Associate Professor, Department of Political Science

“The importance of an education in the liberal arts and sciences is not a new idea. In founding the nation, leaders like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams took concrete steps toward recognizing general education as essential to the well-being of a republican government. The common goal of these founders was to foster a citizenry that understands its own history, thinks critically about issues of public concern, appreciates diverse cultures, and expresses its beliefs without squelching the views of others.”

A liberal arts education is crucial to maintaining American democracy. Today’s emphasis on the careerist and commercial ends of higher education obscures the connection between education and democracy. At a time when global turmoil and domestic polarization threaten peace and prosperity, we need to restore liberal education to the center of the curriculum in American colleges and universities.

This is not a new idea. In founding the nation, leaders like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams took concrete steps toward recognizing general education as essential to the well-being of a republican government. Washington proposed the creation of a national university; Jefferson founded the University of Virginia; Adams established the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The common goal of these founders was to foster a citizenry that understands its own history, thinks critically about issues of public concern, appreciates diverse cultures, and expresses its beliefs without squelching the views of others.

We seem to have strayed from the founders’ vision. The 2016 presidential election has produced myriad examples of uncivil, intolerant, and divisive behavior from some of the candidates and their followers. The increasingly dysfunctional conduct of federal and state legislators, and some executives, provides additional examples of the inability to deliberate, bargain, and compromise to tackle pressing policy problems. In response, segments of the American citizenry have simply tuned out, abdicating their democratic responsibilities. Others have embraced disruptive forms of engagement inspired by the demagoguery of certain politicians and commentators. While some of these actions are not entirely new, their ubiquitous presence in politics today is nonetheless troubling.

Such actions are antithetical to republican governance. In part these actions reflect frustrations about real problems and vexing issues that beset America. But they also reflect an ignorance of history, culture, and, yes, politics. Consider some of the serious questions our country faces: Does rising economic inequality threaten political stability? What is the proper balance between national security and personal freedom? Can America afford to intervene in global conflicts? How should government balance revenues and spending? Have the separation of powers and the federal system become dysfunctional? Any meaningful public debate about these matters is not possible without a critical and comparative understanding of American history, culture, and institutions.

“Today we hear politicians’ and overseers encourage institutions of higher education to focus on such practical fields as engineering rather than philosophy or languages and threaten to eliminate programs of study that fail to meet market needs. To some extent this reflects students’ and parents’ concerns about earning a marketable degree at the risk of incurring staggering debt. But these concerns should be balanced by the evidence that those who earn liberal arts degrees thrive both professionally and materially.”