A tension exists on college and university campuses across America today concerning how to pursue liberal, rational, open learning and, at the same time, celebrate a spirit of academic community--in short, how to exercise free expression and maintain civility. In this article, the author begins with an exploration of the boundaries of free speech,…

In this article, Miguel Martinez-Saenz and Steven Schoonover, Jr. are putting higher education under the magnifying glass with the increasingly expected sphere of social life being justified in terms of market efficiency. Increasingly, colleges and universities now "sell" their "product" with a promise to enhance the earning…

No matter the college, a class in the principles of microeconomics is likely to cover the discipline's greatest hits. Opportunity cost? Check. Supply and demand? Ditto. The same goes for such topics as comparative advantage, elasticity, and market structures. But these touchstones of the curriculum may only modestly influence what a student…

Current social, racial, and economic conditions in the United States are viewed as creating opportunities to undermine democratic values. A historical consciousness that acknowledges different interpretations of the past is seen as a prerequisite for maintenance of democracy. (MSE)

Excerpts from a recent book discuss the role of liberal education in the social context of advancing technology. It is argued that increasingly, graduates should be prepared not as specialists but as individuals trained to learn in a changing world. Topics addressed include use of technology in human problem solving, the teacher's role, diversity,…

It is suggested that the American liberal arts college, more than any other institution, claims to be what Alasdair MacIntyre calls a "community within which civility and the intellectual and moral life is sustained." This view is discussed within the context of MacIntyre's philosophical framework. (MSE)

The future of pluralistic democracies depends not only on laws but on individuals within the societies. Different cultures bring different strengths and conceptions of self and community. By studying different cultures and discovering shared virtues, students can identify those contributing to high quality of life for human society. (MSE)

The ethos of a college or university is a belief system widely shared by faculty, students, administrators, and others. Colleges with an ethos of learning share three themes: (1) a holistic institutional philosophy of learning; (2) an involving campus culture; and (3) a climate encouraging free expression. A learning ethos must be cultivated…

Professional education poses compelling pedagogical challenges that can and should inform all sectors of education, including undergraduate liberal education. It is about developing pedagogies to link ideas, practices, and values under conditions of inherent uncertainty that necessitate not only judgment in order to act, but also cognizance of the…

The college liberal arts curriculum should help disengage students from their own cultural perspectives so they can more adequately think and argue about the past. Similarly, in studying how literary texts represent cultures, students need not "know" the culture but simply understand the statement they make. (MSE)