November 16, 2013
by J.l. Abbot, Adviser to the Philosophy Club and founder of the HiA Initiative
This is the Fall 2013 launch of Humanities in Action, a blog that embodies a partnership between the Tunxis Humanities Department and the students, faculty, staff and alumni/ae of our beloved College. When someone close to me with a good household income and a nice home recently told me she didn’t know what the liberal arts are good for—or even really what they are! (they are traditionally the “meat and potatoes” of makes up a well-rounded college education: literature, philosophy, foreign languages, psychology, history, mathematics, and the natural sciences). . . . let alone the humanities (the above categories plus the fine arts and performing arts but generally minus science and math), I knew something had to be done.
Tunxis is very much a known quantity in Connecticut for its humanities and liberal arts focus, but also as a school that values science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Those areas flourish at our college—but arguably largely because our ability-based approach engages those subjects with an interdisciplinary eye that always seeks to guide students to find their own inspiration and meaning—no matter what the subject. Skillfully taught and thoughtfully approached, STEM classes and all of the disciplines listed here can empower us to know ourselves better as human beings.
Yes, it’s possible to make a lot of money with STEM alone. But if you want to do that, find another blog—and to be honest, you probably won’t be too happy at Tunxis unless you just decide to put on blinders and screen out all of the inspiration and “qualitative” material around you. At Tunxis, you’re going to find a physics professor who takes you on field trips to philosophy lectures and a math professor who sneaks in a poem or two in his spare time. Conversely, you’ll encounter an art professor with a profound sensibility of geometry and the angles that make up our world.
So that’s the ethos and identity of this blog: to celebrate all of the wonderful activity and ideas at our College that place the quest for purpose and meaning in human lives at the center of teaching and learning. Since statistics regularly show that many people across the globe detest their jobs and find them devoid of meaning, our argument is that as an institution we will help shape professionals who are happier and more productive if we can help our students be more reflective and challenge them to strive to be more vastly and robustly human.
In affirming these values, we directly oppose the “we produce schmucks who can make bucks” approach to education. I won’t exactly say we’re declaring war on that philosophy, but you get the idea. When the whirlwind of educational reform Leon Botstein visited Tunxis last spring, he took no issue with utilitarian approaches to one’s profession and getting ahead in the world. However, he passionately made the case that such utility came from discovering the riches of our own unique human subjectivity. Armed with our humanity and our original ideas, all of our life and world can be useful.
Content is dynamic and ongoing, so check back often, as we will publish when items seem best to broadcast rather than create regular separate issues or editions. Some of our news features, opinion pieces, and creative content will speak directly and literally to the themes of our tag line: “Finding Inspiration, Meaning, and What It Is To Be Human. . .at Tunxis Community College.” Other content will tie in with such subjects more indirectly or broadly. The blog should be both a place where people feel comfortable talking about these concepts and embodying them.
So without further ado, I give you the the Humanities in Action!
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