Overview

The idea of the university and the idea of liberal education share a family resemblance. However, it is not always explicitly clear what they have in common and what differentiates them. This collection brings together arguments and reflections on the nature of the university and the place of liberal learning in the 21st century. It is divided into two parts. In the first part authors examine the values and ideals that shape our understanding of liberal learning and the university; in the second part authors consider pedagogies informing our practices, asking after what underlying presuppositions, when made explicit, guide our liberal education classrooms in higher education. Unique in its approaches, this volume includes defenses of liberal education's intrinsic value, the commodification of some of its best ideals, as well as utilitarian defenses that challenge some orthodox conceptions of liberal learning and its justifications. Each in its own right understands liberal learning as essential to the defense of a democratic order. On the pedagogical side, included are essays that defend a view of liberal education from the vantage of STEM subjects, including architecture, as well as those we typically associate with the liberal arts. This volume will aid academics and students seeking to better grasp an understanding of liberal education, but also those seeking to advance their pedagogical ideas about liberal learning. Researchers and students in education, higher education and those interested in the liberal arts and sciences will find this volume a useful addition to their collection.

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9781622735211

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Karim Dharamsi is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Chair of General Education at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Canada. He has published articles in the philosophy of history, on the philosophy of R.G. Collingwood, Wittgenstein, Frege, the philosophy of education and liberal education. James Zimmer is the Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Teaching and Learning, at Mount Royal University (MRU). Prior to his current appointment, Jim served as Dean of the Faculty of Teaching and Learning at MRU (2007-2015) and Director of the University Teaching-Learning Centre (1998-2007). In his current role, Jim oversees university-wide teaching, learning and curricular initiatives including liberal education, teaching enhancement and innovation, Internationalization, Indigenization of curriculum, cyclical program review, collaborative degrees and dual credit. Jim's disciplinary background is in nursing. Between 1981 and 1995, he held clinical positions in critical care and taught undergraduate nursing at Fanshawe College, Foothills Hospital School of Nursing and Mount Royal.

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