The Importance of Learning: Liberal Education and Scholarship in Historical Perspective

It is an inescapable fact of contemporary life that the idea of a liberal education, an education that aims primarily at the cultivation of the intellect and sensibility rather than at preparation for a particular vocation, is widely under attack all over the world. In country after country, the idea of learning for its own sake is being swept aside, as institutions of higher education are pressured to devote themselves primarily to preparing students for careers in practical areas. The global membership of the International Society for Intellectual History is in a unique position to illuminate these questions from a genuinely historical and cosmopolitan perspective.

This conference has been made possible thanks to the support of the Department of Philosophy, the Department of History, the Humanities Council, the University Center for Human Values, the Shelby Cullom Davis Center for Historical Studies, and the Office of the Dean of the Faculty, whose sponsorship we gratefully acknowledge.

Please feel free to contact James Lancaster ([email protected]) for more information.

Registration is free. For the programme and information relating to registration, please see the conference website: