“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” - Patricia Cohen
Andrew Delbanco, director of American studies at Columbia
To read more of this article please visit the New York Times website here.
Congratulations to Dr Judy Lattas, the winner of the International Award for Excellence in the area of the area of new directions in the humanities for her paper Dear Learner: Shame and the Dialectics of Enquiry
Paper abstract: In this paper I contemplate the potential of Enquiry Based Learning (EBL) to lead the teaching of humanities in Australian universities. Are there internal constraints on its happy unfolding for a future of the humanities, true to its intellectual and political projects? In its favour, the proponents of EBL cite an Enlightenment ideal of ‘enquiry’ that puts the highest value on creative, open ended and self-determined thought – a pursuit of knowledge that is not limited by the interests of any professional or economic class. These same proponents of EBL, however, are often in university positions assigned the task of bringing a more instrumentalist approach to the pursuit of knowledge. Is it all just a case of Orwellian double-speak? Probyn (2005) writes about shame as a powerful and productive state that enables us to reappraise our actions and our values. In my paper I call up two moments of shame in the recent pursuit of learning and teaching excellence at my university, in order to explore the politics of an emerging rhetoric in this arena: that of ‘learning without teaching.’
An International Conference on Dewey’s Impact on America and the World. Papers should address some aspect of Dewey’s work and its influence.
Invited speakers include: Nadine Strossen, current President of the American Civil Liberties Union; Philip Kitcher, John Dewey Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University; Larry Hickman, Director of the Center for Dewey Studies; Ron Giere, Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota.
Reading time should be between 20-25 minutes. Please only submit papers for blind review. Papers should be sent via email in .pdf or .doc format. Please submit papers to: jshook@centerforinquiry.net
Submitted papers due: September 1st, 2009.
The above announcement was copied from one of several Internet sources turned up in a Google search. An announcement of the event can be found on the Research page of the Center for Inquiry’s web site. It is likely that additional information will be found there as the conference approaches