Saving Humanities through liberal education: the issue of academic structure

Ahn, Hyeon-Hyo

Korean Journal of General Education 2016;10(2):131-155.
Published online June 30, 2016.

Hyeon-Hyo Ahn

교양교육을 통한 인문학 살리기

안현효

Abstract

This article discusses the causes and the solution of the so-called ‘Humanities crisis’ in terms of academic structure. The department paradigm, ‘Departmentalism’ in this article, is regarded as one of main causes of the crisis in both humanities and general education. Currently, however, the department paradigm is under strong attack from the increasing convergence of academic disciplines and the expanding needs of general education. As part of this process, the weakened department paradigm has been paralleled by a weakening in the basic sciences, which has also contributed to the crisis in the humanities. To overcome the humanities crisis, the reproduction ecosystem of humanities academian should be constructed. This new paradigm can be obtained through the expansion of general education. This article describes an attempt to construct a new humanities-based academic structure called LAC (Liberal Arts College).

Key Words: higher education, academic structure, department paradigm, general education, university college, LAC (Liberal Arts College)

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