So the Modern Languages Department at Cal State Bakersfield has been slated to be cut 100%. let me repeat that: 100%. This means that this school will have no foreign languages at all. How they can pretend to be a university after such a measure is beyond my comprehension. In California, of all places, Cal State Bakersfield's students will not be able to learn Spanish and discover the treasures of Hispanic culture. What sense does this make??
According to one of the articles I link to below "although, this program commands more majors than a few other programs on campus (100 majors–compared to others with only 20 to 60 majors)–this is the program they’re targeted for termination." So obviously the program is going to be cut not because it doesn't manage to attract students and has become a financial drain on the university. The students obviously find foreign languages useful and important. The administration of this institution plans to rob these students of the kind of knowledge that is crucial in today's world.
If you care about education in this country, please take a moment to express your indignation about this barbarity to Cal State Bakersfield's President Mitchell. here is his e-mail: hmitchell@csub.edu
Here are some links to articles on this issue:
http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/TheGrade/50720
http://kernlatino.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/save-csub-modern-languages-program/
Let's do something to stop this insanity, people! These ignoramuses are using the crisis in California to achieve their long-held dream of destroying the Humanities in general, and languages more specifically. Let's not allow them to do this.
4 comments:
Ideology.
At my university, a very famous medieval literature professor has recently questioned the relevance of teaching literature in foreign languages. According to that professor, "World literature" should be taught in English.
Against the linguistic and cultural reality of the country, their is a trend in upper education to question the relevance of teaching foreign languages and literatures. This has nothing to do with the economic situation. Foreign languages and literatures profesors only need a chalk to teach. their numerous students.
A chalk.
Ol.
Did she really say that?? Well, I guess when you find teaching in Spanish difficult, the next step would be to present teaching in this language as completely unnecessary. How sad.
Why can't we teach world liteerature both in the original languages and in English? Why does it have to be an exclusionary thing?
However, I still love the professor you mentioned. :-) El amor no se explica... :-)
Indeed.... She is killing our discipline but love is irrational. Ja!
She isn't killing it single-handedly, or anything. Even a genius has a right to a little lapse of judgment here and there. :-)
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