Professor of Classics @UofMaryland; interested in humanism, classics, higher education, and jazz. RTs ≠endorsements. New book: tinyurl.com/4zyc3kxb
Joined December 2017
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Apr 20
📢Coming soon(ish): Folke Leander's philosophical analysis of the ideas of Paul Elmer More, edited and introduced by Claes G. Ryn and yours truly.
Leander's book amounts to the fullest explication of the philosophy of the New Humanism ever written.
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Jun 13
No reason at all.
Any reason to think the elective system *hasn't* lowered standards since it was first introduced?
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Eric Adler retweeted
i actually trusted that the tradition that handed down these indian, chinese, and japanese classics was a legitimate one, that people of depth and discriminating taste had preserved them for posterity. and guess what? that was 100% true. it might be true elsewhere, too.
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Jun 9
The great Harvard humanist Irving Babbitt (1865-1933) discusses his early intellectual development in a previously unpublished essay I edited for the latest number of the journal *Humanitas*.
Interested humanists, take a look:
pdcnet.org/pdc/bvdb.nsf/purc…
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Jun 8
“Professors in the humanities showed their worth by destroying the thing they studied.”
—Patrick Deneen, *Why Liberalism Failed* (2018)
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Jun 1
I bought a copy of one of Paul Elmer More's volumes of *Shelburne Essays* from a used bookstore online, in part because it was inexpensive.
When it arrived, I was surprised to see that More had inscribed the copy itself, as a gift to his son-in-law.
$5 well spent, I think.
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May 26
RIP, jazz genius Sonny Rollins. In his honor, here's one of my favorite Rollins tunes, which a friend and I revered in our college days. It's a hokey song, which Rollins' playing transcends:
youtube.com/watch?v=nlatJOsL…
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Eric Adler retweeted
May 23
One reason I don't buy the cost argument to explain why students don't pursue the liberal arts is that we see the same declines among the wealthy students or in places where tuition isn't as big of a burden (Europe and UK).
May 22
"The Decline of the Liberal Arts at Chicago, by the Numbers"
chicagomaroon.github.io/data…
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May 22
I've just started @wmarybeard's new book and am enjoying this conversation about it--in part because our perspectives on classics in places seem to differ.
Prof. Beard is a wonderfully welcoming representative for the classics.
Listen! Listen!
May 22
Thanks to the folks at Laphams Quarterly for this interview. Extract of new book will appear next week! podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcas…
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Eric Adler retweeted
May 19
It's great that schools like St. John's & Ralston are AI-free. But this is key: The good at stake in teaching & learning *as a human (not robot) activity* is not a niche thing for "quirky" schools. It's a universal good for all liberal education, from R1 to SLAC & all in between.
we are little but this is the @stjohnscollege brand
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May 21
"If you haven't done that work of deep humane reflection and self-cultivation, you are not really engaged in that project of becoming a person."
Wonderful words in defense of the liberal arts from @jennfrey, in a probing interview with @DouthatNYT.
Listen! Listen!
May 21
I'm grateful to @DouthatNYT for inviting me on his podcast to discuss the fate of the liberal arts and humanities in the age of AI. I hope that all those who follow higher ed and care about the liberal arts will listen.
nytimes.com/video/opinion/10… nytimes.com/video/opinion/10…
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Eric Adler retweeted
Universities cutting humanities programs know the going narrative is “the humanities are in crisis.” So if you cut them, the public will assume it’s because there is no demand when the truth is universities are cutting the liberal arts to pay for nonsense or offset mismanagement.
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May 21
"Mankind have such a deep stake in inward illumination, that there is much to be said by the hermit or monk in defence of his life of thought and prayer."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Goethe; or, the Writer" (1850)
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My sense is that the number one motivation for typical education leaders is: "Whatever we do, let's be sure it's what everyone else is doing."
May 13
What causes districts to fall for this snake oil? Do they just throw money at anyone who promises a tech solution?
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Eric Adler retweeted
May 16
I’m very happy about some of the novels that made this list, especially My Antonia, The Prime of Miss Brodie, and Tristram Shandy. But not including either Ivanhoe or Waverley? That’s nuts. theguardian.com/books/ng-int…
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May 15
As if the incessant nattering about Christopher Nolan's upcoming *Odyssey* movie weren't sufficiently irksome, Martin Bernal has now made an unexpected comeback...
May 15
My mother demolished this decades ago, just saying: nybooks.com/articles/1992/03…
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May 11
Thanks to the wonderful @umissouripress, the late Folke Leander's full-scale analysis of the philosophy behind the New Humanist movement will finally see the light of day in October:
upress.missouri.edu/97808262…
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May 9
"The anti-Semitic discrimination has indeed grown into a scholastic fad, quite overshadowing the earlier ideal of the American university, which, with all its faults, was cosmopolitan in its hospitality.”
--Charles H. Grandgent, "Tousser et Cracher" (1924)
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Eric Adler retweeted
Universities have been eagerly striving to become as stupid as possible, my entire life, so their decision to go all-in just now makes some sense, to me.
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May 8
It’s amazing to me that universities are in a race to ditch the liberal arts, precisely when AI is challenging the value of vocational training for white-collar jobs.
The University of Hertfordshire has announced it plans to close several of its humanities courses, in a move staff have warned will cause “reputational damage” to the institution #humanities #cuts #highered
timeshighereducation.com/new…
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