An Augustinian understanding of original sin can significantly contribute to the purpose of the teaching of the humanities. It helps at the point where Martha Nussbaum's understanding of the humanities is inconsistent. She argues that the humanities should cultivate a "world citizen," that is, a people aspiring towards a universal…

Policy makers increasingly call on higher education to prepare learners for challenges such as global health emergencies or ecological crises. These can be understood as 'wicked problems', which are unbounded, complex and resist simplistic definition. Wicked problems involve stakeholders with incompatible value positions and attempted solutions…

The "Next Generation Science Standards" and other educational reforms support the formation of deep connections across the STEM disciplines. Integrated STEM is considered as a best practice by the educational communities of the disparate disciplines. However, the integration of non-STEM disciplines is understudied and generally limited…

The 'Does RE Work?' project, part of the AHRC/ESRC Religion & Society Programme, ran from 2007 to 2011. Drawing on textual analysis, ethnographic case studies and practitioner enquiry, the study identified core confusions as to the purposes and entailments of Religious Education as practised across the jurisdictions of the UK. This paper…

This article raises a number of questions that the author believes need to be addressed in order to defend and justify the teaching and practice of the humanities in an age when they continue to face swingeing cuts and unreasoned attacks from many quarters, both inside and outside the Academy. They are questions that have to do with the uniqueness…

The purpose of this guide is to encourage the development of humanities programs at the high school level so that students, through acquaintance with the thoughts, creations, and actions of past and present men in every area of knowledge, will think about the values of freedom and responsibility in relation to themselves. Not intended as a course…

The keynote speaker at this conference reviewed the ways to overcome the separation between humanists and what is conceived to be the real world. Humanists must not only foster greater appreciation of the arts and expose people to the background of human culture, but engage in direct interaction with critical issues and long-term social choices.…

Values clarification involves students in the information and concepts presented in their courses. This article discusses values clarification techniques for use in the teaching of social studies, English, and the humanities, at all grade levels. (Author/RM)

Reported is a descriptive study in which a value clarification approach--based on the work of Raths, Harmin, and Simon, as reported in the book, VALUES AND TEACHING--was used for a three-month period in the author's instruction of four earth science classes in a medium-sized rural school. Two major concerns were of interest: (1) the value of…

Illustrates one way that history, as part of the humanities, can help students to develop personal and social values. (RK)

Today's students are very much interested in films, but discussing films as if they are literature, or as if there are "right" answers about them (the teacher's), will kill off that interest quickly. A better technique is to discuss the feelings which the film's images generate among class members, and to go on from there into larger questions…

This publication relates a conversation between a university music professor and a public school music coordinator about musical creativity and its potential in every human being. As part of the National Humanities Faculty Why Series, the book is intended to help students, teachers, and citizens maintain and improve their intellectual vigor and…

A study unit for social studies or language arts credit in secondary grades is developed for a problem centered in-depth analysis of contemporary America. An interdisciplinary approach focusing on an analysis of art, literature, music, and philosophy is suggested to help the student assess personal values and beliefs concerning contemporary…

A course in the Bible as Literature is presented. It is an examination of significant selections from the old and new testaments, representing universality in theme, diversity in literary genre, and consideration of biblical language. Performance objectives for the student include: (1) proposal of reasons for studying the Bible as literature, (2)…

Using methods derived from sensitivity training, teachers can help students to "feel involved" with works of art and make works "come alive for them." Current humanities instruction is said to be impersonal, overly intellectual, poorly taught, and irrelevant. Sensitivity training emphasizes the individual and his capacities for self-awareness; it…