I

DIVERSITY

ETHICAL ACTION

www.beworldwise.umd.edu

com pass ion

QUESTIONING

CREATIVITY

self-

know

ledge

GLOBAL UNDERSTANDING

MEANING

HIS

TOR

YJ O YA GUIDE TO EXPLORING

THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES

IN THE 21ST CENTURY

II

“SO TAKE THEC H A L L E N G E

OPE

N UP

YO

UR

CRE

ATI

VIT

Y

enter new worlds, virtual & “real,” and reimagine your own as you deepen your knowledge of

HISTORY

DEVELOP

GLOBAL UNDERSTANDING

DISCOVER THE RICHNESS OF

HUMAN DIVERSITYE

XP

LO

RE

TH

EO

FL

IFE

ME

AN

ING

DEFINE ETHICAL ACTION

&, always, QUESTIONING

of your own life and your own communityand, by doing all of this, develop

self-knowledge

test the values and assumptions

to create global citizens

equipped to assess received

opinion, make independent judgments, and value

the transforming power of the imagination.

MISSION STATEMENT

College of Arts & Humanities

expand

f o rcompassion

your

o t h e r sf o rcompassion

your

o t h e r s

expand

OF READING, W R I T I N G, T H I N K I N G, DISCUSSING

EXPERIENCE THE

JOY

1

“You’re going to live 60 to 70 years after graduating from college. Training is preparation for the known; education is preparation for the unknown. The only thing we know about the future is that we don't know much.”—MAYNARD MACK, UMD Professor of English

Welcome to the University of Maryland and the College of Arts & Humanities, at whose center is a belief in the value of a liberal arts education. At UMD, the liberal arts—literature and the arts, languages, philosophy, history, interdisciplinary studies, mathematics, science and the social sciences—are spread among several colleges, including ARHU

An education in the arts and humanities was never more important than it is in today’s rapidly shrinking, profoundly challenging world. As Professor Mack argues so powerfully above, students need to develop knowledge and habits of mind that become resources from which to draw over a lifetime.

Studying the arts and humanities will open your eyes, your ears, your mind and your heart to new perspectives on the world’s wondrous variety. It will help you learn how to live a rich, generous and meaningful life as a citizen of your local community and of a larger, global society. Our goal for you is to BE WORLDWISE.

As you journey through the next few years of your college career, refer to this guide to help you explore the values central to the arts and humanities. On each page, you’ll find one value surrounded by provocative descriptors, questions,

quotations and a “Try This” section. Ponder the questions. Challenge the quotations. Discover all the opportunities this campus and region have to offer. Stimulate YOUR thinking about who you want to be and how studying the arts and humanities will feed your spirit and shape the rest of your life.

So take the challenge: Open up your creativity; explore the meaning of life; experience the joy of reading, writing, thinking, discussing and, always, questioning; enter new worlds, virtual and “real,” and reimagine your own as you deepen your knowledge of history; develop global understanding and discover the richness of human diversity; expand your compassion for others; define ethical action; test the values and assumptions of your own life and your own community and, by doing all of this, develop self-knowledge.

This book is intended to be a living document, changing in response to the ideas of those who read it. I invite you to share your thoughts with me by visiting www.beworldwise.umd.edu. I look forward to hearing from you.

Bonnie Thornton DillDean, College of Arts and Humanities

2

What are the arts and the humanities?

“We know what we are, but know not what we may be.” Hamlet —WILLIAM

SHAKESPEARE (English playwright and poet,

1564–1616)

“Not to follow in the footsteps of the masters, but to seek what they sought.”—MATSUO BASHO (Japanese poet,

1644–1694)

At Maryland, the humanities and the

arts are deeply engaged with each

other. Not only do many humanities

disciplines take the arts as their object

of study, and the arts draw on the

humanities, but some faculty and

students are experts in both, creating

new works of art and studying and

writing about the arts.

