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Dear IDC-ers,<br>
<br>
It is sad that the Arts and Humanities have not survived their own
critique, a revisionism with which scholars, teachers and students -
following the 'discipline' - have been engaged for at least the last
fifty years. But it is no surprise. Surprising is how complicity -
at the level both of institutions and of individuals - can be
advocated for as a way ... to do what? protect jobs? <br>
<br>
Or is there a value here out of reach of the techno-corpocratic
estimation of STEM subjects (and subjections), out of reach, that
is, of political meddling in institutions? <br>
<br>
The loss of autonomy of institutions where Arts and Humanities have
had a place appears to be the flaw being exploited to political ends
(on economic pretexts). But I would rehearse an argument I have
advanced elsewhere: the state will eat its own before admitting its
powerlessness before the corporational network; and eating its own
begins with denying society, public life <i>exists,</i> except in
order to be consumed; it has as its main dish the institutions under
the aegis of which erstwhile civic life has been conducted; and ends
in a Promethean petrochemical flambé of the financial organs feeding
the 'growth of trade,' and 'national economies,' which organs are
assumed to regenerate, like livers, overnight! but which have long
since ceased to be organic and will expire in the smoke of the
energetic consumption that sustains them. With a faint smell of
burning rubber.<br>
<br>
Best,<br>
<br>
Simon Taylor<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.squarewhiteworld.com">www.squarewhiteworld.com</a><br>
<br>
<blockquote
cite="mid:mailman.67.1310258768.2609.idc@mailman.thing.net"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">
Today's Topics:
1. Re: The Future of the Humanities (Gabriella Coleman)
2. Re: The Future of the Humanities (david mcconville)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Sat, 09 Jul 2011 10:47:59 -0400
From: Gabriella Coleman <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:biella@nyu.edu"><biella@nyu.edu></a>
Subject: Re: [iDC] The Future of the Humanities
To: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:idc@mailman.thing.net">idc@mailman.thing.net</a>
Message-ID: <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:4E186A1F.9040802@nyu.edu"><4E186A1F.9040802@nyu.edu></a>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
A little tangential but NSF is thinking of cutting their Social Science
research programs. David Brooks has a good op ed (which is very science
oriented but probably necessary for the audience he is trying to reach)
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/08/opinion/08brooks.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/08/opinion/08brooks.html</a>
All best,
Biella
On 07/09/2011 09:26 AM, Simon Biggs wrote:
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Hi Mark
The arts and humanities are under attack, especially in the UK where, other
than Scotland, there has been a 100% cut to the government undergraduate
teaching grant in all except STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering
and medicine) and a tripling in student fees to make up the difference.
Whilst STEM is ring-fenced by government policy the rest have to justify
themselves in a now competitive market. Some institutions, without STEM
programmes, now receive no government income for teaching. The subsequent
instrumentalisation of arts, humanities and social sciences is no surprise.
Here in Edinburgh, which will be affected by the changes south of the border
but in as yet uncertain ways, we are trying to look beyond the arguably
false dualities inherent in UK government HE policy. This September we have
a new MSc by Research starting up in Interdisciplinary Creative Practice. It
welcomes graduates from all subjects and we are keen to ensure a spread of
students, from STEM, social sciences, arts and humanities as the mix will
inform what the students can do together. It is its first year so we will
see how it goes but recruitment has been promising.
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/postgraduate/finder/details.php?id=656">http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/postgraduate/finder/details.php?id=656</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://ddm.ace.ed.ac.uk/ICP-info.html">http://ddm.ace.ed.ac.uk/ICP-info.html</a>
Best
Simon
On 06/06/2011 07:09, "Mark Marino" <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:markcmarino@gmail.com"><markcmarino@gmail.com></a> wrote:
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Hi, IDC-ers,
Last summer I met a computer scientist who shared with me his hierarchy of
knowledge. In his schema, the sciences were at the top and all branches of
knowledge and learning in the academy fell underneath. By his account, at
one time, due to a collective ignorance, much of knowledge was ordered under
the Humanities, but slowly over time that ice cap had been chipped away and
had floated off and melted into the larger sea of Science where it
belonged. By his account medicine, astronomy, and many other realms of
knowledge had been relocated to their rightful place, leaving only certain
types of speculative philosophy, perhaps a few arts, and other trivial or
superfluous enterprises.
I don't think this computer scientist was misrepresenting his perspective to
be provocative, though I do believe he knew exactly which of my buttons he
was pushing. His pedestal for positivism was built upon a larger progress
narrative (that a humanities course might even critique). Nonetheless, it
took a long coffee break with a philosophy librarian friend to pull me back
from the ledge or perhaps get me off the war path.
In an age where very reasonable folks are questioning the value of a college
education, when the digital humanities seem to be flourishing, and when the
US and global economies are still flagging sending students into their most
pragmatic shells, I wonder if it isn't time for a new kind of humanities
course. I guess I am thinking about something different than what I know
to be "digital humanities" in as much as that can mean the humanities plus
computers (not to reduce -- I just don't mean that version of DH.)
Remember last year and Cornell's President Skorton's address?
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/11/01/humanities">http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/11/01/humanities</a>