“鄙視”藝術史專業稱其難就業 奧巴馬寫紙條道歉
不久前，美國總統奧巴馬就藝術史專業找工作的前景發表了一通“即興”評論，招致一名藝術史教授的不滿。據美國媒體2月19日報道，奧巴馬已親手寫紙條向這位教授致歉。
上月，奧巴馬在美國威斯康辛州通用電氣廠發表演講時稱，比起拿個藝術史學位，美國人熟練掌握製造業或者商業技能掙的錢要多得多。
不過奧巴馬似乎清楚在發表此番言論後會遭到抗議。他隨後補充說：“藝術史學位沒什麼錯，我也很愛藝術史。所以，我不想收到一堆抗議信。我只想說明，哪怕沒有四年大學學位，只要你獲得了你所需要的技能和培訓，你就能謀一份好生計，併成就偉大的事業。”
但得克薩斯大學奧斯汀分校的藝術史教授安·柯林斯·約翰斯並不領情，還是想給奧巴馬寫信表達不滿。約翰斯稱自己是奧巴馬的粉絲，在信中列舉了藝術史學位各方面的好處。
收到約翰斯的電子郵件後，奧巴馬回了一份掃描的手寫紙條，其中說道：“請讓我爲自己的隨意言論道歉。我當時只是針對就業市場，並非藝術史本身的價值。巧的是，藝術史是我高中最喜愛的課程之一，並且給我的生活帶來了許多歡樂。”奧巴馬在信中希望將歉意傳達給整個藝術史領域，稱自己只是想鼓勵那些不讀大學的年輕人接受技術培訓。
President Obama issued a hand-written note of apology to an art history professor after making an "off-the-cuff" remark about the employment prospects of students who choose to pursue a career in art history.
The professor, Ann Collins Johns of the University of Texas-Austin, told arts website Hyperallergic that she was inspired to write to President Obama after the he made a remark at a General Electric factory in Wisconsin last month, saying Americans could make "a lot more, potentially, with skilled manufacturing or the trades than they might with an art history degree."
Johns, who describes herself as a fan of the president, wrote a note to Obama focusing on all the positives of an art history degree. She told Hyperallergic that while she didn't save a copy of her original email, "I’m pretty sure that my email was not so much one of outrage at his statement, but rather a “look at what we do well” statement. I emphasized that we challenge students to think, read, and write critically."
Obama sent Johns a scanned handwritten note after receiving her email. The note reads:
Ann —
Let me apologize for my off-the-cuff remarks. I was making a point about the jobs market, not the value of art history. As it so happens, art history was one of my favorite subjects in high school, and it has helped me take in a great deal of joy in my life that I might otherwise have missed.
So please pass on my apology for the glib remark to the entire department, and understand that I was trying to encourage young people who may not be predisposed to a four year college experience to be open to technical training that can lead them to an honorable career.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
Obama seemed to know he might get some complaints after making the comment. At the factory, he said, "Now, nothing wrong with an art history degree -- I love art history. So I don't want to get a bunch of emails from everybody. I'm just saying you can make a really good living and have a great career without getting a four-year college education as long as you get the skills and the training that you need."
Johns told the New York Times that she's happy with the apology but she's still waiting for the actual letter to arrive in her mailbox. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t anxiously checking my snail mail every day,” she told the Times.
