen the humanities.
On the other hand, gesturing toward some higher, intangible good, i.e. "Humanities are a good in and of itself" seems needlessly theological/apologetic/fascistic.
So everyone says, "Humanities are good for society and community." (That, I submit, has yet to be determined.)
I wrote yesterday about escapes from and experiments in reality. The reality is: I am being trained to think, to teach about escapes from and experiments in reality. For some reasons that are not yet clear, this seems to be both important and sensible to me.
Want to see a flashy website? Herein lies the dream that religious studies professors can still "make a difference" or "make better people" or whatever. Teaching seems like something I would really enjoy - but what to teach, and for what good? At least I get to hang out with ideas I like to munch on.
Prof. Cohen, a West Coast Stereotype, wears dreads and studies South Asian Religions. I think this seems cool, but I also feel like I ought to think this is dodgy. Also, the weblink for "Freshman Seminar: Whither God" leads to a blank page.