Phi Beta Cons

Harvard’s Surprise

Now that I have read Russell A. Berman’s discussion of the new Harvard study of the humanities, “Mapping the Future,” I am eager to read the paper. It sounds as though Harvard has not only re-confirmed the importance of classics but also admitted, at least in a tiny, restrained way, that bashing of the canon by humanities faculty may explain some of the decline in humanities enrollment. Another surprise is that the Chronicle of Higher Education printed Berman’s article. (He is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, and he agrees with the report.) As one commenter says, “How did this get itself on CHE? The censors are asleep, I guess.”

Jane S. ShawJane S. Shaw retired as president of the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy in 2015. Before joining the Pope Center in 2006, Shaw spent 22 years in ...
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