Liberal arts

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The term liberal arts refers to a particular type of educational curriculum broadly defined as a classical education.

History

Definition

The term 'liberal arts' is described Encyclopædia Britannica as a "college or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing intellectual capacities, in contrast to a professional, vocational, or technical curriculum." In classical antiquity, the term designated the education proper to a freeman (Latin libera, “free”) as opposed to a slave. In the medieval Western university, the seven liberal arts were:

• the Trivium

1. grammar
2. rhetoric
3. logic

• the Quadrivium

4. geometry
5. arithmetic
6. music
7. astronomy

In modern colleges and universities, the liberal arts include the study of theology, literature, languages, philosophy, history, mathematics, and science.

Artes Liberales

Artes Liberales was the medieval and earlier nomenclature for the Trivium and Quadrivium (artes triviales and artes quadriviales), the education and training deemed suitable for free persons (Latin liber: free), as distinct from the artes illiberales for the less (or not) free, now broadly termed vocational education.

The Trivium, the artes sermocinales:

• Grammar, Rhetoric, and Dialectic (language, oratory, logic)

The Quadrivium, the artes reales or physicæ:

• Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy, and Music

Visual arts

During the Renaissance a considerable propaganda campaign was mounted to support the promotion to the number of liberal arts of architecture, painting and sculpture, though not necessarily for their inclusion in the educational curriculum in the same way. Previously they had been classified among the mechanical or manual arts. Among those writing to support their inclusion were Leon Battista Alberti, Leonardo da Vinci, Giorgio Vasari and many others. At least in Italy, and among Renaissance humanists, the battle was largely won by about 1500, though in remoter regions like Spain and England the process took up to another century.

Liberal arts colleges

Liberal arts colleges are institutions which place a particular emphasis upon undergraduate study in the liberal arts. Generally, a full-time, four-year course of study at a liberal arts college leads students to a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. Liberal arts colleges have traditionally emphasized interactive instruction (although research is still a component of these institutions) and are known for being residential. They typically have a smaller enrollment, class size, and higher teacher-to-student ratios than universities. These colleges also encourage a high level of teacher-student interaction at the center of which are classes taught by full-time faculty rather than graduate student teaching assistants (who teach some classes at Research I and other universities). Although the genesis for what is known today as the liberal arts college began in Europe, the term is commonly associated with liberal arts colleges in the United States. Liberal arts colleges are found in countries all over the world as well.

Following completion of their undergraduate studies at liberal arts colleges, students often continue to graduate study in other institutions, such as professional schools (for instance, in business, law, medicine, or theology) or graduate schools.

References

Further reading

• Blaich, Charles, Anne Bost, Ed Chan, and Richard Lynch. Defining Liberal Arts Education. Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts, 2004.
• Blanshard, Brand. The Uses of a Liberal Education: And Other Talks to Students. (Open Court, 1973. ISBN 0-8126-9429-5)
• Friedlander, Jack. Measuring the Benefits of Liberal Arts Education in Washington's Community Colleges. Los Angeles: Center for the Study of Community Colleges, 1982a. (ED 217 918)
• Joseph, Sister Miriam. The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric. Paul Dry Books Inc, 2002.
• Pfnister, Allen O. " The Role of the Liberal Arts College" The Journal of Higher Education. Vol. 55, No. 2 (March/April 1984): 145-170.
• Reeves, Floyd W. " The Liberal-Arts College" The Journal of Higher Education. Vol. 1, No. 7 (1930): 373-380.
• Seidel, George. " Saving the Small College" The Journal of Higher Education. Vol. 39, No. 6 (1968): 339-342.
• Winterer, Caroline.The Culture of Classicism: Ancient Greece and Rome in American Intellectual Life, 1780-1910. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002.
• Wriston, Henry M. The Nature of a Liberal College. Lawrence University Press, 1937.

See also

• Great Books
• Master of Arts in Liberal Studies
• Doctor Liberalium Artium
• Renaissance Humanism

External links

• The Seven Liberal Arts, Catholic Encyclopedia
• Philosophy of Liberal Education
• Liberal Arts at the Community College
• A Descriptive Analysis of the Community College Liberal Arts Curriculum
• The Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts
• Academic Commons
• CatholiCity: Catholic Encyclopedia
• CollegeNews.org: News from America's Leading Liberal Arts Colleges and Universities

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Last updated on Friday March 14, 2008 at 01:31:55 PDT (GMT -0700)
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