The Liberal Arts—down the tubes?

A NY Times article (2/25/09) pondered whether a Liberal Arts education will be around much longer. Recent trends suggest maybe not.

When I taught English, a number of students resented the time my class took from their studies in science & technology or business & finance. Those are the disciplines that would pay them good money . . . and pay off their tuition loans. But English? What good is it?

You can talk till you’re blue in the face—and I did—about the power of language, about the importance of clear thinking and coherent, persuasive writing—the things liberal arts teach us.

After all, it was Bethany McClean, a former English major who first cracked the Enron scandal—because, as she said, she knew the right questions to ask. There are lots of stories like that.

And I talked about how the humanities explore the important questions of life—

How does one lead a good life in a not-so-good world?
What does it mean to be human?

But, honestly? $20,000 a year is a lot money to spend on trying to figure out what your humanity’s about.

So maybe the pursuit of liberal arts is a luxury we can no longer afford. That’s what more than a few in the ivory towers are suggesting.

Questions for Book Clubs

If college humanities courses fall off a cliff . . . will book clubs pick up the slack? After all, to read and discuss books is to engage the very questions posed by humanities.
But then who said book clubs are supposed to solve society’s problems? Isn’t our roll simply to enjoy reading and sharing ideas, large or small?

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