A former English major- for nineteen days that is; by the name of Mark Danner, gave a commencement speech to a graduating class of the Department of English at the University of California. Starting off with a familiar and dreaded question, he asks the students “What are you going to do with that?” A question that has been repeatedly asked by anyone that knows you are an English major. Retorting to his own question, he states that by striving to be an English major, they will do questioning of their own, but also be questioned. In today’s society everyone hustling for a college degree is pursuing fields that will grant instant satisfaction in the job field, upon graduating. Unfortunately, for Liberal Arts or English majors, the options do not come quite as abundantly. …show more content…
Far from aiming to discourage the graduates, Danner tells them of the massive pit they are in because of their deep understanding and knowledge.
Knowing the difference between what is real and what one is fed is entirely different, and that is exactly what comes with a English or Liberal Arts education. It’s in sorts a package deal, ripe for the taking. Danner touches on the subject of 911 and how it impacted the society we live in, the government made rash decisions per its usual course of action. The country went into hysterics and began slashing up the world into sections of evil and good. But what everyone lacked, was a clear understanding and first hand knowledge. Danner alludes to the government seeing power in relative correlation to truth, that while we are trying to figure out the government they are off making their own realities through their implementation of
power. Tying everything together, Danner correlates the historical events that have taken place, to a direct understanding and rationalization that comes directly from a English or Liberal Arts degree. The people who want to know the truth about what is really present in today’s world, will know it. Knowledge is for the taking, and English majors are not afraid to reach out and grab it. That is exactly what Danner is getting at through his commencement speech, students absorbed in the Liberal Arts world are living life with open eyes. People with open eyes are striving to figure things out, and get down to the raw facts. Whereas others, are living in a world of acceptance, and foolishly believing what they hear. Not everyone has the mind or passion to see things for what they really are, and that is what Danner is saying to these students, that they have what it takes to be those rare and far between people. They play significant roles in society, for displaying light on the truth and for actually bothering to read new articles. It is highly important in the world because hardly anyone is doing it. In aiding with everything Danner had said, he read a poem written by a close friend of his. The poem encompassed the idea of the end of the world, and everyone is following their normal routines but that there are people who had been anticipating and expected certain things to take place. But when the signs do not occur, the people result in feeling disappointed, and in disbelief. Meanwhile, an elderly man continues tending to his tomatoes and says that the world will only end once. This poem is of great significance, because it shows that all of the people who felt that each tragic event in history was the end of the world were disillusioned, and did not have their eyes open. But for the Liberal Arts and English majors, their eyes are wide and bright because they are aware. This assignment was an aid in realizing the questioning spirit that is needed for the major of my choosing. It has never been enough in today’s world to accept everything one is taught, people need to question this and put an effort in to see the truth. But the amount of students and even adults that research and investigate is slim. A world of knowledge is right at all of our fingertips. I feel that a sense of urgency and passion was supposed to be derived from this assignment. Liberal Arts and English majors need to take a stand for the higher sense of learning and a desire to go beyond the status quo and figure out more.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic novel written by Harper Lee. The novel is set in the depths of the Great Depression. A lawyer named Atticus Finch is called to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. The story is told from one of Atticus’s children, the mature Scout’s point of view. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, the Finch Family faces many struggles and difficulties. In To Kill a Mockingbird, theme plays an important role during the course of the novel. Theme is a central idea in a work of literature that contains more than one word. It is usually based off an author’s opinion about a subject. The theme innocence should be protected is found in conflicts, characters, and symbols.
“Majoring In Fear” by Mark Shiffman analyzes a certain shift in the attitudes of today’s youth. He claims that students are choosing more practical pathways out of fear, sacrificing their genuine passions and interests in order to attain a safer career. Shiffman believes this sacrifice is detrimental to students because a liberal arts education catalyzes introspection and spiritual growth. By leaving behind opportunities for such growth, the youth of today lacks the capacity and resources for reflection on their lives. Shiffman further illustrates this idea with the claim that students who initially show an interest in the humanities later choose to further their education in Economics or Spanish (Shiffman 5). He recognizes that students forge
In modern times, the importance of liberal arts is questioned. The article “Myth: A Liberal Arts Education is Becoming Irrelevant” by Carol T. Christ makes the argument that a liberal arts education provides a broader range of knowledge which is useful because it produces a critically thinking student. Obtaining a career is the main focus of college education. Knowing this, Christ emphasizes how a liberal arts education is useful when looking for employment. She refutes the conception that a liberal arts education is irrelevant in today’s society by identifying the useful qualities it provides the employers look for such as, “Flexibility, creativity, critical thinking, strong communication skills (particulary writing)” (Christ,
It should not be a surprise that many people believe that a college degree is a necessity in today’s world. We are taught to believe this at a young age. The average citizen will not question this statement due to how competitive the job market has become, yet does graduating college guarantee more success down the road? Peter Brooks is a scholar at Princeton University and publisher of an essay that questions the value of college. He obviously agrees that college can help securing a job for the future, but questions the humanities about the education. He uses other published works, the pursuit of freedom, and draws on universal arguments that pull in the reader to assume the rest of his essay has valid reasons.
