Posted on 02/17/2005 5:30:46 PM PST by Republicanprofessor
I am asking for non-Ivory tower feedback and ideas. I am wrestling with college committee work and the revamping of our liberal arts requirements. I feel I am battling a PC tsunami. So I thought I'd ask for some real-world feedback. (Our opinions in the ivory tower can be a bit near-sighted.)
Those of you who are recent graduates, or employers of graduates, let me know if any requirements for multi-cultural or interdisciplinary courses have made you (or your employees) better individuals.
What is multi-cultural? (How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? This is a great example of the addage: the more puny the academic committee question, the more heated the discussion.) What do you think multi-cultural is or should be? A course with more than one culture studied, or one with the appropriate percentage of "minority" content?
What is interdisciplinary? A course with more than one main discipline: such as a combination of psychology and philosophy, art and music, math and physics, history and economics. Does study in this kind of course broaden you as a person and prepare you for the real world?
These requirements can be seen as bureaucratic hoops to jump through to get a course approved, or they can be seen as echoing the needs for a global world.
Please let me know what you think (if you care at all). All FReepers are free to reply as well. I need amunition for the fight!
My courses in math, physics, engineering, computer programming, economics, civics, technical writing, and personal finance helped me the most after graduating. The French, music, art, scuba-diving, "womyn's" studies, and literature courses, while fun, were a waste of time.
Yes. Knowledge is multilogical and multivocal. No one ever goes through a day in their life on just one side of their brain or using only one discipline.
It should certainly include some awareness and understanding of Western Christian civilization. And of the subcultures in America which are part of that.
As a side note, when I went back to school for some CS classes, I stoutly told the advisor that I refused to take any 'humanities' courses as a condition for post-baccelaureate studies. he X'ed them out and said, "Welcome to the CS department".
We ARE Euro-centric. We should learn about our own history. If there is time left over, THEN we learn about other ones. No use to learn about every culture unless we can compare and contrast it with our own. It's like learning Spanish and Italian before you learn English. Why bother? There is only so much time and if you have no foundational structure to layer the new stuff on, there is only confusion. Given that you have to make decisions about what is REALLY important, then chose the most important first. We live in a Euro-Centric world and it is really all you need to understand as a foundation. Then go ahead and travel, learn another language, cook other foods. Without a foundation you are just skimming the surface of all and focusing on none. Eurocentric 'isn't right'????? It IS right. It is how our civilization was educated for, let's say, a thousand years. It is all Geo Washington knew, for heaven's sake, and he did ok. etc etc. The multi-cultural stuff is HOGWASH.
Yes, I agree. You are arguing with them on their terms/ their turf. Tell them it is all nonsense and you want to go back to what was good enough for Shakespeare/ etc. All that other stuff is fluff. You will be reviled, of course. Doesn't matter in the least. And the parents will thank you PROFUSELY. Who the heck wants to hire someone who doesn't know how to spell but can wax eloquently on the pluses of some esoteric culture? It has no relevance to our life. If they are going to be an Ambassador there, then, they can learn it when they get there. People are going to be open to new experiences. Teaching Eurocentrism does not mean teaching people to look down on others. It is just cherishing OUR history.
"We ARE Euro-centric."
The problem with your statements is that they do not take into account the cultural history of EUROPE! Yes, we should learn our own history. An ACCURATE version...
In my experience as a professor, it's those who cheerlead the loudest for "Western Civ" who fail to see its historical antecedents. Western Civilization did not fall intact out of the heavens but is the product of 1)cross pollination and 2) outright assimilation of and with other cultures, including the ancient Neat East, Egypt, and arguably, the sub continent.
A working hypothesis of mine is that if one takes anyone who is an advocate of multiculturalism, one will find through interrogation of that individual that he or she has a ridiculous sense of entitlement and believes that math and science have no application beyond getting one through academia (hence, the question your received was likely already answered before it was asked of you).
For a discussion of how math and science education in the U.S. has been declining in recent years, see this essay on the TIMSS study ("Poor U.S. Test Results Tied To Weak Curriculum"):
http://4brevard.com/choice/international-test-scores.htm
For a discussion on multiculturalism, see the essay "What is Multiculturalism?"
http://www.fee.org/vnews.php?nid=3601
and also "The Tragedy of Multiculturalism" by Irving Kristol (7/31/91 editorial opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal; can't post on FR).
Another piece on multiculturalism is "The Other Face of Multiculturalism" by Sam Francis (RIP two days ago), Chronicles, April 8, 1998:
http://www.samfrancis.net/pdf/all1998.pdf
See also "Demystifying Multiculturalism" by Linda Chavez:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1309153/posts
The multicultural agenda is driven by an organization called NAME. Read the "Multicultural Shaping of Teachers":
http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20041214-090300-3736r
and check out NAME's website:
Warning: you can't really understand all of what multiculturalism is about without at least an introductory understanding of "Critical Theory" and "Postmodernism." Also, much of multiculturalist thought is derived from feminism and the LGBT movement.
Diversity is as diversity does. One combination of different courses provides empty variety. Another combination provides strong and coherent preparation for (you pick it) life, profession, certification, etc.
Diversity is as diversity does. One combination of different courses provides empty variety. Another combination provides strong and coherent preparation for (you pick it) life, profession, certification, etc.
Got to be the savviest comment made on this thread!
Thank you.
If I were to evaluate a new hire in terms of culture, I would want to know how well that person was adapting to the culture in their potential work environment.
The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought.
Pretty functional definition except for this part:
"...and thought."
I think there is a chicken-and-egg problem here.
Having been the manager of staffing for the Astronautics Group of Lockheed Martin in Denver; it was Martin Marietta at the time and a recruiting manager for Analysts, I can say I never, that is never, hired or recommended for hire anyone who did not have the concrete skills necessary to do a job. Interdisciplinary studies and cross cultural studies are meaningless to the working world.
Employers want people who can perform needed skills. Any Introduction to Business course textbook will tell you the skills that are necessary to help an American business run. These are the skills our graduates need to have as tolsin their employment toolbox.
Pretty functional definition except for this part:
"...and thought."
I think there is a chicken-and-egg problem here.
And I think you probably are very cultured to be able to think. /LOL
Perhaps it means productive thought, positive thoughts, non PC thought?
I was thinking more of the way the totality of our socially transmitted worldview influences our individual perceptions, and therefore, our individual thoughts.
What say you?
Transmitted and analyzed worldview.
E Pluribus Unum.
Out of many,one.
A motto worthy of study and debate in light of the American experience since 1776.
Course topics should include the story of how immigrants from all over the world came to America fueled by freedom, and their desire for life,liberty and the pursuit of happiness fueled the rise of America, which is now exporting freedom and has for the last sixty years.
Debate how present trends of "diversity" and "multiculturalism" do not produce a cohesive society, but rather, create divisiveness
Good luck.
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