Nothing apolitical about university education
I often hear the refrain that campuses must be de-politicised. This mostly comes from techno-managers who feel agitating humanities students bleed the taxpayer through political activism and protests.
Hmm. By their very nature, engineering and business students are less political than others. Most enter college to get a job and make money. The subjects they learn are apolitical -- it is hard to get agitated about thermodynamics or accounting.
Arts and humanities are different. I was primarily educated in physics and engineering but have formally studied subjects such as psychology, philosophy, and sociology. The content of these courses and the assignments and discussions were very different from the impersonal logic of the physical sciences.
Humanities make you engage with society. You cannot do a course on ethics and morality without reference to the society outside. Likewise political science, sociology, economics, literature and other non-science subjects.
After an immersion in these subjects, students are very aware of the world around them. And some of them want to change it.
You can worry that campuses are getting too political. But there is nothing apolitical about the university experience. If you aren't an idealist at 22, what are you?
Hmm. By their very nature, engineering and business students are less political than others. Most enter college to get a job and make money. The subjects they learn are apolitical -- it is hard to get agitated about thermodynamics or accounting.
Arts and humanities are different. I was primarily educated in physics and engineering but have formally studied subjects such as psychology, philosophy, and sociology. The content of these courses and the assignments and discussions were very different from the impersonal logic of the physical sciences.
Humanities make you engage with society. You cannot do a course on ethics and morality without reference to the society outside. Likewise political science, sociology, economics, literature and other non-science subjects.
After an immersion in these subjects, students are very aware of the world around them. And some of them want to change it.
You can worry that campuses are getting too political. But there is nothing apolitical about the university experience. If you aren't an idealist at 22, what are you?
