4 ms·

The academic humanities departments have made their bed over the last fifty years. Now they may lie in it.

by recursivedoubts 6y ago

apsec112 6y ago
Sorry, I'm not sure what you're referring to?
- eggsmediumrare 6y ago
  I'm guessing over-admission, watered down standards and acquiescence to bad ideas, but I can't speak for the original poster.
  - recursivedoubts 6y ago
    Yes to all of that. A culture of fear and loathing. Charging obscene levels of tuition for it while piling the real work onto adjuncts. Close-mindedness that would make John Calvin blush. The list is extremely long. There is no chance I would let a university humanities department anywhere near my children at this point.
    - ianleeclark 6y ago
      > A culture of fear and loathing. Examples? > Charging obscene levels of tuition for it while piling the real work onto adjuncts. This is endemic to the US university system, in general. > Close-mindedness that would make John Calvin blush. Again, it's all fun and games to riff and instantly disregard a vast number of fields of study, but you're not doing yourself any favors by just throwing out a laundry list. You have an immense distrust towards these departments: air your grievances, I'm sure a lot of us are interested. > There is no chance I would let a university humanities department anywhere near my children at this point. Universities tend to admit adults. Also, if your children go into university, are you going to refuse to pay for their general courses? They're going to have to touch a literature or history course eventually. Are you going to forbid them from taking 3 credit hours of Spanish?
      - honksillet 6y ago
        Here is an example... https://reason.com/2020/06/10/ucla-business-school-lecturer-placed-on-leave-for-e-mail-to-student-rejecting-request-for-exam-leniency-for-black-students/ https://reason.com/2020/06/10/ucla-business-school-lecturer-...
        ianleeclark 6y ago
        Im sorry, but I'm not getting your point. A guy in a non-humanities field of study got put on involuntary leave, and, in your mind, this is due to the humanities department?
        mcguire 6y ago
        "On June 3, Klein was placed on involuntary administrative leave until June 24. The notice states that the leave is necessary to give UCLA the opportunity to consider "allegations regarding behavior made in the course and scope of your position … inconsistent with [UCLA's Faculty Code of Conduct]."" What exactly is the university to do while it pondering the issue?
        barry-cotter 6y ago
        They’re not supposed to ponder the issue. They’re supposed to tell the students that if they don’t like departmental policy the door is that way.
      - recursivedoubts 6y ago
        Of course not. There are wonderful resources for getting a liberal education today. More than ever, in fact, and far less expensive than ever as well. They just have nothing to do with going into a humanities department.
        ianleeclark 6y ago
        A liberal education, by definition, includes the humanities. What's the point of using a forum for discussion if you're just going to make vague assertions and never bother to back them up? You talk of fear and loathing, yet seemingly operate on visceral reaction given that you continually refuse/are unable to list your grievances.
    - spacegod 6y ago
      "Close-mindedness that would make John Calvin blush." I swear that some of you (Silicon Valley autists) can think only memetically. Truly a tragedy. "There is no chance I would let a university humanities department anywhere near my children at this point." They wouldn't let your child in it to begin with. Let me share an anecdote: Out of the seven friends that I have that graduated with engineering degrees, only 1 is still an engineer. Most regret it since it hampered their social skills. On the other hand, the Chinese language and History double major is pulling in bank by luring in Chinese real estate investment. He is easily the most happy out of all of us. STEM is a meme that needs to die. America does not need any more biology, chemical engineering or physics undergrads. It needs stats, philosophy, and accounting undergrads. It needs people who can maneuver political systems with ease. It needs people who can approach a problem from 15 different angles and see them for what they are. Specialization is not king. Adaptability is.
    - glial 6y ago
      I went to St John's College. Loved every minute of it. It may be the exception that proves the rule, however.
- lr4444lr 6y ago
  The Sokal Hoax was a loud canary in the coalmine that was ignored: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokal_affair https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokal_affair
- pnako 6y ago
  Humanities departments becoming de-facto meetings of the party, as opposed to a cafe where philosophers of all strokes meet to exchange ideas.

