Peter Berkowitz, Hoover Institution Policy Review
December 26, 2006
December 22, 2006
December 18, 2006
Some reflections from a current student in the Basic Program of Liberal Education for Adults (Graham School of General Studies, University of Chicago).
December 11, 2006
The Moral Obligation to Be Intelligent: essay ca. 1915 by John Erskine, early central figure in what has come to be known as the "Great Books movement" in the U.S.
December 04, 2006
November 20, 2006
One day I'll get round to these books by Susan Wise Bauer:
The Well-Educated Mind
A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had
The Well-Trained Mind
A Guide to Classical Education at Home
The Well-Educated Mind
A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had
The Well-Trained Mind
A Guide to Classical Education at Home
What Should College Teach? Rountable discussion with distinguished professsors. MP3 from radioopensource.org .
November 07, 2006
November 02, 2006
Complete text of the 1965 version of Mortimer Adler's How to Read a Book (with Charles Van Doren). The Jesus thing and the annoying language pack installation prompt? No idea.
November 01, 2006
October 31, 2006
I feel as though I should have known about this essay before now:
The Lost Tools of Learning
by Dorothy Sayers
The Lost Tools of Learning
by Dorothy Sayers
October 25, 2006
October 19, 2006
October 18, 2006
Education for Mutual Understanding?
Les Reid Jul 21, 04
Humanists and the Religious Education review in Northern Ireland
"Can believers and non-believers find common ground? In N Ireland we are so used to the perennial squabble between two varieties of Christianity that other forms of disagreement (and reconciliation, we hope) tend to be overlooked."
Les Reid Jul 21, 04
Humanists and the Religious Education review in Northern Ireland
"Can believers and non-believers find common ground? In N Ireland we are so used to the perennial squabble between two varieties of Christianity that other forms of disagreement (and reconciliation, we hope) tend to be overlooked."
The End of Education
The Fragmentation of the American University
The Fragmentation of the American University
Commonweal
by Alasdair MacIntyre
"What should be the distinctive calling of the American Catholic university or college here and now? It should be to challenge its secular counterparts by recovering both for them and for itself a less fragmented conception of what an education beyond high school should be, by identifying what has gone badly wrong with even the best of secular universities. From a Catholic point of view the contemporary secular university is not at fault because it is not Catholic. It is at fault insofar as it is not a university."
by Alasdair MacIntyre
"What should be the distinctive calling of the American Catholic university or college here and now? It should be to challenge its secular counterparts by recovering both for them and for itself a less fragmented conception of what an education beyond high school should be, by identifying what has gone badly wrong with even the best of secular universities. From a Catholic point of view the contemporary secular university is not at fault because it is not Catholic. It is at fault insofar as it is not a university."
Sustainability: the Ultimate Liberal Art
October 20, 2006 issue of The Chronicle Review
By FRANK H.T. RHODES, president emeritus of Cornell University
"Ironic as it may now seem, the liberal arts of grammar, rhetoric, and logic were regarded by the ancient Greeks as practical and useful skills — so useful, in fact, that they were seen as the indispensable preparation for citizenship, for participation in a free society. And it was in Greece, the same Greece, that science was "invented." How doubly ironic, then, that in our science-driven age, we have so little place for the wisdom of Greece."
October 20, 2006 issue of The Chronicle Review
By FRANK H.T. RHODES, president emeritus of Cornell University
"Ironic as it may now seem, the liberal arts of grammar, rhetoric, and logic were regarded by the ancient Greeks as practical and useful skills — so useful, in fact, that they were seen as the indispensable preparation for citizenship, for participation in a free society. And it was in Greece, the same Greece, that science was "invented." How doubly ironic, then, that in our science-driven age, we have so little place for the wisdom of Greece."
