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  3. (46)One idea that elite universities like Yale, sprawling public systems like Wisconsin and smaller private colleges like Lewis

(46)One idea that elite universities like Yale, sprawling public systems like Wisconsin and smaller private colleges like Lewis

admin2012-07-06  46
问题     (46)One idea that elite universities like Yale, sprawling public systems like Wisconsin and smaller private colleges like Lewis and Clark have shared for generations is that a traditional liberal arts education is, by definition, not intended to prepare students for a specific vocation. Rather, the critical thinking, civic and historical knowledge and ethical reasoning that the humanities develop have a different purpose: They are prerequisites for personal growth and participation in a free democracy, regardless of career choice.
    But in this new era of lengthening unemployment lines and shrinking university endowments, questions about the importance of the humanities in a complex and technologically demanding world have taken on new urgency. (47) Previous economic downturns have often led to decreased enrollment in the disciplines loosely grouped under the term "humanities" — which generally include languages, literature, the arts, history, cultural studies, philosophy and religion. Many in the field worry that in this current crisis those areas will be hit hardest.
    The humanities are under greater pressure than ever to justify their existence to administrators, policy makers, students and parents. Technology executives, researchers and business leaders argue that producing enough trained engineers and scientists is essential to America’s economic vitality, national defense and health care. Some of the staunchest humanities advocates, however, admit that they have failed to make their case effectively. (48)This crisis of confidence has prompted a reassessment of what has long been considered the humanities’ central and sacred mission; to explore, as one scholar put it, "what it means to be a human being. "
    The study of the humanities evolved during the 20th century "to focus almost entirely on personal intellectual development," said Richard M. Freeland, the Massachusetts commissioner of higher education. "But what we haven’t paid a lot of attention to is how students can put those abilities effectively to use in the world. We’ve created a disjunction between the liberal arts and sciences and our role as citizens and professionals. " The Association of American Colleges and Universities recently issued a report arguing the humanities should abandon the "old Ivory Tower view of liberal education" and instead emphasize its practical and economic value.
    (49)But "the need for my older view of the humanities is, if anything, more urgent today," Anthony T. Kronman, a professor of law at Yale said, referring to the widespread greed, irresponsibility and fraud that led to the financial crash. In his view this is the time to re-examine "what we care about and what we value," a problem the humanities "are extremely well-equipped to address. "
    As money tightens, the humanities may increasingly return to being what they were at the beginning of the last century, when only a minuscule portion of the population attended college; namely, the province of the wealthy. That may be unfortunate but inevitable, Mr. Kronman said. (50) The essence of a humanities education — reading the great literary and philosophical works and coming "to grips with the question of what living is for" — may become "a great luxury that many cannot afford. " [498 words]
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答案先前的经济衰退往往导致某些学科的入学人数减少，这些学科被宽泛地归并在“人文学科”的名下，通常包括语言学、文学、艺术、历史、文化研究、哲学和宗教。
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