Episode Details

This week on The Hope Axis, Hollis Robbins joins me to talk about her dense career and what it actually means to build a life dedicated to the humanities today.

Hollis, a dear friend of Interintellect and one of the first hosts, stepped back from her role as Dean of Humanities at the University of Utah in 2024 to focus on writing three upcoming books, including one with the incredible title, “Do Not Go to College Unless.”

We get into her journey, and finding room for hope and leisure in the middle of it all. Hope you enjoy!

For the full transcript of our conversation, click here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QrykHXAFjyGdh6OlLQ1WD7yo06rIBf8J/view?usp=drive_link

Important Links:

X (Twitter) – https://x.com/anecdotal?lang=en

Substack - https://substack.com/@hollisrobbinsLinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollisrobbins

Google Scholars - https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=d2MNMeMAAAAJ&hl=en

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/_anecdotal/

Show Notes:

(00:00) Introduction

(02:12)  College, dropping out, intellectual ideals and AI

(07:22)  The state of universities and colleges in the time of information abundance

(15:01)  Intellect and technology

(29:00)  Anti-AI and pro-intellectual discourse is missing the point
(33:39) America's higher (mid) education doesn't compete with AI

(42:45)  Reinventing tutoring

(48:04)  How is Hollis Robbins surviving in the humanities?

(53:59)  The process of ""dumbing down"" of the American University

(01:04:03)  If a specialist won't be teaching you at the university - don't go there.

(01:07:24) Intellectual labour in scale economy.

(01:10:02)  Final thoughts