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    In Defense of a Liberal Education
    In Defense of a Liberal Education
    In Defense of a Liberal Education
    Audiobook3 hours

    In Defense of a Liberal Education

    Written by Fareed Zakaria

    Narrated by Fareed Zakaria

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    New York Times bestselling author of The Post-American World and host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS argues for a renewed commitment to the world’s most valuable educational traditions in this fascinating audiobook.

    The liberal arts educational system is under attack. Governors in Texas, Florida, and North Carolina have announced that they will not spend taxpayer money subsidizing the liberal arts. Majors like English and History—which were once very popular and highly respected—are in steep decline and President Obama has recently advised students to keep in mind that technical training could be more valuable than a degree in art history, when deciding on an educational path.

    In this timely and urgently needed audiobook Fareed Zakaria explains that this turn away from the liberal arts is a mistake. A liberal education provides the foundation for finding your voice, writing, speaking your mind, and ultimately, learning—all immensely valuable skills no matter your profession. Technology and globalization are making these skills even more valuable and necessary as routine mechanical and even computing tasks can be done by machines. More than just a path to a career, Zakaria argues that a liberal education is an exercise in freedom and above all, it feeds the most basic urge of the human spirit—to know.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateMar 30, 2015
    ISBN9781442389779
    In Defense of a Liberal Education
    Author

    Fareed Zakaria

    Fareed Zakaria is the host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS, bestselling author of The Post-American World and The Future of Freedom, and a columnist for The Washington Post. He lives in New York City.

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    Reviews for In Defense of a Liberal Education

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    • 5/5
      I am so in love with this book. First of all, I had a different impression of what a "liberal education" was when I picked the book. I thought of it in the "not conservative" way and not so much the liberal arts degree that Zakaria was actually going for. I was always going to be an easy sell on that, having an English degree and all, but now I can talk to others about it better. I really do hate the question of what I plan to do with an English degree.

      I listened to the audiobook which was a short three hours and read by the author. Honestly, I can listen to him talk about this for days. I loved the research that he did and a lot of the conclusions. I think my favorite was that even the best technical degree these days was only useful for so long before all the information you learned was outdated. Tech has gotten a bit crazy and I can't imagine trying to decide on a degree that will be obsolete soon while pressured to not get something in the liberal arts.

      As I was paying for my degree on my own, my family didn't get to weigh in on what I was getting it in but that doesn't mean it didn't keep them from commenting. They always wondered how I would make good on the expense and investment and then sigh and figure I could always teach if I couldn't be a writer or something. I absolutely do want to become a published author one day but it's not the only reason to get an English degree, neither is teaching. I had never thought of it in terms of learning to think and how lateral learning helps us see the world through a wider lens. It makes sense, though, because my trade is technological and I do feel like I've had some help along the way with how to form an argument and how to describe the problem from some of my English classes.

      My favorite thing about the book is Zakaria's defense of the millennial generation. There are so many articles and books out there calling them all sorts of things and he totally tears those ideas to shreds. And he does it be quoting ancient Greeks, which is kind of the best part about it.

