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Do American Universities Still Teach Your Favorite Subjects?
We all have favorite subjects. or example, I know beyond doubt that anonymous loves science in all its aspects. Casey loves the Greek classics. Lance loves music.
One of the problems with American (and other) universities that many subjects are either beyond the pale or have been so distorted as to be meaningless.
For example, my favorite subjects are:
Military history. According to Victor Davis Hanson, university nabobs now consider the actual study of war (and especially battles) as too bellicose for the lily blossoms now attending our universities (so we now have Peace Studies majors). Yet war history is a perennially popular subject for popular non-fiction writers.
English and Russian literature. Both subjects are still taught, but the post-modernists who now inhabit the humanities departments of most universities tend to use these works as the raw material through which they advance their own political agendas. After all, these works are mere “texts,” and the critic is more important than the writer.
History and Theory of Conservative Thought. I doubt that even a tiny portion of American political science and philosophy departments have even one course on this subject.
I have several other subjects that interest me. For the most part, the academy has either marginalized or eliminated them.
What subjects float your boat? Can you even study it in an academic setting any more?
Published in Education
Soviet History was my specialty in school. I had several courses on the subject which were unfortunately taught by a self-identified Stalinist. Stalin was a misunderstood good guy and the Ukranian famine was mere German propaganda and had never happened.
I also love gyros.
I loved my college History and Philosophy classes. Some of the latter were taught by a gentle and venerable priest, who spoke several languages, including at least one dead one, and often lectured without the aid of notes. Outside of class, the students would see him celebrate the Mass solemnly and listen to penitents in the confessional. That was the most edifying thing of all. “And if I … should know all mysteries, and all knowledge … and have not charity, I am nothing.”
Except for the few Christian or Catholic educational holdouts, it seems to me American university education has given up teaching persons in their totality as intellectual and moral agents.
I also enjoy what I guess I would call American Sports History. Especially baseball but anything really. Reading about or watching old sports is a great way to connect oneself to that time and place. It gives one a sense of real life history – the history outside of the history books.
But it doesn’t have to be strictly history. Today on a visit to a used book store my son came across 4 books in the Chip Hilton baseball series from the 40s and 50s. These were story books that my dad and uncles would have read as boys. (I confirmed this with my uncle. They had some of these books.) In a small way, I am learning a little about their childhood experience.
Mathematics and history. The schools did such a bad job with history that I am mostly self-taught. I tend towards military history but I can get caught up in almost anything. My Wikipedia history is probably nothing short of schizophrenic.
One of the reasons I love homeschooling so much is that I get to indulge myself in all my favorite things to study and learn.
We make maps. We study old battles. We read historical fiction. We learn Latin. We memorize the times tables. We race each other through geometry proofs. We blow stuff up in our kitchen. We make music for hours. We think that going for a hike and bringing a sketch pad along counts as school.
I thought I loved conlaw until I took it. Whileast reading the majority Kelo opinion I honestly feared I would stroke out. I’ve never been so negatively moved in all my life.
MT, part of my interest in military history is due to my dad. We walked just about every battlefield of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. When we got to the gift shop, he’d get me a book about the battle.
Do they still teach the history of the ancient near east? I was tickled to learn that one of the required texts for that class, at oh-so-scientifically atheist UCSD, was the Bible.
It’s been over a quarter-century since I was in college, but the courses I remember enjoying the most are these:
Art History. I took one class just to fulfill a requirement, and loved it so much I took a second one from the same instructor. The first one was a history of ancient art, which touched on the architecture, sculpture and other artifacts from ancient cultures, mostly Egypt, Mesopotamia, and other middle-eastern cultures. As usual, it’s the instructor who really makes the class. He taught these courses with as much of a focus on history as on the art itself, and made it fascinating. The second course was pre-Renaissance art which focused on a lot of art with a Biblical theme, and the instructor was very respectful of the subject matter. (And illuminating!) Perhaps that’s rare at a secular university these days.
The other course I really remember enjoying was something called “Journalism and Society” which focused a lot on ethics in journalism. A lot of today’s so-called “journalists” could probably learn something. Even my left-wing profs would be appalled at what journalism has become today.
I left out religion, theology, and the Bible.
I love these subjects and enjoy talking about them with my students.
An introductory philosophy course I took should have been interesting, but the instructor spent most of it talking about crap like astral projection and other new-age nonsense.
On the flip side, a lower-level English course I took was essentially a philosophy course in which we did nothing but read, discuss, and write about the works of many well-known philosophers. So I really got the philosophy covered in my English classes. The down side to that was it was a freshman-level class, and I was completely unused to a discussion class like that right out of high school. I would love retaking that class today.
You mean, like 16mm motion picture production?
Probably not.
I took a required course in Rational Psychology. It was commonly known as Rat Psych. I have no memory of the content. I still remember and value my Logic course, however.
See the problem is you seem to like all these strange and boring classes like Russian Literature or Military History.
If on the other hand you liked Astronomy, and Viking Mythology you probably wouldn’t have such a hard time. UIUC offered plenty of classes of all sorts at least when I was there. Including Military History and Russian Literature. I took one Military history class that I had to drop because of an expected scheduling mishap, but I know it was there.
I even took a class on Modern Catholic thought that was taught by an honest to goodness Catholic (anti-abortion and everything). So really you just have to go to a good school and you can have all the education you want.
Phrenology has lost its proper place in academia.
I’m in my 50s. Here’s a take from a relatively recent student:
Don’t be so bumptious.
Bumptious is the sound a jazz drummer makes.
I studied computer science which still seems to be going strong!
Mama Toad, you wouldnt believe how much I am envying both you and your kids (#6 and 12) as I sit here. As well as you and your dad, Perci.
ctlaw: “Phrenology has lost its proper place in academia.”
Whaddaya mean? I teach that right now! Oh wait, you didn’t say phonology?
I don’t know how widely it’s taught, but I’ll bet few students are getting a sound footing in geography.
Personally, the subject is irrelevant. Universities, in point of fact, most, if not all, are failing to teach that for which they were formed to teach. Critical Thinking.
Today we skipped school and went to our state capital to lobby our legislators on life issues with NYS Right to Life.
We got a tour of the State Senate chambers with the Secretary of the Senate. It was awesome.