The academic humanities departments have made their bed over the last fifty years. Now they may lie in it.

apsec112 6y ago

Sorry, I'm not sure what you're referring to?

eggsmediumrare 6y ago
I'm guessing over-admission, watered down standards and acquiescence to bad ideas, but I can't speak for the original poster.
- recursivedoubts 6y ago
  Yes to all of that. A culture of fear and loathing. Charging obscene levels of tuition for it while piling the real work onto adjuncts. Close-mindedness that would make John Calvin blush. The list is extremely long. There is no chance I would let a university humanities department anywhere near my children at this point.
  - ianleeclark 6y ago
    > A culture of fear and loathing. Examples? > Charging obscene levels of tuition for it while piling the real work onto adjuncts. This is endemic to the US university system, in general. > Close-mindedness that would make John Calvin blush. Again, it's all fun and games to riff and instantly disregard a vast number of fields of study, but you're not doing yourself any favors by just throwing out a laundry list. You have an immense distrust towards these departments: air your grievances, I'm sure a lot of us are interested. > There is no chance I would let a university humanities department anywhere near my children at this point. Universities tend to admit adults. Also, if your children go into university, are you going to refuse to pay for their general courses? They're going to have to touch a literature or history course eventually. Are you going to forbid them from taking 3 credit hours of Spanish?
    - honksillet 6y ago
      Here is an example... https://reason.com/2020/06/10/ucla-business-school-lecturer-placed-on-leave-for-e-mail-to-student-rejecting-request-for-exam-leniency-for-black-students/ https://reason.com/2020/06/10/ucla-business-school-lecturer-...
      - ianleeclark 6y ago
        Im sorry, but I'm not getting your point. A guy in a non-humanities field of study got put on involuntary leave, and, in your mind, this is due to the humanities department?
      - mcguire 6y ago
        "On June 3, Klein was placed on involuntary administrative leave until June 24. The notice states that the leave is necessary to give UCLA the opportunity to consider "allegations regarding behavior made in the course and scope of your position … inconsistent with [UCLA's Faculty Code of Conduct]."" What exactly is the university to do while it pondering the issue?
        barry-cotter 6y ago
        They’re not supposed to ponder the issue. They’re supposed to tell the students that if they don’t like departmental policy the door is that way.
    - recursivedoubts 6y ago
      Of course not. There are wonderful resources for getting a liberal education today. More than ever, in fact, and far less expensive than ever as well. They just have nothing to do with going into a humanities department.
      - ianleeclark 6y ago
        A liberal education, by definition, includes the humanities. What's the point of using a forum for discussion if you're just going to make vague assertions and never bother to back them up? You talk of fear and loathing, yet seemingly operate on visceral reaction given that you continually refuse/are unable to list your grievances.
  - spacegod 6y ago
    "Close-mindedness that would make John Calvin blush." I swear that some of you (Silicon Valley autists) can think only memetically. Truly a tragedy. "There is no chance I would let a university humanities department anywhere near my children at this point." They wouldn't let your child in it to begin with. Let me share an anecdote: Out of the seven friends that I have that graduated with engineering degrees, only 1 is still an engineer. Most regret it since it hampered their social skills. On the other hand, the Chinese language and History double major is pulling in bank by luring in Chinese real estate investment. He is easily the most happy out of all of us. STEM is a meme that needs to die. America does not need any more biology, chemical engineering or physics undergrads. It needs stats, philosophy, and accounting undergrads. It needs people who can maneuver political systems with ease. It needs people who can approach a problem from 15 different angles and see them for what they are. Specialization is not king. Adaptability is.
  - glial 6y ago
    I went to St John's College. Loved every minute of it. It may be the exception that proves the rule, however.
lr4444lr 6y ago
The Sokal Hoax was a loud canary in the coalmine that was ignored: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokal_affair https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokal_affair
pnako 6y ago
Humanities departments becoming de-facto meetings of the party, as opposed to a cafe where philosophers of all strokes meet to exchange ideas.