Hello there. This is Mark Bauerline with another conversation. Before we get to it, a word about one of our sponsors.

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We have with us today Eric Adler. He's professor of classics at University of Maryland, author of two books,

previous books, Classics, The Culture Wars and Beyond, is one, and valorizing the barbarians,

enemy speeches in Roman historiography. That actually sounds interesting, Professor Adler. And there's a new

book out. It's called The Battle of the Classics, How a 19th century debate can save the humanities today. That is our topic. Welcome, Professor Adler. Thank you so much for having me. Well, we'll jump right in. Your introduction is entitled The Sick Man of Higher Education. Who is the Sick Man of Higher Education.

Well, who is the sick man of higher education?

What are some of the many symptoms of disease that you identify in the introduction and further in Chapter 1?

Thank you so much for that question.

Yes, the sick man of higher education is most assuredly the

humanities. They're the sick part of contemporary American universities and colleges,

and they're the sick part, I think, of world universities to a great extent as well, as I attempt

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