3

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes ... the ones who see things differently—they're not fond of rules. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things. They push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”—STEVE JOBS (American entrepreneur, Apple co-founder, b. 1955)

The Humanities“The humanities take human experience and

its expression in texts and artifacts as a field of reflection, investigation and creation in a search for new ways of seeing, connecting and making meaning,” explains David Sicilia, associate professor of history.

At the University of Maryland, the humanities include: English and foreign languages, literatures and cultures; philosophy; history; and the history, criticism and theory of the visual and perform-ing arts. The humanities often overlap with the concerns and methods of the social sciences (for example, sociology) as they do in the interdis-ciplinary fields of American studies, women’s studies and communication. Sometimes they interact with the sciences and technology, as in our Department of Linguistics or the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities.

“As the humanities are concerned with meaning,” says Professor Kent Cartwright, chair of English,

“they are the fundamental disciplines for creating and understanding human value.”

The ArtsThe arts you can practice at the University of Maryland include: creative writing; the visual arts such as painting, sculpture, printmaking, photog-raphy, design and digital art; and the performing arts such as dance, music and theatre.

“The arts are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there is free time or if one can afford it,” says First Lady Michelle Obama. “Rather, paintings and poetry, music ... design and dialogue, they all define who we are as a people and provide an account of our history for the next generation.”

The FutureAt the beginning of the 21st century, we stand at a moment of amazing transformation as the digital revolution overturns accustomed ways of act-ing and interacting in all aspects of our lives. In digital media, the arts and humanities are finding new outlets and, most importantly, new forms of expression, which in turn are changing what the arts and humanities are. In classes and at cen-ters of research and creativity like the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities and the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, you will participate in experiments in new media and in lively debate about their implications for society and, even, what it means to be human.

try this

CRE

ATI

VIT

Y

IMAGINATION INNOVATIONRISK TRANSFORMATION

TRY THIS

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1. What is creativity? Does it work in similar ways across the range of human pursuits?

2. How do we as a culture foster the conditions for creativity?

3. Do I think outside the box? Am I willing to try something new, and fail at it?

4. What fires my imagination? What inspires me?

Audition for a production at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center • Reimagine your world by creating an avatar in Second Life (www.secondlife.com) • Attend a concert at Strathmore (www.strathmore.org) • Submit your poetry, fiction or artwork to Stylus (www.styluslit.org)

“If they give you ruled paper, write the

other way.”—JUAN RAMÓN

JIMÉNEZ (Spanish poet, UMD

professor 1948–51, 1956 Nobel Prize

for Literature recipient, 1881–1958)

“I can't understand why people are frightened by new ideas. I'm frightened

of old ones.”—JOHN CAGE (American avant-garde

composer, 1912–1992)

“The speed with which people can rid themselves of their imagination is as awesome as the speed of not having it. It’s amazing how much time we waste putting it away, when we could be having it.”—LIZ LERMAN (UMD alumna,

dance; choreographer, founder of the Liz Lerman Dance

Exchange, MacArthur “Genius” Award winner)

“The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself.”

—ALAN ALDA (American actor, b. 1936)

“Art ain't about paint. It ain’t about canvas. It’s about ideas. Too many people died without ever getting their mind out to the world.”

—THORNTON DIAL SR. (American folk artist, b. 1928)

“If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space.”—ANONYMOUS

“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.”—ARISTOTLE (Greek philosopher,

scientist and physician, 384–322 B.C.)

“

4

5

one Why do people tell stories, d

ance, a

ct, w

rite

poem

s, m

ake

mus

ic, d

raw? W

hat am I passionate about?

two Why do we feel such deep nee

d to

kno

w t

hing

s an

d to

und

erstand what they mean?

three What gives my life m

eaning?

How

do

I liv

e a

life

of purpose?

