新视野大学英语第三版电子教案Book2-Unit-2.docx

Unit 2
College—The ladder to ess?
Understanding and Learning
Overview
This unit addresses the topic of the value of higher education, which is mainly centered on young people who are facing bewilderment in educational choices. We hope that students will realize the significance of the humanities, with which students can gain more insights into life and society and be aware of cultural and religious differences.
Text A advocates that by taking courses in the humanities, students are likely to grow into good people.
Text B opposes getting a college education only for a future career, an extreme thinking driven by the economic downturn.
Section A
The humanities: Out of date?
Background information
1. the humanities
The humanities are a group of academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative. Therefore, they are distinguished from the approaches of the natural sciences. The humanities, called social sciences, include history, anthropology, communication studies, cultural studies, law, language, literature, philosophy, religion, music and theater, etc. Through exploration of the humanities, students learn how to think creatively and critically, to reason, and to ask questions. Because these skills allow students to gain new insights into everything from poetry and paintings to business models and politics, humanistic subjects have been at the heart of a liberal arts education. Today, humanistic knowledge continues to provide the ideal foundation for exploring and understanding the human experience.
2. self-awareness
Self-awareness isn’t a quality that you demonstrate by telling a story, but rather it has to do with how you tell the story and your ability municate what you learned. Being able to explain to the mittee why you value one plishment above others, what you learned from a setback, or the deeper meaning of your career goals, is evidence of self-awareness. Furthermore,