Despite the Change: Why We Still Are a Liberal Arts College
Wabash College prides itself on being a “liberal arts college for men.” Faculty and some students continue to wax poetic about the liberal arts, especially in recent times. With discussions about curriculum reform in relation to the decreasing number of faculty teaching at the College and the reformation of the old Cultures and Traditions class, the college community has been engaged in a freewheeling, quasi-chaotic conversation in which demonization, grandstanding, and arrogance have taken their unfortunate place in the grand Wabash discussion. While a lot of people have been claiming to speak on behalf of the Wabash student body, I am not going to be so bold as to make that claim. In what I write here, I represent myself alone in my views on the liberal arts. I offer what I have here as a constructive addition to the conversation on the liberal arts at Wabash.
As we begin our discussion of the liberal arts at Wabash, perhaps it would be best if we actually define this nebulous term. That seems to be something that nobody wants to do here. I asked this question at one of the C&T community forums held by Dean Gary Phillips, and I was met with faculty stares and a snicker from the Dean. He (and others) answered that the liberal arts change over time, and then he assured me that Wabash College is still firmly committed to the liberal arts. To a certain extent, Dean Phillips is right. The liberal arts do evolve and are hardly a concrete, established object. To that end, perhaps it is easier to describe the liberal arts than to define them. However, let us attempt all the same to define them. The liberal arts have historically served to provide students with a broad, cultured education. As opposed to the University of Wisconsin or any large research university, a liberal arts college aims to grant students the opportunity to explore creation and to better understand its diverse facets. As opposed to a vocationally specific training, the liberal arts education provides avenues for students to explore different fields of study and attempt to integrate them into their own lives and field of knowledge. Can we define the liberal arts education as simply being required to take courses outside of one’s major or field of expertise?
No. By that definition, the University of Wisconsin, Indiana University, and other such institutions are liberal arts institutions. General education requirements, those pesky things that my friends at universities so often complain about, serve the same purpose as our distribution requirements. Much as I cannot escape Wabash College without having to step into Hays Hall, my fellow religious studies majors at the UW cannot escape without some basic science class or other courses not related to their discipline. While I believe that the general education requirements have been developed by the universities to play on the successes of the liberal arts education provided by small colleges, and so, ironically, IU is now more of a liberal arts institution due to the successes of places like Wabash College, I am not about to claim IU and its brethren as brothers in the cause of the liberal arts. As others have rightly pointed out, distribution requirements in and of themselves do not make a liberal arts college.
Something that divides me from my friends at large research universities is the rigor of introductory level courses. With few exceptions, taking a 100-level course is far from a guaranteed A, as I have found out from personal experience. As a prospect, I remember visiting the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and contemplating going there. On my tour, the admissions counselor discussed what course work would be required of me to earn a Golden Gopher diploma. In order to fulfill one of my science requirements, I could take such enlightening courses as “Geology in Film.” In order to fulfill what could be termed as “liberal arts requirements,” I could take basic courses designed to grant non-majors an easy A. I can only imagine what little struggle that class would require, but I can also recognize that it would have been to the detriment of my overall education to have stooped so low as to take that course and thus deprive myself of some scientific knowledge. Over the last two-and-a-half years, I have had the “pleasure” to take two 100-level science courses at this college. As a person who spends most of my academic time delving into the waters of Division II, I do not have the natural abilities in the sciences that my friends in Division I do. Therefore, I was all too pleased when the professors in my lab science courses proclaimed that these were courses that were designed for those of us lacking in scientific skill and acumen. Being a naïve freshman for one of the classes, I thought that it would be a walk through the park. Wabash proved me wrong. Even as a veteran junior finishing my lab requirements last semester, I fought and struggled through a difficult lab course that was also a 100-level course. Though I may have used choice words about my experiences while taking those courses, in retrospect I would not have it any other way. Regardless of whatever impact those courses might have had on my GPA, I still feel better served by taking Chemistry 101 and Biology 101 over some “rocks for jocks” class. I think that we can look at the rigor of liberal arts courses to distinguish Wabash’s distribution requirements from IU’s general education requirements. While I can deftly dodge them at IU, I cannot do so at Wabash College. When I can do so at Wabash, then perhaps I will become a prophet of doom here at the College. Until that day, though, I must admit that we are still doing a good job at the liberal arts.