In recent years, many have debated whether or not a college education is a necessary requirement to succeed in the field of a persons’ choice and become an outstanding person in society. On one hand, some say college is very important because one must contribute to society. The essay Three Reasons College Still Matters by Andrew Delbanco shows three main reasons that students should receive their bachelor’s degree. On the other hand, many question the point of wasting millions of dollars on four years or maybe more to fight for highly competitive jobs that one might not get. Louis Menand wrote an article based on education titled Re-Imagining Liberal Education. This article challenges the main thought many americans have after receiving a secondary education. Louis Menand better illustrates the reasons why a student should rethink receiving a post secondary education better than Andrew Delbanco’s three reasons to continue a person’s education.
Poverty and homelessness are often, intertwined with the idea of gross mentality. illness and innate evil. In urban areas all across the United States, just like that of Seattle. in Sherman Alexie’s New Yorker piece, What You Pawn I Will Redeem, the downtrodden. are stereotyped as vicious addicts who would rob a child of its last penny if it meant a bottle of whiskey.
Over the past few years, people have begun to see going to college as a way to achieve the American Dream through career-readiness. People used to go to college, hoping to get a better well-rounded education. For most the well-rounded education, it usually came with the courses required for a liberal arts education. The courses would provide a level of analytical and in-depth understanding that would prepare the students for both life and whichever career path chosen. No matter the amount of money paid, parents would be willing to gi...
Studying a university degree is one of the biggest achievements of many individuals around the world. But, according to Mark Edmunson, a diploma in America does not mean necessarily studying and working hard. Getting a diploma in the United States implies managing with external factors that go in the opposite direction with the real purpose of education. The welcome speech that most of us listen to when we started college, is the initial prank used by the author to state the American education system is not converging in a well-shaped society. Relating events in a sarcastic way is the tone that the author uses to explain many of his arguments. Mark Edmunson uses emotional appeals to deliver an essay to the people that have attended College any time in their life or those who have been involved with the American education system.
In Caroline Bird’s “College is A Waste of Time and Money”, it’s argued that there are many college students who would be better off if they were to begin working after high school graduation. Colleges and universities can no longer ensure that one will go on to get a better job, getting paid more than they would have without a higher education. However, high school seniors still stress about where they will be attending college, how they’re going to pay for it and what they’re going to study for the next four years. Bird points out how college has changed over the past few decades and how, in turn, it has set many young adults up for disappointment, if nothing else.
A college education gives a person the opportunity to be successful in life, either financially or morally dependent on the goals that they set for their life. They will choose a college that offer programs for the major of their choice, where they will specialize and receive a degree. The decision to pursue a higher education will give the opportunity to earn a better income over someone who does not have a degree. College is more of life preparation course that will help make sure a successful career. If a person pursues a career in engineering, physics or mathematics their curriculum would include more liberal art preparation courses, in order for them to earn their degree, so someone pursuing a degree in these types of careers are attending college for job preparation. On December 10, 2009 at Hamilton University in Clinton, New York, college professors debated current college curriculum (Liew). They talked about how their college could make a leap from being good to being great. At the 22nd American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges conference held in Long Beach California on November 14, 1996 the topic of changing curriculum was discussed (“Mich”). The University of Louisiana, Lafayette, is eliminating its philosophy major, while Michigan State University is doing away with American studies and classics, after years of decline in enrollments in those majors (Zernike). The purpose of a college education is to meet the student's liberal art’s needs so that they can compete and understand the connection between a degree and a job that will enable them to compete with other world economies, give them a well-rounded education that will enable them to earn a higher income, and retain a lifetime full of knowledge.
The article “The Ideal English Major” is written by Mark Edmundson a professor of English at the University of Virginia; Mark defends the argument that majoring in English is the best choice for college students. He goes on to say that majoring in English is majoring in being a human being. English majors are more open to experiences and reach out to reading and writing to live other life’s other than their own. Mark explains why majoring in English is so important to a person’s life. English majors aren’t like others; they live non-like anyone else. English majors learn to use language to help contribute to the English race and to further their own life.
Both family activity and corporate activity enforce individuals to help encourage others to wash their hands. There are several similarities in terms of percentages and also cautiousness provided to prevent the spread of germs. The effects that it causes are very identical however, each activity focuses on diverse successions needed. A family activities main point is to keep kids and adults healthy whereas a corporate activity focuses on improving health and increasing productivity. The visuals displayed for family activity show parents teaching their child good handwashing technique while on corporate activity there is an
In pondering what my life will be like when I am finished with college, I have to consider the rapid life-changing events and choices that I am facing now at the age of 17. In a short span of time I have had to make a decision about my future career and, based on that decision, choose where I would go to college. I realize that I am in a crucial part of my life now, and that the commitments I make today will drastically affect my status ten years from now.
Those who are more adaptable to and welcome change thrive in today’s rising jobs in the high-pressure situations that it come with them. A liberal arts education is valuable because it so widely applicable. Unlike subjects that only give a certain degree, lIberal arts degrees can be used in a multitude of jobs and ways. Liberal arts opens windows of opportunity for people to see how much of a difference they can make in the world. Those who pursue liberal arts degrees such as education or the social sciences are not doing it for the monetary rewards, they are getting that degree for the difference it will make in other people’s
The idea of education has been a big part of each and every culture on earth. However, as we all know, there are many questions on what it means to be educated in the form of higher education: questions we, as students, must face sooner or later. Here I am, my junior year in college. In a couple of years, I will be either prolonging my education or out in the real world trying to make a living. I must ask myself these questions: What is the purpose of my higher education? What exactly am I learning? Is the education I am receiving here at the University of Arkansas going to be good enough for a future employer? If I am educated does that mean I am trained to do only one thing? Am I one-dimensional?