The Liberal Arts Revisited. Eighth David D. Henry Lecture.

Overview & Synopsis

The question of whether a liberal arts education is the best or the most useful kind of schooling is considered through a historical perspective. While education may be viewed as instrumental to the development of the individual and the overall society, some believe education should provide specific job training. In the first view, the needs of future generations are considered in terms of human competence, civic responsibility, professional ability, and individual fulfillment. In the second case, education is valued as leading to a particular opportunity for a given kind of work and life. Views of the liberal arts have varied from ancient times and the Renaissance to the 1980s. In the 1980s, there is a return to the view that education has become too fragmented and that in the late 1960s curricula lost their coherence and teachers their convictions. The character of education within the university requires educators who demand breadth in the approach to their subjects, self-conscious reflectiveness, thoughtfulness, and a respect for rigorous intellectual activity. Although a "core" curriculum may be a good approach to general or liberal education, liberal education is a particular approach toward education rather than a specified syllabus or curriculum. (SW)