Quick Take: Liberal Education in the News
The liberal arts are existentially important. What should elite universities do about it?
Last Tuesday Ezekiel J. Emmanuel (someone with whom I frequently disagree), wrote an excellent piece in the New York Times (a paper which I frequently criticize). The title was “The Deficiencies of a Liberal Education,” and, in it, he essentially calls out higher education (especially elite higher education) for a problem that’s been increasingly obvious over the past ten years or so: We’ve clearly stopped teaching students how to think critically, with nuance, or how to debate, dialogue, or otherwise engage with those with whom they disagree. Without providing the context, I’d guess that virtually anyone (on virtually any side of the political spectrum) could agree with this brutal observation:
Students spouting ideological catchphrases have revealed their moral obliviousness and the deficiency of their educations. But the deeper problem is not them. It is what they are being taught — or, more specifically, what they are not being taught.
It’s the follow-up, though, that really hit a bit too close to home for me:
Certainly, not all students wear these moral blinders. But the fact that many students do and that they are at some of the nation’s leading colleges and universities should be a cause for profound concern across higher education.
Emmanuel is right. We have failed, are failing, and have no strategy in place to succeed at teaching students the basic, most vital skills that a liberal education is meant to instill: the ability to think critically, carefully, and for one’s self; the willingness to engage charitably with those who disagree; the wisdom to know when, where, and how to engage publicly in dialogue that’s vital to the fabric of our society.
I recently wrote a piece that touches on some of the challenges that face liberal arts institutions. But let me piggyback on Emmanuel’s piece (which you should read in full), to zoom in on what I think is the central reason why we are failing the elite corners of higher education: we have lost sight of the fact that the primary reason we exist is to educate the heart, mind, and soul of the next generation.
There are many reasons for this (e.g. a hyper-narrow focus on disciplinary research, status anxiety, greed, our own ideological blindness, etc). But the evidence — as Emmanuel points out — is becoming clearer and clearer. If the latest short-lived “slacktivist” movement or illiberal calls for academic censorship cases don’t convince you, just look at the state of our polarized politics — or the quality of politicians we’re empowering — or the depth of the social discourse in general. Gone are the days of a respectful “national conversation,” and, as media companies struggle to compete with the demands of an increasingly attention-deficient populace, it’s not even clear any of us would have anything much of value to add.
Let me be clear: Mine is not an indictment of my students, or the rising generation of college students more broadly. The students I teach are ambitious, kind, and insanely intelligent. To get into a university like Notre Dame (or Princeton or Harvard or the University of Minnesota) they have to be. But I am seeing an increasingly troubling lack of focus at institutions of higher education, and a failure to even attempt to cultivate their mind, heart, or soul (their character), which has long been the primary reason such institutions exist.
Yes, it’s difficult to do this in a pluralistic society. Yes, it’s difficult to do this in the age of social media (with the constant threats that brings along). Yes, it’s difficult to do this when we’ve adopted increasingly corporate models of governance that take student perceptions of comfort and entertainment as the key metrics of success.
But if we give up on this vision the consequences are catastrophic. For one thing, students will find this sort of cultivation somewhere. We are purpose-driven, meaning-making animals. But higher ed has historically been, and for the moment remains, the biggest, most powerful cultural tool we have in the battle for civic, cultural, and social virtue. With the vacuum that’s opening up, we’re setting the stage for a bizarre, unpredictable future.
-pb
Okay, that was bleak. But there’s hope! I see so many good things happening in my classrooms, and here are some photos from a recent trip where I found the liberal arts very much alive (even if they’re a big underground at the moment).