Practicing the Liberal Arts
Reimagine experiential and community-based learning at Hamilton to differentiate the student experience and demonstrate the value and impact of liberal arts colleges for the public.
Reimagine experiential and community-based learning at Hamilton to differentiate Hamilton’s student experience and demonstrate the value and impact of liberal arts institutions for the public.
The liberal arts were borne from the seeds of the Greek academies – the idea that small intimate exchanges between students and teachers would ignite the life of the mind and lead to robust intellectual growth, critical thinking, the ability to express and defend ideas; all necessary to sustain a democracy. But, the pace of social change and the daunting challenges facing our planet, our economy, and our democracy require the application of ideas to practical matters in our communities, our organizations, and our political lives. Liberal arts colleges must demonstrate that the extraordinary learning that takes place in their academy-style classrooms and labs translates into the ability to engage urgent opportunities and challenges outside the classroom. Moreover, students and their families, as the costs of higher education continue to outpace inflation, are expecting clearer pathways between college and post college life. How might we remain true to our core commitment to the life of the mind while expanding opportunities for students to “practice the liberal arts” – deploying their aesthetic, scientific, philosophical, and humanistic reasoning, research, speaking, and writing skills to build, design, solve, improve and otherwise create a positive impact?
Hamilton and most of its peers provide many opportunities to practice the liberal arts – community engaged projects; internships; fellowships; and class assignments organized around working with partners or clients. How might Hamilton elevate these opportunities to practice the liberal arts? Can we double the number of internships and fellowships? Can we scale more opportunities to practice the liberal arts within the curriculum? Can we better activate our alumni network to help students practice the liberal arts? Can we make the "practice of the liberal arts" part of a Winter term? Can “practicing the liberal arts” be a differentiator for Hamilton? How?
