By Rachel Goldfarb, originally published on Next New Deal
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College as a Catalyst for Civic Engagement (Medium)
Roosevelt Institute | Campus Network member Zach Lipp builds on a recent column by Frank Bruni, arguing that liberal education should develop the skills of civic engagement, not just citizenship.
Do colleges and universities exist to promote learning and citizenship or to produce skilled workers? New York Times columnist Frank Bruni took readers to this gulch in two recent columns. In one column, Bruni reflects on a particular lecture on Shakespeare’s “King Lear” as transformative. But many politicians dismiss such learning as superfluous. Bruni mentions Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s recent proposal that state universities shift their missions toward “work force needs.” This debate is not new — but the divide between the two sides seems to be growing. “In a democracy,” writes Bruni “college isn’t just about making better engineers but about making better citizens, ones whose eyes have been opened to the sweep of history and the spectrum of civilizations.”As a current college student, I see the merits in both sides. Politicians have a point: for many students, college is explicitly pre-professional. However, Bruni is also correct: liberal education exists to develop citizens. I’d expand on Bruni’s argument. The role of colleges in fostering citizenship extends beyond simply opening students’ eyes to history. College years function as a pivotal time for civic engagement.
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