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Betty Jean Craige, University Professor of Comparative Literature and director of the Center for Humanities and Arts at UGA, spoke to participants in last month’s symposium sponsored by the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities. Some highlights:
On the value of an undergraduate research symposium: “The prospect of presenting their research in a public forum focuses the attention of bright undergraduate students far more than any classroom incentive could possibly do. I have witnessed in my own student the excitement that accompanies the responsibility of sharing one’s discoveries about the world, and I imagine that her excitement is no greater than that of every other student in the CURO conference. These students have learned first-hand the thrill of pursuing truth and communicating the results of their pursuit to the public. . . .”
On the goals of research: “The goal of all academic research is to acquire a better understanding of our world and to share it, so that our colleagues in the present and in the future can build upon the work we have done. In the academic world publication is the means by which we share the results of our inquiry.”
On the difference between the humanities and the sciences: “The humanities do differ from the sciences in orientation: together the humanities may be defined as the study of human values. The humanities encompass philosophical, historical, social, ethical, legal, linguistic, aesthetic, religious, archaeological and ideological investigations of our world.” |
