To provide ideas and resources for bridging the traditional humanities major to the professional work world.
To provide students in business, social science, engineering, pre-law, etc., with reasons and strategies for enriching vocational training with skills provided by the Humanities.
Whether it's H+ or +H, the Humanities should play an important role in everybody's education.
The National Language Service Corps, NLSC, is a group of individuals like you, who can speak, listen and understand English and other languages. These individuals (known as "NLSC Members") make themselves available to help others in times of emergency or crisis wherever that may be. They have the opportunity to help their neighbors and fellow citizens by participating in national and state efforts when their expertise can truly make a difference. Our Members can be called upon in time of need to use their interpreting and translating skills to help others in the United States and around the world during short-term assignments.
Our Members have participated in assignments in places ranging from Atlanta, Thailand and Indonesia and some have been able to help from their own homes.
Somewhere there are people who need help, in their language. Be one who offers that
help. Use your language skills to bridge the divide between cultures. Do you speak
more than one language? Then consider applying for membership!
more here: http://www.nlscorps.org/
Details here: http://pressroom.ipc-undp.org/get-involved/internship-programme/
The Virtual Student Foreign Service (VSFS), a part of a growing effort by the State Department to harness technology and a commitment to global service among young people to facilitate new forms of diplomatic engagement, is piloting a program through the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) to offer students from Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) the opportunity to serve as virtual (eInterns) for U.S. diplomatic posts in the Americas and offices in the Western Hemisphere Affairs Bureau. Working from college and university campuses in the United States and throughout the world, eInterns (American students working virtually) are partnered with our U.S. diplomatic posts overseas and State Department domestic offices to conduct digital diplomacy that reflects the realities of our networked world. VSFS eInternships are unpaid and applications are rolling.
more here: https://www.hacu.net/hacu/VSFS_HACU_eInternships.asp
President Michael T. Benson of Southern Utah University argues for the economic and civilizational necessity of training today's youth in the liberal arts, and he does this in an economic and cultural climate increasingly hostile to the humanities and other disciplines whose immediate monetary value is not obvious.
Here are his key points:
"Difficult economic times such as we are in certainly require job and skill training that can result in immediate employment, to be sure. Nonetheless, to argue that Utah students enrolled in more traditional liberal arts programs have nothing to offer in terms of applicable job skills for the real world reveals an alarming ignorance of the irreplaceable value of a liberal education."
"At its core, LEAP (Liberal Education and America's Promise) states and institutions are committed to producing graduates with the portable skills necessary to ensure success in today's uber-competitive global environment: knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world; intellectual and practical skills; personal and social responsibility; and integrative and applied learning."
more here: http://www.sltrib.com/csp/cms/sites/sltrib/pages/printerfriendly.csp?id=51191320
Visit http://opsf.byu.edu/ for information on the following scholarship opportunities:
Gates-Cambridge Scholarship The Gates-Cambridge Scholarship funds graduate school at the University of Cambridge. Deadline: October 1 for some fields, October 15 for others (see website for details).
Hertz Foundation Fellowship
Provides
fellowships tenable at three dozen of the nation's finest universities for
graduate work leading to a Ph.D. in applications of the physical sciences. Deadline:
October 30, 2010.
Harry S. Truman Scholarship
Are
you planning on working in civil/public service? The Truman funds graduate
school for students who have plans to work in a public service capacity, which
covers a very wide range of professions and careers. Deadline: November 2011.
Critical Language Scholarship Program
The
CLS funds language instruction abroad in Arabic, Persian, Azerbaijani,
Bangla/Bengali, Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Punjabi, Turkish, Urdu, Chinese,
Japanese, or Russian. Deadline: November 15, 2011.
National Security Education Program (NSEP)
Boren Awards
The NSEP offers undergraduate and graduate awards
of $4,000-$30,000 for study abroad in areas that are critical to U.S. security
interests: Africa, Asia, Eastern & Central Europe, Middle East, Latin
America, and the Caribbean. Deadline: January 31, 2012.
