How to Promote Humanities

~ Clarissa

Somebody donated a large sum of money to the university to promote the study of the Humanities. I was invited to attend the opening ceremony. I was invited in person, as one of the few faculty members. This is an important part of the story, so please keep it in mind.

The ceremony consisted of the presentation of a book that all incoming students will read and discuss in class to foster their love of the Humanities.

Hardcover, illustrated, here is the book:

I took a copy and looked at the list of “every country in the world.” Ukraine is not there but Russia is, with slobbering descriptions of how pretty everything is and how nice the people are.

The book itself is an exercise in narcissism and vulgarity. The author poses, mostly half-dressed, with body parts falling out of skimpy outfits. The countries she visited are a framework for her admiration of herself. It’s downright embarrassing to be caught leafing through this kind of book in a store, let alone in an academic setting.

But wait, it gets better. There’s another book that will be obligatory reading. It’s this one:

It wouldn’t occur to people (I hope) to invite a Jew to visit an event featuring a book gushing over the wonderfulness of Nazi Germany. Or invite a black professor to discuss a book on the joys of slavery. But insulting a Ukrainian, that’s perfectly fine. Some feelings matter more than others. But leaving aside my personal grievances, is it any wonder students aren’t interested in the Humanities? There’s no history here, no intellectual tradition. Just vapid, superficial crap with zero value. This is what the university thinks the Humanities are. It’s not Aristotle or Cervantes. Instead, it’s some dime-a-dozen online influencer and a faddy quack of an author who will be forgotten tomorrow.

I didn’t stay for the ceremony. The embarrassment was devouring me.

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Published by Clarissa

14 thoughts on “How to Promote Humanities”

  2. Who decided upon this book? It’s only understandable if the donor is black or Jessica Nabongo or someone who’s fucking Jessica Nabongo. I can’t conceive of any other situation in which this book could be assigned to students.

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      1. Was your committee composed of a 6 year old boy who picked a comic book and a hormonal teenager who made the other choice? Or, perhaps the donation came from a publisher who desperately needs to sell these books?

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        1. We are going to force students to dedicate a semester to studying these texts. This is what we call higher education. I’m not sure what it’s higher than, though, because this seems like rock bottom.

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          1. Just wait and they will involve STEAM into it next year. Math professors will be required to cover the math of Wakanda, in art students will learn how to draw comic books, engineering will cover the weapons design for the Black Panther… You can build an entire curriculum around that comic book! How exciting!

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            1. What needs to happen to make this Soviet crap stop? Seriously, what?

              I would like to see one of all the left-wing people reading this explain to me how this is a great idea. Just one. You support it, so why not stand up for your beliefs.

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      2. In theory, even a hardcore wokie could’ve chosen better. James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, bell hooks: all popular with this crowd, all black, and all a better use of time. Even something really stupid like White Fragility is at least influential.

        However, it’s a central tenet of woke “literature” education that books must be from the past ten years and that they be dumbed down slop aimed either at actual children or adults with childlike minds. This is actually more important than the ideological content, if anything.

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    2. lmao, named book of the year by a 140 year old institution.

      In the 140 years since it was created, Library Journal has been inspired by the belief that libraries transform lives, at every stage of life.

      We were there to help libraries in the United States begin organizing as a profession, and as the national and global network of libraries took their place in town squares, campus centers, and schools. As libraries have adapted, we have been there all the way–leading the profession forward by identifying trends on the brink of impact, surfacing best practices and innovations to invest in, identifying emerging leaders, sharing important news and perspectives that shape the field, guiding purchasing decisions, acting as an advocate for librarians and libraries–leading the field through the great changes and innovations required to keep libraries strong. Each day we build on this storied tradition by fueling the innovation engine at the center of every community–your library.

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  3. Btw, Cracker Barrel caved. They’re going back to the old logo lol.

    Reminder to patriots on social media: always chimp out.

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