The Idea of the American University

by Watson, Bradley C.S.; Agresto, John; Allen, William B.; Foley, Michael P.; Glenn, Gary D.; Hanssen, Susan E.; Henrie, Mark C.; Lawler, Peter Augustine; Mathie, William; Schall, Rev. James V., S.J.; S. Watson, Bradley C.; Wood, Peter

• ISBN13: 9780739149157
• ISBN10: 0739149156
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-12-28
• Publisher: Lexington Books

Summary

As John Henry Newman reflected on 'The Idea of a University' more than a century and a half ago, Bradley C. S. Watson brings together some of the nation's most eminent thinkers on higher education to reflect on the nature and purposes of the American university today. They detail the life and rather sad times of the American university, its relationship to democracy, and the place of the liberal arts within it. Their mordant reflections paint a picture of the American university in crisis. But they also point toward a renewal of the university by redirecting it toward those things that resist the passions of the moment, or the pull of mere utility. This book is essential reading for thoughtful citizens, scholars, and educational policymakers.

Author Biography

Bradley C. S. Watson is professor of political science at Saint Vincent College in Pennsylvania, and the Philip M. McKenna Chair in American and Western Political Thought.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction: The American University in Crisis	p. 1
The Life and Times of the American University
Universitas sine Universo: On the Home of Truth When There Is No Truth	p. 11
The End of the American Core Curriculum	p. 21
From Civilizational Memory and the Upward Lifting of Souls, to Upward Mobility, to Upending Social Mores: The Going Down of University Education in One Professor's Lifetime	p. 35
Roller of Big Cigars: The American University as Cheerful Mortician	p. 55
Eccentric Education - The American Way	p. 67
Higher Education and Democracy
Socrates in America	p. 83
Human Dignity and Higher Education Today	p. 97
Now That the University Has Become the High School, Where Do We Get an Education?	p. 115
The University and the Liberal Arts
St. Augustine, the University, and the So-Called Liberal Arts	p. 129
Toward an American Liberal Education	p. 141
Index	p. 155
About the Editor and Contributors	p. 159
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