A program of United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program offers intensive summer language institutes overseas in thirteen critical need foreign languages.
Critical Language Scholarship (CLS)
institutes provide fully-funded group-based intensive language instruction and
structured cultural enrichment experiences for seven to ten weeks for U.S.
citizen undergraduate, Master's and Ph.D. students.
•
Arabic, Persian: Advanced beginning, intermediate or advanced level;
•
Azerbaijani, Bangla/Bengali, Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Punjabi,
Turkish, Urdu: Beginning, intermediate or advanced level;
•
Chinese, Japanese, Russian: Intermediate or advanced level.
Countries may include: Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Russia, South Korea, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, or others where the target languages are spoken.
If this interests you, act soon. More details here: http://www.clscholarship.org/
Consider these two facts:
1. 40% of all Yale students graduate in a humanities/social science discipline.
2. Among the Stanford Business School's MBA graduates of 2011, 47% majored as an undergraduate in either the humanities or a social science.
CNN recently ran a story by Michael Roth on why study of the Liberal Arts is crucial for the future of our nation. Here is an excerpt:
"In recent years university leaders in Asia, the Mideast and even
Europe have sought to organize curricula more like those of our liberal
art schools. How, they want to know, can we combine rigorous
expectations of learning with the development of critical thinking and
creativity that are the hallmarks of the best American colleges?
But
in our own land we are running away from the promise of liberal
education. We are frightened by economic competition, and many seem to
have lost confidence in our ability to draw from the resources of a
broadly based education. Instead, they hope that technical training or
professional expertise on their own will somehow invigorate our culture
and society."
more here: http://articles.cnn.com/2011-05-21/opinion/roth.liberal.education_1_liberal-arts-sciences-colleges?_s=PM:OPINION
Department of State's is accepting applications for the 2012 Spring Student Internship Program.
You must be a U.S. Citizen and a student (a full- or part-time continuing college or university junior, or graduate student - including graduating seniors intending to go on to graduate school) to be eligible. Please read the program description and vacancy announcement for more information and for all requirements and qualifications.
We appreciate your interest in a career with the U.S. Department of State.
U.S. citizenship is required. An equal opportunity employer.
The Chronicle of Higher Education offers three internship sessions each year: winter/spring, summer, and fall.
The paper is currently seeking interns for the fall 2011 session, which will begin in September. The Chronicle is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to maintaining a diverse work force.
The internships are full-time in our Washington, D.C., office and will last through December. In addition to a $500 weekly stipend, academic credit can often be arranged.
Three interns will be hired; we are looking for both undergraduates and recent graduates.
All the interns will have the same primary responsibilities: reporting and writing daily news articles forThe Chronicle's Web site (which usually appear subsequently in print), writing news articles for other sections of the newspaper, and doing research for special projects. There is very little grunt work. Interns who prove themselves as reporters and writers are often asked to write full-length features. The Chronicle places a premium on reporting that is accurate and writing that shines. All writing, including that done by staff reporters, is carefully edited. Interns typically leave with a set of strong, varied clips. Requirements: Experience writing for publication, either at a student newspaper or a professional publication, is required. Candidates with previous internships and deadline-reporting experience are preferred. Applications must be received by 4 p.m. on Friday, June 3, 2011. Applications that are late, e-mailed, or faxed will not be considered. Details here: http://chronicle.com/section/Editorial-Internships/158/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Entrepreneurs said that fast-growing start-up companies need people with a wide range of skills, especially those who can help companies extend their global reach, connect with consumers and understand different cultures.
Humanities students show passion and dedication, said Vivek Ranadivé, chief executive officer of the software company TIBCO. Large companies aren't concerned with the specific knowledge humanities PhDs gained while writing a dissertation, said June Cohen, executive producer at TED Media. More important are the skills graduates have acquired, such as stamina and listening.
Discussion at the event initially focused on perceived differences between academia, the pursuit of knowledge for intellectual pleasure and companies' need for growth and product development.
