A life worth living

 

Open Book stone table

Photo by J. Harrington

Does anyone else see a problem here?

• Writing helps the incarcerated reclaim their humanity


• Public Colleges Serving Rural Areas Especially Likely to Cut Humanities

According to the National Humanities Center:

From an academic standpoint, the humanities include the study of history, philosophy and religion, modern and ancient languages and literatures, fine and performing arts, media and cultural studies, and other fields. Humanities research adds to our knowledge of the world, as scholars investigate differences between cultures and communities around the world and across time, consider the ways art is made and received, or unveil the undercurrents that have shaped history. Humanities education encourages students to think creatively and critically, to reason, and ask questions. And, as the humanities offer insight into nearly every aspect of life, they have been considered a core element of a well-rounded education since ancient times.

Put simply, the humanities help us understand and interpret the human experience, as individuals and societies.

Minnesota's higher education system provides for technical education options, including online and associate degrees. The Minnesota Humanities Center doesn't appear to have comparable offerings. What does this say about the value of learning how to be a [better] human?

“The case for the humanities is not hard to make, though it can be difficult--to such an extent have we been marginalized, so long have we acceded to that marginalization--not to sound either defensive or naive. The humanities, done right, are the crucible in which our evolving notions of what it means to be fully human are put to the test; they teach us, incrementally, endlessly, not what to do, but how to be. Their method is confrontational, their domain unlimited, their "product" not truth but the reasoned search for truth, their "success" something very much like Frost's momentary stay against confusion.” 
― Mark Slouka, Essays from the Nick of Time: Reflections and Refutations

Humanities Lecture

By William E. Stafford

Aristotle was a little man with

eyes like a lizard, and he found a streak

down the midst of things, a smooth place for his feet

much more important than the carved handles

on the coffins of the great.

He said you should put your hand out

at the time and place of need:

strength matters little, he said,

nor even speed.

His pupil, a king's son, died

at an early age. That Aristotle spoke of him

it is impossible to find—the youth was

notorious, a conqueror, a kid with a gang,

but even this Aristotle didn't ever say.

Around the farthest forest and along

all the bed of the sea, Aristotle studied

immediate, local ways. Many of which

were wrong. So he studied poetry.

There, in pity and fear, he found Man.

Many thinkers today, who stand low and grin,

have little use for anger or power, its palace

or its prison—

but quite a bit for that little man

with eyes like a lizard. 

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