Dear Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni, and Families,
When Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz ’64, H’74, was asked during our first COVID Conversation webcast on Tuesday what he missed most about Amherst, he first recalled a world history course that focused on what the course called “encounters,” an early version, he noted, of what we now call globalization. “So when I started to write about globalization,” he said, “I reflected a lot on what I'd learned in my Amherst class, as a freshman and sophomore, about encounters, about globalization over time. And it really did shape my mind in a very important way.”
Running throughout Joe’s remarks about the economic implications of the pandemic was an emphasis on the importance of higher education as a sector and the benefits of liberal arts education, in particular, in thinking through the complexities of a response. “What we need,” he said, “is science, but not only science; we have to think about the social interactions, what is going to happen to people if they can’t get to work. We are making decisions about the interactions, the design of a whole society, with an awareness of our health system, with our awareness of the social inequalities that preexisted COVID-19. For that kind of broad view, you need science, yes, you need public health, but you also need a broader perspective. I think that is something that's essential, and that's the kind of thing that a liberal arts education is particularly good at engendering.”
Before our second COVID Conversation webcast began yesterday evening, Nobel Prize-winning biologist Harold Varmus ’61 spoke of his teacher and friend, Bill Pritchard ’53, and we shared the pleasure we are both getting from the class notes or “guides” that Bill developed for his English literature class after the students left campus and which he has shared with both of us. Bill’s guides are captivating because of the wealth of knowledge he brings to his readings, the connections that wealth allows him to make (across writers and time), the wit in his judgments and reflections, and his appreciation of how language works. There is no question that the teaching of literature promotes some of the most important intellectual abilities we can acquire, those associated with close reading, reasoned argumentation, critical thinking and analysis, but also appreciation and pleasure in word choices, syntax, and rhythm.
In addition to learning from our panel of biological and public health experts last evening, I had the pleasure yesterday of attending this year’s (virtual) Three-Minute Thesis competition, a beloved, new tradition in public speaking at Amherst. When I first learned about it, I wondered how substantive a three-minute account of a thesis could possibly be. But each year the students’ presentations invariably pique my interest in an area that I then want to know more about, while reminding me of the power of well-formulated language and thought—and polished delivery. Yesterday was no different. I was impressed that 10 student finalists, with the encouragement and support of Susan Daniels at the Center for Writing and Speaking, had found ways to mount the competition remotely. More than 300 contestants, friends, family members, faculty, and staff tuned in for the speeches. I believe that commencement ceremonies in the early years of the College involved speeches given by seniors over the course of a day, attended by the entire Amherst community. Some of those speeches can be found in old editions of The Amherst Student’s precursor. I’m glad that we are once again appreciative of the importance of clear thinking displayed in effective public speaking.
Developing an appreciation for what language can do and how essential it is to becoming who we are is a critical part of liberal arts education. Because I love listening to people who use language beautifully and reading authors and essayists who do, I am happy to work at a place where clarity of thought, persuasive communication, and beautiful writing are some of the most treasured coins of the realm.
After reminiscing about his world history course, Joe Stiglitz said what he probably most misses about Amherst now is the setting and the beauty of the place. He mentioned the view from Memorial Hill. Amherst’s beauty is a gift, one I know many of you miss, perhaps especially those of you who would ordinarily be on campus for its spring glory. I’m attaching some photos from a recent walk on campus.
Stay well, stay in touch, take care.
Biddy
