tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850462849314268040.post6308488216242894945..comments2024-03-10T00:26:57.262-08:00Comments on The Dance of the Hippo: What's an education worth - Part IIKarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11654006671545294361noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850462849314268040.post-40375359152472894492018-03-24T10:11:09.605-07:002018-03-24T10:11:09.605-07:00Yeah, that's why I'm trying to get enough ...Yeah, that's why I'm trying to get enough eyeballs on my stuff so that <a href="https://www.livinganthropologically.com/support-anthropology-blogs/" rel="nofollow">Google ads</a> and the like enable me to pay for it. :) <br /><br />To go back to golf--classic wankery--but somebody pays for it, and they don't need to constantly be making a case for it.Jason Antrosiohttps://www.livinganthropologically.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850462849314268040.post-29169035234746833922018-03-22T14:14:09.380-07:002018-03-22T14:14:09.380-07:00I was indeed making a glancing pass at a case for ...I was indeed making a glancing pass at a case for the humanities.<br /><br />Sure, if humanists spend all their time making their case and not practicing the humanities, then they'll have lost even if they somehow manage to win. So I agree with Stover that humanists should be practicing the humanities.<br /><br />But I think it's a mistake to not have a cogent pushback on the argument that "it's all a waste of time, intellectual wankery, I don't want my money paying for it."Karlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11654006671545294361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850462849314268040.post-86462427206024980992018-03-21T16:18:03.815-07:002018-03-21T16:18:03.815-07:00Hm. So... "if the role of the humanist is to ...Hm. So... "if the role of the humanist is to help us process" sounds kind of like you're making a "case for the humanities." Smiley. I think Stover's point is that we need to practice the humanities, and that is in itself enough. And yes, it is time to get very busy making sense of cultural output. Maybe paring some of it back a bit. Jason Antrosiohttps://www.livinganthropologically.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850462849314268040.post-74926580821118398792018-03-21T06:23:04.041-07:002018-03-21T06:23:04.041-07:00I guess I'd forgotten Stover's point that ...I guess I'd forgotten Stover's point that the university may not endure.<br /><br />I meant to imply, "may not be enough to keep back the savages at the gates."<br /><br />But you're right that Stover acknowledges that as well.<br /><br />I guess that means I'm leaning more pessimistic than he is, because the conditions under which the humanities flourished are so thoroughly changed.<br /><br />On the other hand (you knew that was coming - I am an economist, after all), the humanistic accomplishments of the past were accomplished with a much smaller corpus of humanist scholars, not merely in number but also as a proportion of their societies.<br /><br />But back to the pessimistic view, if the role of the humanist is to help us process and make sense of our cultural output, then we need more humanists than earlier, because near-universal literacy and the accessibility of print and then the internet has created an explosion of cultural output to be understood.Karlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11654006671545294361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850462849314268040.post-82922670089295241312018-03-21T04:22:31.399-07:002018-03-21T04:22:31.399-07:00Oops, now that I've said that, I have a questi...Oops, now that I've said that, I have a question. When you conclude that "it may no longer be enough," enough for what? Stover says we should be practicing the humanities, and he explicitly says the current university system may not endure. So when you say "may not be enough," what are you saying?Jason Antrosiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05012947323032077384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850462849314268040.post-26574584838542259622018-03-21T04:15:48.902-07:002018-03-21T04:15:48.902-07:00Great post, making a case for the economic side of...Great post, making a case for the economic side of Stover's argument. I love the quote about the golf balls--glad you used it!Jason Antrosiohttps://www.livinganthropologically.com/noreply@blogger.com