Liberal Arts : The Necessity Of Liberal Arts

Critical examination of the four liberal arts breadth areas, in their natural state, demonstrate that each area of study brings value and purpose to life. It is important to focus on developing weaknesses to gain fulfillment while using strengths to help others succeed.

Higher education in modern day America has become a debated topic, with some saying that it is not worth it due to the debt it leaves upon leaving, and some saying that it opens opportunities that surpass the results of obtaining one. A resulting view from this conflict is that certain forms of education aren’t as beneficial as others. A primary example of one of these less valuable educations is the study of Liberal Arts. Author Sanford J. Ungar discredits this view in his article The New Liberal Arts where he discusses the many misconceptions that have come to form this interpretation. To convince the reader of these misunderstandings, Ungar uses the appeals of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, with heavy appeal to logic (Logos) over the other two. Each misconception uses and focuses on more of one appeal than others, and by doing this, he is very successful in influencing the reader into considering that these misunderstandings are present.

In an essay from the 1998 Chronicle of Higher Education titled, “The Liberal Arts in the Age of Info-Glut,” written by Todd Gitlin, the author targets College and University faculty members and administrators when advocating for a greater presence of liberal art classes as he directly states, “when information piles up-higgledy piggledy--when information becomes the noise of our culture--the need to teach the lessons of the liberal arts is urgent. Students need ‘chaff detectors.’’’ The author develops this argument by first identifying the toxic relationship that students have with the mass media followed by a description of the positive effects that an increase in liberal art classes would have on students.

The essay “A New Liberal Arts,” which was written by Sanford Ungar, first appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education on March 5, 2010. In his essay, Ungar uses many different rhetorical strategies to convince his reader that a degree in the liberal arts is not a lost cause but can actually be very beneficial and lead to success. In Ungar’s opinion, there are many wrong ideas and misunderstandings about the usefulness of a degree in the liberal arts. In the essay there are seven specific misperceptions that he addresses specifically. By listing out these misperceptions, Ungar is addressing them individually in order to give each one proper attention. He offers explanations to why people may think these things and why he believes that they are incorrect. Ungar’s use of style, format, and emotional and logical arguments help him to create a persuasive and influential essay for his audience and convince them to agree with his opinion.

Before reading the Andrew Delbanco book, College: What it Was, Is, and Should Be, my view of Liberal Arts education was positive. A Liberal Arts education consists of a curriculum based in the sciences and humanities while maintaining the freedom to pursue interdisciplinary study. Studying at a university with such a curriculum and freedom can be compared to an all-you-can-eat buffet; the student attending would not need to commit to a single area of study, trapped in confined course-load in one building on campus. Rather, that person could dish a little bit of business, with a side of art history, and a healthy helping of biology onto their academic tray and consume to their heart’s content, scraping the sides of the university in order to

Ungar believes that the new Liberal Arts program is powerful because it develops character, lifelong learning, and values. He further explains that creating confidence and developing positive patterns is essential to life. He believes that, “Through immersion in liberal arts, students learn not just to make a living, but also to live a life rich in values and character”.On the other hand, Gitlin believes that learning from history ensures common ground and helps people socially accept their lives as well as those of others. He states that “Students need “chaff detectors.”They need some orientation to philosophy, history, language, literature, music and the arts that have lasted more than 15 minutes”. He does agree with Ungar that Liberal

To discuss the value of liberal education, there should be a mutual understanding that investing in college means to invest in oneself. Furthermore, while some consider this investment to be a critical stepping stone to success, others dismiss it, explaining that school simply cannot prepare someone for the “real world.” Sanford J. Ungar and Robert Reich explore both of these subjective values in their essays “The New Liberal Arts” and “College is a Ludicrous Waste of Money.” Ungar, the president of Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland, discusses why a liberal education should be sought after; he does so by introducing common misconceptions about liberal arts and, using argumentative persuasion, proves their insignificance. On the other hand, Reich, the former secretary of labor, argues against the conventional belief of college being the only road to financial wellbeing; rather, he explains why a two-year education may better accommodate many college students, especially those in need of immediate work or those that simply cannot afford a four-year education. In all, although both Reich and Ungar generally discuss liberal education, their perspectives differ when it comes to its practicality in the current economy. Also, to express their different views about liberal arts, the authors use contrasting tones to present their ideas to different intended audiences.

