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Langtry has published a treatise on the reasons for returning liberal arts to the modern-day college curriculum. Originally published in a 2014 journal, the author has chosen to increase exposure of his arguments by presenting them inside this book. The chapter headings address three main arguments as to why the liberal arts fell out of favor and why they should be restored. Each heading voices a question followed by the author’s answers, which average 10-15 pages. The format for answers is a series of pro and con statements with quotation(s) from an advocate or opponent.
Conclusions reached by the author end each chapter. For example, the statement that Enron sought alternatives to normal established financial processes is preceded by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) mission statement and followed by an article on Enron’s Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) demonstrating the moral bankruptcy of its executives. The author’s conclusion is that teaching the liberal arts and the value systems of millennia to these few men could have prevented loss to millions of Americans.
The terms the author uses are helpfully explained as they pertain to the treatise: for example, andragogy (teaching the student what he/she knows); authentic pedagogy vs. interactive pedagogy (teaching humanities rather than technology); objectivism vs. constructivism (teaching that reality is based on absolute values rather than derived from internal values). Langtry’s ideas have obviously attracted some attention as is evidenced by the appendix which contains a supporting 2017 article in which Professor Drazdauskiene quotes with attribution from Langtry’s 2014 presentation. The author’s viewpoint is clearly discernible, but additional chapters and summaries might prove useful in clarifying his arguments.