EXPRESS

ION

INTE

RP

RE

TAT

ION

PASSIO

N

PURPOSE

“It’s the wanting to know that makes us matter.” Arcadia—TOM STOPPARD (British

playwright, b. 1937)

“Art is part of survival; art is part of the human spirit, an unquenchable expression of who we are. Art is one of the ways in which we say, ‘I am alive, and my life has meaning.’”—KARL PAULNACK (Pianist, conductor,

director of Music Division at Boston Conservatory)

“I continue to work with the materials I have, the materials I am made of. With feelings, beings, books, events, and battles, I am omnivorous. I would like to swallow the whole earth. I would like to drink the whole sea.”—PABLO NERUDA (Chilean poet, diplomat and

politician, 1904–1973)

“Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music.”—ANGELA MONET (unknown)

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”—RALPH WALDO EMERSON (American poet,

lecturer and essayist, 1803–1882)

meaning“

try this

(www.kennedy-center.org) • Attend a “Write

rs

Here & Now” reading (www.english.umd.edu)

of Congress or the National Archives (www.lo

c.

gov or www.archives.gov) • See an opera at th

e

Kennedy Center or Maryland Opera Studio Tour the campus art galleries • Visit

the L

ibrary

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6

“The thing I hate about an argument is that it always interrupts a discussion.”

—G.K. CHESTERTON (English writer and poet, 1874–1936)

“There is a crack in everything \ That’s how the light gets in.”—LEONARD COHEN (Canadian folk singer,

songwriter, poet and novelist, b. 1934)

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves… Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then, gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answers.” Letters to a Young Poet—RAINER MARIA RILKE (Austro-

German poet, 1875–1926)

TWO

THREE

ONE

“Where do I find joy?

What makes me laugh?

How do I feed my curiosity?

What gives me hope?

“Wisdom begins in wonder.”—SOCRATES

(Greek philosopher, 470–399 BC)

“The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention.”—JULIA MARGARET CAMERON

(British photographer, 1815–1879)

“The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his

leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation, his love and his religion. To him he

is always doing both.”—BUDDHA (Indian Prince Gautama

Siddharta, founder of Buddhism, 563–483 B.C.)

“I like nonsense—it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It's a

way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope.”—THEODOR GEISEL (“Dr. Seuss,” American writer

and cartoonist, 1904–1991)

“The soul should always stand ajar.” —EMILY DICKINSON (American poet, 1830-1886)

“[Humanity] has unquestionably one really effective weapon—laughter. Power, Money,

Persuasion, Supplication, Persecution—these can lift at a colossal humbug—push it a

little—crowd it a little—weaken it a little, century by century; but only

Laughter can blow it to rags and atoms at a blast. Against the

assault of Laughter nothing can stand."—MARK TWAIN

(American writer, humorist,

and lecturer, 1835–1910)

WONDERCURIOSITYPLAYHOPE

6

Catch a performance of Sketchup or Erasable Inc. on the steps of McKeldin Library • Volunteer with a UMD community service-learning program (www.csl.umd.edu) •  Participate in the National Cherry Blossom Festival (www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org) • Stretch out in the sun on the UMD Mall and read for fun

joTRY

THIS

7

“The thing I hate about an argument is that it always interrupts a discussion.”

—G.K. CHESTERTON (English writer and poet, 1874–1936)

“There is a crack in everything / That’s how the light gets in.”—LEONARD COHEN (Canadian folk singer,

songwriter, poet and novelist, b. 1934)

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves… Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then, gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answers.” Letters to a Young Poet—RAINER MARIA RILKE

(Austro-German poet, 1875–1926)

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”—MARCEL PROUST (French novelist and author,

1871–1922)

“Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it… Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true.”—BUDDHA (Indian Prince

Gautama Siddharta, founder of Buddhism, 563–483 B.C.)

“We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?" Fahrenheit 451—RAY BRADBURY (American science

fiction writer, b. 1920)

Tackle a research project • Apply for an internship • Join the campus debate group (www.studentorg.umd.edu/debate) • Attend a Creative Dialogue at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center (www.claricesmithcenter.umd.edu)

“The thing I hate about an argument is that it always interrupts a discussion.”

