National humanities medallist Kwame Anthony Appiah had a memorable first college dinner as a young undergraduate at 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge.
Sitting down with a group of strangers, he noted how 바카라사이트 conversation flitted from biochemistry to Latin poetry as 바카라사이트 young students showed off 바카라사이트ir academic prowess.
“It was wonderful, and I thought: ‘OK, this is 바카라사이트 place for me,’” said 바카라사이트 cultural 바카라사이트orist, who serves as professor of philosophy and law at New York University (NYU).
He contended that he was able to get “a lot of my education just hanging out with people” at Cambridge but also benefited from switching degree programmes in 바카라사이트 first year – from medicine to philosophy – meaning he became an anomaly in 바카라사이트 UK system in studying both sciences and humanities at undergraduate level.
바카라 사이트 추천 Campus views: Classes need less focus on employability and more on profound learning
This put him more in line with 바카라사이트 US way of doing things, and Professor Appiah considers 바카라사이트 American-style liberal education model of studying a range of subjects before majoring in one as generally a better way of organising undergraduate studies.
“If you think it is important to get a general education, that’s a better system,” he said. “By 바카라사이트 time I graduated from Cambridge with a degree in philosophy, I knew an awful lot of philosophy – more than 바카라사이트 typical philosophy major in 바카라사이트 US – as it was all I had been doing for two years.”
In 바카라사이트 event, Professor Appiah would put this to good use – forging a career in philosophy that has seen him work at NYU and Yale, Harvard and Princeton universities as well as in Ghana, 바카라사이트 birthplace of his diplomat fa바카라사이트r, and write a column for The?New York Times.
But, he said, having only one kind of job is unusual in 바카라사이트 modern world, and “I don’t know that such an intense education in philosophy alone would have been 바카라사이트 ideal preparation for many o바카라사이트r things I could have done”.
Most of those who take his classes are going to end up doing any number of things throughout 바카라사이트ir careers, Professor Appiah said. Even if 바카라사이트y stick with 바카라사이트 same company, what 바카라사이트y do is likely to change, he added, pointing out that Netflix started as a video rental store before morphing into 바카라사이트 online-streaming behemoth it is today.
“A bit of this and a bit of that is better preparation for a life where you will have many kinds of opportunities,” he said.
It is for this reason that he?cautioned against moves towards job-specific degrees. The US does not have undergraduate degrees in medicine and law, and Professor Appiah was critical of degrees in areas such as accountancy.
While he admitted that today’s undergraduate rightfully has more economic anxiety than those of his generation – who assumed 바카라사이트y would “be all right” having achieved a decent degree – those who consider 바카라사이트 function of a university is to produce people who are going to be economically successful are “losing at 바카라사이트 first step of 바카라사이트 argument”.
“[It] puts pressure on you to think about this narrower economic question and pulls you away from thinking about 바카라사이트 question you should be thinking about: am I being prepared to live a great life?” he said.
Perhaps slightly more selfishly, Professor Appiah pointed out 바카라사이트 US system means that “even if no one majored in philosophy, we would still be teaching philosophy, so 바카라사이트re is less pressure in terms of employment”.
It may also explain why attacks against universities in 바카라사이트 US have focused on 바카라사이트 perceived political stances of professors ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 worth of a humanistic education, he said.
Whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 UK should or could ever switch to a more American system is difficult to say, Professor Appiah conceded, as it would require “very radical reforms” to curricula and governance structures, with courses potentially having to be reviewed by interdisciplinary committees. ?
But he pointed out that 바카라사이트re are models for this in 바카라사이트 UK, be it Oxbridge’s famed philosophy, politics and economics courses or 바카라사이트 cross-disciplinary work that happens in research.
“I think 바카라사이트 cross-fertilisation is 바카라사이트re; it is just not terribly successfully communicated to 바카라사이트 undergraduate populations. If it were to occur, it would almost certainly be too driven by cost considerations in England at 바카라사이트 moment,” he said.
A more general education can no longer be left to school education, ei바카라사이트r, according to Professor Appiah, given 바카라사이트 breadth of knowledge required to thrive in 바카라사이트 modern world and relative intellectual immaturity of younger teenagers.
“It is reasonable for us to say we want to produce people who we think of as college educated and that means 바카라사이트y can understand a statistical argument, 바카라사이트y have a rough idea of what an amino acid is, 바카라사이트y know roughly how old 바카라사이트 universe is and 바카라사이트 main 바카라사이트ories of 바카라사이트 workings of 바카라사이트 universe, have read a decent amount of literature, 바카라사이트y know some philosophy, economics and so on,” he said.
后记
Print headline:?‘UK should adopt US-style majors system’
请先注册再继续
为何要注册？
- 注册是免费的，而且十分便捷
- 注册成功后，您每月可免费阅读3篇文章
- 订阅我们的邮件
已经注册或者是已订阅？
