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Can the 'liberal arts' tradition survive in a context in which universities are responding to requests to be vocationally relevant?

    This essay will examine the question whether the 'liberal arts' tradition can survive considering that there is now an emphasis on 'vocational relevance' in tertiary education. The discussion will largely be limited to the context of Anglo-Australian universities. In doing so, this essay will define the 'liberal arts' tradition by briefly looking at its origins and development since its conception by Peter Ramus at the University of Paris in the sixteenth century, examine the assumption that universities are responding to requests to be vocationally relevant, give some reasons why the 'liberal arts' tradition is perceived to be under threat in the current political and economic environment, determine the importance of the survival of the 'liberal arts' tradition and discuss the issues in the current debate. This will support the thesis that the 'liberal arts' tradition not only can survive but that new opportunities are likely to open up for the humanities based on a vision being developed for the future of the humanities in the current debate, which is also likely to ensure that solutions can be found with regard to the problems faced by the humanities, such as funding, with the necessary steps to overcome these problems becoming more apparent as the debate surrounding the humanities evolves and universities and, in particular, the humanities continue to develop.
© 1997 Monash University

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Critical summary of Mead's 'Self and society'

    The philosopher George H. Mead theorises in 'Self and society' (1992) about the anatomy of the self, its development based on social interaction and differences between the self and the body. The following summarises the argument presented by Mead and draws comparisons between his ideas about the self and those of later theorists, in particular those of the philosopher Julia Hobson, the humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers, and the educator Alistair Morgan.
© 1997 Deakin University

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