Reshaping Liberal Education: An Appeal to the Stoic Tradition

Overview & Synopsis

In recent years, Australian universities, like many in other countries, have been increasingly driven by the values of commercial enterprise. A key consequence has been the growing emphasis on the kinds of vocational education likely to attract large enrollments and be financially profitable. In strengthening such programs (and related research), universities have been whittling down their involvement in what has traditionally been known as liberal education. Of course, what has been done under that rubric has often been deficient. In a book published in 1997, Martha Nussbaum presents a strong and interesting argument on what the characteristics of liberal education should be, and why it should hold a central place in the work of universities. She discusses examples of various programs in American universities that illustrate how the essential features of liberal education can be embodied. This article focuses on the general features she identifies as defining liberal education. [For "Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal Education," see ED415738.]