I thought these three perspectives on the study of the humanities deserved to be brought together:
"To shape tomorrow, look to the past," the Jerusalem Post
"Is it time to kill the liberal arts degree?," salon.com
I share some of the bitterness of the last writer, who feels she was misled about the usefulness of a liberal arts degree. But I also am tired of the kind of conclusion she reaches, of the "oh, it was a glorious mess, and I wouldn't do anything differently," variety. Kudos to her for eventually being able to put her degree to use. But people only have so much time available in their lives, and so college students deserve our best effort at helping them find a satisfactory, reasonably stable career path sooner. Let's be careful we don't make a decade of poverty and drifting post-college into some kind of requirement for being a 'real adult.' (And I don't think the author is suggesting that we do; I just think she let liberal arts colleges off a little too easily at the end.)
Update: I enjoyed this pithy defense of a Classics degree.
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