Hello, and welcome to On Purpose, a student-run blog based at University of Maryland College Park engaging with issues surrounding the significance of the arts and humanities in the university and in the culture at large. These are just a few of the questions we hope to begin to explore here:
What good are reading and writing? Do they help others in any way? Do theyeven help oneself? What is it that students of the arts and humanities know or understand that is uniquely attributable to their training and education as artists and humanists? If one is not in college in order to obtain some sort of marketable skill, why is one here? Are the humanities best served by maintaining purity in academic pursuit, or should we embrace both interdisciplinary approaches and practical applications? Are artists and humanists engaged with the realities of day-to-day existence in our society, or do we set ourselves on a pedestal where we have the privilege of thinking abstractly but also marginalize ourselves in the public sphere? How do humanists and artists respond to current socio-political realities, including globalization, the corporatization of the university, and increasing economic pressures? Do we matter?
On this note, I invite you to begin discussion. Expect links to articles, multimedia content, reviews, surveys, and other discussion questions to follow.
