Surveys were conducted in 1975 and 1977 of humanities courses offered at two-year colleges in the United States. Studies are currently being conducted of colleges where the humanities have been strong and colleges where they have diminished. Recommendations are made for strengthening foreign language programs. (SW)

Evidence from recent studies of college graduate test performance, employment patterns, and salary levels challenge the common assumption that college study of the humanities is impractical. (MSE)

Topnotch scholars, academic couples, and emphasis on new theories are transforming the English department at Duke University. Professors lured to Duke say joint appointments and interdisciplinary responsibilities are a big part of the attraction. Several members describe their work as left-leaning or Marxist. (MLW)

Memory is the primary mechanism of modern education. Despite memory's importance in other ways, it is not the primary tool for solving problems, making theories or plotting courses of action. Students should be taught how to separate trivial from important information by using critical judgments, ethical standards, and logic. (MLW)

The integration of learning and knowing is not simply a matter of application but rather an ongoing interactive process in which both knowledge and experience are repeatedly transformed. Two models of the integration of knowledge and experience were used at Alverno College. (MLW)

A lack of cooperation between engineering and liberal arts faculty members, along with inadequate student advising, has thwarted efforts to broaden the education of engineering undergraduates. A report by the Association of American Colleges, "Unfinished Design: The Humanities and Social Sciences in Undergraduate Engineering Education,"…

Four commission reports on higher education are discussed. Each report is labeled by its particular thrust: classical, liberal arts, progressive, and liberal reform. The studies reflect the view that resources have been misallocated, arts and humanities remain the best hope for sustaining high cultural standards, and too much specialization…

Describes courses designed to develop approaches for teaching engineering concepts, applied mathematics and computing skills to liberal arts undergraduates, and to teach the history of scientific and technological innovation and application to engineering and science majors. Discusses courses, course materials, enrichment activities, and…

Argues that students should exercise criticism in the classroom, but this criticism should not take the form of mere training in technical skills, indoctrination into a particular conceptual system, or theoretical speculation ungrounded in reality. (SRT)

Explores ways in which an expository writing class can encompass training in both professional writing and in the humanities. Presents a writing assignment that combines research in the humanities with writing for decision makers. (HTH)

A report by the chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities urges colleges to revitalize teaching of the humanities in undergraduate curricula. College faculty and academic administrators are cited as responsible for much decline in humanities study, and increased science education, technological literacy, and study of nonwestern…

The text of a report based on the findings of the National Endowment for the Humanities' Study Group on the State of Learning in the Humanities in Higher Education is presented with a brief summary. It cites the decline of the college curriculum, particularly the humanities, and places responsibility on faculty and administrators. (MSE)

The National Endowment for the Humanities is criticized for not providing greater leadership both within the government and among potential sources of private financial support for the humanities. (MSE)

The crisis in the humanities is linked to society's prevalent attitudes which assume that the humanities are extraneous to the real needs of society. The humanities can help in "developing a moral and imaginative framework for action." (MLW)

An analysis of college students' perceptions of learner-centered educational practices can help instructors to develop strategies for making a successful transformation to learner-centered education. Approximately 45 freshman and sophomore students enrolled in a college composition course or an introductory humanities course at a Midwestern…