Note: I originally posted this on the day it was due, but it wouldn’t go through so I emailed a screenshot. I am unable to find the screenshot so i just rewrote it quickly to be what I remembered.
Nussbaum talks about how education is a global-crisis. She implies that neglect of the art and humanities is leading to the misshaping of young people’s minds. I think Citizenship is, in part, a reflection of this at UNE. Citizenship— which is the senior requirement– is mean to be the summation of the UNE degree and core. Unfortunately, I found the core at UNE far more beneficial than citizenship. In fact, I think that citizenship flattent students— they are, now, no longer business, english, or med-bio majors. They are citizens. But in reality, that’s not actually how the world works. Our culture is built upon identification through definitions of our employment. Citizenship doesn’t honor that, nor does it honor previous work the student has done throughout their college career. Additionally, it uses a social sciences (and, specifically, political science) approach to all majors and their future societal engagement. It is no longer about the work done to formatively inform students about the ways they can uniquely engage in society, but rather a lecture on what we should do, should have been doing, and will do in the future. Nothing about citizenship helps to aid the misshapen minds. On the other hand, humanities are interwoven with issues from all disciplines. It is truly the nexus of academia and reality as it both refracts and reflects both. I think that Nussbaum has a great point when she writes, “We go on as if everything were business as usual, when in reality great changes of emphasis are evident all over.” (2).
