The Task of Liberal Education: Reflections on the Nature of Freedom

The idea of the liberal arts is oft-misunderstood and oft-abused in contemporary society. In this panel talk, Roosevelt Montás (director of the Center for the Core Curriculum and associate dean at Columbia University) and Linfield College alumna Sara Gomez Horta (class of 2017) explain why the liberal arts matter to them. Gomez Horta explains the influence and impact of a liberal arts education at the individual level, using her own experience as an immigrant, first-generation college student to make her argument. Montás provides a summary of the day's conversations and points to a number of reasons why the liberal arts are both unique and critical in the higher education landscape.