This study attempted to: (1) identify and describe the nature of rationales, purposes and objectives, content and content organization, methods and materials, time and staff organization, general organization, and student populations of secondary school humanities programs in the United States; and (2) identify and describe the major common…

In this commentary the author responds to critics who question the value of teaching the humanities and also points out some weaknesses in the arguments of humanists themselves, including his opinion that most of their arguments are meaningful only to other humanists and do nothing to sway their critics. (JMD)

The humanities, an area of study left out of the elementary curriculum, is essential as society becomes more global in nature. Because of the time restrictions in elementary teaching schedules, the humanities must be incorporated into the school program, not as an extra class, but as an enrichment of what is already taught. In this book, emphasis…

Experiential learning, or learning by doing, fits newer conceptions about the process of learning. John Dewey's emphasis on experience as the key to real learning, Paulo Freire's criticism of the "banking concept" of education, and David Kolb's description of the cycle of experiential learning have changed the conception of learning.…

This book reconsiders why and how U.S. humanities education is taught. A humanities program should teach students not just memorizable facts but analytical skills that are vital for a critically informed citizenry. Innovative research is important as the basis of such a curriculum. Specific suggestions are outlined for translating curriculum goals…

Article links together criticism, the arts, and the relevance of art in contemporary society. (RK)

Paper presented at the 1968 meeting of the National Council of Teachers of English at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and printed in the New York State Education Department Monograph "Forum on Humanities, 1969.

Considers how literary critic, George Steiner, explores the failure of Western Civilization to humanize humanity. Analyzes Steiner's ultimately elitist model of culture to shed light on implications of his brutal paradox in which Nazism's death camps are juxtaposed to high culture. Theorizes about the possibilities of a culture inclusive of all…

Discusses some issues that have long been claimed as the exclusive province of the humanities, such as brotherhood and belonging, the sense of beauty, and the meaning of human. Suggests how a knowledge of science can contribute to understanding. (YP)

Maintains that there are two traditional categories of data for scholars: (1) physical objects and nonmaterial objects and (2) processed information. Describes the development and current plans for the Documentation Project, a Norwegian database for language and culture. (CFR)

This paper is in the nature of an interim report on an evaluation exercise which has run half its course. It attempts to outline the characteristics of the curriculum intervention which is being evaluated, the impact of that intervention upon the educational system, and the attempt to design an appropriate evaluation. (Author)

"HUMANITIES" is the bi-monthly newsletter of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), a Federal agency established by an Act of Congress in 1965 "for the encouragement and support of national progress and scholarship in the humanities." Typical newsletters include articles on major grants awarded, reading lists, and other current items of…

Considers the role that science and technology have played, and should play, in human affairs. (RK)