Liberal – A Vexed Term

Few terms are as politically charged as “liberal” – worn proudly by those on the left and a sign of scorn for those on the right. Tossed around frequently without clarity or rigor, “liberal” has become of a catch-basin for various ideas, policies, and values. This is not unusual. I am trained as an historian…

Practical Reasoning From an Impractical Perch

It takes a certain degree of hubris to assign oneself the responsibility of investigating and learning about something popular and effective –  and then making recommendations about how it should be rethought. Higher education, however, has no shortage of experts eager and willing to tell others what to do and how to do it. Knowledge,…

Academia’s Dilemma

Important and interesting questions are often difficult for higher education to digest. Michael Pollan raises just such a vital question in his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. The book has reached into America’s public intellectual consciousness in a thoughtful and profound way. It is related, perhaps, to a similarly provocative…

I Read a Good Book and Wondered Why

Arguments on behalf of the liberal arts are borne, more often than not, out of fear. “The liberal arts are under attack!” academicians decry, faced with budget cuts and the vagaries of student enrollment trends. People do not understand their importance, it is claimed, with a tone whose undercurrent is condescending. The most popular major…