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THE HUMANITIES DIMENSION Readings from the Humanities (collectively, the "Reader on Work") complement the technical instruction given to students in the Bridge, encouraging them to think, write and talk about the broader personal, cultural and historical meaning of work. The readings include selections, such as those by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, which celebrate the inherent dignity in all labor and which explore the psychological, philosophical, and socio-political issues essential to understanding work yesterday, today and tomorrow. Are workers mere cogs in a mechanism, as portrayed by Charlie Chaplin in the film "Modern Times"? Or do they possess an inner awareness and creative ability that, once developed, can enrich their lives and ultimately benefit their employers, their community, and their world?
The Significance of Work In his 1841 essay "Art", and throughout his lifetime, Emerson argued that until workers' "aesthetic dimension" achieved full recognition, American culture would remain fragmented and would alienate a good portion of its workforce by making "the mechanic a machine; the sailor the rope of the ship." He held an equally firm faith in the "moral value of labor." Emerson, in fact, insisted upon the "dignity and necessity of labor to every citizen." Directly in line with Emerson's principles, the Bridge Program encourages development and growth that transcend the performance of any particular task. The problem with strictly technical education lies not in what is learned but what is not seen beyond the tasks mastered. In the words of labor analyst Madeleine Bunting (regarding recent "function-centered" education in Great Britain): Take education: the whole drive of government policy is to provide a system that will supply the market with the skilled, educated workforce it needs. Human beings are molded to fit the market rather than vice versa; childhood is training for employment. A frightening poverty of vision underpins this; whatever human creativity and potential cannot be used by the market [are] of little value. The Bridge recognizes that workers who have envisioned their full creative potential can be the most valuable employees-whatever the "market"-because they have an enduring sense of their personal worth and a robust inner resourcefulness born of true self-knowledge in the Socratic sense. Work Themes Emerson and Thoreau suggest a process for exploring four important themes: 1) the pace of work, 2) the quality of work, 3) safety and work, and 4) education and work. The process depends upon two levels of inquiry: 1) reflection on the nature of work, labor and leisure through history, and 2) analysis of work, labor, and leisure from the points of view of various cultures. The Bridge Program focuses on the same four themes and also applies historical and multicultural perspectives. Its central assumption is Socratic-"the unexamined life is not worth living." The Bridge guides its students to examine working life in the broadest possible context. Each of the four themes can be better understood through the perspective of an "anchor article" from The Reader on Work. The Pace of Work: This section of the curriculum focuses on issues defined by the first chapter of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations, "On the Division of Labor." Smith identifies the generic qualities of modern labor and specifies "the saving of time" as a main consequence. Bridge students explore strategies for intelligent time management and consider principal issues regarding the pace of work required for efficient production, including the effect of that pace on the worker. The Quality of Work: This section of the curriculum considers the question, "What constitutes good work?" Studying Robert Frost's poem, "Two Tramps in Mud Time," students weigh the question of "pay" versus "fulfillment" when it comes to choosing work. They explore the difference between a "job" and a "vocation" and reflect on the relationship between leisure and labor. They seek to identify and cultivate the mental and emotional characteristics that will enhance the quality of work. Safety and Work: This section of the curriculum directs students' attention to the importance of safety in the workplace. The anchor reading, "The Mines," a section of George Orwell's The Road to Wigan Pier, offers a lucid assessment of safety conditions. Precise analysis and disciplined assessment of work sites and working conditions become major student objectives. Education and Work: This section of the curriculum emphasizes the difference between "schooling" and "education" and promotes the value of lifelong learning. In the anchor reading, Chapter Ten of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the great abolitionist provides an autobiographical account of self-liberation through education, schooling, and work. Douglass' testament validates the worth of the liberal arts as a means for developing long-range goals. Students in the Bridge likewise are invited to understand that a love of learning, a cultivation of their own knowledge and wisdom, will offer them broadening options not only in employment, but in all aspects of life. In short, the Humanities provide Bridge students and faculty with a language of assessment that extends beyond evaluating a particular competence. The Bridge is centrally a technical program, but one in which the overall condition of each student, not just his or her technical skill, receives careful attention. The Humanities dimension of the Bridge inspires students, even as they make themselves technologically competent, to look inward. Self-knowledge will equip them not only for tasks at hand, but for all challenges to come.
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