Liberal Studies Commons^™

Agls And General Education - Reflections By The President, A. J. Carlson

Perspectives (1969-1979)

The Association for General and Liberal Studies serves as "a forum for professional people concerned with undergraduate general and liberal education in each of the several divisions of the curriculum." At least, that is what the Bylaws indicate. But as I talk to people about the organization several more specific questions keep emerging: " What exactly is AGLS anyway?" "Why should I spend $10 a year to support AGLS?" " What is Interdisciplinary Perspectives?" These questions suggest that the Association has as its first problem - to use the current jargon - a very large "communication gap."

The Woof And The Warp, S. R. Wiersteiner

Perspectives (1969-1979)

What is the mission of the university: To prepare for life, or to prepare for a career? If one follows the secular press and pursues the various journals concerned with higher education, one is struck with the " either/or" nature of the articles and comments concerning the goal of a university. But should it be an " either/or" question? Can the preparation for life's work be divorced from the preparation to enjoy that life to its fullest? The whole cloth is not made from only the woof, it must also include the warp.

The Exploratory Year: A New Approach To The Four-Year Experience At Whittier College, Michael J. Mcbride

Perspectives (1969-1979)

Most students begin college with little idea about the field of study they will eventually pursue. Some have made a decision in this area , but often have only a vague notion of what is implied in such a decision. Yet, in both cases, the general pattern of liberal arts colleges is to put such students into a general studies program for two years consisting of required or strongly recommended courses. While students may gain a broad educational background, those with little idea about their future area of concentration must base a decision regarding the " major" on a brief …

Innovative Adult General Education: The Detroit Experiment, David W. Hartman, Richard T. Bohan, Otto Feinstein, Sandra Loehr, Linda Michalowski, F. Richard Place

Perspectives (1969-1979)

Increasingly, universities have confronted a changing population of undergraduate students. They find themselves under considerable scrutiny, from legislators, taxpayers and potential students. Concurrently, the impetus to re-appraise the mission of undergraduate education, so as to insure its accommodation in our changing society, is in need of refocusing. The issue of who comes to the university, and for what end, stands foresquare in the face of faculties, administrators and elected guardians of higher education, now more than ever before. Again we are charged with providing curricula and format that are relevant enough to retain the attention of today's new student, that …

Philosophy As Humanistic Model, Gary R. Sudano

Perspectives (1969-1979)

Science and philosophy both reach "straight into experience and arrange it with new meaning."² The novice in philosophy is struck by its attempts to provide answers to the essential questions of life. Indeed, he often becomes impatient with philosophical theories which seem to backtrack and are analytic rather than speculative, and philosophy instructors are careful to balance critical activities with answer-generating activities in the classroom. In most cases the student tends to pass lightly over the former in order to get to the meat of the latter. This is the first at traction of philosophy for students, if there …

Improving Humanities Education: Philosophy And Design, Ronald W. Carstens

Perspectives (1969-1979)

Both the Hebrew notion of the fall and the Greek concept of hubris have taught us that human endeavors are essentially acts of pride and possibly acts of arrogance. I suppose that a paper entitled "Improving Humanities Education" would be judged to be as at least impertinent in as much as it suggests that the teaching of the humanities can or ought to be improved. But I believe it is possible to improve the way that body of human intellectual and artistic study of man as man we call the humanities is addressed and actualized in the formal process of …

The Human Experience, Dimensions Of Love: An Experiment In Interdisciplinary Studies, Patricia Ernenwein Zevin, Gene Sager, Brenda Montiel

Perspectives (1969-1979)

Dedicated to the support of interdisciplinary studies as intellectually sound and academically necessary, this paper is an expanded version of the presentation made by the authors during the 17th Annual Conference of the Association of General and Liberal Studies (October 27-29, 1977, Ogden, Utah). The subject of the conference, "General Education: Diversity by Design," seemed to the Interdisciplinary Studies team at Palomar College (including, in addition to the authors, Donna Tryon, Art, Richard Peacock, Film, and Don Piche, Philosophy) to be particularly appropriate to efforts there to establish a series of interdisciplinary courses in a thematic, team-taught design focusing on …

Convention Report: Focusing On General Education At Chicago Aahe, Peyton Richter

Perspectives (1969-1979)

The spotlight during discussions of general education at the AAHE 1978 National Conference on Higher Education in Chicago (March 19-22) played back and forth upon Harvard's Dean Henry Rosovsky and the Harvard Report on the Core Curriculum. A modest but confident pragmatist, Rosovsky, as a panelist at a major session of the conference, began by reminding us that welcoming college graduates each year to the company of educated men and women makes sense only if we know what an educated person is. He and his committee, after much discussion and deliberation, had decided that an educated person: (1) must be …

Opinion Writing For Publication, Richard P. Bailey

Perspectives (1969-1979)

So, when the "writing crisis" hit the pedagogical fan, I was ready with an "innovative" method (so dear to the hearts of educators) for teaching writing. What had lurked in my mind for years pushed its way from subconscious to conscious - i.e ., the only completely satisfying reward for good writing is publication. Students who are given a better reason for writing than the bored approval of a graduate student and/or an arbitrary grade by a young instructor marking papers and time until a section of English Lit. 5,000 opens - students with appetites whetted by the dream of …

Interdisciplinary Perspectives Vol. 9 No. 1

Perspectives (1969-1979)

No abstract provided.

