Fannie and Alan Leslie Center for the Humanities at Dartmouth College

The Liberal Education - Dead or Alive?

The Humanities, Edzell Castle

The intellectual and cultural leaders who participate in this conference will discuss the state of the liberal education today. Topics may include the meaning and history of the "liberal education" as well as its rationales, its creative possibilities, its viability in the 21st century, and its material and institutional support in US and elsewhere.Can the liberal education remain a defining ideal of US higher education, not merely in the liberal arts college, but in leading research universities as well? How are commitments to the liberal education fulfilled, in conjunction with, or as opposed to, academic and professional specialization? How can the liberal education maintain its viability in the face of significant ideological challenges articulated both within the academy in the broader culture, for example as a critique of "secularism?" Is "liberally educated" practically synonymous with "educated," or are there competing models of what it means to be an educated person? How is the liberal education currently perceived in the public and political sphere, both inside and outside the US?

Supported by the Fannie and Alan Leslie Fund.