Mutual Subversion: A Short History of the Liberal and the Professional in American Higher Education

Overview & Synopsis

In this article, the author makes two alternative arguments about long-term trends in the history of American colleges and universities. The initial argument is that over the years professional education has gradually subverted liberal education. The counterpoint is that, over the same period of time, liberal education has gradually subverted professional education. His aim is to show how these two views can be woven together by arguing that the professional has come to dominate the goals of higher education while the liberal has come to dominate its content. In his analysis of the relation between the professional and the liberal in higher education, the central message is this: "Professional education may be the biggest recurring loser in the history of American higher education." Responding to the rhythms of the educational status order, the professional keeps surging forward as the central thrust of new colleges and then retreating, as new institutions revert to the liberal norm. (Contains 28 footnotes.)