This study focuses on the place and role of the humanities, especially the liberal arts in emerging economies which rely vastly on the development of national skills and expertise. It is based on one example of a publicly funded university in Oman where the urgency of creating a skilled workforce has led to an exercise in aligning higher education…

The problem of the survival of foreign language study as it arises in small, four-year liberal arts colleges is discussed, taking as examples Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore. (RM)

The author argues that the undergraduate German major must be seen as a liberal arts major and that treating it as such requires a general shift in emphasis from form to content and from training to education. (PP)

ONE OF THE MAIN AIMS OF THE CONFERENCE ON CRITICAL LANGUAGES HELD AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON APRIL 6-7, 1965, WAS TO FIND A CONSENSUS OF OPINION AMONG LINGUISTS, LANGUAGE TEACHERS, AND COLLEGE ADMINISTRATORS ON THE PROBLEMS OF INTRODUCING CRITICAL OR NEGLECTED LANGUAGES INTO THE CURRICULUM OF SMALL, LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES. THE CONFERENCE WAS…

The study of foreign languages in the liberal arts curriculum is defended. Foreign languages reveal the rules characterizing cognitive human activities; they help us to understand both common bonds of humanity and varieties of human behavior. Language study should be central to humanities study. (CHK)

The goals of intercultural education inherently involve values: development of a conceptual framework of how peoples interact, developing an in-depth knowledge of at least one other culture and language, and developing an educated imagination. (MSE)

What is wrong in the American parochialism about foreign languages is the assumption that language acquisition is a cosmetic gain, without any immediate or forseeable practical use. Languages will only be learned effectively when Americans learn that they can be used in getting tasks accomplished. (MSE)

The goals and approaches of Chinese curricula in large institutions vary from the preparation of students to do research in ancient government documents to the insistence on a mastery of spoken Mandarin adequate for functioning in a modern Chinese society. No institution does it all, but the limited program in a small college, free from the…