education, humanistic

George Anders explains the remarkable power of a liberal arts education, and the ways it can open the door to cutting-edge jobs. The curiosity, creativity, and empathy that are hallmarks of a liberal arts education aren't unruly traits that must be reined in. You can be yourself, as an English major, and thrive in sales. You can segue from anthropology into the booming new field of user research; from classics into management consulting, and from philosophy into high-stakes investing. At any stage of your career, you can bring a humanist's grace to our rapidly evolving high-tech future. In this book, you will learn why resume-writing is fading in importance and why "telling your story" is taking its place. You will learn how to create jobs that don't exist yet, and to translate your campus achievements into a new style of expression that will make employers' eyes light up.

Argues for the value of a liberal arts education: how to write clearly, express a convincing argument, and think analytically; points out that specific vocational knowledge becomes rapidly outdated and many jobs get automated or outsourced; and discusses skills that are needed, including lateral thinking, design, communication, and the ability to learn new things.

"Contentious debates over the benefits-or drawbacks-of a liberal education are as old as America itself. From Benjamin Franklin to the Internet pundits, critics of higher education have attacked its irrelevance and elitism-often calling for more vocational instruction. Thomas Jefferson, by contrast, believed that nurturing a student's capacity for lifelong learning was useful for science and commerce while also being essential for democracy. In this provocative contribution to the disputes, university president Michael S. Roth focuses on important moments and seminal thinkers in America's long-running argument over vocational vs. liberal education. Conflicting streams of thought flow through American intellectual history: W. E. B. Du Bois's humanistic principles of pedagogy for newly emancipated slaves developed in opposition to Booker T. Washington's educational utilitarianism, for example. Jane Addams's emphasis on the cultivation of empathy and John Dewey's calls for education as civic engagement were rejected as impractical by those who aimed to train students for particular economic tasks. Roth explores these arguments (and more), considers the state of higher education today, and concludes with a stirring plea for the kind of education that has, since the founding of the nation, cultivated individual freedom, promulgated civic virtue, and instilled hope for the future"--.

Documents the author's observations of circumstances reflected in a maximum-security prison and subsequent launch of a humanities college course for dropouts, immigrants and former inmates who eventually became high-achieving contributors to society.

Answers questions and discusses the problems of implementing school reform in the U.S. as outlined in the "Paideia Proposal," which calls for an educational system that prepares students to earn a living, assume the duties of citizenship in a democracy, and continue their self-development after all schooling has been completed.

Presents David Foster Wallace's commencement address to Kenyon College in 2005 reflecting on important lessons in life.