Why does America have universities which apparently have political biases, for example I’ve heard descriptions of “liberal arts colleges” – how is this possible with an entire institution? Or even just certain subjects?

16 comments

1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_arts_education

   It’s from antiquity

2. Liberal, from the Latin word liberalis, meaning “free”. I’m not sure how it all goes together but it’s nothing to do with politics. Lookup the wiki on liberal arts

   Edit to add, your own country has a Liberal Art College, pay close attention to the Australian section which mentions the liberal arts college, Campion College Australia

3. Liberal Arts is not the same as politically liberal.

   Well-known conservative universities even have some form of “liberal arts” department.

   Are liberal arts department likely more dominated by students and facility who are on the left side of the political spectrum? if I had to make a guess based on my experience, yes. Just like I would say many business colleges have higher percentages of conservatives and moderates

4. Liberal in that context doesn’t mean left wing.

5. The liberal in liberal arts isn’t referring to a particular political belief. Liberal arts colleges are generally focused more on providing education on a range of subjects. The contrast would be ones with a more professional/vocational/technical education. All that said, most Associate and Bachelors degree programs require a bit of both—general education from a range of subjects, then a more focused major, which may range from something purely academic (say, philosophy) to more professional (say, business administration).

6. It has nothing to do with political affiliation. A liberal arts education is one that focus more on learning in general and developing well rounded people instead of just training them for one specific field.

7. Jesus christ.

   Liberal doesn’t always have a political connotation. It comes from Latin meaning freedom or free thinking arts.

8. Does your area of MyCountry™ not have a tradition of education in the seven liberal arts (grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy)?

   Granted it’s not still like that here in the US, but it’s a useful base.

9. Bro. .001/10.

10. Unless the college is really small, most aren’t solely a liberal arts institutions. You will typically have constituent college of arts and sciences that awards Bachelor’s of the Arts Degrees. These are your typical academic degrees; Philosophy, Bio/Chem/Phys, Literature, Languages, etc. Then you will have a college of engineering that offers Bachelor’s of Science degrees. Then you might have a professional nursing school that offers Bachelor’s of Science Degrees in Nursing. Etc etc.

    In years past we would only send our most academically talented students to liberal arts colleges. It is the college you go to get really smart. You would learn Latin and Greek and revel in classical studies and be able to quote literature at the drop of the hat. There is a powerfully moving speech RFK made when he heard of Martin Luther King’s death where he said the following to the crowd:

    **My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He wrote: “In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.”**

    He was able to put together the statement with a perfect quote from memory. That is the power of a liberal arts education. He wouldn’t know his way around an electrical circuit or be able to place a stent, but damn could he turn a phrase.

    [https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/the-kennedy-family/robert-f-kennedy/robert-f-kennedy-speeches/statement-on-assassination-of-martin-luther-king-jr-indianapolis-indiana-april-4-1968#:~:text=Senator%20Robert%20F.&text=I%20have%20bad%20news%20for,died%20because%20of%20that%20effort](https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/the-kennedy-family/robert-f-kennedy/robert-f-kennedy-speeches/statement-on-assassination-of-martin-luther-king-jr-indianapolis-indiana-april-4-1968#:~:text=Senator%20Robert%20F.&text=I%20have%20bad%20news%20for,died%20because%20of%20that%20effort).

11. We don’t use liberal arts in conversation either, just when describing course offerings. Although, certain universities are known for their law or science program, or business programs.

12. In this context liberal comes from Latin and means free. Keep in mind the US AND Australia’s government is what’s called a “liberal democracy”. It doesn’t mean it’s a government of “liberals” in the context of contemporary politics. Liberal arts is better understood as a “classical” eduction. Generally education based in philosophy, logic and reasoning, math, physical sciences, and writing. Liberal arts does not have any relation to politics in the slightest. It’s not as dumb a question as people are making it seem. Public universities generally tend to not favor a particular political ideology in the US, though professors aren’t shy about voicing their opinions in my experience. Private universities have a little more grey area in favoring an ideology though.

13. It isn’t an arts college that is liberal, it is a college of the liberal arts. Not based on political alignment.

14. Wait, what? Do people think “liberal arts” means “politically left arts”?

    e: US left wing since we use “liberal” wrong here

    It just means you get a well-rounded education. You learn some history, some music, some literature, some math, even if your concentration is unrelated to any of it.

15. A liberal arts degree is the opposite, in a philosophical way, of job training. It doesn’t teach you to do any specific job – like a degree in computer science is intended to teach you things directly applicable to working in the computer industry.

    A liberal arts education is intended to broaden your mind, especially in the humanities, by studying philosophy, literature, psychology, art, etc. to understand the human condition and contemplate the mysteries of humanity more fully. It’s the opposite of pragmatic by today’s standards and more akin to what people learned at college in the more distant past when “getting a job” was not the primary motivation.

16. And of course the Liberal Party in Australia is the right wing party