This paragraph is meant to give background information about what the liberal arts are, and introduce Scheuer. It also was meant to show how UNE incorporates liberal arts in their core.

The liberal arts historically date back to the Ancient Romans and Greeks, based on the artes liberales. Originally composed of the seven liberal arts made up by the trivium which includes grammar, logic and rhetoric, and the other category is the quadrivium, which includes arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music. The concept of the liberal arts has changed much since then. A more modern definition describes the liberal arts as “a wellspring of ideas and questions, and a way of promoting flexibility and openness to diverse perspectives,” (Scheuer 3). The hope of liberal arts is to establish well rounded and open students while developing critical thinking and citizenship to prepare students for their post collegiate endeavors. UNE tries to incorporate liberal arts into their core curriculum. UNE’s four core values were “created to provide a foundation in the liberal arts, . . . and is designed to prepare students for living informed, thoughtful, and active lives in a complex and changing society,” (UNE handbook 3). UNE seems to believe that liberal arts will offer students a better way to strengthen their thinking. The handbook also specifically states that undergraduates “will develop foundational knowledge and critical thinking skills that are necessary for understanding and assuming their roles in natural, social, humanistic, and other environments,” (2).

 Historically liberal arts was created and established as a well rounded curriculum that produces students who are open to developing critical thinking and citizenship. The liberal arts historically date back to the Ancient Romans and Greeks, based on the artes liberales. Originally composed of the seven liberal arts made up by the trivium which includes grammar, logic and rhetoric, and the other category is the quadrivium, which includes arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music. The concept of the liberal arts has changed much since then. A more modern definition describes the liberal arts as “a wellspring of ideas and questions, and a way of promoting flexibility and openness to diverse perspectives,” (Scheuer 3). The ultimate goal of liberal arts is to fully prepare students for their post collegiate endeavors. UNE incorporates this modern idea of liberal arts in its core curriculum. In fact, its core values were “created to provide a foundation in the liberal arts, . . . and is designed to prepare students for living informed, thoughtful, and active lives in a complex and changing society,” (UNE handbook 3). UNE seems to believe that liberal arts will offer students a better way to strengthen their thinking. The handbook also specifically states that undergraduates “will develop foundational knowledge and critical thinking skills that are necessary for understanding and assuming their roles in natural, social, humanistic, and other environments,” (2).