Humanics Lecture Materials: Robert C. Barkman (2011)

A document created from documents Robert C. Barkman used durng his year as Distinguished Professor of Humanics in 2010-2011. The document is made up of five different documents: (1) “Questions for Faculty Focus Group”: has fourteen questions for faculty about their teaching experiences; (2) Student discussion group questions that address their academic experience at Springfield College; (3) A review of his goals during his year as a Distinguished Professor Humanics; (4) A link to a surveymonkey.com quiz asking for suggestions for future projects; (5) A list of “practices” for professors to circle if they are interested in leading or exploring them in more depth.Robert C. Barkman taught education and biology at Springfield College from 1969 to 1991. He also served as chair of the education department, a distinguished Professor of Humanics, and the creator of “Real World Science,” a lab school at Springfield College. Barkman earned his BA from Wittenberg University (1964) and his MS and Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati (1966; 1969). Humanics has a special meaning in the history and philosophy of Springfield College. The Oxford English Dictionary defines Humanics as, “the subject or study of human affairs or relations, especially of the human element of a problem or situation as opposed to the mechanical.” In 1962, Dr. Glenn Olds, President of Springfield College at the time, began to wonder why this name was given to the intended philosophy of the college by Dr. Laurence Locke Doggett, Springfield College’s first full-time president. Olds acknowledged that the practices of the faculty were in large part consistent with the Humanics philosophy, but he believed that a more self-conscious application would improve chances of its continuity and survival. To ensure this, a Distinguished Professor of Humanics position was created at the college, first filled by Dr. Seth Arsenian from 1966-1969. The purpose of this position was to catalyze a renewal of consciousness in the philosophy. This was done by annually mandating the Distinguished Professor of Humanics to give a Humanics lecture on the definition of Humanics and what the concept means to them. Arsenian started this tradition in 1967 with his speech titled, “The Meaning of Humanics,” in which he described the concept as a set of ideas, values, and goals that make our college distinct from other colleges and make commitment and unity toward commonly sought goals possible