“鄙视”艺术史专业称其难就业 奥巴马写纸条道歉

不久前，美国总统奥巴马就艺术史专业找工作的前景发表了一通“即兴”评论，招致一名艺术史教授的不满。据美国媒体2月19日报道，奥巴马已亲手写纸条向这位教授致歉。

上月，奥巴马在美国威斯康辛州通用电气厂发表演讲时称，比起拿个艺术史学位，美国人熟练掌握制造业或者商业技能挣的钱要多得多。

不过奥巴马似乎清楚在发表此番言论后会遭到抗议。他随后补充说：“艺术史学位没什么错，我也很爱艺术史。所以，我不想收到一堆抗议信。我只想说明，哪怕没有四年大学学位，只要你获得了你所需要的技能和培训，你就能谋一份好生计，并成就伟大的事业。”

但得克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校的艺术史教授安·柯林斯·约翰斯并不领情，还是想给奥巴马写信表达不满。约翰斯称自己是奥巴马的粉丝，在信中列举了艺术史学位各方面的好处。

收到约翰斯的电子邮件后，奥巴马回了一份扫描的手写纸条，其中说道：“请让我为自己的随意言论道歉。我当时只是针对就业市场，并非艺术史本身的价值。巧的是，艺术史是我高中最喜爱的课程之一，并且给我的生活带来了许多欢乐。”奥巴马在信中希望将歉意传达给整个艺术史领域，称自己只是想鼓励那些不读大学的年轻人接受技术培训。

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.