Entrepreneurs in the first panel discussion tried to stress the need for humanities students to bring innovative ways of thinking to a company. During the second discussion, the conversation moved toward finding common ground. "Technology is becoming more humanist and at the same time the humanities are becoming more technical," said Bob Tinker, president and CEO of MobilIron, a software company based in Mountain View.
"When PayScale conducted its latest annual survey of starting and mid-career salaries for college grads in dozens of college majors, business came in as the 60th best-paying college degree. It fared worse than such supposedly impractical degrees as history, political science and philosophy."
In an article in the New Republic (December 13, 2010), John McWhorter argues for dramatic changes to university language study while brushing aside concerns over the recent closures of the French, German and Italian departments around the country. The shuttering of these units is merely a sign of the times, affirms McWhorter, as the new global economy displaces Europe's--and especially France's--former cultural centrality. In tough budgetary times, strategic choices must be made. And the obvious choice, according to McWhorter, is Chinese or Arabic.
Does anybody disagree that Chinese and Arabic are crucially important languages? The question is: why does McWhorter pit them in a zero-sum game with German or French? There may be good arguments to do so, but McWhorter does not make them. His reasoning goes like this: Chinese is "happening" while French is merely a residual marker of class distinction; Chinese is useful for business whereas French is good for the "educated person [who] is supposed to be able to at least fake a conversation in French," Nietzsche and Stendhal are, indeed, interesting, but why learn German or French when such texts are already available in English translation?
For McWhorter, the idea that an "educated" person learns French or German is a relic of the past. Things could have been different, and, in fact, would be different, if we could choose all over again: "I [...] have a deep-seated sense that the driver's seat in a car should be on the left side. It's all I've known, but hardly the choice all humans would make if designing a car from scratch with no cultural preconceptions."
It's hard to tell if this is an argument or a provocation. Is comparing choice of language study to car design a useful analogy? First of all, we're not talking about all humans deciding on one language; nor are we talking about a parallel world where language choice is divorced from historical and cultural experience. We're talking about American language learners who have long considered themselves historically and culturally tied to Europe and who want to strengthen these ties via language study. The original choice to study French and German (and Italian and Latin, etc.) was thus not an arbitrary and purely technical decision. It was one animated by a desire to participate in the cultural transmission Europe's humanistic traditions that define us. Is it possible to imagine the serious study of language outside of a "cultural preconception"? Isn't the very idea of language transmission tied to cultural transmission?
The answer is, of course, 'yes'--which explains why McWhorter doesn't really argue his point against European languages; he relies on the observations of a fictional "Martian" to make it for him: "A Martian would be baffled as to why anyone would think of French, German or Italian as more important for young Americans to learn than Chinese." Or he relies on the fiction of pure chance: "If the dice were rolled again, [Europe] might not even be considered a continent."
The idea here is clear: Europe is no longer important, and our attachment to European languages has outlasted its utility. Linguistic "importance" should now be based on strategic importance and economic benefit.
However, even if we concede this last point, McWhorter's Martian would be mistaken: the European Union is by far the US's largest trading partner, and both Germany and France figure in the top 10. Canada, our closest neighbor and second largest trading partner, is also partially francophone. And in terms of strategic importance, Europe, Canada and US are all members of NATO, struggling to share a historical destiny. It's unclear, given these facts, why we should so quickly turn our backs on European language and culture. Can't we admit that there's more at stake here than being able to "fake a conversation"?
The real argument for defending the study of European languages in American universities, however, is neither utilitarian nor strategic. It is the argument that McWhorter wants to deny: that European languages link us to the liberal arts or humanistic heritage out of which American political and cultural traditions emerged. In order to maintain these fragile traditions in an increasingly hostile economic climate, it is imperative that we avoid caving into purely market or strategic justifications for curricular decisions. Most college students already view their college experience as purely instrumental; it is our job to help as many students as we can see beyond this limited point of view.