—G.K. CHESTERTON (English writer and poet, 1874–1936)

“There is a crack in everything \ That’s how the light gets in.”—LEONARD COHEN (Canadian folk singer,

songwriter, poet and novelist, b. 1934)

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves… Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then, gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answers.” Letters to a Young Poet—RAINER MARIA RILKE (Austro-

German poet, 1875–1926)

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”—MARCEL PROUST (French novelist and author,

1871–1922)

“Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. … Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true.”—BUDDHA (Indian Prince

Gautama Siddharta, founder of Buddhism, 563–483 B.C.)

“We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?" Fahrenheit 451—RAY BRADBURY (American science

fiction writer, b. 1920)

3. How do I live with uncertainty and ambiguity?

[ ][ ][ ]

INQUIRYOPENNESSDISCUSSIONUNCERTAINTY

Questioning

try this

“

2. Am I always open to discussion?

1. Do I question received opinion?

7

8

“

HERITAGE DISCOVERY INTERPRETATION ANALYSIS

History

Visit the Smithsonian Museum of American History or Anacostia Community Museum (www.americanhistory.si.edu or www.anacostia.si.edu) • Take a history or art history course •  Read Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States • Interview your grandparents or an older friend about their lives (preserve it at www.storycorps.net)

TryThis

1. Do I seek out knowledge of the past as I form opinions about my world and the places to which I travel?

2. How does my heritage affect the way I think and act?

3. Who gets to tell history?

“We cannot escape our origins, however hard we try, those origins which contain the key—could we but find it—to all that we later become.”—JAMES BALDWIN (American writer,

1924–1987)

“History is the only laboratory we have in which to test the consequences of thought.”—ÉTIENNE

GILSON (French philosopher and historian, 1884–1978)

“Where we come from in America no longer signifies. It's where we go, and what we do when we get there, that tells us who we are.”

—JOYCE CAROL OATES (American writer, b. 1938)

“The historical sense involves a perception, not only of the pastness of the past, but of its presence.”—T.S. ELIOT (American poet, 1888–1965)

“History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again.”

—KURT VONNEGUT (American writer, 1922–2010)

“The story … is one of the basic tools invented by the human mind for the purpose of understanding. There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories.”—URSULA K.

LEGUIN (American science fiction writer, b. 1929)

“8

9

“

Take an American studies course • Participate in a study abroad program • Enjoy the cultural activities at the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival (www.festival.si.edu) • Watch a session of the U.S. Congress (www.visitthecapitol.gov/visit)

What does it mean to be American in an age of globalization?

How do I keep my sense of myself and my past in a multicultural world?

What do I need to know to live in a global community?

LANGUAGE CROSS-CU

LTU

RA

L K

NO

WLEDGE CITIZENSH

IP

CO

MM

UN

ITY

THREE

TWOGLOBAL UNDERSTANDING

“All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.”—MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. (American civil rights

leader, 1929–1968)

“‘Global citizenship’ is a wonderful term, a euphoric coinage that allows one to think beyond borders, beyond ethnic ties, beyond identities to place and region.”—SANGEETA RAY (UMD professor of English)

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."—MARGARET MEAD (American

anthropologist, 1901–1978)

“We allow our ignorance to prevail upon us and make us think we can survive alone, alone in patches, alone in groups, alone in races, even alone in genders.”

—MAYA ANGELOU (American poet, b. 1928)

“What the humanities do really is give you a view of the world that allows you to think about the importance of ideas, the importance of history in peoples’ lives, the importance of culture and the way in which people work as a community and understand each other as a community.”—MARIA OTERO (UMD alumna,

English; U.S. undersecretary of state for democracy and global

affairs, 2009 to present)

“We cannot say we know something until we understand the effects of this knowledge on real people and their communities. Knowledge carries with it the responsibility to see that it is well used in the world.”—DAVID ORR (American environmental studies and

politics professor, writer, entrepreneur)

TRYTHISHistory

ONE

9

10

try thiS

““EMPATHY UNDERSTANDING PATIENCE ACCEPTANCE

Does studying the arts and humanities make us more compassionate?

three

Do I try to understand others before making myself understood?

two

one

Am I patient with others and with myself?

