Civilisation by Kenneth Clark
Civilisation was written to express a view about the rise of modern Europe in a cultural vein and has succeeded. This book should be a standard text in high school and college. There should be discussions about this book in many forums. The tack that I wish to take is that toward what has happened to much of college education in America in the last 30 years. No longer is there the quest to get a good liberal arts education in order to learn about the physical and cultural world and about one’s self. There is now only careerism that only leads one to think about oneself and not society as a whole.
The last two professions that depends heavily upon the person obtaining a bachelors degree and no more and also leads into a high level profession are engineering and business. No other professions have led the Unites States to be a wealthy nation than engineering and business firms. Often engineers and business people embark on their careers without a concern about their society whether on a regional or a national basis. This leads to commercialism run amok. Most engineers and businessmen know little about architecture, history, science, and the arts.
I propose that their education should be radically changed. Their education should be closer to that of a medical doctor. Doctors obtain a four year college degree and then go onto a professional degree. Engineers and business people should all be required to do the same. This would be for their own good and the good of society. More science and more arts would make them better engineers and better at business ventures. Society would also benefit since they would know how to fit engineering projects and business venture more appropriately into a community.
For example how should a bridge be designed to better fit into the cultural landscape of a city or town. Another how could a store be designed to fit into the architecture of a downtown of a city. Should there be more car free streets in the downtown of a city or town. These questions are not being asked enough in the medium and small sized cities and towns of the northeastern USA where there are many architectural treasures.
The book Civilisation fits in since it will help students in these fields learn of the past and learn about Socratic dialogue. The Middle Ages became a time of little innovation compare to the times that preceded and followed it. That might be because workers were too narrowly trained and did little innovation. In recent decades that milieu surrounds us again today. Employers are hiring people not based on their desire to innovate and to fit their work into the cultural landscape but rather upon their highly refined technical skills.
A better trained professional would alleviate that problem. They would be better able and have more desire to lead projects that fit into the culture needs of a city or town and not destroy it.