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What a happy liberal arts student can tell you about education

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Rohan Chaudhari
Rohan ChaudhariJun 01, 2017 | 16:47

What a happy liberal arts student can tell you about education

"Fight for what you think. And that means fighting with yourself, with your own opinions and thoughts."

This statement by Sunil Khilnani, director, India Institute, King's College London reminded me of what I was thinking a year ago. I was, maybe, fighting with my decision of pursuing a career in liberal arts. A liberal arts education, while extremely popular overseas, had only recently been introduced to India and hence is still considered a huge risk for students wishing to pursue this field of studies.

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I was immensely aware at the time of deciding to pursue a liberal arts degree that I was going to be going against conventional education practices in India and that there would be a great deal of risk involved.

However, I was adamant that I wanted to study a broad range of subjects such as Economics, Psychology or even Sociology and not just confine myself to one discipline. Even though I stand firmly behind my decision, there has also always been a lingering feeling of concern for the prospects that lie ahead of me after this education.

On May 20, 2017, as I listened to Sunil Khilnani speak on the occasion of the convocation day of Ashoka University's first graduating batch, I was filled with a sense of optimism for the future of liberal arts in India.

Making a case for liberal arts, he said, "Can we depend less on the machine in our pockets, and more on the machine in our heads? The fact is that machines are going to be putting plenty of us out of jobs and careers; we are going to have to rely much more on our own special capacities, on honing skills that machines can't replicate. This University has trained and tuned that beautiful machine under your hair (here I speak with more than a little envy)."

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These skills that we must develop he says, are the foundations of the humanities and the liberal arts. We must demonstrate an ability to read closely, even forensically and show a willingness to listen. These, as said by the professor, will give us the insights and tools to make the move into the future.

This is exactly what I feel when I sit in a liberal arts classroom. I could never have imagined to be studying a course such as Great Books where we are educated on works such as the Mahabharata and the Upanishads.

More fascinatingly, we are taught how to critically analyse what we read. Further, we are encouraged to question what we learn and develop the skill set to draw inferences.

As a consequence of this, a major emphasis is also placed how to structure thoughts in the form of words and essays.

Liberal arts colleges are not interested in finding the right answers, but in asking the right questions. They are institutions that allow and support intellect and free thought. In professor Khilnani's words, "Read deep, listen closely, and know that neither are passive acts. Listening to the unfamiliar, engaging with those from the past whom you cannot comprehend, and with those in the present who irritate and infuriate you: it's the best way to make new discoveries."

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He suggested that it was those who were not fazed by what the herds were doing and went their own way that left their trace on this world. For me, this was one of the most motivating pieces of advice that Khilnani gave during his convocation address.

Whereas I was slightly worried about being considered different to my peers who had chosen the more conventional educational routes, I now felt even more passionately for the liberal arts and am determined to succeed.

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It is again essential to ask the right questions of our viewpoints and allow them to be tested against opposition. Photo: IndiaToday

Another important trait to succeed in the eyes of Khilnani is the aptitude to make a distinction between thoughts that come easily to our minds, and ideas that we can fiercely defend. It is crucial to be able to provide rationale and justify our opinions and beliefs.

This, he believes is one of the fundamentals for any great democracy. To achieve this ambition, it is again essential to ask the right questions of our viewpoints and allow them to be tested against opposition. Democracy, as said by Khilnani is built for manipulation. This however, he says is not a reason for cynicism. He advocated that we, as individuals, and as a society, get engaged and invigilate to achieve the best possible ends.

This he argues is a responsibility for every citizen of this nation. In our critical thinking course, we studied the models of Laicite and secularism based in France and India respectively. As part of an assignment, we were asked to compare the two models and bring out their merits and demerits.

Prior to the assignment, I strongly believed that the Indian model of secularism was stronger as it provided its people with a greater degree of religious freedom. Comparatively, I was of the view that the French model was restricting. However after careful studying the two systems, I overruled my earlier judgment with the awareness that each model worked best for its own country.

Sunil Khilnani's words on the role that liberal arts could play in shaping the minds of students and equipping them with the qualities to emerge victorious in an increasingly challenging world was both enthusing and inspiring. They strengthened my belief that I had chosen the correct path for my education.

How he defines a university is exactly what falls under the definition of liberal arts. He says, "University, the French philosopher Pierre Hadot has said, can be a training for a career; or it can be a training to be a human being. I hope above all that your time here will have shown both the immensity of that challenge of becoming human, and also how essential it is, if we are to sustain the public engagement needed to build an open and a fair society."

And I will always remember these words by him, "The training to be a human being is never a completed task — it's something we start again each waking day."

Last updated: June 01, 2017 | 16:47
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