What is the meaning and purpose of a liberal arts education? Analyze what you have read to provide some insight into this question. To what extent do Shoenberg, Josefson, Shorris, and Plato agree on the meaning, purpose and practice of freeing education. Then contrast those views with your own understanding of a liberal arts education. In what sense do you expect your education to be freeing? Next, analyze the readings and your own preconceptions to figure out what is the best theory to describe and claim the freedom of intellectual development. You should be trying to figure out the best understanding of liberal education that you can apply to your life at BC and beyond. Finally, what specific things can you do to foster your intellectual development at BC and beyond? Set some specific goals (getting a higher GPA and studying more is way too vague). Remember to justify your goals in terms of the conclusions you develop in your analysis section.
Question Breakdown:
PART 1: Explanation
What
is the meaning and purpose of a liberal arts education? Analyze what you have read to provide some
insight into this question. To what
extent do Shoenberg, Josefson, Shorris, and Plato agree on the
meaning, purpose and practice of freeing education.
·
Explain that the word “liberal” in liberal arts
education means free or freeing. Explain
the different understandings of freedom in each author (Shoenberg-
independence, Plato-knowledge, Josefson-virtue, Shorris-
living the good life).
·
Be concise. A
fuller explanation can be part of the analysis.
·
Devote a minimum of a page to discussing the assigned
readings. Be specific; use summaries, paraphrases, and quotes (and remember to
use documentation, e.g. (Josefson 2006, 2)).
·
Discuss the similarities between the various readings
and point out where readings seem to disagree.
You don’t have to use all of them in the explanation section.
PART 2: Exploration
Then
contrast those views with your own understanding of a liberal arts education. In what sense do you expect a liberal arts
education to be freeing?
·
In this section you should write a paragraph or two
on your own preconceptions about the liberal arts and education and compare and
contrast those views with the views outlined in your previous section. It’s not good enough to say, “I never thought
about it.”
PART 3: Analysis
Next,
analyze the readings and your own preconceptions to figure out what is the best
theory to describe and claim the freedom of intellectual development. You should be trying to figure out the best
understanding of liberal education that you can apply to your life at BC and
beyond.
·
Examine
and analyze the conflicts between readings and between your own views and the
readings by examining the course readings and your own experiences in more
depth (should be the longest section).
·
Be
clear about when you are analyzing logic or evidence and where you are
exercising judgment.
·
Draw
some conclusions about how to be free in the liberal arts that
you didn’t know before or that struck you as especially important for your own
intellectual development. Make sure you8
conclusions logically flow from your analysis.
PART 4: Synthesis
Finally,
what specific things can you do to foster your intellectual development at BC
and beyond? Set some
specific goals (getting a higher GPA and studying more is way too vague). Remember to justify your goals in terms of
the conclusions you develop in your analysis section.
·
Have something interesting and important to say here! Compare your new approach to intellect and
the liberal arts with the approach suggested by your preconceptions.
·
Application: Explain how you might apply your conclusions to your life. This might mean actions you take, but it
could also mean exploring the implications of the issue in other courses or
projects.
·
Your synthesis could be not only actions but also new attitudes,
predispositions, or ways of approaching old patterns of behavior.
·
Make sure that your synthesis is a logical extension
of the conclusions reached in your analysis.