tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post5127843859923346177..comments2024-03-21T12:51:21.667-04:00Comments on Whisky Prajer: "What, exactly, did you sign up for, professor?"dpreimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905531259256800022noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-35344040535727261802015-12-15T06:41:28.008-05:002015-12-15T06:41:28.008-05:00Throw in a sea of digital distraction -- as well a...Throw in a sea of digital distraction -- as well as digital enhancement (there is a heap o' readin' I would most emphatically NOT have committed to, had I the digital resources we so blithely accept today) -- and the business of "required reading" becomes very much up for grabs.<br /><br />As for PHD candidacy and the jobs it lands: this is where I suspect you have more in common with Srigley. Your youthful Platonic Ideal of what a History Prof was is probably right in line with his of what a Philosophy Prof ought to be. And he's still fighting with that.dpreimerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09905531259256800022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-35030542146053071782015-12-15T01:09:20.234-05:002015-12-15T01:09:20.234-05:00Like you, I have a number of mixed reactions to th...Like you, I have a number of mixed reactions to this article. <br /><br />To a certain extent, he's asking all the wrong questions perhaps.<br /><br />I actually did most of the readings I was assigned for college, but that was because I was majoring in courses I was interested in (history and literature) and I was enough of an introvert to enjoy sitting in the library and reading stuff I was interested in, and feel like I was being productive at the same time. And not every 18 year old is wired like that, obviously.<br /><br />But man, were there ever a lot of forces competing for my attention at the time. Like many introverts do, I was beginning to feel guilty about how much of my life had been spent in solitary activities, and I was trying to push myself to be more extroverted. And I was scared that if I didn't start talking to girls more I would end up alone and lonely the rest of my life. And I was convinced that life would be over once I was 22, and had to get a real job, and this was my last chance ever to have fun. Plus I was living away from my parents for the first time ever, and in the dormitories was surrounded by other 18 year olds who had similar concerns to me. And I had a huge fear of being left out of whatever fun was happening on any particular night...<br /><br />Up against all that, getting an 18 year old to sit quietly in the library and diligently read Shakespeare or Herodotus is always going to be a tough sell.<br /><br />Sometimes I regret not applying myself harder, especially when I read an ancient history book, and get really into it, and think to myself "I used to have dreams of being an ancient history scholar back when I was 16. If only I had applied myself more in University..."<br /><br />But, I have met now multiple people who were on the PHD track in ancient history studies (the classics, as its called in University) and ended up dropping out once they realized it was not so much a career path as it was a very expensive hobby.<br /><br />So if there's no obvious jobs connected to studying the humanities, it's going to be an even harder sell to get young people to buckle down and study it.<br /><br />I'm also reminded of something I read a few years ago in a book on Procrastination. We human beings are hard wired to avoid any work that isn't absolutely necessary--it's one of our survival instincts that we picked up in the course of evolution, in order to only expend our energy on what is necessary. Which is why people procrastinate, or avoid any work that doesn't have immediate rewards to it. If you can pass your course without reading the books, and if you know that a thorough knowledge of English literature is not going to be useful to your future, and if you're 18 and on a college campus filled with so many other distractions, I don't wonder why so many of these kids aren't doing all the required reading.Joel Swagmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14948746083822200906noreply@blogger.com