Mark Bauerlein reprinted in the Chronicle of Higher Ed this response to his recent contribution to the Jobs vs. Gates debate in the NYT :
"Professor Bauerlein:
"Having retired after 36 years as an engineer/physicist, I can look
back and honestly say that the liberal-arts courses I took amplified
my effectiveness as an engineer. They could be described as what the
military would call 'force multipliers,' always present in my best
work and often most responsible for my promotions along the way.
"My promotions were more related to my ability to write and give good
presentations than to the technical ingenuity of my work. Often,
some very ingenious output resulted in a company patent but just
didn't create any excitement, while on other occasions I managed to
sell some rather pedestrian work to roars of approval.
"Some studies of philosophy helped me to understand what it means to
know something and to see logical holes in an argument. My exposure
to psychology and sociology made me more sensitive to ingrained
paradigms that I could not change and so needed to navigate, like so
many hidden reefs.
"I think my finest university teacher was a historian named Milton
Halliday. He was awakening a classroom of physical science and
engineering majors to the history of western philosophy. That
course, and the inspiration of Halliday, motivated in me a lifetime
of study outside of my career."
These are just the kind of testimonials that the humanities need in discussions of funding, general education requirements, curricular changes, and career readiness. From what I've seen and heard, humanities professors haven't made the case. Their defenses of the humanities can't overcome the simple dollar calculations.
The dean's option is irresistible: Why spend $80,000 on one associate professor of English at a 2-2 load when I can pay two adjuncts $48,000 to teach 16 (!) courses?
English professors struggle to answer that question in an effective, persuasive way. If we had more engineers and scientists putting administrators on the spot, the adjunct trend would, at the least, slow down. Right now, the silence of people whose research brings in big federal dollars isn't benign or neutral. It's an endorsement of the steady marginalization of the humanities on campus.
I believe most scientists and engineers believe in the essential role of the humanities in higher education, but they don't know how much they have declined in prestige and persuasion. It would be all to the good if more cross-the-quad communication took place.
Interested in an international career with the State Department?
Information Session:
February 17, 2011
11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
3380 WSC
Oral Prep Session
February 17, 2011
3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
3380 WSC
Don't miss this event, even if you're not looking for a job right now. Many of the recruiters love humanities majors. Establish a connection with them now. Learn what you need to do to make yourself attractive to employers. The U.S. Department of State's 2011 Fall Student Internship Program has openings.
Click here (http://careers.state.gov/students/programs, and click on Student Internships under Undergraduate or Graduate/Post-Graduate) for more information, and to start the Gateway to State online application process via USAJobs.
Please note that the deadline to submit completed applications is March 01, 2011.
You must be a U.S. Citizen and a student (a full- or part-time continuing college or university junior, or graduate student - including graduating seniors intending to go on to graduate school) to be eligible. Please read the program description and vacancy announcement for more information and all qualification requirements.
We appreciate your interest in a career with the U.S. Department of State.
U.S. citizenship is required. An equal opportunity employer.
This annual event provides students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends the opportunity to meet with editors from a range of markets, including publishers of books, magazines and academic journals.
Editors will meet with prospective authors, illustrators, photographers, and editing students to examine their work and offer suggestions and sometimes even jobs.
Authors who wish to submit their work to a publisher should bring either a query letter and synopsis or the manuscript in proper format along with a submission letter and a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Financial support for student research in the humanities. Two fellowships--one for undergraduate students and one for graduate students--are offered in the spring to support student research in the humanities. The maximum student fellowship award in $500. Fellowship funds may be used to pay the costs of equipment, supplies, software, technical support, or travel to do research or to report on the results of research at a professional conference. Contact Maria Torres 801-359-9670 x105. Application deadline: March 1
(pdf)(pdf) 
(Word) http://www.utahhumanities.org/Grants.htm
The internship at the Visual Arts department of the French Cultural Services offers the opportunity to work on interdisciplinary visual arts contemporary projects, in collaboration with both America and French institutions and galleries.