      Anyone about to go to college should read this book and it wouldn't hurt for those about to send their children to college either. There are some great points to be made and a great value for liberal arts education.
    • 3/5
      OK, excellent ideas are expressed, but the style of the prose doesn't match the weight of the arguments.
    • 5/5
      I work at a liberal arts college and I assigned this book to my team for our Summer Read this year. I read a good deal about liberal arts education, and there was not a ton that was new here for me. That said, I find myself justifying the gift of a liberal arts education often enough (to parents and employers) that I know for certain that there is not a deep understanding of its value here in America. This is especially sad in this moment where we need that combination of broad knowledge and specific expertise, that educational model that makes us able to support liberty, more than ever before. Critical thought, historical context, full sentences, and the educational foundation for innovation, are all things that grow from a good foundation in the liberal arts and all these things are currently in terrifyingly short supply. Zakaria packs a lot of good material into a quick and zippy read. My frustration over executives who complain that they can't find leaders among their younger workers, and then continue to hire people with technical training rather than those with a liberal education continues apace. That said, with the info from this book and other good resources I know that my team will be able to teach our students (communicators and leaders all) how to "sell" their liberal arts degrees in the marketplace.
    • 4/5
      I went into this a wee bit confused. By liberal, he meant liberal arts. Not liberal as in progressive, but liberal as in a broad range of studies. He has lots of interesting examples and anecdotes spanning the existence of universities as we would picture them.
    • 4/5
      Liberal EducationChapter one Begins with an account of his background in India and his discovery of American Universities. He contrasts the narrow approach to education characteristic of Universities in India in the 1960s and 1970s with the much more expansive approach of American Universities. America was unique in the world in providing an education to all that was not skills based.Chapter twoA brief history of the development of liberal education beginning in ancient Greece. Explains the development and evolution of higher education in the US, with a focus on the gradual exclusion of Science from the liberal education curriculum and the decline of scientific literacy. Chapter threeCharacterizes the great strengths of a liberal education as teaching students to think. Central to this mission is learning to write and speak. •First great advantage; teaches you to write. Learning to write clearly is a prerequisite to learning the think clearly and learning to speak convincingly. The ability to write clearly and convincingly teaches you to think clearly.•Second great advantage; teaches you to speak. Develops your ability to give compelling verbal explanations before small and large groups.•Third great advantage; teaches you how to learn. Whatever path you take, the specific subjects you learned in college will probably prove to be irrelevant to your day to day work. Even if they are relevant they will change. The point of a liberal education is not to stock people's minds with "antique furniture" but to equip them with the intellectual skills they require to build their own set of chairs and tables. Liberal educations should expose students to different ways of thinking—observational, analytic, aesthetic, teamwork oriented. This approach is consistent with contemporary understanding of psychology and neuroscience.Chapter 4This article takes a brief detour to review the thoughts of Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson; covered more extensively by Roth. Emphasizes Jefferson's concept of "Natural Aristocracy," (based strictly on merit). America's future depends on finding the best and brightest and educating them well. "The best geniuses will be raked from the rubbish annually." Follows that with an analysis of college admissions and its great faults (i.e., relying too heavily on test scores and privilege based on wealth, family history, athletic prowess). The chapter concludes with an enthusiastic discussion of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Overstates their potential to "be the path to highly effective individual learning on a mass scale." To detractors he raises the question; look at the radical changes the Internet has caused in print media (newpapers, magazines, book publishing). It is short-sighted to believe that the Internet will not have a major impact on education.Chapter 5The topic of this chapter is the "innate" desire for knowledge and the advances that have occurred as a result of that desire. There is a widespread belief that "ignorance is bliss", and that knowledge is dangerous. Despite that we continue to seek knowledge. Two passages stood out to me:•Bertrand Russell: Science is what we know and philosophy is what we don't know. Philosophy is important because of the vast array of things we do not and know and (perhaps) can never know about, but philosophy is an "incomplete science." •Charles II, King of England, had a mild stroke in 1685. Would almost certainly have recovered on his own. The 14 leading physicians were assembled to treat him. They began by bleeding him, taking a pint of blood. The king's chief physician decided they had not gone far enough and removed an extra 8 ounces by cutting into the king's shoulders. Vomiting was induced and purgatives and enemas delivered. Charles regained consciousness, but over the next five days his physicians continued to administer enemas and bleedings. He was given sneezing powder, forced to drink various potions, and his feet were smeared with pigeon dung. Finally, after an antidote containing "extracts of all the hers and animals of the kingdom" was forced down his throat the king died. That was the world's finest health care at the time.Chapter 6The book concludes with a brief analysis of changes in western civilization since WWII and of youth across the eras. The author defends today's youth, arguing that their attitudes, interests, commitment to service, and other attributes are a reflection of contemporary America.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book. The book does exactly what the title purports to do and that is defend the value of a Liberal education. I had vested interest in reading this book sinceIi'm now in a Liberal Arts program after a career in Science and business.The book deals systematically with the history and evolution of a Liberal Arts education and its position in the education scene today.Perhaps the most telling comment is that a Liberal Arts education may not help make a living, but it will help make a life!
    • 3/5
      I was almost swayed by Zakaria's arguments, but I don't think he adequately addressed the elephant in the room - getting a job after an undergraduate degree in liberal arts. And I'm not talking about the class valedictorian here, nor the occasional individual who started a spa franchise in her spare time during sophomore year. I'm talking about the other 95% who have neither any academic achievements nor outside activities to distinguish themselves - nor a technical degree. The reality is that many engineering grads are getting near 6 figure offers while their liberal arts colleagues are struggling to get a job. There were lots of nice statistics and some interesting personal history. Also I could have done without the mini-history of education dating back to Isocrates or whomever.And finally, I rarely raise the value equation when addressing books, but this was a mighty slim book for its relatively high price.