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Studying the humanities is hard, and that's a good thing
Professors won't persuade students the humanities are relevant and practical. Tell them "all things excellent are as difficult as they are rare"

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 17, 20253 min read


Visioning synergies in the School of Human Narratives
Corporate blather won't restore faith in higher education, argues an English professor whose department may be merged into Human Narratives and Creative Expression.

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 22, 20253 min read


Why humanities don't get no respect -- except for philosophy
Humanities would get more respect -- and graduates would earn more -- if professors made classes harder.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 12, 20251 min read


Politicizing humanities leaves grads still seeking deep, impractical learning
Colleges have politicized the humanities, leaving graduates feeling cheated of a liberal arts education.

Joanne Jacobs
Jun 22, 20242 min read


Where to find curious, confident, inquisitive students
Her expectations were low she visited Utah Valley University, a large, open-enrollment state university, admits Martha C. Nussbaum, a...

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 20, 20242 min read


Blame diversity-crats for turning humanities into decolonial, anti-racist 'beards'
Humanities professors, under heavy pressure to prove their discipline is "useful," have gone political, writes Tyler Austin Harper in The...

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 22, 20232 min read


Harvard students can't handle 'The Scarlet Letter' -- but prisoners can
“The last time I taught The Scarlet Letter, I discovered that my students were really struggling to understand the sentences as sentences...

Joanne Jacobs
Mar 8, 20232 min read


If liberal arts are dying, is it suicide?
Liberal educators aren't making the case for liberal arts education, writes John Agresto, former president of St. John's College in Santa...

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 8, 20232 min read
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