[recursivedoubts]

Of course not.

There are wonderful resources for getting a liberal education today. More than ever, in fact, and far less expensive than ever as well.

They just have nothing to do with going into a humanities department.

[ianleeclark]

A liberal education, by definition, includes the humanities.

What's the point of using a forum for discussion if you're just going to make vague assertions and never bother to back them up? You talk of fear and loathing, yet seemingly operate on visceral reaction given that you continually refuse/are unable to list your grievances.

[recursivedoubts]

I think you misunderstand me: I very much am in favor of the humanities as a part of a liberal education, I just wouldn't expect a university humanities department to teach me (or my children) much about them. There are exceptions, of course, but we are speaking internet here.

For a general overview of the situation, Allan Blooms "The Closing of The American Mind" covers it far better than I (or almost anyone else) could.

[antepodius]

The humanities aren't just in the universities. If what you want is self-edification, you can get a lot of it online. The rest can be solved by carving out a niche of people like yourself you can talk to about the subject in real life.