- May 2024
- Oct 2023
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www.insidehighered.com www.insidehighered.com
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Snyder, Christopher A. “A Liberal Education in Name Only.” Inside Higher Ed (blog), October 23, 2023. https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2023/10/23/liberal-education-name-only-opinion.
read Mon 10/23/2023 7:37 PM
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danallosso.substack.com danallosso.substack.com
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reply to Our Journey, Day 84 by Dan Allosso at https://danallosso.substack.com/p/our-journey-day-84
There's already a movement afoot calling for schools who are dramatically cutting their humanities departments to quit calling what they're offering a liberal education. This popped up on Monday and has a long list of cuts: https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2023/10/23/liberal-education-name-only-opinion I was surprised that Bemidji wasn't listed, but then again there may be several dozens which have made announcements, but which aren't widely known yet. The problem may be much larger and broader than anyone is acknowledging.
Cutting down dozens of faculties into either "schools" or even into some sort of catch all called "Humanities" may be even more marginalizing to the enterprise.
Apparently, the Morlocks seem to think that the Eloi will be easier to manage if there isn't any critical thinking?
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- Aug 2023
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This Western devotion to the liberal arts and liberal educa-tion must have been largely responsible for the emergence ofdemocracy as an ideal.
Graeber and Wengrow seem to indicate otherwise.
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The lib-eral artist learns to read, write, speak, listen, understand, andthink.
Uncommon use of "liberal artist" as one who uses or practices the liberal arts.
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- Apr 2023
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www.bloomberg.com www.bloomberg.com
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Ferguson, Niall. “I’m Helping to Start a New College Because Higher Ed Is Broken.” Bloomberg.Com, November 8, 2021, sec. Opinion. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-11-08/niall-ferguson-america-s-woke-universities-need-to-be-replaced.
Seems like a lot of cherry picking here... also don't see much evidence of progress in a year and change.
Only four jobs listed on their website today: https://jobs.lever.co/uaustin. Note all are for administration and none for teaching. Most have a heavy fundraising component.
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- May 2022
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Local file Local file
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One of the masters of the school, Hugh (d. 1140 or 1141), wrote a text, the Didascalicon, on whatshould be learned and why. The emphasis differs significantly from that of William of Conches. It isdependent on the classical trivium and quadrivium and pedagogical traditions dating back to St.Augustine and Imperial Rome.
Hugh of St. Victor wrote Didascalicon, a text about what topics should be learned and why. In it, he outlined seven mechanical arts (or technologies) in analogy with the seven liberal arts (trivium and quadrivium) as ways to repair the weaknesses inherit in humanity.
These seven mechanical arts he defines are: - fabric making - armament - commerce - agriculture - hunting - medicine - theatrics
Hugh of St. Victor's description of the mechanical art of commerce here is fascinating. He says "reconciles nations, calms wars, strengthens peace, and turns the private good of individuals into a benefit for all" (doublcheck the original quotation, context, and source). This sounds eerily familiar to the common statement in the United States about trade and commerce.
Link this to the quote from Albie Duncan in The West Wing (season 5?) about trade.
Other places where this sentiment occurs?
Is Hugh of St. Victor the first in history to state this sentiment?
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- Feb 2022
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www.gutenberg.org www.gutenberg.org
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But here they depart from the principles on which they justify their study of hypothetics; for they base the importance which they assign to hypothetics upon the fact of their being a preparation for the extraordinary, while their study of Unreason rests upon its developing those faculties which are required for the daily conduct of affairs.
Seems like a fundamental tension in education generally and the liberal arts and sciences in particular. The balance between wide-ranging creativity and mastery of content and skill isn't simple.
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- Jan 2022
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www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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The study of cognitive development suffers from a deep theoretical tension – one with ancient philosophical roots.
This could've been a good place to allow liberal arts folx some point of entry. Alas.
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perell.com perell.com
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All these interests unite around a single initiative: the intersection between online writing, the Liberal Arts, and Judeo-Christian teachings.
This is exactly the intersection that I have seen and thought about for a long time. If David Perell sees this as a gap that intellectuals can fill, then I am definitely onto something.
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- Dec 2021
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learn-us-east-1-prod-fleet01-xythos.content.blackboardcdn.com learn-us-east-1-prod-fleet01-xythos.content.blackboardcdn.com
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Are we really to insist that the advocacy of Chinese models ofstatecraft by Leibniz, his allies and followers really had nothing to dowith the fact that Europeans did, in fact, adopt something that looksvery much like Chinese models of statecraft?
At the suggestion of Leibniz, parts of Europe began adopting Chinese models of statecraft which had not previously been known or used in Europe.
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www.newyorker.com www.newyorker.com
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“Liberal” just means free and disinterested. It means that inquiry is pursued without fear or favor, regardless of the outcome and whatever the field of study.
Definition of a "liberal education"
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- May 2021
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harpers.org harpers.org
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A few years ago, our Republican governor proposed amending the Wisconsin state system’s mission statement to suggest that the university’s purpose wasn’t to “seek the truth” or “improve the human condition,” but was instead, according to the legislature, “to meet the state’s workforce needs.”
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- Sep 2019
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Local file Local file
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Liberal education
I would like you to focus on:
- The main ideas in the article
- The underlined vocabulary words and any new words to you
- New structures that you could start using in your writing Make sure you write notes including your impression, definitions of words or any questions you might have on the text.
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- Jun 2017
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bostonreview.net bostonreview.net
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Ed Finn, on the other hand, seeks to hold the technology industry to account: he believes we need “more readers, more critics,” posing questions about who technology serves, and to what ends.
Amen!
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Hartley too readily accepts Silicon Valley’s flattering self-descriptions of its values and vision for the world. The positivity of entrepreneurship does not sit comfortably with the skeptical outlook that the liberal arts nurture, and Hartley fully embraces entrepreneurship.
Interesting. Not critical, not liberal arts, enough.
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Hartley believes that liberal arts insights can right the ship: “We can pair fuzzies and techies to train our algorithms to better sift for, and mitigate, our shared human foibles.”
I'm somewhat optimistic about this. Of it actually happens...
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- Nov 2016
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www.minnpost.com www.minnpost.com
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The liberal arts teach us to act toward others with humility and respect because we recognize there are multiple ways to look at the world.
I could not agree more, but we also need to think about how precisely our curriculum is cultivating habits of respect, empathy, and humility. What specific courses facilitate these virtues, what sorts of assignments ensure they are practiced?
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the liberal arts build empathy and compassion, the very foundations of democracy
This is exactly right. I've been thematizing it in terms of "ethical imagination."
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