Sorry for the past ones, I responded to the wrong post at first. Anyways, thank you, Professor, for the insightful and informative article. As a dance major, the fact that my field of study is not exactly "practical" in how society defines that word. I heartily believe, however, that does not exclude the field from having value (reaching into health fields, in the artistry essential for society's respite and awareness, etc). As the author described, the same is true for the field of English. Let's as a society remember that "success" in monetary, political, and other again "practical" means can only proliferate through the fruits of Humanities studies, and therefore, for these more seemingly relevant fields' own well-being, cannot be allowed to wither.
These issues are really, really, really relevant ones given the tensions regarding funding for education out in California.
Michael Berube recently wrote a solid blog post, over at his chameleon-like blog, about the tensions surrounding his own assessment of cultural studies and the way that theory is, or is not, having any kind of discernable impact on higher education.
Good questions, Carolyn. Those arguments seem a bit essentialist. But they also point to the ways in which, arguably, our internal ambitions are constructed by the material world outside of us.
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ReplyDeleteSorry for the past ones, I responded to the wrong post at first. Anyways, thank you, Professor, for the insightful and informative article. As a dance major, the fact that my field of study is not exactly "practical" in how society defines that word. I heartily believe, however, that does not exclude the field from having value (reaching into health fields, in the artistry essential for society's respite and awareness, etc). As the author described, the same is true for the field of English. Let's as a society remember that "success" in monetary, political, and other again "practical" means can only proliferate through the fruits of Humanities studies, and therefore, for these more seemingly relevant fields' own well-being, cannot be allowed to wither.
ReplyDeletekbdancer,
ReplyDeleteThese issues are really, really, really relevant ones given the tensions regarding funding for education out in California.
Michael Berube recently wrote a solid blog post, over at his chameleon-like blog, about the tensions surrounding his own assessment of cultural studies and the way that theory is, or is not, having any kind of discernable impact on higher education.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGood questions, Carolyn. Those arguments seem a bit essentialist. But they also point to the ways in which, arguably, our internal ambitions are constructed by the material world outside of us.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
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