The Editor's Page, George F. Estey

Perspectives (1969-1979)

Editor's Page from Interdisciplinary Perspectives Vol. 8 No. 3

General Education For Living And The Value Of Work: Are They Compatible?, Noojin Walker

Perspectives (1969-1979)

Almost ten years ago the United States Commissioner of Education, Sidney Marland, introduced into the educational vocabulary a new expression - career education. Since then we, in higher education and especially liberal arts and general education, have given little thought to the concept. Because all of us know that vocationalism has no place in a liberal arts education. Consequently, career education also has no place. Yet over the last few years I have observed what appears to be an erosion. Some faculty have moved from hostility to indifference, to cautious support, and, in some cases, to active support of the …

The Editor's Page, George F. Estey

Perspectives (1969-1979)

Editor's Page for Vol. 8 Issue 2

Exclusion And Records: Another Threat To General Education, Raymond L. Chambers

Perspectives (1969-1979)

This paper is a brief examination of some of the arguments for and against two common practices in academia: excluding students who fail to maintain some minimum standard of progress and noting that failure on the student's record. It is concluded that the arguments in favor of both procedures are inherently wrongheaded: dangerous to both education and the larger society. A response to the unenlightened general public and their legislators, exclusion and therefore its notation should be eliminated. Instead a more fluid, timeless process of education should be developed. Students should be expected to master material , but not on …

Humanities In An Age Of Uncertainty, Norman Penlington

Perspectives (1969-1979)

The substance of this paper was given at the recent (Oct. 1976) conference of the Association of General and Liberal Studies held at the College of Basic Studies , Boston University.

In the few minutes at my disposal what can I, who am approaching the end of my formal teaching career, tell you who are just beginning or who are midway? Although I have spent a lifetime finding my way in this age of uncertainty I can relate some useful teaching experiences.

The Fallacy Of Elitism In General Education, Robert A. Dentler

Perspectives (1969-1979)

An address prepared for the Association of General and Liberal Studies Conference, 1976

Much has been written by academic historians about anti-intellectualism in North America, but the same academic brotherhood has had little to say on the subject of academic elitism. This subject may be too close to home. Elitism has been rife among North American academics for 300 years. The term elite springs from the French. It is related to the Latin for the elect. It refers to one who is chosen - to the flower, the cream, the aristocracy. Political scientists have extended the term to its natural …

The Social Sciences In General Education, Bobby G. Bell

Perspectives (1969-1979)

Proponents of general education maintain that every person is worthy of an education that is most general. Translated into a formal curriculum general education refers to that part of a student's education lying outside his area of specialization. Cultural and social literacy remain the dominant goals. Even though controversy surrounds the definition of general education and the philosophical approaches to its realization, the objective seems to be clear, that education "for an informed responsible life in our society" and "that part of a student's education which looks first of all to his life as a responsible human being and citizen." …

Perspectives Vol. 7 No. 3

Perspectives (1969-1979)

No abstract provided.

Interdisciplinary Perspectives Vol. 8 No. 2

Perspectives (1969-1979)

No abstract provided.

Capstone 75: Interdisciplinary Turmoil And Triumph At The College Of Basic Studies, Boston University, William E. Davis Jr., George F. Estey

Perspectives (1969-1979)

We here report on an integrative interdisciplinary effort at the College of Basic Studies of Boston University. We are persuaded that the kind of project examined here is well within the grasp of all general liberal programs, whereas a total program of interdisciplinary studies probably is not achievable, for a host of professional and departmental reasons.

Boston University's College Of Basic Studies: A Non-Traditional Approach Which Successfully Serves Marginal Applicants, Charles P. Fogg, Gene M. Smith

Perspectives (1969-1979)

The authors are pleased to acknowledge the generous support of the Esso Education Foundation and the George A. Ramlose Foundation; as well as, the vital institutional support and encouragement of Judson Rea Butler, the founding dean of the College, Horatio M. LaFauci , under whose leadership the College flourished for 14 years, Brendan F. Gilbane the current dean and Dean B. Doner the Academic Vice President of Boston University.

