I'm with you, Kathleen! Being a mature student, I faced many of those conversations too: "why don't you study something more 'practical' than English Literature..." I always retort with the same answer, as you suggest: "who would want to live in a world without music/film/books/art/newspapers..." Great post - I am just catching up on your archives : )
Beautiful post, Kate. It reminded me of the historian Jill Lepore podcast The Last Archive. At one point, she was discussing just how data driven our time has become. Everything, it seems, can be broken down and studied and furthered through data. To the point it can feel like nothing else matters. Lepore protests that there is a truth, unlike what data captures, that can be conveyed in a poem. Art can express, celebrate, and share truths that elude data. I also think about how without exaggeration technology has in certain ways given us god like powers. I believe in order to wield those powers responsibly or decide if they should be wielded at all depends more on a liberal arts type education than the technology education that created these powers to begin with.
I'm with you, Kathleen! Being a mature student, I faced many of those conversations too: "why don't you study something more 'practical' than English Literature..." I always retort with the same answer, as you suggest: "who would want to live in a world without music/film/books/art/newspapers..." Great post - I am just catching up on your archives : )
Beautiful post, Kate. It reminded me of the historian Jill Lepore podcast The Last Archive. At one point, she was discussing just how data driven our time has become. Everything, it seems, can be broken down and studied and furthered through data. To the point it can feel like nothing else matters. Lepore protests that there is a truth, unlike what data captures, that can be conveyed in a poem. Art can express, celebrate, and share truths that elude data. I also think about how without exaggeration technology has in certain ways given us god like powers. I believe in order to wield those powers responsibly or decide if they should be wielded at all depends more on a liberal arts type education than the technology education that created these powers to begin with.
Wow. A manifesto. This is excellent, Kathleen. (I'll read it again this weekend before I comment.)