Sunday, October 23, 2005

NPR, liberal arts, and baby boomers

A recent article on Bob Edwards describes National Public Radio as a listening post for boomer liberal arts majors.

I didn't realize we were such an identifiable category. Do boomer liberal arts majors have certain personal attributes? Do we have distinct character traits? Do we carry similar values or ethics? Have a clear voting pattern?

How many of my 300 classmates in the Lycoming College Class of 1976 -- each of whom graduated with a B.A. or B.S. in a particular liberal arts subject -- listen regularly to an NPR station? How about Colgate University Class of '68? Lafayette Class of '79?

Feels like an empty generalization, with rather negative overtones about liberal arts. Or a slam at boomers.

I suppose it's an analogy: NPR is to media, as liberal arts is to education.

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