Donate your time to America Reads*America Counts (www.arac.umd.edu) • Plan an alternative spring break with Habitat for Humanity or Greenpeace (www.habitat.org or www.greenpeace.org) •  Help a new friend in need • Volunteer at the DC Central Kitchen (www.dccentralkitchen.org)

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”—THE DALAI LAMA (head of state and

spiritual leader of Tibet, 1989 Nobel Peace Prize recipient,

b. 1935)

“You know, there's a lot of talk in this country about the federal deficit. But I think we should talk more about our empathy deficit—the ability to put ourselves in someone else's shoes; to see the world through the eyes of those who are different from us. When you think like this—when you choose to broaden your ambit of concern and empathize with the plight of others, whether they are close friends or distant strangers—it becomes harder not to act, harder not to help."—BARACK OBAMA (44th

president of the United States, b. 1961)

“Lord, give us the wisdom to utter words that are gentle and tender, for tomorrow we may have to eat them.”—MORRIS UDALL (American

congressman, 1922–1998)

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”

—CARL GUSTAV JUNG (Swiss psychiatrist, 1875–1961)

“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.”—NELSON MANDELA

(South African statesman and president of South Africa,

1994–1999, 1993 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, b. 1918)

try thistry this

10 com pass ion

com pass ion

11

“Make a difference about something other than yourselves.”—TONI MORRISON (American writer and

teacher, 1988 Pulitzer Prize and 1993 Nobel Prize for

Literature recipient, b.1931)

“Let us not look back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness."—JAMES THURBER

(American writer and cartoonist, 1894–1961)

“Have you learned the lessons only of those who admired you, and were tender with you, and stood aside for you? / Have you not learned great lessons from those who braced themselves against you, and disputed passage with you?"

—WALT WHITMAN (American poet, 1819–1892)

“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”—HENRY DAVID THOREAU (American essayist,

poet and philosopher, 1817–1862)

“It’s not easy to know what is true for you or me at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I’m what I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you.”

—LANGSTON HUGHES (American writer and poet,

1902–1967)

“There is nowhere you can go and only be with people who are like you. Give it up.”—BERNICE

JOHNSON REAGON (American musician, b. 1942)

try thiS

diversityAWARENESS APPRECIATION ENGAGEMENT INCLUSIVENESS

“

11

Attend one of the LGBT lecture series events • Join a campus MICA group (www.union.umd.edu/diversity) •  Visit the David C. Driskell Center (www.driskellcenter.umd.edu) • Seek out conversation with a fellow student whose ideas and background differ from yours

1. What is the value of understanding multiple points of view?

2. How do I appreciate and celebrate diversity?

3. In my day-to-day life, how can I engage ideas that differ from mine?

4. How can I help create a supportive, diverse community?

12

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et so

me

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. I’l

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at t

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omat

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onna

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ada

and

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t go,

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e bi

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ome

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nito

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nito

! Ven

te a

com

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i hijo

!!”

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the

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ean:

if y

ou ca

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lk it

, a

moc

king

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can

squa

wk

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eck

it:

Moc

king

bird

s ar

e ba

d-as

s.

by R

ives

Mockingbird

Mock

ingbird

13

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our p

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akin

g di

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pla

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ass i

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tow

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rain

ing,

it’s

pour

ing

… “

I’ll p

ut a

moc

king

bird

on

a la

te-n

ight

trai

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how

you

mak

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: A

loha

. Kon

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iwa.

Sha

lom

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laam

mal

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I’ll g

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ptow

n gu

rus,

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ache

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ists

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lers

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b do

ctor

s, ho

olig

ans,

garb

agem

en, y

our l

ocal

Con

gres

sman

an

d th

e sp

otlig

ht gu

ys in

the

over

head

hel

icop

ters

.

I’ll g

et th

e la

st ti

me

you

lied.

