"Imagine a world in which you were unable to write; imagine a world in which you were unable to read; imagine a world in which you were unable to look at any pictures; imagine a world in which you were unable to hear any music; imagine a world where you knew nothing of other cultures so you did not know where you wanted to travel or if you wanted to travel; imagine a world in which you could not imagine, in which there were no novels or plays, there was no science fiction, there was no poetry. Imagine a world in which there were no values, in which the words love, justice, equality, right, wrong, good and evil did not exist. Imagine a world in which there were no theodicies. Finally, imagine such a world without all these things. That would be a world without the humanities." 

Kate Stimpson, "The Humanities in Everyday Life," in Hilda Smith, ed., The Humanities and Civic Responsibility (Washington, D.C.: Council of Chief State School Officers, 1986), 33-47.

HURF 2008 will be held April 17th, 3:30-6:30 in Pilling Chapel. Papers should be submitted to Cindie Zelhart, secretary in the English Dept., Schilling 401' by March 25th.