Role of Humanities, in School and Life - NYTimes.com - 0 views
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the major value of a college curriculum, and the reason an undergraduate degree is still preferable to a random menu of massive online open courses, is the opportunity it offers students through a variety of disciplines and the different skills specific to each
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most colleges do not view humanities and sciences as in competition with each other. Today’s students need to develop the capacity for open-ended inquiry cultivated by the liberal arts, and also the problem-solving skills associated with science and technology.
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a major factor that’s reshaped humanities education since 1970, when the decline began: postmodernism.
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More important, studying the humanities helps us make sense of our lives and our world, whether the times are good or bad.
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But the humanities are not on life support. They are alive and well, and remain vitally important in preparing graduates to lead meaningful, considered lives, to flourish in multiple careers and to be informed, engaged citizens of our democracy and our rapidly evolving world
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While the professors justifiably cite inadequate funding and marketplace demand for scientists and engineers as causes of the marginalization of the humanities, they also ought to look inward at their profession’s rejection of the rational ideals that make the educated world go round.
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The narrow focus on STEM education can produce a well-trained work force. What the country and the world need are well-educated citizens.