Position is available immediately
3, 6 or 9 months
Internship unpaid
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Mostly participate in the follow-up and process of the French-American grant program for contemporary art, along with the curatorial program - http://www.facecouncil.org/ - by helping in processing applications for the grant deadlines before they are submitted to a selection committee of professionals. Keep the weekly art events calendar up-to-date Write newsletters or blasts if needed
QUALIFICATIONS:
Detail-orientated and ability to multi-task Good communication skills (the work requires substantial
communication, written and otherwise) Computer proficiency Interest in French and Francophone art in general French Language a plus
Internships are non-paid positions, although school credit can be arranged. Candidates are required to commit to a minimum of 10 weeks for a minimum of 20 hours per week (maximum duration: 6 months).
TO APPLY:
Please send a cover letter, resume and short writing sample as well as contact information for two references by e-mail with the subject line "French Embassy 2010 Internship" to:armelle.pradalier@diplomatie.gouv.fr and ella.marder@diplomatie.fr
All documents should be sent in Word or PDF file format.
Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Due to the large volume of applications we receive, we are only able to contact those candidates selected for an interview.
"For the United States to get to where it needs to be will require a national commitment to strengthening America's foreign language proficiency," Director Panetta said. "A significant cultural change needs to occur. And that requires a transformation in attitude from everyone involved: individuals, government, schools and universities, and the private sector."
He urged schools and universities to reach beyond reading, writing, and arithmetic to "the fourth R": the reality of the world we live in. Language skills are vital to success in an interconnected world, he said, and they are fundamental to US competitiveness and security.
"Language is the window through which we come to know other peoples and cultures," Director Panetta said. "Mastery of a second language allows you to capture the nuances that are essential to true understanding...This is not about learning something that is helpful or simply nice to have. It is crucial to CIA's mission."
Full text here: https://www.cia.gov/news-information/press-releases-statements/press-release-2010/foreign-language-summit.html
Check my guest post in the Chronicle of Higher Education on the crisis in the humanities where I analyze the paradoxes and traps in which we currently find ourselves.
As you know, it's tough finding a job at the moment. But not impossible. If you're still in school, give yourself a leg up on the competition by planning ahead and developing a strategy. We live in an extremely materialistic, entitled and increasingly self-centered world. Americans often seem too willing to short-circuit their education and the proper development of their minds, sensibilities and morals because they see life simply as a race to the money and to personal glory.
The author of this article reminds us that the liberal arts should play a central role in the academic experience in order to gain a broad perspective on humanity, a sense of humility, and perhaps the wisdom to live a rich and meaningful life in the pursuit of good.
Excerpts:
Yet the secret to the good life, the core value that is at the core of our university's mission, I tell them, "is to help you realize, deep in your hearts, that it is not all about you. This experience is all about you realizing that it's not all about you.
The Quality education is the nurturing and development of curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, wisdom, ethical sensibility, and judgment. Quality education mediates between what's in the books and what's on the streets, between cosmic theory and common sense. Quality education instills the humility and grace to know that you don't know it all.
More than ever, the world needs students educated in the liberal tradition. A liberal education helps the student to transcend generations. As T.S. Eliot wrote: "It is in fact part of the function of education to help us escape, not from our time -- for we are bound by that -- but from the intellectual and emotional limitations of our time."
A liberal education helps the student navigate a world of religious, political, and cultural diversity, a world that seems to spin ever faster and faster on its axis, accelerated by changes in science and technology that seem to move at the speed of light.
The "liberal" in liberal education is not about politics, but rather mind and soul, a broad-based exposure to a multiplicity of academic disciplines, an emphasis on open-minded critical inquiry and creative problem-solving, an understanding that there is nobility in approaching education not as the filling of a résumé but the fulfilling of life.
More here: http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2010/oct/10/ed-smol10-ar-551645/
It's no secret: graduating seniors are facing one of the toughest job markets in decades. Overall hiring plunged dramatically during 2009/10, with American companies reducing their hiring targets by 35-40%.
