Thursday, June 21, 2012
That's Ancient History
The recent news that the University of Virginia Board of Visitors wanted to get rid of what they considered “underperforming” departments, such as Classics, Philosophy and German has made this former Classics Major most distressed. If teaching the basics of the foundation of Western Civilization isn’t good enough, the exquisite irony of deleting Classics and Philosophy at Thomas Jefferson’s University should have made Helen Dragas think twice, ( Oh wait, she was a MBA student. Irony is wasted on those people.)
As a former Classics and Ancient History Major (University of California, class of 1980)
I will list just a few of the many advantages of learning the Classics
1. learning critical thinking skills from the guys who invented critical thinking (Plato, Socrates, Aristophanes, Euripides, to name but a few)
2. Studying the Peloponnesian War helps one understand the reasons countries go to war (they study this at West Point for just that reason)
3. Learning what “crossing the Rubicon” really means
4. Learn why NIKE is not just a brand of shoes
5. The Olympics and why they were important, then and now
6. the invention of Rhetoric
7. Marathon
8. with your shield or on it
9. Thermopylae
10. The Iliad, the Aeniad, The Odyssey
11. The invention of democracy
12. Euclidean Geometry
Other good reasons: classics majors are really good at trivia, spelling and lifelines for bar-betting buddies. We know why Virgil went to hell, and why Dante used Virgil as his guide. We know all of the things that were inaccurate in the movies Gladiator, Troy and The 300. We know where Athens, Troy, Persepolis and Syracuse are on maps both ancient and modern. We know that basil comes from the ancient Greek word for King. We know about the real Oedipus Complex.
Are we going to be a country that can’t have nice things, like real Universities? We are the richest, most powerful nation on Earth;. Must everything be ruled by the small-minded bean-counter types? We would have plenty of money for worthy endeavors if we use it wisely. They would do well to remember that even though Sparta won the war with Athens, they lost the bigger battle. Oh wait, those bean-counter types won’t understand. They haven’t studied Thucydides. They think the Spartans are a football team.
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6 comments:
I graduated with a major in Art History, with a minor in Ancient Mediterranean Art and Archeology....I couldn't agree with you more !!
Wow! So in addition to all of UVA's other news, they want to do this, too. Serious problems have they...
I went to a liberal arts Catholic university, majored in accounting and studies much of what you listed. The classics are important, very important, but (my opinion) graduates need a skill as well. Having classics in your degree plan with a practical degree was a good mix for me. I am not defending that university, don't know enough about the situation, just stating that you do need to be able to support yourself after you graduate. If you can with a classical degree, great. Kids benefit from learning the classical subjects - I think they should be taught at all grade levels as well at age-appropriate levels. I know of homeschooling curriculums that include greek and latin at young ages. I am considering it or something similar for my public, small-town schooled kids to enhance the basics from school, maybe during the summers.
Beautifully said.
once again I wonder... "where does all the money go?"
We have an astonishing amount of money floating around this wonderful country, both private and public. Where does it all go? The weight of beauracracy seems to pull it into some sort of black hole of money. (It's my firm belief that Rome fell under it's own weight more than anything else. I think we're probably going to do the same. Oh wait. I learned that from studying the classics.
Oh, the irony.)
I was a "pure" math major. I studied it even though I was told that it was not useful to employers. I did it just because it was interesting.
Have I ever used formal math proofs at work? Not really. Do I use the analytical reasoning skills that I honed while studying math at work? You betcha.
If we went by the total number of students who major in pure math (vs. applied math), we'd lose all the math departments. We'd be poorer for it, too.
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