What is the Value of a Liberal Arts Education? (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: What is the Value of a Liberal Arts Education?
Author: Scott M. Campbell
Abstract: In the spring semester of 2012, I received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to design and teach a course devoted to this question: ‘What is the value of a liberal arts education?’ My goal in this paper is to talk about this experience in three different phases: I) discussing the grant with faculty and staff at my institution; II) teaching the class; and III) thinking about the meaning of the liberal arts in the context of higher education today. The thesis that I hope to advance in doing so is that faculty need to justify a liberal arts education based on its intrinsic value and not on its practical value. It is common today to tout the skills that students develop from studying the liberal arts. They learn skills in critical thinking, reading, writing, and speaking, and these skills are necessary in any profession. But many courses outside the liberal arts and humanities teach students skills. It thus becomes necessary, in my judgment, to find the intrinsic value of a liberal arts education. My goal in this paper is to make such a case.
Date: 10/17/2014
Conference Name: Conference on 'What is Liberal Education For?" at St. John's College in Santa Fe, NM.

Liberal Arts Resources (Web Resource)
Title: Liberal Arts Resources
Author: Scott M. Campbell
Abstract: This website provides resources to anyone interested in the value and meaning of a liberal arts education. It includes syllabi for faculty who want to teach a course on the liberal arts, descriptions of course texts and how one might use them, a gallery of photographs from students reflecting their understanding of liberal education, a gallery of classical images on the liberal arts, and a list of other web-based resources.
Year: 2014
Primary URL: http://www2.naz.edu/dept/philosophy/liberal-arts-resources/
Primary URL Description: What is the value of a liberal arts education? Many students considering college may be asking themselves this question. One of the main goals of this website is to provide resources to students that will help them to think through this question and come to their own conclusion about it. A second goal of this website is to serve as a resource for faculty members who are interested in teaching a course on the liberal arts. While many faculty members have developed an expertise in the liberal arts, the humanities, or the sciences, often enough they have not taught a course on the value and meaning of a liberal education itself. On this website, faculty will find a variety of different resources that may help them design and teach their own course on the value of a liberal arts education.

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