Julie Schumacher Reminds Us of the Importance of the Humanities

I doubt that there's a career on earth that couldn't be enhanced by the ability to express oneself clearly, verbally and on the page - twitter-in-chief, are you listening? Research has proven that students of the humanities develop empathy and a more global view of the world. So I was pleased to hear the discussion yesterday morning on NPR's "the1A" with award-winning author and literature teacher Julie Schumacher about her novel "The Shakespeare Requirement." https://the1a.org/shows/2018-08-13/the-hilarious-shakespeare-requirement

It is not as laugh-out-loud funny as "Dear Committee Members" only because the subject matter is so important. Emphasis on STEM curricula for high school and college students has placed funding for the humanities on the back burner at a time when professors and their departments are jumping through hoops for paltry pockets of money. Political discourse throws shade at those of us who prefer literature, sociology, or philosophy to math and science, labeling us "elitist."

Into the fray walks Schumacher's Jason Fitger, novelist and head of the decaying English department at Payne University. Over the summer break a huge influx of cash allowed the Economics Dept. to double in size, appropriating office space from the English Dept. downstairs, occupying the offices of the campus newspaper, acquiring glossy new bathrooms, computers, furniture, and respect.

For English to hold on to the little that remains, Fitger must bring his faculty members in line to agree on a Statement of Vision. Having worked on a few of these vision statements myself, I had to chuckle at the load of bunk they can be.

Though Fitger is a throwback to another generation, he adamantly refuses to learn the new university-wide communication system, preferring face-to-face interaction, he is not above taking advice from his much more politically savvy former wife who happens to be sleeping with the dean. As he  gamely pursues consensus among his beleaguered staff members he becomes a kinder, gentler Fitger, forging a relationship with his quirky office assistant, Fran, adopting one of her animal protégées, and taking in a fellow professor who's recovering from surgery.

But the most difficult aspect of his academic career involves the Shakespeare requirement for Humanities majors and the battle for the soul of its lone champion, Professor Dennis Cassovan. As Fitger attempts to bribe the elderly Cassovan into retirement, students across the campus and around the country take up the heroic cause with a Save Our Shakespeare movement worthy of the Occupy Wall Streeters.

As all you English majors out there know, Shakespeare was probably the world's  foremost psychologist before the term psychology had even been coined. His expert knowledge of the human condition is evident in every single play. If I had my way, Shakespeare would be required for college graduation in every field so I don't come to this book as an unbiased reviewer.

Julie Schumacher has given us a novel billed as hilarious, though it actually calls upon irony, empathy, and gentle humor to take readers inside the halls of academe, exposing the great challenges that come with being an educator in today's environment. Like Shakespeare, it should be a requirement.