5 ms·

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.
      - antepodius 6y ago
        The humanities aren't just in the universities. If what you want is self-edification, you can get a lot of it online. The rest can be solved by carving out a niche of people like yourself you can talk to about the subject in real life.
      - recursivedoubts 6y ago
        I think you misunderstand me: I very much am in favor of the humanities as a part of a liberal education, I just wouldn't expect a university humanities department to teach me (or my children) much about them. There are exceptions, of course, but we are speaking internet here. For a general overview of the situation, Allan Blooms "The Closing of The American Mind" covers it far better than I (or almost anyone else) could.
- 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.

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.
    - antepodius 6y ago
      The humanities aren't just in the universities. If what you want is self-edification, you can get a lot of it online. The rest can be solved by carving out a niche of people like yourself you can talk to about the subject in real life.
    - recursivedoubts 6y ago
      I think you misunderstand me: I very much am in favor of the humanities as a part of a liberal education, I just wouldn't expect a university humanities department to teach me (or my children) much about them. There are exceptions, of course, but we are speaking internet here. For a general overview of the situation, Allan Blooms "The Closing of The American Mind" covers it far better than I (or almost anyone else) could.
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.