Humanities Conversations Kick Off Jan. 31
January 10, 2007
At a time when many claim that values and technologies have shifted radically,
how are the humanities significant? What does a 21st century research university
without the humanities look like? Do the humanities have a unique role to play
in a university?
Sponsored by the Center for the Humanities and the Department of English,
the semester-long Humanities Conversations series kicks off Jan. 31, in MUB
Theatre I at 4 p.m. with Patricia Meyer Spacks, past president of the American
Academy of Arts & Sciences (AAAS) and co-chair of The Humanities Indicators
project.
Traditionally the liberal arts and in particular, the humanities, have been
valued as the core of a university education. Humanities scholars and university
systems around the globe are grappling with the role of the humanities in an
increasingly commercialized education environment where, according to Australian
Academy of the Humanities Fellow Ien Ang, “knowledge production is guided
by the imperative that it should be useful to someone,” and usefulness
is increasingly defined as measurable marketable results that provide an avenue
for “wealth creation and societal governance.”
At the same time, workforce experts are decrying the lack of critical thinking,
advanced problem solving, and writing and communication skills that are the
core result of humanities study. Furthermore, in a complex multicultural society
the humanities foster “understanding of different traditions and customs,
the importance of tolerance and respect” and “stimulate debate
on the goals, directions and values to which our society aspires,” according
to Michael Gibbons, secretary general of the Association of Commonwealth Universities.
These are the key components in workplace effectiveness and harmony.
In the opening discussion, Spacks, a professor of English at the University
of Virginia, will discuss the state of the humanities using data gathered through
The Humanities Indicators project.
"People are very eager to document exactly what the nature of the crisis
is, if there is a crisis. People still think that the humanities are not in
such good shape, but the lack of hard data makes it very hard to think about
that in anything but a hand-wringing fashion," Spacks said in the April
14, 2006 issue of Chronicle of Higher Education.
Upcoming programs—panels, featuring UNH faculty and administrators--
will be held at 4 p.m. in the Oak Room of Huddleston Hall:
Feb. 14: Humanities Research in the New Millennium
Feb. 28: Humanities Teaching in the New Millennium
March 7: The Humanities in a Globalized World
March 21: Development Humanities: Outreach, Entrepreneurship, and Interdisciplinarity
April 4: The Humanities’ Future
For more information, contact Natalie Crotty at the Center for the Humanities,
2-4356.
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