The Debate Continues: The Value of the Liberal Arts
I'll start with a link to this article: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/11/13/new-report-shows-colleges-how-bridge-gap-between-liberal-arts-and-work-force Few days go by that I don't see something in higher education news about the value of the liberal arts curriculum. As a professor in a school of liberal arts, these articles get my attention, but they basically revolve around these ideas: 1. Liberal arts majors are declining in numbers (i.e., the number of student majoring in liberal arts discipine, typically history and English); 2. This means something terrible (the end of civilization, critical thinking, higher education values, etc.); and 3. Employers still want liberal arts majors because of their "human" skills (better than soft skills, at least) and other attributes. My take: 1. A liberal arts major only has human skills if he/she cultivates them, which takes intentionality. You can read lots of great novels and still not have the sense to se