October 17, 2006
October 16, 2006
September 21, 2006
September 14, 2006
"In The Closing of the American Mind, Allan Bloom said that the goal of a liberal education was to acquaint students with the real alternatives that have been offered to answer the question: "How should I live my life?" That question is as much aesthetic as political, as much religious as social or intellectual. At the deepest level, I suppose, we think of The New Criterion as a handmaiden in that never-ending task." -- Interview with Roger Kimball, co-editor and publisher of the New Criterion and publisher of Encounter Books
August 31, 2006
Famed First Amendment scholar Leonard W. Levy dies
By Ronald K.L. Collins
First Amendment Center scholar
08.30.06
Leonard Williams Levy, noted educator and American constitutional historian, died last week. His death, previously unreported, was confirmed by his friend and co-author, UCLA Law emeritus professor Kenneth L. Karst. Levy died at his home in Ashland, Ore.
. . .[His] Legacy of Suppression was commissioned by Robert Maynard Hutchins and the Fund for the Republic as a pamphlet; it was a revisionist interpretation of the speech and press clauses of the First Amendment. Levy argued, among other things, that freedom of the press as understood by the Framers meant merely the absence of prior restraints. Objecting to Levy's findings, Hutchins refused to print the work.
Years later, Levy noted that he published Legacy "to spite Hutchins and the Fund."
By Ronald K.L. Collins
First Amendment Center scholar
08.30.06
Leonard Williams Levy, noted educator and American constitutional historian, died last week. His death, previously unreported, was confirmed by his friend and co-author, UCLA Law emeritus professor Kenneth L. Karst. Levy died at his home in Ashland, Ore.
. . .[His] Legacy of Suppression was commissioned by Robert Maynard Hutchins and the Fund for the Republic as a pamphlet; it was a revisionist interpretation of the speech and press clauses of the First Amendment. Levy argued, among other things, that freedom of the press as understood by the Framers meant merely the absence of prior restraints. Objecting to Levy's findings, Hutchins refused to print the work.
Years later, Levy noted that he published Legacy "to spite Hutchins and the Fund."
August 24, 2006
A description of the project and examples of student work can be found at http://philosophicalstages.org/.
August 23, 2006
"Most [business or technology majors] are conservative, not in any intellectual sense, but in the sense (which they admit) of fearfully conforming to the political and economic status quo, to the attitudes that will be expected of them as compliant employees, and to the necessity of looking out for number one in the "Survivor" sweepstakes of the global economy. Such students are not likely to welcome the cognitive dissonance forced on them by humanities courses demanding Socratic self-questioning of their sociopolitical or religious dogmas."
Rethinking the Culture Wars — I
By Donald Lazere
Inside Higher Ed, Aug. 22 '06
Rethinking the Culture Wars — I
By Donald Lazere
Inside Higher Ed, Aug. 22 '06
August 22, 2006
"What happened to the precision, discrimination and critical humanism that we celebrate as the hallmarks of liberal education and the Western heritage?" asked the late Edward Said in the June '86 issue of The Nation. This in the context of terrorism, American foreign policy, consensus, and dissent.
"Universities may be churning out capable earners and consumers, says THOMAS HIBBS*, but they are failing to equip students for meaningful lives." (Dallas Morning News, 8/20/06)
* Philosopher and dean of the Honors College at Baylor University
Discussed:
-Harry Lewis' Excellence Without a Soul: How a Great University Forgot Education -Tom Wolfe's I Am Charlotte Simmons
-Sex!
-Animal House!
-Happy Days!
-Madeleine Levine's The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material -Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids
-Newman's The Idea of the University
. . .and more!
* Philosopher and dean of the Honors College at Baylor University
Discussed:
-Harry Lewis' Excellence Without a Soul: How a Great University Forgot Education -Tom Wolfe's I Am Charlotte Simmons
-Sex!
-Animal House!
-Happy Days!
-Madeleine Levine's The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material -Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids
-Newman's The Idea of the University
. . .and more!
Dallas Morning News piece in which former deep-sea diver recalls enrolling at Thomas Aquinas College* as "middle age was rapidly closing in."
