Engaging Worlds: Core Texts and Cultural Contexts asks what do we learn of texts, cultures, and the world s dynamics when we read core texts, widely and deeply, in core-structured programs of the world s colleges and universities? What books, what arts, what associations and institutions, what sciences, what religions, what cultures, what educations, what citizens, what scholars, are we preparing for the future through an education in core texts that engages our worlds? The answers offered in these selected proceedings are drawn from the widest possible spectrum of institutions and...

This volume reminds readers that dedicated teachers at colleges and universities are passing on the heritage of liberal education as well as constructing its future. All readers will benefit from the insights of this volume the historical, ethical, literary and philosophical perspectives provided by core text liberal arts education.

Liberal education aspires to excellence through the cultivation of free human beings who excel in thought, word, and deed. But what exactly is excellence, and why do we admire it? How do we conceive of what is excellent? What constitutes excellence--either for human beings, or in the realms of philosophy, literature, science, and politics? Why is excellence an aim of liberal education? What kinds of texts, courses, and inquiries contribute to achieving this end? Such questions animate the studies herein. The essays in this volume reflect on the idea of excellence embedded within core texts,...