Abstract:

“Reading” is a routine academic activity for students majoring in humanities and social sciences in research universities, aiming at acquiring disciplinary knowledge and cultivating the habit of deep thinking. However, in practice, many students possess their own set of “clever reading methods” that can be described as “knowing-without-studying.” This research utilizing qualitative research tools such as interviews and participatory observation examines the reading behaviors of students in the humanities and social sciences at Peking University. It reveals that behind the students’ technicalized learning behaviors lies the demand for “performable abilities” from the audit culture, the demand for “transferable abilities” from the “accelerated society,” and the algorithmic thinking patterns fostered by the computer age. Long-term adoption of “clever reading methods” will prevent students from delving into the texture and interior of knowledge, making it difficult for them to form the crucial comprehension and judgment in the humanities and social sciences. In the process of technicalized learning, they become “tools” carrying a certain algorithm in the technological age. However, the effort saved by their technicalized learning is precisely the core value of humanities and social sciences education. This approach dissolves the educational value of enlightening the mind, which is one of the crises in talent cultivation in contemporary research universities.

Key words: algorithmic knowing, research university, humanities and social sciences, college student learning, literature reading.