However, we cannot restrict a good liberal arts education to being solely based upon course requirements and subsequent academic rigor, and I would not wish to define Wabash’s liberal arts experience solely by these two aspects. To me, Wabash’s liberal arts education is best exemplified by the close relationships between faculty and students. While some may find this objectionable, Wabash professors serve not simply as professional educators. They are your mentors in life, your wise uncle or aunt, counselor, friend, and, above all, a person who is just there for you when you need him or her. I do not wish to label faculty as saints among men, but the fact of the matter is that they are not solely your teachers and their purpose is not solely to teach a few courses and publish copious amounts of academic research. One of the strengths of a Wabash education is the ability to discuss life with your professors. While I might stop by a religion professor’s office to ask a question or two about course materials or about an upcoming paper, within ten minutes we can easily be sidetracked into an enjoyable discussion about church matters, classical music, YouTube videos, politics, or just about anything else imaginable. Looking back at my last five semesters here at Wabash, perhaps the most beneficially educational moments for me have not been lectures or simply reading great books, though of course they have often been wonderful. However, I have had professors in private give me reading recommendations that have changed the way I think about things. Music has been recommended to me that I would never have dreamt of listening to and enjoying before. Through discussion with professors, I have been shown new perspectives that I would not have seen before. My discussions with professors have successfully served to integrate my educational experiences into my life, so that I can take my Wabash education with me when I graduate next year. This, I feel, is what defines the Wabash liberal arts education from my own personal experiences.
Where does C&T fit into this? C&T is and was a part of Wabash’s liberal arts. In the sense that it exposed students to a diverse spread of literature and cultural experiences and provided an opportunity for discussion, it certainly was a liberal arts course. However, I would not side with those voices who claim that C&T was the pinnacle of the Wabash liberal arts experience. If that were the case, I would have to be disappointed in my Wabash education and would have to significantly question its value. What are the goals of C&T? Three prominent ones that come to mind are the reading of good books, the considering of new ideas, and the creation of productive discussions. Did C&T accomplish this? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. While it is a great course in theory, its outcomes were decidedly mixed. For me personally, my moments of liberal arts enlightenment came during Prof. Zatta’s course of Greek drama, which I took for distribution-filling purposes. I had read portions of Aeschylus’ Oresteia both in high school and in C&T, and, truth be told, I found it bizarre both times and did not really appreciate it. However, when Prof. Zatta lectured on the Oresteia, provided pertinent background materials, and then led us through an analysis of the plays, it came alive. I saw its beauty, wonder, and relevance. I talked about it with my friends and other professors. I researched it a little to gain further understanding of the tragedies. The liberal arts education of Wabash College came alive to me – apart from C&T! I am sure that other students have similar testimonies of the Wabash liberal arts experience. If we claim that the College is going to hell in a hand basket just because we are reducing the number of all-college courses from three to two, then I guess that there really is not much hope left for the College. I suppose we must just resign ourselves to being the all-male, pygmy twin to Indiana University.
Fortunately, our future is not so dire. Conservatism is not a stagnant ideology that stubbornly protects tradition for tradition’s sake in opposition to all and any change. It encourages gradual change as the times require. Are the great books being relegated to the corners of the College? No. Am I unable to discuss great ideas and thought-provoking books with my professors or friends? No. Do I not have a rigorous curriculum presented before me from which I must pick the delectable fruit of education and enlightenment? No, I am not deprived of that. Based on this, I can say that we still possess the liberal arts here at Wabash. We must be vigilant in protecting them, but we should be responsible in doing so. The College belongs to students, faculty, and administration. The more we take this to heart, the more productive our conversations on the liberal arts will be.
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