I’l

l get

: “Ho

ney,

just

giv

e m

e th

e fr

ikki

n’ T

.V. G

uide

” I’l

l get

a lo

nely

litt

le s

ente

nce

som

e re

al b

ad ju

dgm

ent i

n it

: “Y

eah,

I gu

ess

you

coul

d co

me

insi

de—

but o

nly

for a

min

ute.

”

And

I’m

on

this

. I’m

on

this

‘til

the

who

le th

ing s

prea

ds

with

chat

room

s and

copy

cats

and

mom

s, m

aybe

, tu

ckin

g kid

s int

o be

d, si

ngin

g: “H

ush

little

baby

, don

’t sa

y a

wor

d—w

ait f

or th

e man

wit

h th

e moc

king

bird

s.”

And

then

com

e th

e ne

ws c

rew

s, an

d th

e m

an-o

n-th

e-st

reet

in

terv

iew

s and

the

lett

ers t

o th

e ed

itor—

ever

ybod

y as

king

: “J

ust w

ho is

resp

onsi

ble f

or th

is ci

tyw

ide,

na

tion

wid

e, m

ocki

ngbi

rd ca

coph

ony?

” A

nd so

meb

ody’

s fina

lly go

nna

tip th

e ci

ty co

unci

l of

Was

hing

ton

D.C

. off

to m

e an

d th

ey’ll

offe

r me

a ke

y to

the

city

, a

gold

-pla

ted,

ove

r-si

zed

key

to th

e ci

ty,

and

that

’s al

l I n

eed,

cuz i

f I ge

t tha

t—I c

an u

nloc

k th

e ai

r.

I’ll l

iste

n fo

r wha

t’s m

issi

ng—

an

d I’l

l put

it th

ere.

Ever

ybod

y ge

ts h

eard

, eve

rybo

dy g

ets

this

on

e ho

nest

moc

king

bird

as

a w

itne

ss.

14

““The act of acting morally is behaving as if everything we do matters.“—GLORIA

STEINEM (American writer and activist, b. 1935)

“It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen.” Nicomachean

Ethics—ARISTOTLE (Greek philosopher, scientist and

physician, 384–322 B.C.)

“How is one to live a moral and compassionate existence when one is fully aware of the blood, the horror inherent in life, when one finds darkness not only in one's culture but within oneself? If there is a stage at which an individual life becomes truly adult, it must be when one grasps the irony in its unfolding and accepts responsibility for a life lived in the midst of such paradox.” Arctic Dreams—BARRY LOPEZ

(American writer, b. 1945)

“Truth burns up error.”—SOJOURNER TRUTH (American

abolitionist and women’s rights activist, 1797-1883)

“Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein.”—H. JACKSON BROWN (American writer, author of Life's

Little Instruction Book)

“The essence of immorality is the tendency to make an exception of myself.”—JANE ADDAMS (American pacifist, social

worker and founder of Hull House in Chicago, 1860–1935)

RESPECT

HONESTY

REASON

SERVICE

ONE How do I practice respect? Am I honest with others?

TWO How can I live a moral life day by day over a lifetime?

THREE Do knowledge and reason guide my actions?

Campaign for a seat on the University Senate or get involved with SGA • Try out the

ICE-ometer (www.ice.umd.edu) • Apply to become an associate with the CIVICUS living and learning program (www.civicus.

umd.edu) • Explore ethics and morality in an introduction to philosophy course

Try This

14

Ethical

Action

1515

INSIGHTHUMILITY

CONFIDENCECHARACTER

ONE

How is my vision of the world shaped by my own experiences

and my own personality?

TWO

How can I broaden who I am?

THREE

How do I develop the confidence to move boldly and remain

steadfast in my purpose?

