Keywords
liberal arts education
inter-faculty studies
inter-area studies
Jerzy Axer
How to Cite
Abstract
The article describes MISH college at the University of Warsaw as a case study of European liberal education. An inductive approach to defining liberal education is proposed and exemplified by reconstructing the organization and educational ideal of MISH. In 1993 MISH offered a small group of highly selected candidates an opportunity to develop inter disciplinary, individual curricula and work with an academic tutor of their choosing. Over the next two decades, nine Polish research universities, and six universities in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia adopted this model to their needs and organizational context. Along a separate degree-granting program in Kolegium Artes Liberales UW established in 2008, MISH continues to operate. International researchers, and the creator of MISH, qualify it as liberal education program. Original proposal of the article maintains that in the case of MISH the aim (active, engaged and trusting academic community) and principles (critical thinking, communal thinking, and operational independence) are related to specific values (opposition, republicanism, autonomy). Such idea, often blurred by organizational peculiarities, can be understood as unique variation on the theme of liberal education in Europe. The role of MISH in Polish higher education system is discussed alongside basic differences with similar programs, most notably in the Netherlands. The article concludes with a plea for greater emphasis on diverse ideas of liberal education in the pluralist European higher education landscape.
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