Thefollowingparagrapharegiveninawrongorder.ForQuestions41-45,youarerequiredtoreorganizetheseparagraphsintoacoherenttextbychoosingfromthelistA-Gtofillingthemintothenumberedboxes.ParagraphsEandGhavebeencorrectlyplaced.MarkyouranswersonANSWERSHEET1.(10points)
[A]Nodisciplineshaveseizedonprofessionalismwithasmuchenthusiasmasthehumanities.Youcan,MrMenandpointsout,becamealawyerinthreeyearsandamedicaldoctorinfour.Buttheregulartimeittakestogetadoctoraldegreeinthehumanitiesisnineyears.Notsurprisingly,uptohalfofalldoctoralstudentsinEnglishdropoutbeforegettingtheirdegrees.
[B]Hisconcernismainlywiththehumanities:Literature,languages,philosophyandsoon.Thesearedisciplinesthataregoingoutofstyle:22%ofAmericancollegegraduatesnowmajorinbusinesscomparedwithonly2%inhistoryand4%inEnglish.However,manyleadingAmericanuniversitieswanttheirundergraduatestohaveagroundinginthebasiccanonofideasthateveryeducatedpersonshouldposses.Butmostfinditdifficulttoagreeonwhata“generaleducation”shouldlooklike.AtHarvard,MrMenandnotes,“thegreatbooksarereadbecausetheyhavebeenread”-theyformasortofsocialglue.
[C]Equallyunsurprisingly,onlyabouthalfendupwithprofessorshipsforwhichtheyenteredgraduateschool.Therearesimplytoofewposts.ThisispartlybecauseuniversitiescontinuetoproduceevermorePhDs.Butfewerstudentswanttostudyhumanitiessubjects:Englishdepartmentsawardedmorebachelor’sdegreesin1970-71thantheydid20yearslater.Fewerstudentsrequiresfewerteachers.So,attheendofadecadeoftheses-writing,manyhumanitiesstudentsleavetheprofessiontodosomethingforwhichtheyhavenotbeentrained.
[D]OnereasonwhyitishardtodesignandteachsuchcoursesisthattheycancutacrosstheinsistencebytopAmericanuniversitiesthatliberal-artseducationsandprofessionaleducationshouldbekeptseparate,taughtindifferentschools.Manystudentsexperiencebothvarieties.AlthoughmorethanhalfofHarvardundergraduatesendupinlaw,medicineorbusiness,futuredoctorsandlawyersmuststudyanon-specialistliberal-artsdegreebeforeembarkingonaprofessionalqualification.
[E]Besidesprofessionalizingtheprofessionsbythisseparation,topAmericanuniversitieshaveprofessionalisedtheprofessor.Thegrowthinpublicmoneyforacademicresearchhasspeededtheprocess:federalresearchgrantsrosefourfoldbetween1960and1990,butfacultyteachinghoursfellbyhalfasresearchtookitstoll.Professionalismhasturnedtheacquisitionofadoctoraldegreeintoaprerequisiteforasuccessfulacademiccareer:aslateas1969athirdofAmericanprofessorsdidnotpossessone.Butthekeyideabehindprofessionalisation,arguesMrMenand,isthat“theknowledgeandskillsneededforaparticularspecializationaretransmissiblebutnottransferable.”Sodisciplinesacquireamonopolynotjustovertheproductionofknowledge,butalsoovertheproductionoftheproducersofknowledge.
[F]Thekeytoreforminghighereducation,concludesMrMenand,istoalterthewayinwhich“theproducersofknowledgeareproduced.”Otherwise,academicswillcontinuetothinkdangerouslyalike,increasinglydetachedfromthesocietieswhichtheystudy,investigateandcriticize.”Academicinquiry,atleastinsomefields,mayneedtobecomelessexclusionaryandmoreholistic.”Yetquitehowthathappens,MrMenanddosenotsay.
[G]ThesubtleandintelligentlittlebookTheMarketplaceofIdeas:ReformandResistanceintheAmericanUniversityshouldbereadbyeverystudentthinkingofapplyingtotakeadoctoraldegree.Theymaythendecidetogoelsewhere.ForsomethingcurioushasbeenhappeninginAmericanUniversities,andLouisMenand,aprofessorofEnglishatHarvardUniversity,captureditskillfully.