4. Who ruined the humanities精选.pptVIP

READING 4 Who Ruined the Humanities? by Lee Siegel A Poem: Grasshopper r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r who a)s w(e loo)k upnowgath PPEGORHRASS eringint(o— aThe): l eA !p: S a (r (rIvInG gRrEaPsPhOs to rea(be)rran(com)gi(e)ngly ,grasshopper; Great poetry and novels are meant to be experienced in private and alone, away from the competitive pressures of the classroom. The thrust of Siegel’s point can effectively be summarized: It’s important to read the great poets and novelists. But not in a university classroom, where literature has been turned into a bland, soulless competition for grades and status. We have a number of teachers who … What is the prevailing problem facing humanities? 1. The number of college students majoring in humanities… , which predicts … Siegel informs us: “Never mind that the preponderance of English majors go into other fields, such as law or advertising, and that students who don’t major in English can still take literature courses.” 2. Literature joys are being ruined by… Literary classics are reduced to…, are taught like…and reduced to …, are now occasions of … To some extent, he’s entirely correct…. A dry lesson dilutes the rhetorical power of a well-written piece of literature –of that there’s no doubt. Siegel argues… The marked decrease in English majors since the 1970s could actually be a good thing. “Literature requires only that you be human.”… “It does not have to be taught any more than dreaming h