Sanford J. Ungar, a journalist and president of Goucher College, is one of the faculty members actively trying to disprove the accusations against liberal arts colleges and educations. In his February 2010 article from the academic journal The Chronicle of Higher Education, Ungar gives readers multiple examples of common misunderstandings about liberal arts and then informs them why those examples are incorrect. Appropriately titled, Ungar’s “7 Major Misperceptions About the Liberal Arts” is an easy “go to” guide when a person wants to learn more about liberal arts. These readers, mainly students and parents looking toward a higher degree of education, can read Ungar’s essay and find new knowledge about the liberal arts discipline.

Me and my classmates were in English class and the teacher gave us article to read title "Why We Need the Liberal Arts" by Joseph R. Urgo from The Baltimore sun. This article was about how our nation brightest nation students, contemplating the dedication of four years to the highest level of cognitive and how the student are being told not to do four years of college that is useful in the the world by there parents and elder people. Also why it is so important to use the liberal arts in the world.

The third area is BPI’s understanding of the importance of a liberal arts education over vocational training. Lagemann points out that there is a temptation to forgo a liberal arts education over vocational training due to the cost and commitment required for completion. That being said, a liberal arts education can provide fundamental values necessary in any employment setting with the added value of self-actualization and a foundation for personal purpose.

In James V, Schall’s A Students Guide to Liberal Learning, he addresses the idea and importance of an authentic liberal arts education. Schall inquires about books and scholars of which centralize around the idea of a liberal education and of which has shaped our society. Schall examines the works of several authors who are in his opinion the guides to learning, and his essay serves as a fundamental building block for the creation of a “Personal Library”.

“It will actually be within your power to experience a crowded, hot, slow, consumer-hell type situation as not only meaningful, but sacred, on fire with the same force that made the stars: love, fellowship, the mystical oneness of all things deep down.” Spoken by David Foster Wallace at the 2005 Kenyon graduation ceremony. The purpose of his speech was to validate how important a liberal arts education is and how it will affect the rest of their lives.

Determining what students should be taught is not a task for one person but many topics are found to be intriguing and making the decision is obvious. In examination of three articles found in The Informed Argument by Robert K. Miller; Rick Livingston “The Humanities for Cocktail Parties and Beyond” it is evident that while humanities are important to teach to students, there is a better way to give them this information to make it more useful to the real world. Stanley N. Katz “Liberal Education on the Ropes” shows just how important liberal arts are to students when choosing a career. Ronald Takaki “An Education and Culturally Literate Person Must Study America's Multicultural Reality” gives great reasoning of why being well informed of different cultures as a student can change the way society can function well together. Breaking

A professor in English at the University of Virginia, Mark Edmundson, has noticed his students are eerily lukewarm in his classes. The students seek validation and entertainment in topics not meant for enjoyment. In his essay “On the Uses of a Liberal Education: 1. As Lite Entertainment for Bored College Students” Edmundson ponders why this is. According to Edmundson, consumer culture damages the effectiveness of a college education which challenges and prepares a student to deal with complexity, replacing that education with flattery and entertainment.

In a special Spokesman-Review Opinion piece, author and Washington State poet laureate (“WA Poet Laureate.” Humanities Washington) and teacher at Gonzaga University Tod Marshall wrote a compelling piece titled “Arts education integral to learning” (Arts education, Marshall). Marshall makes a simple claim addressing the often undersold importance of the arts education. The main point conveyed in this opinion is that art and the subjective side of study builds more practical skills than the objective study. As a STEM student myself I find his analysis interesting. My specialties are in Cyber Security a technical field that requires a unique thought process. Accordingly, I find Marshall’s position quite compelling however pointing to the mental