Abstract

At a time when programs of “General Education” have replaced, or are masquerading as, programs of traditional “Liberal Education,” Professor Donald Verene’s small but rich book challenges current trends. The book is written in the form of letters to a friend, one who is conversant in the sciences but less so in the humanities, and yet as one who is concerned not only about the changes in education that have taken place since his own education in the liberal arts and sciences, but who is also concerned about “the education of [his] own children, how they may obtain a sense of wisdom and virtue such as the ancients and the humanists at one time professed”. Verene writes persuasively as he examines the many influences on good teaching and significant learning that are at work in the contemporary university. His first two chapters express Verene’s views on the time-tested methods of excellent pedagogy, and they criticize the notion that excellent pedagogy is merely the dissemination of information. They also illuminate the role and value of pedagogy that is inspiring; they are chapters that provoke thought and invite further discussion.