College Life

College is a place where young people have the chance to further develop their brains in and out of the class room. Students are introduced to new topics and teaching styles that will diversefy their ability to learn. The purpose of a University is to enhance the knowledge of students and prepare them for their dream job. Or is it?
Upon copmleting my first two years at a major college in Virginia, I have become critical of the purpose of college. The image is that of a place to bring about learning and understanding. However, with rising tuition prices and large sums of money spent on aquatic centers that image is quickly dwindling. Universities are more interested in making the school look good to possible consumers than they are in the welfare of current students. It seems that the only facilities that don't get renevated are libraries.
Large Universities work hard to maintain a high turnover rate. They need to have more incoming freshman than graduating seniors to increase profit. The almighty dollar in fluences every aspect of schooling. Teachers, which are to a school as wheels to a car, are very much under paid. However, basketball coaches are swimming in wealth. Why? Because they helped increase the profit for a school.
On another note, it does not seem that college is a place of learning. In my opinion college is a place where people come to simply get their degree. I have become much more interested in grades than knowledge. In most classes I would be much more content with receiving an "A" and learning nowthing than getting a "B" and actually learnining something. If a teacher truely wanted you to learn a subject, I feel that they would be more interested in teaching it rather than testing on it.

Moving the Humanities along, or brushing them under the rug?

The Awakening is not only a novel written by Kate Chopin, but also a famous (well, I’m not sure how famous considering I just discovered it) sculpture created by J. Seward Johnson Jr. and was located right in Mason’s backyard, across the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Bridge on the shores of the Potomac river has now been uprooted, sold, and displaced to developers planning to build a new “glamorous” and more than likely overpriced convention center further north in Prince George’s county, MD near their portion of the Potomac. According to an article written in The Washington Post, this is a popular spot for kids to play, couples to wed, and people to just enjoy the view.
Ironically, this allows me to remember Stanley Fish's,rant about Humanities only being for pleasure (although he then after came back to inform readers that he was referring to the study of "Humanisitc Text"), and how from the first time I read his blog, I never understood how exactly he can bash an entire discipline that has allowed for much change, and helps to keep people well rounded if only just for 'enjoyment.' Although, I’m not informed with all aspects of the humanities because I am majoring in a social science and science related field, I may be a little biased because I generally like the arts. Many people do not find pleasure in sculptures, music, or novels.
However, Fish's point is made very clear as they are actually relocating this beloved sculpture to another location, because clearly the worth of this sculpture was not based on those who enjoyed to view it, but rather it's dollar value to it's owner. All over the world many are selling off many precious pieces of artwork, which may prove that Humanities may not have any worth in our society, but the question I ask is, if the miniscule things in life aren't cherished then what exactly do we have to take our minds off the major things?

The Selling (Off) of the Humanities

I was sitting in traffic the other day and saw a car called a SONATA and I wondered just what a piece of music has to do with a Korean automobile unless the horn plays the "Moonlight Sonata" or something. Then again, if Mozart can be used to sell chocolates, why can’t Beethoven be used as a front for cars? Or his own brand of chocolates for that matter. Or maybe Tosca, La Boheme, or Cosi Fan Tutti candy bars? Painting hasn't faired much better. Why can't advertisers leave the poor Mona Lisa alone? The woman who famously doesn't show her teeth has been reduced to lending her name to a bunch of dentists with the tag line "Dentistry is a work of art. Timeless beauty." No one has been more mined than Shakespeare to make a buck. The Folger Shakespeare Library has a great gallery showing the use (or misuse) of the Bard. While using Falsaff for brussel sprouts seems absurd, using the same character's name for beer is more insidious. Sure Falstaff was a good time guy in Prince Hal's youth, but King Henry rejected his old drinking buddy in later life, partially because of his drinking. Romeo and Juliet may be a Valentine's Day staple but I have a bit of trouble with them being associated with wine--doesn't anyone remember that Romeo died by drinking poison? And let's not even consider what the star-crossed lovers have to do with laser hair removal. Othello--a wife murderer--shares his name with a popular board game. In final Jeopardy, if the answer is "Othello" which question is more likely to be given: "What is a Mattel board game" or "Who is the Moor of Venice"? Using all of above for the names of products makes economic sense: the composers/artists/writers are long dead and so there are no copyright fees, etc. to deal with. As an example of more recent artist, Hemingway's family licensed his name to a line of furniture after Papa blew his head off.
All of the above might seem to be a bit absurd but you can see how it builds. So where is the harm? To be clear, I am not talking about parody, which I believe is a valid art form. The situation is pervasive. What is happening is that advertisers are plundering our cultural capital for profit. In doing so, they separate the original work from its greatness and make it a joke. Why study Romeo & Juliet if that is where you go to get your legs waxed? Eventually, it is possible that the play will be forgotten and the only thing that will be remembered is that those two crazy kids, Romeo and Juliet (along with Beethoven and Mozart) sure do make a great box of chocolates.

Just A Thought...

During an age when 2 million emails are sent every second and the time it took to find this information on the Internet took 10 seconds, it is understandable that today's workforce and youth expect stimulation instantaneously. This situation has lead to an increase in fast paced action films, electronic books, video games (GUITAR HERO III!!!) and even mp3 players that will not only hold an array of 10,000 songs, but play movies, check emails, act as a cell phone and provide us with an arcade at our disposal. Now I'm not saying any of this is all together detrimental to our well-being, and I even occasionally enjoy the vast amount of videos on YouTube.com (I was not paid to say that!) But seriously, how many people do you know actually sit down and read a book in a few days. Attention spans in Americans are next to nil and we will compromise quality any day for a quick fix... And trust me, entertainment and business entrepreneurs have had the quantity available. I'm not speaking about all Americans either, just those of you who fit the description and you know who you are. Okay, this is all fine and dandy but how does this situation really affect America as a country. I mean, just because we get everything at the tip of our fingers doesn't mean we are lazy and inept as people. I simply feel that the time it takes to watch a great film, read an enlightening book, or listen to a cd is becoming next to extinct in America. This hasn't been the case yet, but if things keep going the way that they are, with people and business concerned solely about saving time and multitasking, we are in a heap of trouble culturally. I personally feel that music, film, literature as a whole has been compromised in a way as an effect of the technological age. The only way we as Americans can avoid this dismal technological future, which I can picture looking like a bad scene in "Demolition Man" (which by the way all the scenes are bad LOL), is to slow down our lifestyles and pay attention to what really counts. We need not to pay too much attention to our new computer, ipod, phone, car, or even platinum bluetooth ear pieces (HAHA they do exist) but to the great music, movies, and literature that IS out there to which we've turned a blind eye...

The Uses of the Humanities

Stanley Fish, an academic humanist, makes a bold claim about the utility of the humanities. He argues that their main purpose is to provide individual pleasure. They don’t reform, they don’t humanize, and they don’t help us understand the meaning of life, Fish asserts, because if they did, your English, philosophy, music, and history professors would be among the best people on earth (and you already know that they aren’t!).

Is Fish right? Scholars of history make war, writers of novels commit crimes, and gifted creative artists lose their lives to drugs and alcohol. And yet, it was a pamphlet that helped launch the American Revolution, it was music that helped empower a generation to oppose the Vietnam War, and a painting like Picasso’s Guernica is considered a national treasure in Spain.

What do you think? Can training in the humanistic disciplines do anything more than give us individual pleasure?

J.