Word: schama
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...music in England, particularly that of the punk movement, reflects a much more negative attitude of British youth toward their country than that of the early sixties, the professor says, adding that this trend emerged from a "post-sixties cynicism," caused by increasingly tough economic times in England. Although Schama has a deep interest in classical music and opera, he has maintained his interest in rock. His favorite contemporary musician is Ian Dury, best known in this country for his song "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick." Although Dury "is thought to be a punk rocker," Schama says he could...
...major difference between British and American rock music of today, Schama says, is the degree of cynicism that each displays. The punk movement in England is built on a "culture of hatred and a collapse of role models" for today's youths. In America, on the other hand, the punk movement was based much less on economic problems and was more of a fad. "In America, the punk movement is not nearly as ferocious as in England--you'd be much less likely to see people doing things like putting safety pins through their cheeks...
...overwhelming cynicism of British youth compared to those of American also provides one of the chief differences between the attitudes students take toward college, Schama says. Since British students must choose their specialty much earlier than American students, they "show an early weariness with higher education itself" than do their American counterparts. "British students tend to look on college as finishing school--a sort of rite of passage to a career. In the United States, on the other band, college represents the start of a long period of training, and students demonstrate an open receptiveness and enthusiasm about higher education...
...positive result of the British cynicism, however, is the student's tendency not to trust openly his educational sources or take information at face value, Schama says, adding that American students are too often willing to accept information unquestioningly. "American students need to be given the courage to attack sources the way British students do." He adds, however, that the British students "often do this to excess." Schama says that although Harvard students are reputed in this country to be very cynical toward the education they receive, "their cynicism is that of wild spontaneous naivete compared to that or their...
...teacher, Schama said he has enjoyed working at Harvard more than at Oxford or Cambridge. "Harvard offers the chance to teach both on a one-to-one level in tutorials, which I enjoy very much, and also the opportunity to teach large lecture courses. At Oxford and Cambridge, very little teaching is done in large lectures--mostly in weekly tutorial meetings." He says these meetings often involve simply a student reading around a paper he has written the night before for forty minutes out of the hour and then twenty minutes of discussion at the end. "A teacher...