The decision by a UK University to close history, modern languages and politics degrees in favour of more “careerfocused” courses…

Catherine Fletcher, Tue 4 Feb 2020

The decision by a UK University to close history, modern languages and politics degrees in favour of more “careerfocused” courses has been widely criticised. The problem lies in reducing university education to what sells to employers. A society – and a world – urgently needs people who have the education to think about big issues, which aren’t only scientific or technological: they’re also about the ways that people have made, and continue to make, decisions. The humanities matter. And it matters that students from all backgrounds have the opportunity to join in these world-changing discussions.

Roger Brown, Mon 10 Feb 2020

Catherine Fletcher is completely correct to warn about the damage that current policies are doing to the humanities. But her warning comes much too late. As I and other scholars have shown, the problem started with a government green paper which declared that the fundamental purpose of higher education was to serve the economy. Until we recover the idea that higher education is as much about the public good as anything else, we will never be able to sustain the humanities as an essential component of a balanced curriculum. Unfortunately, there is very little sign that this has been grasped by any of our current policymakers.

(Adaptado de www.theguardian.com/education/2020/feb/10/humanities-are-notthe-right-courses-to-cut. Acessado em 22/05/2019.)

Os textos acima concordam quanto à identificação de um problema nos cursos universitários no Reino Unido, mas divergem quanto