Reclaiming the Humanities
Contrarian Entrepreneurial Humanities
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Alain Philippe Durand
In this paper, I focus on humanities’ success stories. First, I show and providence evidence and data that unlike what the media is reporting, the humanities are thriving in many academic and non-academic programs nationally and internationally. I discuss as an example and case study how the University of Arizona’s College of Humanities has increased its number of majors by 33%. Second, I demonstrate how the US and global media not only almost systematically report negative stories on the humanities (and studying of the humanities) but also deliberately ignore or refuse to publish successful humanities narratives even when contacted and presented with evidence. Third, I present and explain the strategies I and colleagues from around the United States are using to counter and reclaim these narratives.
Reclaiming the Role of Aristotle’s Golden Mean in Today’s Character Education
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Margarita García Notario
What happens to a society where social values get determined by opinions transmitted through virtual tools that allow little dialogue, because the messages move always unidirectionally? What happens when truth and righteousness get defined by the number of likes that individual statements receive? And what tools does a secular society have to require the religious mandate to acknowledge that all humans are of equal value, and have inalienable rights? This paper is an investigation into an education in virtues, as understood by classical philosophers and their main medieval and modern scholars, a reflection on its necessity, and a consideration of the challenges of teaching them today. The investigation reviews the definitions of ethical character and morality and ponders how digital technologies may have modified their meanings, giving them a neutral value, and transforming them to mere options for actions in society. The theoretical background uses, among others, authors like Plato, Aristotle, Avicenna, Thomas de Aquino, and Jonathan Sacks.
