And wisely, Professors Rosenzweig and Thelen have put their findings on a web site, where people can see for themselves. This melding of traditional learning with new techniques and technology is what I want to talk about today. If we were not debating the purpose and methods of the academy, we would be derelict in our intellectual duty. It is incumbent on every generation to hold it received wisdom up to a bright light and examine all its facets. After all, that is what Socrates and Copernicus and St. Thomas Aquinas did.
Every generation has intellectuals who commit artistic and intellectual treason.
James Joyce and William Faulkner did not become part of the canon by leaving things as they were. The texts must still be taught. Students must wrestle with the original works before they can understand new departures. And the importance of teaching cannot be overemphasized the backbone of a great university is great teaching, as you at George Mason know. As humanists, it is our job to preserve the basic achievements of our culture while looking for new ways to examine and interpret them.