Christian Liberal Arts: An Education that Goes Beyond [Paperback]

James V., Jr. Mannoia (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 10, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0847699595 | ISBN-13: 978-0847699599

Christian Liberal Arts articulates the practical, pedagogical, and theological reasons why Christian liberal arts colleges are distinctive in the world of American higher education. Mannoia enumerates the intrinsic and instrumental values of Christian liberal arts, and how both should forcefully shape an institution's goals. He suggests that Christian colleges should strive to help their students go beyond the extremes of dogmatism and skepticism to achieve critical commitment. Colleges must also aid their students to adjust to real world problems without sacrificing academic quality. Mannoia believes that the solution to this challenge must inevitably integrate multiple disciplines, values and learning, and theory with practice, a process from which both faculty and graduates will acquire the capacity to resolve the thorniest dilemmas facing society and the Christian community.

Editorial Reviews

Review

In the discussions concerning higher education that have filled the press in recent years, the component that's been overlooked is the liberal arts college--particularly the Christian liberal arts college, of which there are hundreds in the U.S. Jim Mannoia here fills that gap with an articulate, deeply informed, slogan-free development of the thesis that the unique task of such institutions is to produce critically committed graduates tackling real world problems. It's the best statement we have of what the Christian liberal arts college could and should contribute to the remarkable pluralism of American higher education. (Wolterstorff, Nicholas )

James Mannoia's Christian Liberal Arts gives a clear and profound analysis of why the liberal arts are humanly indispensible, how they should be done, and how the Christian approach to them can help solve some of the most difficult problems facing higher education of all sorts today--secular and non-secular. He has made a unique contribution to current discussions, and one which no responsible leader in the field can afford to overlook. (Dallas Willard )

Provides a good resource for faculty and administrators of liberal arts colleges to interact with each other about the missions of their colleges and how to implement them. And for parents who are considering college choices for their children, and who want to explore the issues faced by those of us in Christian higher education, the book will be revealing. (Teaching Theology And Religion )

Blending philosophical competence with powerful and practical insights, Mannoia has written a 'must-read' book for faculty and administrators prepared to wrestle with what it means and what it asks when educators hold both critical and Christian commitments. (Dr. Sharon Daloz Parks )

About the Author

V. James Mannoia, Jr., is the president of Greenville College in Illinois.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (May 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847699595
• ISBN-13: 978-0847699599
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,025,887 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A distinctive liberal arts education?, July 24, 2000

By 

Thomas Bakewell (St. Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Christian Liberal Arts: An Education that Goes Beyond (Paperback)

James Mannoia's Christian Liberal Arts: An Education That Goes Beyond, makes the case for how and why colleges and universities that hold themselves out as distinctively Christian and liberal arts institutions "...can go beyond traditions..." to produce graduates who can address real world problems, and are committed to do so.

The book addresses what "Christian liberal arts" means. Part I defines the concept of "critical commitment", covers what critical commitment means and addresses why it ought to be a distinctive for Christian colleges.

Part II covers issues that must be considered for a liberal arts education to be valuable in addressing real world problems and makes the case for a strong inter-disciplinary component of integrative scholarship.

Part III provides ideas about an approach for providing Christian liberal arts through the curriculum and constituencies of a particular community.

The author values the liberal arts tradition and seeks to articulate distinctives for the "Christian" liberal arts.

This book would be useful for anyone contemplating a liberal arts education (parent or student), including distinctively Christian colleges. It could be valuable to any liberal arts college and university rethinking its values or visions. This would be a particularly valuable tool for Christian colleges and universities in the process of looking at strategy, values or vision for the future.

TFB