Abstract
New demands on learning coupled with new concerns about a changing world have resulted in a new focus on what constitutes a durable learning experience in a liberal arts setting. While the noise of a crisis in the liberal arts can be distracting at times, what we learn is that different types of schools continue to answer the question of why the liberal arts remain an effective educational option. This essay argues that they are only beginning to address what is durable and adaptable about the liberal arts in the face of automation. While many have endorsed the LEAP (Liberal Education and America's Promise) framework developed by the American Association of Colleges & Universities, which called for the liberal arts to be in the nation's service, the original framework did not fully anticipate the rate, scale, and far-reaching impact of automation. What is needed is a liberal arts 2.0, one that prepares learners to become robot-proof in a world in which many will find themselves with robotic helpers.
Highlights
D ifferent types of schools have tried to answer the question of why the liberal arts remain an effective educational option, but they are only beginning to address what is durable and adaptable about the liberal arts in the face of automation
The fall of 2017, the Times Higher Education strove to inform its international audience about American liberal arts colleges by reporting discussions with students from several small elite institutions about their experiences
Eleni Smitham, an international studies and Spanish double major at Haverford, offered: “I appreciate that from the first moment we step on campus, Haverford students are given a lot of trust and agency to shape our own college experience.”[1]. Rather than being a mere consumer of higher education, Smitham valued being an architect of her learning experience
Summary
The fall of 2017, the Times Higher Education strove to inform its international audience about American liberal arts colleges by reporting discussions with students from several small elite institutions about their experiences. Many liberal arts colleges have gone on to brag that a larger percentage of their students graduate within six years, fill worthwhile jobs, and lead productive lives than those who attend nearby public universities.
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