I have contributed a piece to The Public Humanist, a Mass Humanities blog posted on The Valley Advocate. It is a review of Martha C. Nussbaum’s new book (Not for Profit) , which argues that the arts and humanities are under threat because educational institutions, frightened by economic hard times, are moving toward a more managerial, corporate vision of education. Learning is more about generating money rather than nurturing critical thinking.

Reviewed by Bill Marx

In the previous blog entry, Professor Elizabeth Duclos-Orsello wondered why, given the lessons learned about the connections between funding artists and economic growth during The Great Depression, the current administration’s response to The Great Recession has been to give the humanities and arts short financial shrift. “The stimulus money and revamped budgets have trended towards all things pecuniary and away from things aesthetic,” she observes, “as though the two were mutually exclusive.” Look no further for an explanation of the pernicious divide—and how it undercuts belief in the essential value of a liberal arts education— than Martha C. Nussbaum’s lucid cry of protest Not For Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities (Princeton University Press, 178 pages, $22.95).

If you want to read more, clink here.