What does this mean for humanities students? It is not as bleak as it might appear.
The Michigan State report also claims that employers want above all flexibility. "They seek candidates across all majors who can slide into a number of positions as needed or can adapt quickly to changing conditions. Their focus is on candidates with a mix of technical aptitude and essential soft skills."
It goes on:
"Over 600 companies indicated that they would consider any graduate for a position; at 33% of respondents, this figure is at a historic high. These companies will be hiring approximately 26 individuals per company, an increase of 6%.
See the entire report here: http://ceri.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/RT20092010.pdf
The Humanities and Medicine Program at the Mount Sinai medical school in New York accepts about 35 undergraduates a year from humanities and social science disciplines--even if they have never taken any 'hard' science courses!
The school has found that such students are able to catch up on the science but that they add this much desired dimension: a sense of mission, a broad humanistic vision and the interpersonal skills to become better healers.
What this says to me is that a humanities major who engages in Humanities+ and who does a minor in a scientific discipline or who completes the prerequisites for medical school probably has an equal or better chance of getting into an excellent medical school than the straight-on science major or 'tech geek'.
What it also suggests is that the traditional 'science-only' majors who wish to become doctors could improve their chances with top schools (and of becoming better healers) by taking rigorous coursework in the humanities disciplines--a strategy that we in our College are calling +Humanities.
Read more in today's NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/nyregion/30medschools.html?h
The State Dept is accepting applications for the 2010 Diplomacy Fellows Program.
Click here (http://careers.state.gov/officer/fellows-program.html) for more information, and to start the application process. Please note that the deadline to submit completed applications is July 31, 2010.
General Qualifications for the DFP Program:
Please read the entire vacancy announcement for details about qualifications, evaluations and requirements.
We appreciate your interest in a career with the U.S. Department of State.
Excerpt:
Your resume should answer one key question.
The vast majority of resumes I see read like a series of job descriptions, listing duties and responsibilities at each position the job applicant has held. But resumes that stand out do something very different. For each position, they answer the question: What did you accomplish in this job that someone else wouldn't have?
New grads need work experience.
I receive all too many resumes from recent grads who have literally no work experience: nothing, not internships, not temp jobs, nothing at all. Find a way to get actual work experience before you leave school. Do internships every semester you are able, so that you have experience on your resume. Paid, unpaid, whatever it takes. If a part-time job of a few hours a week is all you have time for outside of your classes, that's fine. Do that. No one will hire you? Find work experience as a volunteer--that counts too.
See more here: http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/109835/21-things-hiring-managers-wish-you-knew?mod=career-worklife_balance
In 1952, Gillen took the problem to the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a trustee. Together with representatives of the university, Bell set up a program called the Institute of Humanistic Studies for Executives. More than simply training its young executives to do a particular job, the institute would give them, in a 10-month immersion program on the Penn campus, what amounted to a complete liberal arts education. There were lectures and seminars led by scholars from Penn and other colleges in the area -- 550 hours of course work in total, and more reading, Baltzell reported, than the average graduate student was asked to do in a similar time frame.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/16/opinion/16davis.html
Excerpt:
For starters, research indicates that effective language instruction must be culturally grounded. Acquiring a language involves learning the culture or cultures intimately associated with it. Although business students, for example, can operate in English in a large number of countries, a deeper understanding of the cultures there would enhance their performance as employees or entrepreneurs. Interactions and negotiations in English may be possible, but there is nothing like knowing the local language to become aware of the nuances and the sensitivities involved in everyday life or work situations.
We also know from research and experience that acquiring another language makes students better problem solvers, unleashing their ability to identify problems, enriching the ways in which they search and process information, and making them aware of issues and perspectives that they would otherwise ignore. I have often observed that students with exposure to two or more languages and cultures are more creative in their thinking, especially when it comes to tackling complex problems that do not have clear solutions.
