8
Humanities
CONTINUED FROM PG. 6
tion between relevance and intrinsic value does
not exist.
Daukas, who earned her Ph.D from
UC Berkeley and is in her fourth year at Guil
ford, comments that the "practical relevance"
of philosophy is that it "is and always has been
an important part of constructing a meaning
ful life. It is a dangerous trend to equate the
value of a study with a job." In the long run,
she states that the study of philosophy devel
ops invaluable skills: "it prepares you to be
responsible and sensitive to the complexity and
amazingness of people, society and the natu
ral world."
Kircher, who got his Ph.D from Yale
and Has taught at Guilford since 1989, agrees
that the questioning required by liberal arts stud
ies is exceedingly important to leading a full
life. He cited the Socratic maxim "An
unexamined life is not worth living" as a foun
dation of education. "It is a fMse dichotomy to
deny the relevance [of studies such as his
tory. J There is overwhelming evidence to show
that technology fields are looking for well
rounded liberal arts graduates who demon
strate acuity in thinking and can write with
clarity," he continues.
He discussed the timelessness of the
lessons from history that makes it important,
stating that some ideas 'transcend the time
and place in which they are written. They are
relevant throughout classes, conditions, and
countries and will remain so."
Daukas herself was drawn to philoso
phy during her sophomore year, when she at-
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Sid and Nancy are dead. Tim and Nancy still teach at Guilford.
PHOTO BY AGNIESZKA FRANKOWSKI
tended Swarthmorc College before transfer
ring to UC Berkeley. She described her real
ization that the study was what she had been
seeking but "didn't know was there. It wasn't
really a rational decision," she continues. '1
was just smitten"
In her professorial life, she feels that her
philosophical beliefs influence the way she ad
Features
A closer look at the
Community of Writers
BYZACK HAMPLE
Staff Writer
"Whenever I go to COW, my papers
are much more polished," said freshman Tom
Brewster in desenbing his experiences at Com
munity ofWriters.
Community of Writers is an effective
program. Student tutors work with tutees in
ways which enable them to help and learn
from each other. These stories and quotes are
proof.
Lynn Walter, a COW tutor, explained
her role as "giving people confidence, being
positive, and being encouraging. I've helped
people realize the patterns of error that they
make."
Lynne also described how she improved
as a writer due to her work as a tutor: "Com
munity ofAVriters has helped me with my own
writing because I practice talking and thinking
about writing more than the average student."
Max Shmidheiser has gone several times
for help at COW. "I'm glad they're there," he
said. ''Theypointouterrorsinmy writingstyle.
[lt's] a joint effort in proofreading. It's both of
you sitting down with the paper "
One reason why Max (and others) has
improved as a writer is that he accepts criti
cism. It's tough to hear someone point out your
flaws, but COW tutors do it in ways that make
you feel good and make you want to learn.
graduate because he found the questions about
and the empirical evidence it includes satisfy
ing.
As a professor he has enjoyed being a
medium through whomstudents can encoun
ter the ideas he has found meaningful con
cerning the transformation of events through-
Allison Mowrer, a tutor, said, "The best
two things about COW are getting to help oth
ers and becoming a better writer. I have no
ticed that my own writing has improved be-
cause I now have more writers with which to
compare myself."
Another tutor, Sara Johnson, stressed
the value of COW by saying, "It's good to
have a second party to help you see what
you're writing."
Sophomore Eva Paige has regularly been
working one-on-one with a tutor named Bill
out history.
Jeff Jeske discussed the original cur
riculum of Guilford. This curriculum included
three programs: Latin. Science, and an amal
gam of the two. During this and subsequent
periods, pre-professionai programs such as
business, education, management and account
ing, held a subordinate role to the humanities.
The new program tries to eliminate this hier
archy to be a more inclusive curriculum to
which each department contributes. We're
all focusing on values, cultural and global
awareness," he comments
vises and
teaches. In her
personal life, she
states that phi
losophy has in
formed the way
she has raised
her child. "(The
study of philoso
phy] is central for
bringing together
reflections on ex
perience,"' she
concludes.
Kircher
made the deci
sion to study his
tory as an under-
Still, some humanities professors express
concern over the reduction of faculty at Guil
ford, which they feel may hurt the humanities
and the socia] sciences. 'The humanities raise
questions that may challenge the foundations
of the new educational current," commented
Kircher.
Traveling back to the birth ofhumanism
out of the Renaissance, Kircher reminds us
that liberal arts were described as such be
cause they "liberate and teach about freedom
from conventional ways of learning."
So put that in your web site.
i& & ■ ' j
COW business picks up during exams.
PHOTO BY SARAH GIVENS
McCarver. They both flashed smiles as they
spoke about their time together at COW.
Eva said that Bill helps her see improve
ments that she wcxiM otherwise miss Bill said.
"As a tutor, I leam as much or more
than the tutees. [Being a tutor has]
helped me because of the mistakes
I see in other people's writing."
Bob Ensign is a CCE stu
dent who also received help from
Bill. About his experience, Bob
said, "I gained different insight into
die kind of writing I was doing.
What I wrote was melodramatic,
and he showed me how to turn it
around and make it a dramatic pa
per. It's a good program. I think
everybody would benefit from sit
ting down with one of their papers
with a COW."
Editor's note: With only
four weeks to go in the semester,
you 're destined to have lots of
papers to write. LUvr is a great service.
Itb herefor you. Take advantage of it. COW
tutors are available 6 to 9pm on Tues.,
Wed, and Sun For more information, call
the Academic Skills Center at x 2253.
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TheGuilfordian
April 10,1998