The Liberal Arts at Central College:
A map for the journey of life*
A Central College education in the liberal arts is a roadmap for a life journey toward intellectual, physical and spiritual development. That map is surveyed and charted by a community of committed scholars inspiring students to share the journey: to explore, to take risks, to grow and to be transformed as they learn about themselves, others and the world around them. The journey brings us to milestones that chart the distance traveled, as well as to intersections that provide new points of departure to a wide array of human experiences, ideas, belief-systems, skills and modes of expression.
An enriching journey combines direction and purpose with flexibility and openness. So the roadmap of the liberal arts recognizes that disciplines, majors and vocational goals will contribute to each student's direction and purpose, while the Core, electives and the co-curricular cultural life of the college foster the flexibility to see a chosen destination from many perspectives, to consider alternative destinations, and to enjoy the journey itself.
Just as travel to a new destination is made more fulfilling when we are alive to the history, language, culture, ecology and economy of the territory, so the Core identifies certain dimensions of life as essential for an enriching educational journey, and identifies courses that can open up those dimensions for students. The Core needs to be understood not as a mere check-list of requirements unrelated to a larger purpose, but as a "guidebook" that can be drawn on repeatedly to deepen one's experience at many points of the journey.
Since we do not travel alone, a Central education also seeks to motivate and prepare individuals to engage with those around them, wherever they find themselves, through roles of service and leadership. The values of the college find expression in our curriculum, inviting students to share them and live them out in their own journeys. The liberal arts must cultivate the cultural awareness and moral responsiveness that will enable students to contribute as citizens of local, national and global communities.
*unanimously endorsed by the Central College faculty
March 25, 2004
