Liberal Arts

The liberal arts has long referred to the bodies of knowledge or academic disciplines that liberate the mind. Rather than preparing students for only one trade or profession, a liberal arts education develops the habits of thinking, reasoning, communicating, creating and problem solving that enable people to thrive in many different careers and communities. Historically, the seven liberal arts consisted of grammar (or writing), logic, rhetoric, astronomy, geometry, arithmetic, and music. Together, these disciplines formed a liberal arts education. 

Today, a liberal arts education brings together the humanities, arts, social sciences, and natural and applied sciences to help students integrate knowledge across disciplines. As students synthesize their learning, making connections among the disciplines, they learn to communicate effectively, develop critical thinking skills and approach real-world problems with humility and creativity. Rather than focusing on a single specialty, a liberal arts education prepares students to become thoughtful leaders, engaged citizens and lifelong learners. 

The GRACE Project embodies the goals of a liberal arts education, leveraging the ancient art of rhetoric as a modern tool for civic life. With innovative virtual technology, workshops on democratic deliberation, training in argumentation, and practicing civil dialogue, students engage with diverse people and perspectives — applying their learning to real-world situations. The GRACE Project equips students not only for a professional career but for lives of wisdom, leadership and civil service. 

• Liberal
  Arts
• Rhetoric in the
  Liberal Arts