Human rights are rapidly entering the academic curriculum, with programs appearing all over the country--including at Duke, Harvard, Northeastern, and Stanford Universities; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the Universities of Chicago, of Connecticut, of California at Berkeley, and of Minnesota; and Trinity College. Most of these…

This paper argues that the modern curriculum of academic subject disciplines embodies a rationalist conception of pure, universal knowledge that does little to cultivate, humanise or form the self. A liberal education in the classical humanist tradition, by contrast, develops a personal culture or "paideia", an understanding of the self as a…

Although a degree in Professional and Technical Communication (PTC) is a "practical" degree, its hands-on nature does not preclude it from providing students with a sound liberal education. For one educator, those who major in professional/technical communication are better prepared to fill many of the jobs that are currently going to…

The criteria of practical benefit and objectivity applied to the humanities cannot keep them from their rightful place alongside mathematics and sciences as a worthwhile endeavor. These criteria are misleading. The humanities forge a sense of beauty, compassion, honor, humor, and shape love, friendship, and enmity. (MSE)

Twenty-five years ago a small volume of essays entitled "Crisis in the Humanities" was published containing an ominous message: namely, that the humanistic disciplines had arrived at a crossroad--a turning point at which a decisive change for better or worse was imminent. Humanistic scholarship appears to have declined since that…

Cites the Rockefeller Commission's findings regarding humanistic studies. Outlines steps for bringing humanism back to the humanities, e.g., by clarifying the humanities' substance and identity, elucidating a cogent and persuasive rationale for their study, and underscoring the importance of a cultural/humanistic context for vocational training.…

This paper takes the position that "the general phenomenon of meta-disciplinarity should find a place in contemporary investigations into the organization and production of knowledge." In the meta-disciplinary triad of art, science, and the humanities, the humanities originated out of a distinction between the human and the divine. The history of…

Problems of overspecialization, reclusive objectivity, timidity, deferentiality, and naivete are interrelated and their root cause lies in scholars not having the faintest awareness of the public responsibility of the scholar or how that public responsibility is consonant with individual gain or with the public good. (HOD)

Discusses the general education role assigned by many institutions to foreign language departments and the difficulties that these have encountered in adjusting their course offerings and their goals to such role. Expresses the belief that the foreign language classroom is the ideal environment to teach the value of language as a heuristic device.…

The decline of the liberal arts, as signaled by declining enrollments, fewer majors, and the ascendency of preprofessional education, is discussed. Business is seen to be retraining students in logical thinking, the principles of cause and effect, human communication, reading, and writing--all traditional liberal arts objectives. (MLW)

Folklore has traditionally been excluded from the definition of the humanities. The value of folklore to the humanities is in providing an opportunity to view the tension between tradition and creativity, an appreciation of oral power, and an appreciation of cultural diversity. (JMF)

Examines attempts to save humanities education by making it instrumental to other ends. Argues that, rather than finding ways to appease an unsympathetic audience, humanities programs must act without apology and accentuate the role the humanities plays in humanizing and liberating students through self-criticism and self-revision. (Contains 16…

Suggests that the perspectives developed by humanities as part of education in science, technology, and medicine can offer enrichment in ways that lead to both use and delight. Sketches some activities at the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine (ICSTM) in London concerned with liberal education and describes some of the…

Designed as a forum for the exchange of ideas on significant issues in the humanities, this journal presents articles written by two-year college faculty in the humanities disciplines. The 1989 annual issue includes the following: (1) "Popular Literature and the American Literature Survey Course: The Case of Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood," by…

Social sciences in the community college are at a critical point in their history and development. Except for a few statistical aberrations, enrollment in the social sciences and humanities is declining significantly. The idea of marketing a segment of a college's or university's offerings, particularly when it is not tied to a particular problem…