Try ThisTake the new I Series course “Acting Human:

Shakespeare and the Drama of Identity” • Attend the First Look Fair and sign up for a number of organizations (www.thestamp.umd.edu/

firstlookfair) • Think about your purpose by watching TED talks (www.ted.com) • Meditate in

the UMD Peace and Friendship garden

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”—GEORGE BERNARD

SHAW (Irish literary critic, playwright, essayist, 1925

Nobel Prize for Literature recipient, 1856–1950)

“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”—HELEN KELLER (American educator, political

activist and writer, 1880–1968)

“And since you know you cannot see yourself, So well as by reflection, I, your glass, Will modestly discover to yourself, That of yourself which you yet know not of.” Julius Caesar—WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (English

playwright and poet, 1564–1616)

“Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny."—MAHATMA

GANDHI (Indian philosopher, 1869–1948)

“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”

—e.e. cummings (American poet, 1894–1962)

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”—SAMUEL BECKETT

(Irish writer, 1969 Nobel Prize for Literature recipient,

1906–1989)

“To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection.”

—JERRY POURNELLE (American science fiction writer

and blogger, b. 1933)

self-knowledge

self-k

now

ledge

16

1. What kind of work do I want to do in the world?

2. What kind of employee do I want to be?

3. How will my study of the arts and humanities educate me for meaningful (and perhaps surprising) work in the world?

In the 1980s, Robert Beck of AT&T did two studies

of success at the company, 10 years apart. His

findings? The best predictor of success in its

workforce was the number of liberal arts credits

[and remember that the liberal arts include the

sciences] the employee had, and that more credits

were better than fewer. Everyone they hired had

the training needed. Those who succeeded had

more: They could think outside the box.

“The first duty of a human being is to assume the right functional relationship to society—more briefly, to find your real job, and do it.” The Yellow

Wallpaper—CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN (American

writer and economist, 1860–1935)

“The sacrifice of the liberal element in education to the immediately useful would result in the eventual disappearance of the educated person of trained intelligence and large vision who can respond with competence to a great variety of intellectual demands and is capable of estimating the world’s goods at their true value. It would result in a diminution of sanity in the national life.”—ANDREW BONGIORNO (distinguished

professor of English at Oberlin College, 1900–1998)

EPILOGUE The Arts and Humanities in the World of Work

16

17

CREDITS • WRITERS Elizabeth Loizeaux, Ethan Watermeier, Monique Everette EDITOR Lauren Brown DESIGN Patti Look, Mira Azarm •  A mighty thank you to the members of the WORLDWISE Committee, Kent Cartwright, Audran Downing, Susie Farr, Maynard Mack, Natalie Prizel, David Sicilia, Dan Wagner and the staff of both the Office of the Dean and the Office of Student Affairs in the College of Arts & Humanities for their invaluable ideas and input. September 2011.

CONTACT USCollege of Arts & Humanities 1102 Francis Scott Key HallCollege Park, MD 20742

301.405.2090arhu-info@umd.edu

www.arhu.umd.edu

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”—MARK TWAIN

This guide is printed on Beckett Concept Text and Cover, which is certified by

SmartWood to Forest Stewardship Council standards, contains 100 percent

post-consumer recycled fiber and is manufactured with wind power.

During the production of this brochure we saved:The equivalent of 21 trees n 7 million BTUs of net energy n 2,017 lbs. of CO2 n

9,715 gallons of wastewater n 590 lbs. of solid waste.

Environmental impact estimates were made using the Environmental Defense Paper Calculator.

18

“Found Letter” from FROM THE BOOK OF GIANTS by Joshua Weiner,

published by the University of Chicago Press, copyright 2006 by the University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

FOUND LETTER

hat makes for a happier life, Josh, comes to this:Gifts freely given, that you never earned;Open affection with your wife and kids;Clear pipes in winter, in summer screens that fit;Few days in court, with little consequence;A quiet mind, a strong body, short hoursIn the office; close friends who speak the truth;Good food, cooked simply; a memory that’s richEnough to build the future with; a bedIn which to love, read, dream, and re-imagine love;A warm, dry field for laying down in sleep,And sleep to trim the long night coming;Knowledge of who you are, the wish to beNone other; freedom to forget the time;To know the soul exceeds where it’s confinedYet does not seek the terms of its release,Like a child’s kite catching at the windThat flies because the hand holds tight the line.

—JOSHUA WEINER (poet, UMD professor of English)