Confessions of a humanities snob

Posted by admin on Feb 20, 2007 in Academy | 0 comments

What is “academia?” Perhaps the answer to this question may depend on who is being asked. One definition I found is, “the milieu or interests of a university, college, or academy.”

Within the context of my studies here at Trinity Western University I prefer a more specific definition, something along the lines of, “the realm where the life of the mind and that of the heart intersect.” It is with this personal definition in mind that I begin my confession.

For me the university experience has been one of personal growth and development through the reciprocal relationship between the mind and the heart as I face the questions of life. As such, I have found it easy to agree with the statement that theology is the queen of the sciences and philosophy is her helpful servant. I’ve also found such disciplines as English and History to be of immeasurable benefit. Essentially, the humanities were my education, and have been my understanding of Christian higher learning until very recently.

On occasion, I have even been heard to say such things as “even science people are people too” and “HKIN, that’s not a discipline, that’s a hobby.” Of course these were said in jest, but the fact is that these comments revealed something deeper. Though no insult was intended, these comments, and the attitude behind them, suggest that to truly engage the mind, one must take up theology or philosophy as their main discipline. My views on these “lesser” disciplines were challenged this semester as I came face-to-face with an inter-disciplinary education.

For the first time in my six semesters here at TWU, I am taking a science course. It was not until I actually signed up for a science course, which, of course, I’m taking to fill a core requirement, that I realized that this inter-disciplinary education that I had been passionately supporting for three years would require me to leave my chosen discipline; inter-disciplinary studies had suddenly left the abstract and found concrete form, and I was dreading it.

Having enrolled in Geography 102, all I had to look forward to were hours of boredom and tedious memorization. What I found instead was a new and exciting way to understand the world. Suddenly, when I looked up to the mountains that surround us, I saw God’s faithfulness. The very earth beneath my feet changed from a big static ball of rock to a dynamic system involving action and interplay. Even my thinking about time and history began to shift dramatically as my mind was enveloped by, and swam in, the concept of geologic time. I cannot even begin to state how interesting I’ve found Geography 102 and how it has excited my imagination. Thus far in my geography class, I have not found boredom or tedious memorization. Instead, I have found an intersection of the life of the mind and that of the heart in an unexpected way.

I have neither the time nor the room here to explain how a back injury last month has led me to recant my comments regarding Human Kinetics. But I do owe much gratitude to certain individuals in that department who have dedicated their hearts and minds to learning how the human body works, and who are equally dedicated to putting that knowledge into practice. Theirs is no mere hobby.

It seems to me that “inter-disciplinary studies” involves more than just a course that we take in our fourth year to graduate. IDIS is meant to be the culmination of four years of inter-disciplinary education, not its replacement. So, what is “academia?” I would still define it as “the realm where the life of the mind and that of the heart intersect;” that has not changed. Instead, my understanding of what that realm encompasses has.