Quadrivial Pursuits

Abstract

Abstract THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF TALK around universities lately about core curricula, the canon, the culturally excluded, and a variety of related topics. I both welcome and sometimes tire of these discussions because real engagement doesn’t quite seem to take place. In an effort to see the world from a different perspective, let’s try to think about the evolution of universities and seek some insights from the past. In the Middle Ages, curriculum at all levels was determined in large part by the range of intellectual interest and the dominance of the Church in European education. As the universities emerged, a system of instruction was developed along the following lines: 1. Propaedeutics-Latin and Holy Writ. This was canon in the strictest sense, establishing the ecclesiastical foundations of education. 2. The trivium the lower level of the seven liberal arts, consisting of grammar, rhetoric, and logic. These were, and are, tools of thought to proceed to the next level. 3. The quadrivium the upper-level liberal arts, consisting of geometry, arithmetic, music, and astronomy. 4. Philosophy the highest level of education, which was much less narrowly spelled out than the other levels.