I was sitting in on a third-year undergraduate course the other day when the prof showed part of a DVD of La Boheme. This was a course on the history of Paris, and she quipped that this would give the students the cultivation they were looking for when they signed up for a class like this. They found this amusing, and she was very light-hearted about it. But, I realized that I haven't even heard anyone use the word 'cultivation' in years, much less use it in regards to higher ed. On the other hand, why study the humanities, if not to become a cultivated person?
So, what is cultivation? And what should you learn in order to be a cultivated person? I'm going to make some suggestions. I'd love to hear from you too...
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
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4 comments:
I'm thinking back to your post about cultural conservatism. If one is cultivated, presumably they join the ranks of the culturally elite?
Do we still have a cultural elite? It used to be the rich and children of the rich were cultivated. But, observe Paris Hilton... And I've learned recently that conservatives aren't as pro-culture as I had thought. I'll probably post on that. Maybe us academic lifers are the cultural elite.
I think cultivation comes from variety; the greater the assortment the better.
Oh, absolutely. The best of everything is what I usually say.
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