Discusses the benefits of pursuing an arts and humanities degree including how to write effectively, speak articulately, and
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
1 Introduction: How to Succeed in College and Beyond: The Art of Learning 1
Part I Beginnings 13
2 How to Prepare for College 15
3 The College Olympics: How to Choose the Right College and How to Get the Right College to Choose You 24
Part II The College Experience 39
4 Twenty Suggestions for Incoming College Freshmen 41
5 Nineteen Suggestions for College Sophomores 52
6 Suggestions for College Juniors: Balancing the Joy and Practicality of Learning 57
7 Making the Most of Your Senior Year in College 66
8 Planning for the Future: Suggestions for Seniors Graduating from College 72
Part III Further Essentials 79
9 Seventeen Suggestions for How to Choose Classes in College 81
10 The Greek System: Should You Join a Fraternity or Sorority? 87
11 More Thoughts on the College Experience: Brief Observations and Suggestions 98
12 Growing Young Adults: What Parents Need to Know About Their Children in College 105
Part IV The Value of the Humanities 109
13 Why Study the Humanities? 111
14 Do the Humanities Help Us Understand the World in Which We Live? 117
15 What to Do with a Bachelor of Arts in English 124
16 Does It Make Sense to Pursue a Humanities Doctorate? The Pros and Cons of Graduate Education in the Humanities 131
Part V Perspectives of a Professor 141
17 Are Teaching and Research Mutually Exclusive? 143
18 The Classroom as Opportunity: Teaching Students How to Enjoy and Understand Literature, Read Closely, Write Lucidly, and Think Independently 148
19 Changing the World One Step at a Time: Comparing Contemporary Students with Those of the Explosive 1968–1970 Period 162
Works Cited and Select Bibliography 174
Index 181
