“We must call the Classics before a jury of the shipwrecked,” wrote the Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset (1883 – 1955) That seemed right in an tie when classical studies, (and the humanities more generally) were struggling with the question of “relevance.“ Ortega shifted the question to authenticity and a sophisticated understanding of ‘vocation.’ I liked that; it opened my eyes, and I said so in print in 2011 in Classical Worlsd104.4
But the effect of that was introspective – Were we doing our jobs well enough? Of course we could do better, so energies went into figuring out how. Such questions put classicists and humanists on the defense, as we tried to explain that our fields really had something important to impart.
Playing defense was followed by a time of self-flagellation as humanists came belatedly to recognize that the narratives they constructed about literature, philosophy, music, the visual arts and even the natural sciences were largely about white males of European descent. Instead of rolling up sleeves to change such things in the future many were tempted to deplore the exclusions and let it go at that.
Such stances were, perhaps, what the age demanded, but they left the Classics, and liberal education more broadly, weakened and vulnerable to assaults by the Know Nothings – those who judge every academic discipline by the enrollments it tallies and by “return on investment,” that is their ability to deliver marketable skills, and high-paying jobs immediately after graduation. Rather than standing up against this attitude many administrators are now tempted to base educational decisions on fluctuating enrollment figures and fund-raising results.
The issue now becomes whether colleges and universities should become upscale trade schools. That is playing out right now at some universities, most conspicuously at West Virginia University. (Here’s a summary of the proposed cuts, which include reductions in courses, majors and staff in Chemistry, English, Mathematics, Philosophy, and the complete elimination of the program in World Languages, Literatures and Linguistics.) WVU stands out for its Draconic cuts but many other institutions, public and private may be tempted to follow its lead.
Likely result? Educational foreshortening, resulting in loss of perspective and potentially debilitating narrowing of minds. .
Time to quit playing defense and call before a jury of the about-to-be shipwrecked not texts that have stood the test of time, but present-day administrators who want to balance their budgets by foreshortening the educational experience of their students.
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“How plead you, President Gordon Gee? You are charged with shortchanging your students of the liberal education they deserve and will need to navigate in these perilous waters, and of plotting shipwreck. The penalty is loss of your job and of the $1.6 million in compensation you enjoy, plus a life sentnce opprobrium for the damage you are causing. . How plead you? “--
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Playing defense may not have been so bad as a strategy in the not-so-bad old days. But now, at a time of imminent shipwrecks, environmental, political, and cultural, to sed students out without compass, chart or what those before them have learned about sailing in treacherous waters demands a Guilty voye from the jury.
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The WVU BOG can be reached by contacting the Special Assistant to the Board of Governors, Valerie Lopez at [email protected]
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Westport Island, Maine
August 30, 2023
But the effect of that was introspective – Were we doing our jobs well enough? Of course we could do better, so energies went into figuring out how. Such questions put classicists and humanists on the defense, as we tried to explain that our fields really had something important to impart.
Playing defense was followed by a time of self-flagellation as humanists came belatedly to recognize that the narratives they constructed about literature, philosophy, music, the visual arts and even the natural sciences were largely about white males of European descent. Instead of rolling up sleeves to change such things in the future many were tempted to deplore the exclusions and let it go at that.
Such stances were, perhaps, what the age demanded, but they left the Classics, and liberal education more broadly, weakened and vulnerable to assaults by the Know Nothings – those who judge every academic discipline by the enrollments it tallies and by “return on investment,” that is their ability to deliver marketable skills, and high-paying jobs immediately after graduation. Rather than standing up against this attitude many administrators are now tempted to base educational decisions on fluctuating enrollment figures and fund-raising results.
The issue now becomes whether colleges and universities should become upscale trade schools. That is playing out right now at some universities, most conspicuously at West Virginia University. (Here’s a summary of the proposed cuts, which include reductions in courses, majors and staff in Chemistry, English, Mathematics, Philosophy, and the complete elimination of the program in World Languages, Literatures and Linguistics.) WVU stands out for its Draconic cuts but many other institutions, public and private may be tempted to follow its lead.
Likely result? Educational foreshortening, resulting in loss of perspective and potentially debilitating narrowing of minds. .
Time to quit playing defense and call before a jury of the about-to-be shipwrecked not texts that have stood the test of time, but present-day administrators who want to balance their budgets by foreshortening the educational experience of their students.
--
“How plead you, President Gordon Gee? You are charged with shortchanging your students of the liberal education they deserve and will need to navigate in these perilous waters, and of plotting shipwreck. The penalty is loss of your job and of the $1.6 million in compensation you enjoy, plus a life sentnce opprobrium for the damage you are causing. . How plead you? “--
--
Playing defense may not have been so bad as a strategy in the not-so-bad old days. But now, at a time of imminent shipwrecks, environmental, political, and cultural, to sed students out without compass, chart or what those before them have learned about sailing in treacherous waters demands a Guilty voye from the jury.
--
The WVU BOG can be reached by contacting the Special Assistant to the Board of Governors, Valerie Lopez at [email protected]
--
Westport Island, Maine
August 30, 2023