We are living through a period described by technologists as an “AI Boom” or “AI Spring.” A swift and impressive gain of function in generative artificial-intelligence systems (AI), made possible … Continue reading “Hacking the Humanities”
Veritas. Lux et veritas. Veritas vos liberabit. Truth. Light and truth. Truth will set you free. These are the official mottos for Harvard, Yale, and Johns Hopkins. They reflect a … Continue reading “The Post-Truth Classroom”
Editor’s note: this essay is adapted from a talk delivered by Jessica Hooten Wilson at Word on Fire’s Good News Conference on November 7, 2021, in Orlando, Florida. Universities are … Continue reading “Universities Have Forgotten Their Purpose: Pursuing the Contemplative Life”
“Part of the story of why the humanities are always in crisis is that we have needed them to be in crisis.” This provocative declaration was made by Chad Wellmon, … Continue reading “The “Permanent Crisis” of the Humanities”
I recently submitted a manuscript to an education journal, a review essay of another scholar’s work. It opened with a compliment of the author’s “highly-praised and influential work.” To that … Continue reading “Peer Review, a Tarnished “Gold Standard””
With “cancel culture” running rampant on social media, in politics, and in the classroom, professors who put forth the effort to help students think critically and challenge their beliefs are … Continue reading “When Universities Don’t Step Up, Good Professors Are Forced to Step Down”
As a lecturer in the humanities, I have had the privilege and challenge of moderating discussions of controversial topics, often based on literary texts. Over the past two years, the … Continue reading “Addressing Masculinity in Higher Ed”
Let’s Be Reasonable: A Conservative Case for Liberal Education is indeed a reasonable book. Drawing on thinkers from John Locke to Allan Bloom, Ursinus College political theory professor Jonathan Marks … Continue reading “Be Reasonable, But Not Naive, About the Crisis in Higher Ed”
Alan Jacobs’ new book, Breaking Bread with the Dead: A Reader’s Guide to a More Tranquil Mind, is a coaxing argument to read “old books that come from strange times.” … Continue reading “The Spurning of Old Books: The Devaluation of the Past Threatens Higher Ed”
Every time I read an op-ed piece from some English professor (and isn’t it always an English professor?) whining about the demise of the humanities, in The Chronicle of Higher Education or elsewhere, … Continue reading “Dear Humanists: You Have Done That Yourself”