[lit-ideas] Re: "Our Superficial Scholars"
- From: John McCreery <john.mccreery@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 23:40:15 +0900
On the other
hand.<http://designmind.frogdesign.com/articles/and-now-the-good-news/the-bridge-personality.html>
John
On Mon, Jan 24, 2011 at 11:33 PM, John McCreery <john.mccreery@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
> And, on the other side of the coin, something I was just moved to write
> (the bit in italics is the question to which I am, in a curmudgeonly mode,
> responding).
>
> *but what really is the use of any of the humanities as supplying some
> economic demand?*
>
> They have, of course, historically played an important role in producing
> audiences for high culture and fine art — thus providing the wherewithal to
> keep institutions like Sotheby's, the Vienna Philharmonic, and university
> presses in business.
>
> The marketing problem faced by the humanities is similar to that faced by
> BMW in Japan after selling too many 3-series cars during the economic
> bubble. When the bubble collapsed, BMW found that, when people thought of
> its brand in terms of the 3-series, they envisioned a "Roppongi Corolla,"
> i.e., a starter car for nouveaux riche vulgarians.
>
> Democratizing the humanities and, in effect, adopting the McDonald's
> slogan, "We do it all for you" has predictably destroyed the luxury cachet
> the humanities once enjoyed. And claiming to teach critical thinking in big
> lecture classes with shrinking reading and writing assignments isn't going
> to rebuild the brand.
>
> John
>
> On Mon, Jan 24, 2011 at 11:18 PM, Julie C <juliereneb@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>>
>> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/21/AR2011012104554.html?nav=hcmoduletmv
>>
>> Julie Krueger
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> John McCreery
> The Word Works, Ltd., Yokohama, JAPAN
> Tel. +81-45-314-9324
> jlm@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> http://www.wordworks.jp/
>
--
John McCreery
The Word Works, Ltd., Yokohama, JAPAN
Tel. +81-45-314-9324
jlm@xxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.wordworks.jp/
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