In this interview Craig Calhoun talks about universities, the Humanities and his own research. Universities reinvent themselves in the face of societal and technological change. In the midst of this change, however, universities are charged with maintaining old ideals, with informing the public and creating opportunities for human development. The…

Skills, jobs, and even self-enrichment were not historically regarded as the ultimate goals of the liberal arts; they were byproducts. The reason liberal arts education was called "liberal" in the first place was because it was supposed to cultivate a free human being. Education on the liberal model aimed to liberate. The goal of liberal…

It is surprising that there is a young academic in 2015 working intensively on the German philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835) and his concept of "Bildung". In times where--as the author states herself--educational systems globally tend to follow neoliberal principles and where the visibility, commodification, and…

Across the U.S., an estimated 60% of incoming community college students require developmental courses to be ready for college-level work, according to estimates by experts. As these courses act as a gateway to further studies, those who fail are most often lost to higher education: Less than a quarter will earn a degree or certificate within…

Focusing in on a point of convergence among the three reactions generously shared regarding Yoder, Snell, and Tobias (2012), the author revisits our original interpretation of the configuration we labeled awakening feminism as well as its implications for counseling practice. Rather than regard awakening feminism as a distressful stage through…

In this article the author asserts that learning is about personal growth and enrichment, and at its core it is not about career determinations. Good teachers nurture their students; they encourage them to pursue their dreams, and they find ways to stimulate curiosity and dedication to lifelong learning. They do not become teachers because of…

The course proposed is planned as an undergraduate Human Sexuality course within a Women and Gender Studies program. Teaching a course on Human Sexuality with an interdisciplinary approach allows for students to gain knowledge from several different academic disciplines. This course would teach from a sex-positive and holistic view of sexuality as…

In this article, the author tries to piece together the context in which she wrote "Feminist Poststructuralism and Discourse Analysis" (Gavey, 1989). The article grew out of her attempts to find a different way of doing psychology, after 8 or 9 years of studying and wrestling with the discipline. It is partly a personal story, but also a story…

This paper provides a critique of recent Bourdieusian research into the higher education (HE) choice process. Specifically, Ball et al. (2002) maintain that class-related differences in students' psycho-social dispositions in Years 12 and 13, the "landscape of choice", shape their intentions or "decisions" to participate in HE and their selection…

Why do we do what we do? Why is what we do important? What are the best practices to ensure that our "why" is accomplished? These are questions of philosophy--a topic of immense importance since the "why" behind the work influences everything about the "how" and "what" of daily affairs in the world of…

Students--and their best interests--are the focal point of curriculum reform in basic education in Hong Kong. Since 2001, Hong Kong has sought to reform basic education so as to enable every student to become "all-rounded." At a practical level, this has meant the cultivation of students' ethics and values, intellect, physical fitness,…

Thomas Hebert and Matthew T. McBee's (2007) recent study of gifted university students examines how an honors program can function as a community for social, intellectual, and psychological growth. In particular, they find that honors programs offer advantageous support for gifted students in navigating social isolation, in questioning traditional…

Situating herself on the cusp between life in her hometown of Newark, New Jersey, and her new world at Seton Hall University, Mellie Torres describes the painful awareness of a growing distance between herself, as the first to go to college, and her family. In so doing, she reveals the inherent losses of leaving home and the painful contrast…

Recognition of the promotion of self-reliance as a prevailing purpose of higher education in the United States can be found in many college and university mission statements. Student independence and self-determination are also long-standing staples of theories of student development. Returning home to live with mom and dad is not a goal that…

Before his freshmen year, the author thought he knew everything--about himself, about college and about the world. He anticipated brilliant and disheveled professors, who, heads in the clouds, wander to class between picturesque gothic towers fortifying quads of freshly cut grass. He pictured Frisbees and roommates, intramural sports and…