Liberal Education: An Old Idea With New Importance UI100 – Fall 2010 McAllister

Historical view of education Training of the ruling/religious class Not available to everyone Was more exclusive than inclusive Training of the skilled labor force Often involved father-to-son transfer of knowledge of a particular field On the job training Underclass was generally not educated.

Purposes of liberal education Training citizens for public life Originally as rulers or leaders (meant the skills needed by the citizen elite or ruling class) Now as voters

Some ideas of what a ‘liberal education’ means General Education Specific subject matters – such as the humanities or liberal arts classes Reading the classics – the great books of the past

They are all partly right Liberal education does consist of those elements and more Traditionally included training in rhetoric and logic and study of languages (needed to study the classical works in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew) What might be included in a modern definition of liberal education?

What are the humanities? Roman citizens studied subjects that developed the human faculties of the mind and character – as opposed to the work/survival skills needed by the peasants and craftsmen There was definitely an elitist sentiment in the goals of a liberal education

Origins of liberal education curriculums In the Middle Ages: Seven liberal arts – trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) and the quadrivium (arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy) Updated in the Renaissance: grammar, rhetoric, politics, history, ethics, and mathematics.

Liberal Education in modern times Study of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew exchanged for study of ‘modern’ languages Study of ‘classical’ works of Greeks, exchanged for study of great books of last 2-3 centuries Study of fine arts, philosophy, social sciences added

At Southeast we actualize liberal education as a set of skills These skills are learned and practiced in all coursework, but explicitly in our University Studies Program These skills are formalized as the University Studies Objectives The University Studies program can be considered a ‘second major’.