* Catholic "great books" college in Santa Paula, CA modeled on the secular program at St. John's College. Check out their reading lists:
Aspen Times article on the recent controversy surrounding the proposed renaming of the Paepcke Auditorium at the Aspen Institute to Resnick Auditorium, in recognition of a $4 million donation to upgrade the facility from Stewart and Lynda Resnick.
And some letters to the editor regarding same.
July 20, 2006
A wealth of Walter Kaufmann material I've not seen available online until now, including the complete text of the out-of-print Without Guilt and Justice: From Decidophobia to Autonomy.
June 16, 2006
June 15, 2006
June 07, 2006
East Valley/ Scottsdale Tribune -- Fight for students goes old school
Fight for students goes old school
An elite charter prep school wants to bring its traditional approach to education -Socrates, uniforms and all - to Scottsdale. More than 200 Scottsdale families have already shown interest in Scottsdale Preparatory Academy, which could open in fall 2008, said Daniel Scoggin, chief executive officer of Great Hearts Preparatory Academies,...
Click here to read the rest of the article.
May 24, 2006
Great Books and The Great Book
Marc Fisher over at the Washington Post remarks on the academic freedoms at Patrick Henry. Can a school study the scripture as well as Aristotle and what weight should be given to each text? Does having a statement of faith mean that you can’t learn and grow from the truths of non-biblical texts? (via scriptoriumdaily)
May 08, 2006
Sven Birkerts reviews The Book of Lost Books: An Incomplete History of All the Great Books You'll Never Read, By Stuart Kelly. (Boston Globe)
"Stories and legends are the meat of Kelly's book. Take the case of Aeschylus and the Ptolemys. It was Ptolemy I who traveled the known world with Alexander the Great, and later ruled Egypt, building there the monumental Alexandrian library. His grandson, Ptolemy III, devoted to the great institution, discovered 'an anomaly of unthinkable proportions' -- the lack of a complete text of the master Greek dramatist. The only extant version, in scrolls, was in Athens, so Ptolemy III arranged to borrow the text for copying purposes, leaving as collateral the staggering sum of 15 talents. A small amount to sacrifice, though, for what was known to be 'a unicum, a nonpareil, a one and only.'"
"Stories and legends are the meat of Kelly's book. Take the case of Aeschylus and the Ptolemys. It was Ptolemy I who traveled the known world with Alexander the Great, and later ruled Egypt, building there the monumental Alexandrian library. His grandson, Ptolemy III, devoted to the great institution, discovered 'an anomaly of unthinkable proportions' -- the lack of a complete text of the master Greek dramatist. The only extant version, in scrolls, was in Athens, so Ptolemy III arranged to borrow the text for copying purposes, leaving as collateral the staggering sum of 15 talents. A small amount to sacrifice, though, for what was known to be 'a unicum, a nonpareil, a one and only.'"
April 21, 2006
You have to love a page that begins "You may never have heard the name of the World's Smartest Man, Richard McKeon."
And, further: "To the best of my knowledge, he is the smartest man in known history. For a rough approximation of his brilliance, think of ArIstotle [sic], about 2,000 years SMARTER [sic]."
Wiki begins their entry with the rather more restrained "McKeon is a pivotal but neglected figure in 20th Century American Philosophy. In a career which spanned seven decades, he published 158 articles and 11 books. He received most of the honours possible for an American philosopher, including being given an invitation to deliver the Paul Carus Lectures in 1969."
One more about him.
And, further: "To the best of my knowledge, he is the smartest man in known history. For a rough approximation of his brilliance, think of ArIstotle [sic], about 2,000 years SMARTER [sic]."
Wiki begins their entry with the rather more restrained "McKeon is a pivotal but neglected figure in 20th Century American Philosophy. In a career which spanned seven decades, he published 158 articles and 11 books. He received most of the honours possible for an American philosopher, including being given an invitation to deliver the Paul Carus Lectures in 1969."
One more about him.
March 22, 2006
The Trivium
Chapter One (pdf) of a book titled The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric, by Sister Miriam Joseph. Originally published in the 1930s, an updated edition appeared in 2002, reformatted with extensive notes, references, and biographical information.
