The humanities may seem pointless, but that is the point

[Nom De Plume]

A few years ago, I was discussing the state of humanities education with a friend, a literature teacher in his 40s who was born in Italy. “When I was a kid, we never justified the humanities,” he said. “We never needed to. My mother didn’t know Latin. But she thought I should study it because Latin was part of the world, part of the reality of things.”

Perhaps being surrounded by artistic and architectural glory makes Italians particularly attuned to the value of humanistic endeavor. While one could critique the political and socioeconomic forces that lead to their creation, the Sistine Chapel, Vivaldi’s music and the city of Venice are all beautiful and worth contemplating in and of themselves. The Italian state-funded education system continues to be one of the best in Europe, extensively covering Latin, philosophy, classical literature and history. The existence of such schools, however, is contingent on a culture that values the humanities. What kind of culture does so?

In the United States, Catholic universities, especially Jesuit ones, still for the most part require courses in philosophy, literature, theology and history. But elsewhere, humanities education is imperiled and undervalued. Reasons include the academic labor system, rising tuition costs at elite schools and plummeting interest in humanities majors. There is also a cultural dimension, and that is our quasi-utilitarian value system. Under this system, the humanities are only worth studying if they are useful for something like ethical training or developing business skills. The latest version of this argument holds that Silicon Valley leaders should have studied literature and philosophy to avoid unethical applications of new technology. But thinking about literature and philosophy exclusively as useful—effectively, as tools—ultimately undermines the humanities.

https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-cu ... gtnpIM4lus

[Nom De Plume]

from the essay ...
"Under our quasi-utilitarian value system, the humanities are only worth studying if they are useful for something like developing business skills."

[Nom De Plume]

If my 17 year old son, who I have just spent a fortune educating, wanted to do a BA I’d be gutted.

I had a friend who did a BA. She ended up a bank teller.

I have a Ba, "Nicole". I earn over 100K a year. There are Bas and their are difference Bas and it all depends on how you use what you learnt. Bas can be excellent learning tool in teaching rational thinking. They can also be useless as well - just as BScs and other degrees. To "be gutted" by your son learning and earning a degree suggests what about you?

Do you have any qualifications, Black Orchid? Any at all? Ever been to university? Ever been near a university? Ever?

I don't care if she has a degree or not! She has proven that she can think about complex ideas... That's all that matters.

[Nom De Plume]

I know half a dozen people with a PhD and they are all stark raving bonkers. Waste of time in old age.

"Academic Dickheads" was what they were often referred to.

I asked the question about HECS as I do wonder what the rules are these days regarding repayment if one isnt still working as it is normally through you payroll tax.

Does it come out of the old persons estate as the are obviously not still working .

I am pretty sure that they don't qualify for HECs at age pension age.

[Nom De Plume]

Whilst I agree with what you have just written Brian (for something novel) the problem we have now is we are sending too many people to university.

In 2016, 1500 students graduated from Flinders University in Adelaide with a Masters in Social Work. This does not take into account the numbers that graduated that year from Flinders with a Bachelor of Social Work, nor the people that graduated with social work qualifications from the University of South Australia.

Universities can do that now that so many courses can be studied online. They are no longer confined to the size of the lecture theatre. Pack em, rack em and stack em. It’s a considerable drain on the public purse.

It would be far better - to continue with social work as an example - if the government did projections on how many social workers would be needed in South Australia, and allocated the number of University placements in social work available. Universities would only take the brightest and best, and the public would spend money University educating only the numbers required in the particular field.

I would add that for degrees like social work, medicine, nursing, etc, course applicants should also have to pass an entry interview, proving they can engage in conversation and have basic social skills.

[Redneck]

I know half a dozen people with a PhD and they are all stark raving bonkers. Waste of time in old age.

"Academic Dickheads" was what they were often referred to.

I asked the question about HECS as I do wonder what the rules are these days regarding repayment if one isnt still working as it is normally through you payroll tax.

Does it come out of the old persons estate as the are obviously not still working .

I am pretty sure that they don't qualify for HECs at age pension age.

I think you are correct, so I cant see many retirees wanting to do further University studies unless they are loaded.

Perhaps stick to U3A hobby courses.