Welcome back to Yeah, I Got an F#%*ing Job With a Liberal Arts Degree!
Join Cal Poly Humboldt Dean Jeff Crane as he interviews a range of guests about the value of the liberal arts and higher education as a personal and public good.
Today's episode is a bit different than our usual format. During the first week of April, Jeff and Abigail (the producer of the show) spent time on the campus of Columbia University, interviewing current students, faculty and even alumnus about their experience with the humanities in the Core Curriculum at Columbia College, housed within the larger university. They were invited to campus by Larry Jackson, Assistant Dean of Columbia College who was a guest on episode 18 of the show. Nine interviews were completed during this time on campus, which are being released over the summer the summer.
This is our first compilation episode, where we have multiple interviews and voices featured throughout the podcast. The first voice you will hear is Bryan Doerries who is a writer, director, and translator currently serving as Artistic Director of Theater of War Productions, a New York City based organization. This episode focuses on Theater of War and the impact that it has had on Columbia University campus this past year. The organization works with leading film, theater, and television actors to present dramatic readings of seminal plays—from classical Greek tragedies to modern and contemporary works—followed by town hall-style discussions designed to confront social issues by drawing out raw and personal reactions to themes highlighted in the plays. Theater of War was invited to Columbia recently to help facilitate dialogue between students with opposing viewpoints and varying life experiences in relation to the terrorism of October 7th in Israel and the ongoing destruction of Palestinian life in Gaza. This episode also includes interviews with Marwan Kanafani and Avi Adler, two current students at Columbia who deeply value their education and professors, who were stressed about tension on campus and felt unheard by segments of the school administration. They both shared about their experience in the Core Curriculum, where improvements could be made and their favorite texts.
This episode begins with the interview with Bryan and then moves to the discussions with Marwan and Avi. After the introduction, you will hear the beautiful sound of the Collegium Musicum, a Columbia student choir, who performed Ave Maria in the 7th floor stairwell of Hamilton Hall. Thank you to Larry Jackson, the amazing guests featured on today's show and thank you all for listening. Please share this episode and spread the word about the show.
Follow the show on X @JobLiberalArts and on Instagram @LiberalArtsJobPod
Music by Silverman Sound Studios
Yeah, I Got an F#%*ing Job with a Liberal Arts Degree is produced by Abigail Smithson
