This article profiles A.C. Grayling, a British intellectual who pioneers a new model for college. In his role as founder of the New College of the Humanities, Britain's newest and most controversial institution of higher education, A.C. Grayling could have chosen among several titles. The senior academic officer at most English higher-education…

Professional architectural education is overwhelmingly predicated on skills development. Consequently, the humanities are given short shrift. Students overburdened with an abundance of practical tasks cannot be expected to do much beyond completing studio project work with any degree of depth. Such splitting has a negative outcome: at the end of…

Excerpts from "Five Reports on Undergraduate Education" are presented. Advice on what college teaching should be is the focus. 70 references. (MLW)

Addresses the epistemological questions that undergird curriculum debates in higher education over the value and vitality of a canon, a need for intellectual and cultural homogeneity, and the articulation of norms for scholarly inquiry. Challenges general education to communicate the value-ladenness of allegedly objective curricula, events, and…

The decline in the instruction of "close reading" and in interest in the power of language is to blame for students' frustration with and lack of interest in literature. Students want to believe in literature and language but don't know how. (MSE)

Traces the roots of the concepts of the humanities and liberal arts education to the ancient Greeks, describing how their customs, language, philosophy, and literature have contributed to current concepts of education. Suggests that the Greek idea of education stressed the arts and mathematics but was opposed to all professionalism. (MAB)

West Chester State College's pilot project to improve writing builds on writing skills established in the freshman English courses and extends these skills through writing practice and instruction in the humanities and other disciplines. Obstacles encountered in developing the program, program design, instructional techniques, and spinoff projects…

Teachers for a Democratic Culture, a newly formed organization of humanities scholars seeking to broaden the undergraduate curriculum, is challenging criticism of scholarship and college teaching. Members maintain that such issues as political correctness and free speech on campus have been misrepresented and unfairly attacked by conservative…

When the introductory philosophy course evokes cognitive dissonance over philsophical problems in which students are already interested, it can help develop students' skills in reasoning and assessing arguments. This kind of course should play a key role in the undergraduate curriculum. (MSE)

The English version of a Polish journal on higher education is presented. Included are 19 articles on the problems and experiences of these institutions, three articles on teacher's workshops, and three review articles. Titles and authors include: "Polish Science in 1973-1986" (Benon Miskiewicz); "The Humanism of the Contemporary…

A discussion of the development of a team-taught course on World War II focuses on the students' reception of various aspects of course content, especially moral values and psychological dimensions, and the use of war-related poetry and prose in the syllabus. (MSE)

Essays on the role of religion in higher education include: "Should God Get Tenure?" (David W. Gill); "On Being a Professor: The Case of Socrates" (Bruce R. Reichenbach); "Academic Excellence: Cliche or Humanizing Vision?" (Merold Westphal); "Religion, Science, and the Humanities in the Liberal Arts Curriculum" (H. Newton Maloney); "Tolstoy and…

It is one thing to lament the financial pressures put on universities, quite another to face up to the poverty of resources for thinking about what universities should do when they purport to offer a liberal education. In "Powers of the Mind", former University of Chicago dean Donald N. Levine enriches those resources by proposing fresh…

Issues in curriculum and research that will arise during a period of change in higher education are discussed, including course content, trends toward vocational education, relationships with industry, technological change, scientific research, research support, academic freedom, the humanities, and governance and institutional management. (MSE)

The 11 essays in this volume are organized around several themes related to the humanities and higher education. Papers discuss demographics and funding needs; classroom climate; books, libraries, and reading; educational theory; and educational institutions. Essays include: "Change in the Humanities and Higher Education" (Alvin Kernan);…