Discussion on literature and science

So, the English Undergrad Association, of which I am the president, is having a student/faculty discussion on the ways in which literature (and the humanities in general) and the sciences inform each other. The event is Thursday Oct. 26th from 12:30-2pm in 1120 Susquehanna. Even if you can’t come, check out some cool articles for discussion here. Also go to the NPR page linked to on the sidebar. Here are some articles and discussion questions.

Novel Perspectives on Bioethics

C.P. Snow: Bridging the Two-Cultures Divide

Questions:

1) Do you think there is a major cultural divide between literature/humanities
and science? On our campus? In the larger culture?

2) How, from your perspective, do literature and science inform each other?
(How) do we see the two disciplines interacting in literary works? In scientific
work?

3) Is there a place for humanist thought as an ethical guide for scientific
advancement?

4) How has technological advancement changed your work as humanists?

5) If we see a cultural divide, what do you think should be done about it on
campus? Is the cultural divide a problem for faculty? For students?

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To get you all thinking…

…Here is a link to a piece in The Chronicle of Higher Education

Goodbye, Mr. Keating

I recognize that this article primarily addresses English majors, but I think it is useful for all of us in the arts and humanities, as we examine the reasons we have chosen our respective fields? Are your reasons similar to or different from the reasons articulated in the article? How so? Are differences dependent on your majoring in something other than English or something else? Further, what do you think of the author’s engagement with politics and the social usefulness/uselessness of literary study? What role should artists and humanists (both within the academy and outside) play in the political world?

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