"Sister Miriam Joseph, the author, wrote the book from a strong academic perspective. Holding degrees from Saint Mary’s College in Indiana, University of Notre Dame, and Columbia University, Sister spent her life supporting her belief that women could be fine journalists and that more quality writers with a Christian and Catholic faith would help to address the ills of society. When she began teaching as an English professor at Saint Mary’s in 1931, she was assigned the courses on rhetoric, grammar, and composition. In 1935 after hearing Mortimer Adler speak, Sister Miriam Joseph was asked to "revive the united Trivium again in the freshman class." After studying closely with Mortimer Adler for several months, Sister returned to Saint Mary’s to begin putting together the text, The Trivium in College Composition and Reading, to be used in her class, a required course for all freshmen." (via homeschoolchristian.com)
"Sister Miriam Joseph, the author, wrote the book from a strong academic perspective. Holding degrees from Saint Mary’s College in Indiana, University of Notre Dame, and Columbia University, Sister spent her life supporting her belief that women could be fine journalists and that more quality writers with a Christian and Catholic faith would help to address the ills of society. When she began teaching as an English professor at Saint Mary’s in 1931, she was assigned the courses on rhetoric, grammar, and composition. In 1935 after hearing Mortimer Adler speak, Sister Miriam Joseph was asked to "revive the united Trivium again in the freshman class." After studying closely with Mortimer Adler for several months, Sister returned to Saint Mary’s to begin putting together the text, The Trivium in College Composition and Reading, to be used in her class, a required course for all freshmen." (via homeschoolchristian.com)
March 03, 2006
Ancient Wisdom from Dead White Males
"We believe that the reduction of the citizen to an object of propaganda, private and public, is one of the greatest dangers to democracy. A prevalent notion is that the great mass of the people cannot understand and cannot form an independent judgment upon any matter; they cannot be educated, in the sense of developing their intellectual powers, but they can be bamboozled. The reiteration of slogans, the distortion of the news, the great storm of propaganda that beats upon the citizen twenty-four hours a day all his life long mean either that democracy must fall prey to the loudest and most persistent propagandists or that the people must save themselves by strengthening their minds so that they can appraise the issues for themselves."
From the preface of "The Great Conversation", book one of "Great Books of the Western World," edited by Robert M. Hutchins and Mortimer J. Adler - December 1, 1951. (via Curmudgeon)
From the preface of "The Great Conversation", book one of "Great Books of the Western World," edited by Robert M. Hutchins and Mortimer J. Adler - December 1, 1951. (via Curmudgeon)
February 13, 2006
A Q&A With Darrin M. McMahon
...author of Happiness: A History
"In the 1990s, Darrin M. McMahon was teaching a "Great Books" course
at Columbia University ("from Plato to NATO," he calls it), and one
subject - happiness - 'was leaping off the page in all these major
texts'. . . .
"Times: Why did the ancient Greeks believe that you had to be dead if
you wanted to call yourself happy?"
February 03, 2006
Four Things Meme
Matt tagged me.
