The Report, intended as a discussion paper, attempts to stimulate the thinking of teachers about the role of the humanities in the education of students who intend to leave school at the minimum age, and continue their education no further. Raising of the minimum school age to 16 in 1970-71 presented schools with an opportunity to re-design…

A discussion is presented on the role of the humanities in society and in the community colleges. First, some reflections on the status of humanities education are provided, including comments on the limitations of federal funding for projects to enhance the quality of the humanities and encourage their growth; and the difficulties facing the…

In the late 1970s, it became clear to a group of Kirkwood Community College (KCC) faculty and administrators that fewer and fewer students were taking humanities courses, that students' selection of courses was usually imbalanced, and that most had little idea of what the term "humanities" embraced. With a grant from the National…

Two schools of thought exist with regard to the goals of humanities instruction. The "university orientation" places an emphasis upon impersonal, intellectual, and purely academic objectives. The "liberal arts orientation" maintains that humanities instruction should contribute to the beliefs, values, expectations, attitudes, fears, emotions, and…

This collection of articles, reviews, and reports related to the humanities in community and two-year colleges begins with Fred Pincus's "Class Conflicts and Community Colleges: Vocational Education during the Reagan Years," which discusses the social effects of the Reagan administration's educational policies, especially with respect to…

Designed as a forum for the exchange of ideas on significant issues in the humanities, this journal presents articles written by two-year-college-instructors in the humanistic disciplines. The 1988 annual issue includes the following: (1) "Internationalizing the College Curriculum: Incorporating a Spanish American Perspective in the Teaching of…

Designed as a forum for views on issues concerning the humanities in two-year colleges, this journal begins with "A Call for Common Learning," in which Ernest Boyer discusses the goals of education and outlines six themes which students should study to understand themselves, their society, and the world in which they live. Responding to…

Humanists at community colleges, faced with vocationalism and other negative forces, have begun to rid themselves of elitist, insular attitudes and are aggressively pursuing new curricular structures and instructional methods within all areas of the college mission. Enrollment in interdisciplinary humanities (I-D) at two-year colleges, for…

In 1988, 11 faculty members at Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC), Michigan, taught a customized honors class at KVCC focussing on connections between disciplines. It soon became clear how little faculty members understood and appreciated their colleagues' fields and perspectives. Following the course, faculty participants concluded that…

Cites the Rockefeller Commission's findings regarding humanistic studies. Outlines steps for bringing humanism back to the humanities, e.g., by clarifying the humanities' substance and identity, elucidating a cogent and persuasive rationale for their study, and underscoring the importance of a cultural/humanistic context for vocational training.…

Highly specialized education is no longer relevant to the needs of our diversified society. A return to a broad, general education curriculum is needed. (HS)

The author presents a two-fold design for liberal learning. Of foremost importance is the ethical quality of deliberate design. Secondly, the design of liberal learning should give students strength, finesse, and imaginative courage in purpose. (Author/AF)

The target of present-day curriculum revivalists is the curriculum that came into being in the late 1960s. The purpose of the reform is to restore a sense of a shared or common culture among undergraduates and thus among the leaders of American society. (MLW)

Discusses the importance of historical study within general education. Reviews the rise and fall of the Western Civilization course as the core of general education in the humanities. Suggests ways a revised version of this course can be restored to a central place in the curriculum. (AYC)

The designation of "liberal" as the educational path toward a person's cultural completeness has given way to use of that term in contexts implying freedom for personal exploration of all kinds. The primary functions of the liberal education institution have become sidetracked by consumerism. (MLW)