Learners of languages, by exposing themselves to other cultures and institutional arrangements, are more likely to see differences of opinion and conflicts by approaching a problem from perspectives that incorporate the values and norms of others as well as their own. Knowledge of other languages also fosters tolerance and mutual understanding. Language learning is thus much more than becoming operational in an environment different than one's own. It is a powerful way of appreciating and respecting the diversity of the world.
More here: http://chronicle.com/article/The-Real-Reasons-to-Support/47450/
The 2011 Spring Student Internship Program is now accepting applications.
Click here (http://careers.state.gov/students/programs.html#SIP) for more information and to start the online application process. Please note that the deadline to submit completed applications is July 01, 2010. You must be a U.S. Citizen and a student (a full- or part-time continuing college or university junior, or graduate student - including graduating seniors intending to go on to graduate school) to be eligible. Please read the program description and vacancy announcement for more information.
Here's an excerpt from an excellent article on the decline of leadership skills in American institutions by William Deresiewicz. It's from a graduation lecture given at Westpoint and reprinted in the current volume of The American Scholar:
"We have a crisis of leadership in America because our overwhelming power and wealth, earned under earlier generations of leaders, made us complacent, and for too long we have been training leaders who only know how to keep the routine going. Who can answer questions, but don't know how to ask them. Who can fulfill goals, but don't know how to set them. Who think about how to get things done, but not whether they're worth doing in the first place. What we have now are the greatest technocrats the world has ever seen, people who have been trained to be incredibly good at one specific thing, but who have no interest in anything beyond their area of expertise. What we don't have are leaders.
What we don't have, in other words, are thinkers. People who can think for themselves. People who can formulate a new direction: for the country, for a corporation or a college, for the Army--a new way of doing things, a new way of looking at things. People, in other words, with vision."
Deresiewicz ties this lack of thinking and vision to the imagination- and attention-detroying power of modern technologies. Today's youth are simply too distracted by cell phones, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc. to be able to sit down and concentrate. As an antidote, he recommends the deep and slow reading of great books...old books--the kind we study we in the Humanities:
"So why is reading books any better than reading tweets or wall posts? Well, sometimes it isn't. Sometimes, you need to put down your book, if only to think about what you're reading, what you think about what you're reading. But a book has two advantages over a tweet. First, the person who wrote it thought about it a lot more carefully. The book is the result of his solitude, his attempt to think for himself.
Second, most books are old. This is not a disadvantage: this is precisely what makes them valuable. They stand against the conventional wisdom of today simply because they're notfrom today. Even if they merely reflect the conventional wisdom of their own day, they say something different from what you hear all the time. But the great books, the ones you find on a syllabus, the ones people have continued to read, don't reflect the conventional wisdom of their day. They say things that have the permanent power to disrupt our habits of thought. They were revolutionary in their own time, and they are still revolutionary today. And when I say "revolutionary," I am deliberately evoking the American Revolution, because it was a result of precisely this kind of independent thinking. Without solitude--the solitude of Adams and Jefferson and Hamilton and Madison and Thomas Paine--there would be no America.
Read more: http://www.theamericanscholar.org/solitude-and-leadership/#more-6736
Peace Corps has just opened about 1,500 new opportunities for people to teach, work with youth, perform HIV/AIDS education, share business or information technology skills, raise environmental awareness or improve agricultural practices. Each position is uniquely challenging and provides an opportunity to work within an international community on sustainable development initiatives. Students looking for opportunities to build their skills, who are eager to make an impact on peoples' lives and who are ready to experience life in another culture, in rural communities or large cities, should apply by April 30th, 2010.
Applicants need a relevant degree in one of these fields listed above. Applicants with a bachelor's degree outside of these fields must have a willingness to gain at least 3-6 months of teaching, tutoring, HIV/AIDS or agricultural volunteer work. For more information, go to www.peacecorps.gov/events or contact Nick Hake at nhake@peacecorps.gov.
