The author believes there are three conceptual and somatic (from the Greek, meaning "of the body") changes that could be made in order to better educate the student body and, thereby, help sustain the intellectual and social relevance of the liberal arts as a program of study. First, the commitment to what Sir Ken Robinson has called "the…

In this article, the author shares his experiences in his undergraduate years and how he was influenced by his professors regarding human history. The author believes that social change very often arose from encounters with strangers who possessed some obviously superior skill or knowledge that locals could borrow and adjust to their own use. His…

In this article, the author suggests that college educators need to do more than tell students how to expand upon their careerist reasons for going to college; they also need to help them "feel" the value of that expansion. The author recognizes that this is part of the motivation for proposed structural changes to undergraduate education, such as…

As the leader of the nation's only campus dedicated exclusively to early college, the author heads an institution that ensures students graduate sooner than the national average. As an academic who pursued her graduate work at Oxford University--an institution that confers most of its undergraduate degrees in three years--the author has had direct…

Most American students enter college at a time when they are still forging their identities and seeking a place in the world. Yet many or most of today's students are increasingly dependent on their parents and stay more firmly connected to previous support networks via the "electronic tether" than did their predecessors. In this article, the…

This paper presents a class activity which aims to help students prepare both for the intellectual and the interpersonal work. On the first day of class, students are asked to read and reflect upon "Listening to Understand." Subsequently, they are then asked to discuss their responses in a small group and then later on in a large group discussion,…

While university students are adept at acquiring knowledge, they are less and less skilled in critical thinking, and nearly illiterate in enlarged understanding, or contextual thinking. Higher education trains students to merely assume responsibility for tasks, not think about the larger realities of which they are a part. (MSE)

Introduces the articles in the theme issue, exploring their contribution to the understanding of college students' stages of intellectual development and how college instruction should respond. (EV)

The African is confronted with a number of challenges to intellectual development: colonial nonrecognition of other cultures; establishment of a non-Western self in the context of Western ideas and schooling; Eurocentrism; explosion of knowledge; and personal commitment in the face of societal expectations. Accomplishments of several African…

Where does course content fit into the context of modern theories and practices of a liberal arts education? Two camps within the academic community are described: those who feel responsible for the personal growth of their students and those who see themselves as dispensers of information. (LBH)

The author defends and clarifies a previous assertion that college faculty may need to be taught to take advantage of classroom opportunities to make insights and awareness clear to their students. (MSE)

Wingspread Conference (October 1984) presentations are given: "Pilgrims and Immigrants: Liberal Learning in Today's World" (Frank F. Wong); "How Can One Know America, Who Only America Knows?" (Robert L. Nichols); "Internationalizing the Curriculum in the Natural Sciences" (Jack L. Carter); "International Perspectives on Campus" (Franklin M.…

Introduces William Perry's work on the stages of intellectual and ethical development and asserts the importance of professors linking students' intellectual development with their pedagogy. (EV)

Asserts that liberal education has the promotion of intellectual development as a primary goal, and that to encourage intellectual progress, a context of intellectual freedom is necessary. Offers a set of principles of academic freedom that it suggests are foundational to the promotion of intellectual development. (EV)

General education programs need not be circuitous or formless. They should: stress development of the intellect; focus on problem-solving skills; integrate general objectives and professional competencies; and foster interdisciplinary studies. (MSE)