While the allure of Silicon Valley undoubtedly attracts students, the declining interest in the humanities at both the secondary and postsecondary levels is primarily a self-inflicted wound. Many educators often employ teaching methods that alienate students and make them feel as though the only reason for reading literature or studying history is…

This article draws on the conclusion of the Commission on the Humanities in "The Humanities in American Life" that the aim of a liberal arts education is to foster critical reasoning through the use of language or discourse. This paper maintains that the "critical method" is in itself insufficient to achieve its purpose. Its failure is in its…

A general discussion is offered of the future of the humanities and their need to adapt to the new methods of instruction and evaluation suggested by faculty development. (Author/LBH)

Arguing that great ideas from the past possess intrinsic value and provide students with the knowledge and attitudes essential in developing the liberated mind, this paper identifies the world's significant thinkers from Plato (427-347 B.C.) to Bertrand Russell (1873-1971). Structural ideas from each philosopher are discussed in an effort to…

Describes Ithaca College's project incorporating basic skills development in traditional liberal arts courses. Explains the techniques used to develop skills in reading and studying, writing, speaking and listening, and language and reasoning in courses from nine disciplines. (DMM)

Amidst the controversy surrounding the fate of the humanities in modern society, a program has evolved at Dawson College and four other English "colleges d'enseignment general et professionel" (CEGEP) that features a compulsory humanities core. The original purpose of the humanities program was to provide a broad general liberal arts…

A personal view is offered of a recent development in teaching English Medieval Studies at the University of Exeter in which the entire curriculum was reconstructed to deal more effectively with the character and needs of the undergraduate in the 1970s. (LBH)

The "Community College Humanities Review" is a forum for scholarly work focusing on research, curriculum change, and developments within the humanities disciplines. The fall 1998 issue offers the following articles: (1) "Feminist Currents and Confluence in Southern and Latin America, Women's Narrative: Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda y Arteaga and…

A strategy for teaching the liberal arts in collegs should include the study of American culture through the mass media as a major component. In an age of exploitative media messages and low audiovisual literacy on the part of the mass of media consumers, liberal education must be altered to include training in sophisticated media consumption.…

As part of Bloomfield College's response to the conflict between a liberal arts tradition and careerism, with its attendant faculty, student, and curriculum problems, the Freshman Core Program was developed. One of the principle objectives of the program is to integrate liberal arts values with career education objectives. A set of four…

This guide is intended to be used primarily in schools implementing the CUE (culture, understandings, and enrichment) program--a multi-media approach to education which helps teachers integrate the arts and humanities. Included in the guide are discussions of the CUE system's rationale, benefits, and costs; the value of the arts in education; the…

These six speeches are concerned with the nature and scope of the humanities, especially with art, music, literature, and history. Speeches are by (1) Harold Taylor, who recommends the education of children in the arts by artists as one of the best ways to encourage the spirit of the humanities in the schools; (2) George Matthews, who discusses…

During their first quarter, all nonremedial liberal arts students at LaGuardia Community College take an introductory cluster of four courses. These "freedom clusters" use a single body of material and a common analytical method and have, as their fixed elements, courses in philosophy, English composition, and the research paper. Course…

Nassau (New York) Community College's Leadership Opportunity in Science and Humanities Education grant began in January 1993 and ended June 1996. The project consisted of three components: (1) seminars that brought faculty members from different departments together to help develop and teach three multidisciplinary courses; (2) workshops which…

This issue of "Focus" includes seven essays addressing various concerns related to community college curriculum, instruction, and instructors. "Money, and the Good of Humanities," by Dr. Demont H. Howell, explores the utility of humanities education in preparing students for coping with the present and the future. "Teaching High Level Thinking in…