The College of Basic Studies (CBS) offers a successful, 2-year, post secondary educational program designed specifically to serve low-achieving students. It admits applicants who are denied admission into 4-year programs at …

Week By Week, Hour By Hour (A Teacher's Journal Of A General Studies Course), Francis L. Gross

Perspectives (1969-1979)

The confused motorist stopped by the watermelon stand on a dusty back road in Eastern Kansas. The weather was July-drip. The sunny kind of drip, the kind where the only drip is trickling down from a wet slot on your shirt to where your belt bunches the shirt up on your hips. "How do you get to Topeka?" said the tourist. The reply from an old man in overalls, "If I was you, Mister, I sure as hell wouldn't start from here."

There isn't anyplace else to start, except from where you are, on a trip. So, I'm going to …

The Little College At Bowling Green: Developing Critical Thinking Skills In A General Education Context, James L. Litwin, Richard C. Giardina, M. Neil Browne

Perspectives (1969-1979)

For the past five years , the Little College at Bowling Green State University has been experimenting with various approaches to developing the critical thinking skills of incoming freshmen . Data resulting from evaluative research completed demonstrate that students can be helped to achieve significant gains in their ability to think critically. They also suggest differences in the viability of alternative curricular approaches to achieve this goal. The paper itself profiles many of the problems and issues pertinent to "experimenting" programs, including assumptions about the goals of general education, faculty recruitment, pedagogy, and evaluation . At present , the Little …

Student Ratings Of Instruction: The Developmentalist Viewpoint, Lawrence J. Israel

Perspectives (1969-1979)

A recent review of studies concerning student ratings of instruction¹ indicates some probabilities that may be related to the intellectual and moral development of the college student. The studies indicate that the following apply:

1. Most rating forms measure the amount of rapport the instructor establishes.

2. The dimension of teaching skill is strongly influenced by teacher characteristics.

3. Teacher characteristics are more influential than course characteristics in skill ratings.

4. There is probably a weak positive correlation between instructor rank and student ratings.

5. The inconsistency of results in such studies may be the most singular element of …

Testing In The Arts: Aesthetic Perception Is A Part Of Human Intelligence, Warren Sylvester Smith

Perspectives (1969-1979)

Simply stated like this , who would argue about it? The recognition of forms and patterns - visual or aural - the sensitive distinction among colors, the interpretation of movement or gesture - all of these are patently human accomplishments , and mastery of them is generally recognized as evidence of a kind of superiority. The statement would seem more commonplace than revolutionary.

But, as with many a principle honored in the abstract, putting it into educational practice would be revolutionary. Although the notion of measuring intelligence is no longer fashionable, our aptitude and achievement tests do imply two major …

General Education As An Alternative To Liberal Education: Some Dissenting Views, M. Neil Browne, Lisa Licata

Perspectives (1969-1979)

At a time in the development of higher education when colleges and universities are competing for students by appealing almost solely to student requests for job-related training, a discussion of alternative approaches to pre-professional training may appear anachronistic. However, this ascendent vocationalism has actually contributed to an expanding dialogue on the meaning of general education. Those of us disburbed by the deemphasis of general education on most campuses have become increasingly self-conscious about the content and quality of our general education offerings. If we are going to maintain a flourishing general education component in higher education, we must present a …

General Education: What Should Be Its Focus?, Paul F. Haas

Perspectives (1969-1979)

It is apparently fashionable today to study and discuss the alternative methods used to teach the principles courses in the social sciences. Many of us have read about and have examined texts with greater lucidity and/or topical orientation. Many of us have also attempted to make our principles courses more relevant (assuming we can define relevant) by altering the course content or means of delivery. However, how many of us have actually attempted to define the purpose of our principles courses and have designed them specifically to pursue that purpose? Let us be even more challenging and inquire how many …

What Are We Going To Do About The Current Threat To The Idea Of A University?, Joseph R. Royce

Perspectives (1969-1979)

The university never has been a "strong" social institution, but it has seen better days as a bastion of learning. Since it is one of the few havens for the creative minority, it is obvious that continued neglect of this institution will be detrimental to the development of "high" culture. The point is that it is the creative minority - artists, philosophers, scientists - who provide the new awarenesses, values, and sensitivities which are necessary for the dynamics of a complex, modern culture.

A View On Three Days Of General Education Summary Address, Agls Convention, Cbs 1976, Francis L. Broderick

Perspectives (1969-1979)

While everybody shied away from defining humanities or liberal studies or 1 general education, some essential notions about these complex topics, so much a part of our lives and work, came through in what was said by us all. Let me try a couple of definitions. With appropriate nods to diffidence, let me just say flatly that the definition of the humanities should include at least the following elements: 1) centrality of concern on human beings rather than on structures of society or on the processes of nature; 2) attention to, probably focus on, the individual rather than the group; …

Perspectives Vol. 8 No. 1

Perspectives (1969-1979)

No abstract provided.