Humanities Current Events
“Our concern is not how to worship in the catacombs, but how to remain human in the skyscrapers.”
— Abraham Joshua Heschel
Learning to Lead
Annette Gordon-Reed, Professor of American Legal History at Harvard University, argues the importance of teaching humanities in K-12 education. She argues that modern education is meant to "equip the nation for leadership in an interconnected world," and she agrees with The Commission on the Humanities and Social Science when it says that this goal "cannot be achieved by science alone." For more on her argument, click here.
What We Lack Without the Humanities
Journalist Nicholas Kristof describes all that we lose when we cease to study the humanities. His argument opens with a quote from E.O. Wilson: "We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom." He goes on to describe the importance of the humanities in our ability not only to work successfully, but also to live. Read more on his perspective here.
Humanities in the Digital Age
Sophie Gilbert, culture writer for The Atlantic, describes how the humanities are even more important now than ever. She summarizes her argument by stating, "It's critical for students to realize that not everything can be reduced to a data point." To read more about her argument in favor of the humanities in a digital age, click here.
Rock & Roll & Nobel Prizes
This year, poet and songwriter Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in Literature, an unprecedented award to an artist outside of the sphere of mainstream literature. The Nobel committee described their motivation for the award as, "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition." Click here to learn more about Dylan's life and career.
Dr. Lehmann's Suggested Reading List
The Girl Who Fell from the Sky (Heidi Durrow)
Half the Sky (Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudun)
The Black Swan (Nassim Nicholas Taleb)
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (James Joyce)
Nickle and Dimed in America (Barbara Ehrenreich)
The Warmth of Other Suns (Isabel Wilkerson)
This is Your Brain on Music (Daniel J. Levitin)
Sailing to Byzantium (Robert Silverberg)
Poetry by Ranier Maria Rilke
Shakespeare!