CHLI AND PROMOMADRID SEEK BILINGUAL UNIVERSITY APPLICANTS FOR THE CHLI-MADRID PROGRAM:GATEWAY TO MADRIDSummer Madrid Program Aims to Provide Global Leadership Experience for American Students from Diverse Backgrounds
Internship and Employment Opportunities at the Springville Museum of Art
Now accepting Intern Applications for Spring/Summer, Fall & Winter 2010 Gain valuable job experience in a dynamic and beautiful setting! Internships are offered on a rotating basis by academic semester and open to professionally directed students and graduates. Experience available in:
Curatorial, Education, Operations, Fundraising & Donor Cultivation, Communications & Marketing, Graphic Design, Event Management, and more! We have a large variety of projects just waiting for an intern with the right skill set.
Internships are unpaid, but offer great exposure to a wide variety of practical experiences in non-profit museum work. Academic credit is available Internship requirements: Commit to 12 week internship with a minimum of 6 hours/week
To apply: Submit letter of intent, resume, and three professional references
Contact: Natalie Petersen, Associate Director
NPetersen@smofa.org
(801) 489-2727
There is 1 internship position open at the Consulate of Spain in Los Angeles for 2010-2011. A qualified applicant would meet the following criteria: -Must be a student and must take at least 1 credit hour per semester (including Spring/Summer) -Must be willing to live in the intern apartment provided -Must speak fluent Spanish -Must be a U.S. citizen (due to University regulations)
The intern gets a monthly wage that they then use to pay the bills of the furnished apartment that is provided as well as other living expenses; there is not much left over for saving. It's a wonderful opportunity for a student who is organized, interested in foreign affairs, bilingual in Spanish and English, and is highly motivated.
Please tell anyone interested to email their cover letters and resumes to WardJen@ldschurch.org. Applicants will be contacted by phone to arrange an interview.
Put your writing and editing skills to work in a paid internship in Salt Lake. 
BYU grad Rachel Nielson is engaging her Humanities education by overseeing volunteer work at an orphanage in El Salvador. She is currently looking for volunteers for Fall 2010.
Description: The Hogar del Niño Project focuses on improving the quality of life for residents of an orphanage for persons with disabilities in El Salvador. Our volunteers live at the orphanage in three-month shifts, year-round. They plan classes, recreational activities, programs, and stimulation for the orphanage residents who have mental and/or physical disabilities.
Please contact Rachel Nielson at rachelnielson@help-international.org or call HELP International (801) 374-0556 with questions. FAQ can be found here http://help-international.org/countries-and-programs/hogar-del-nino.html
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The United States Intelligence Community (IC), an integrated network of agencies that work together to protect our Nation's security, is seeking a culturally diverse, technically savvy workforce for exciting careers in a number of fields. Join us at the IC Virtual Career Fair to explore career opportunities, chat with recruiters, and apply for job openings - all from the comfort of your computer!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 | 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. ET
The IC Virtual Career Fair will offer hundreds of career opportunities available in a diverse array of disciplines, including:
Recruiters from companies at this year's Career and Internship Fair were almost uniformly looking for students with the right skills, not the right major. Organizations as diverse as Goldman Sachs, Idaho State Government, Qualtrics, Buckle, Smuckers, Sears/K-Mart, Eli Lilly, even an electrical engineering company offer internship experiences, career training, and eventually jobs to students from humanities majors. They are interested in students who are motivated, creative, articulate, and with good people skills--i.e., you! Several recruiters explicitly said that they prefer the passion, flexibility and communication skills of Humanities students to other purely vocationally-oriented students.
If you missed the fairs this year (there is one in fall and winter), be on the lookout for them next year. Come to the Humanities College Advisement Center for help with CV preparation and interviewing strategy.
In a down economy Apple somehow keeps beating Wall Street's expectations. How do they do it? According to Steve Jobs, the liberal arts play a big role. For example, concerning their new breakthrough iPad, Jobs says: "The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and liberal arts, to be able to get the best of both." Read more here: http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/01/27/live-steve-jobs-presents-the-tablet/