Four jobs I've had:
1. paper boy
2. fast food jockey
3. selling home stereo speakers out of a white van by flagging down other motorists
4. postproduction audio engineer for small broadcast TV studio
Four movies I can watch over and over:
1. Annie Hall
2. The Godfather
3. Barfly
4. Brazil
Four places I've lived:
1. Kansas City, MO
2. San Diego, CA
3. Pasadena, CA
4. Big Sandy, TX
Four TV shows I love:
1. The Sopranos
2. The Larry Sanders Show
3. The Office (BBC)
4. Home Movies
Four places I've vacationed:
1. Vail, CO
2. Jerusalem
3. Amman, Jordan
4. Some sugary white beach in Florida when I was a boy
Four of my favorite dishes:
1. potato leek soup
2. yer good ol' pepperoni pie
3. spicy Thai dishes
4. turkey 'n mashed taters
Four sites I visit daily:
1. news.google.com
2. kottke.org
3. blogger.com
4. bookfinder.com
Five places I would rather be right now:
1. in a bar
2. in the sack
3. somewhere far, far, away from computers with like babbling brooks and hiking trails and whatnot
4. on stage playing my drums
5. NYC
Four jobs I've had:
1. paper boy
2. fast food jockey
3. selling home stereo speakers out of a white van by flagging down other motorists
4. postproduction audio engineer for small broadcast TV studio
Four movies I can watch over and over:
1. Annie Hall
2. The Godfather
3. Barfly
4. Brazil
Four places I've lived:
1. Kansas City, MO
2. San Diego, CA
3. Pasadena, CA
4. Big Sandy, TX
Four TV shows I love:
1. The Sopranos
2. The Larry Sanders Show
3. The Office (BBC)
4. Home Movies
Four places I've vacationed:
1. Vail, CO
2. Jerusalem
3. Amman, Jordan
4. Some sugary white beach in Florida when I was a boy
Four of my favorite dishes:
1. potato leek soup
2. yer good ol' pepperoni pie
3. spicy Thai dishes
4. turkey 'n mashed taters
Four sites I visit daily:
1. news.google.com
2. kottke.org
3. blogger.com
4. bookfinder.com
Five places I would rather be right now:
1. in a bar
2. in the sack
3. somewhere far, far, away from computers with like babbling brooks and hiking trails and whatnot
4. on stage playing my drums
5. NYC
I tag . . . wait I don't know any more bloggers.
January 31, 2006
Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts Launches Major National Study
CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind., Jan. 30 (AScribe Newswire) -- The Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts at Wabash College announces the launch of the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education. This four-year, multi-million dollar program is one of the most comprehensive national studies of the effects of American higher education. The study will focus on the impact of liberal arts education, exploring how students develop during their college years and how key educational experiences promote this development.
January 25, 2006
NITLE
"NITLE is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting liberal education. We provide opportunities for teachers in liberal arts contexts to create transformative learning experiences for and with their students by deploying emerging technologies in innovative, effective, and sustainable ways.
"Our mission is to catalyze innovative teaching to enrich and advance liberal education in the digital age."
"Our mission is to catalyze innovative teaching to enrich and advance liberal education in the digital age."
“Freedom, Piety, and the Perpetuation of Our Institutions”
Keynote Address: American Academy of Liberal Education Annual Meeting
By Christopher B. Nelson, President,
St. John’s College i n Annapolis , MD
June 28, 2004
By Christopher B. Nelson, President,
St. John’s College i n Annapolis , MD
June 28, 2004
January 24, 2006
The American Academy for Liberal Education
The American Academy for Liberal Education is a national organization dedicated to strengthening and promoting liberal education through accreditation and research.
January 23, 2006
Eva Brann: Exploring Great Books
2005 National Humanities Medalist Eva Brann calls herself a latecomer to St. John's College and its great books program. "I've been here only forty-eight years," she says, laughing.
January 22, 2006
Bonanza for liberal arts
Christopher Pearson: Bonanza for liberal arts
Have your say, email The Forum theforum@theaustralian.com.au
January 21, 2006
LAST week's column was a series of bleak reflections on the declining levels of literacy in Australian schools and universities. This column, in contrast, is about some welcome developments in tertiary education - the opening for business of Campion College in Sydney and its new degree course in the liberal arts.
Have your say, email The Forum theforum@theaustralian.com.au
January 21, 2006
LAST week's column was a series of bleak reflections on the declining levels of literacy in Australian schools and universities. This column, in contrast, is about some welcome developments in tertiary education - the opening for business of Campion College in Sydney and its new degree course in the liberal arts.
A Small Niche for Great Books
An Armenian Studies professor's lonely accomplishment in general education
Published On Friday, January 20, 2006 12:01 AM [ thecrimson.com]
Published On Friday, January 20, 2006 12:01 AM [ thecrimson.com]
January 19, 2006
January 17, 2006
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