Document Type
Book Review
Publication Date
10-2011
Abstract
In Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities Martha Nussbaum joins many observers in arguing that the arts and humanities are under siege, threatened by budget cuts and a growing emphasis on professional training. When budget cuts do not eliminate university programs in the arts and humanities, they swell class size to the point that the traditional hallmarks of a humanistic education—class discussion, essay examinations, research assignments demanding critical thinking—become untenable. Instead, PowerPoint lecturing and multiple-choice exercises dominate, reinforcing the rote learning that standardized testing has already made the norm in K–12 education. A recent Wall Street Journal article, “How to Get a Real Education,” puts the stress on vocational preparation this way: “Forget art history and calculus. Most students need to learn how to run a business.”
Identifier
10.1353/phl.2011.0031
Publisher
Johns Hopkins University Press
City
Baltimore, MD
Repository Citation
Fischer, M. (2011). Not for profit: Why democracy needs the humanities [Review of the book Not for profit: Why democracy needs the humanities, by M.C. Nussbaum]. Philosophy and Literature, 35(2), 399-401. doi: 10.1353/phl.2011.0031
Publication Information
Philosophy and Literature