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Liberal Arts Misperception Essay

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Liberal Arts Misperception The liberal arts are those subjects or skills that in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free person (Latin:liberal, "worthy of a free person") to know in order to take an active part in civic life, something that (for Ancient Greece) included participating in public debate. These two articles are talking about the misperception that people see about Liberal Arts. Most people hear liberal arts and think, I will not get a good job with this degree, or nobody will hire me. People do not think they will make good money or there is no good money coming from a Degree of Liberal arts. Wallace and Ungar explained to us that you can get a lot out of a Liberal arts degree because that’s what most people are …show more content…

When detailing the value of a Liberal Arts education to his audience, Wallace uses pathos and explicit langue’s to extract emotion and attention: “this is what the real no bullshit value of your Liberal arts education is supposed to be about” (203). He is very blunt in talking about the Liberal Arts degree. He is basically saying critical thinking is the way to life. If you pursue Liberal Arts you will have a more meaningful life. Wallace states, “Liberal arts cliché about teaching you how to think is actually shorthand for a much deeper, more serious idea: learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think. It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience” (202). Wallace also uses ethos to explain to the students he knows what page they are on. He connected with his audience in telling his own story. He is letting them know that he understands what they are going through because he has been in the same boat before. He knows what is going to happen. Wallace also gave us a lot of examples on his outlook on things. He talked about his thinking and the way he handle certain

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Wallace shows his literary intellect in his use of the rhetorical device. He describes the nod to the opposition when he details the way we are not supposed to think by calling it our “default setting”. He starts off by saying that he would have tendencies to feel like he was the center of the world, but excuses that behavior by saying “It is our default setting, hard-wired into our boards at birth” (. The author explains the consequences of not controlling your default setting by continuing his story about the trip to the grocery store. Wallace declares “ Because the traffic jams and crowded aisles and long checkout lines give me time to think, and if I don 't make a conscious decision about how to think and what to pay attention to, I 'm

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Wallace, David Foster "This is Water" Kenyon College Commencement Speech 2005 In the speech "This is Water" David Foster Wallace attempts to explain how the general populace is self-centered and what a person can do to change the "default setting" within our mind. Wallace's main point is to get his audience to understand and realize that they have a daily choice to make between being inconsiderate and acknowledging those around them. They can either remain conceited and unsympathetic towards others, or they can change and attempt to see and understand the situations of those around them as they go through their daily trials. Wallace uses various examples to explain and expand his argument.

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“The New Liberal Arts” Sanford Ungar - Collaborative Summary Sanford J. Ungar was the president of Goucher College, located in Baltimore, Maryland. He wrote this essay to debunk common misperceptions about liberal arts colleges and the education provided by them. The first misperception he confronts is the idea that a liberal arts education has become far too expensive for most families to afford; therefore, it would be better if potential students focused on education specific to their desired career. Ungar argues that this is not the case. He asserts that it is better for young people to have a well-rounded liberal arts education that will prepare them for a plethora of career paths rather than having an education based solely on one career

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He makes reference to his opposition by stating the appeals to misconceptions about the liberal arts he is trying to disprove. Different from Wallace, he sometimes uses statistics to help support his argument. For example, in his second misconception he talks about how college students are struggling to find jobs and having a liberal arts degree doesn’t make it easier. He plainly strikes down this notion by telling us that it’s difficult for all majors to find a job once you graduate and goes on further to state “Association of American Colleges and Universities actually found that more than three-quarters of our nation's employers recommend that college bound students pursue a "liberal

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There are advantages to this though, someone who gets a liberal arts degree might be better at certain things such as comprehension, problem solving, and critical thinking. Many of those skills are wanted by employers when they are looking to hire a college graduate. On the other hand, Murray believes pursuing a liberal arts degree is a waste of time. Murray, claims are mostly valid because on average it takes longer for a liberal arts graduate to find a job, and they start off making less than the average professional career. He believes people are looking for innovators not just

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Wallace’s use of ethos makes him monumentally easier to listen to, powerfully opposed to the norm of commencement speeches involving a pretentious author lecturing about the true meaning of

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So why make students who clearly do not have an interest in any liberal art take those classes. There should be basic classes, but advertise higher knowledge classes for those who have a passion in a liberal

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Ethos is the “way of convincing your audience of your credibility as a writer” (Modes of Persuasion). Kristof makes a reference to the novel “In Defense of a Liberal Education” by Fareed Zakaria. Zakaria’s novel defends the liberal arts by explaining how this degree creates critical thinkers. Students develop critical thoughts by learning how to write and formulate their own opinions. These skills are utilized in every job.

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“He gives an example of day-to-day life, including in fine detail of early rising, traffic to work, eight to ten hour work days, stopping for groceries for dinner, bad store lighting, long register lines, a slow drive home, go to bed and do it all over again. Graduates have seen their parents go through this but have never experienced it on their own.” (Hub Pages) That is when Wallace tells them this, to give them a good idea of the real world. He makes a valid point, while explaining to the graduates that he isn’t here to be the wise fish.

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He emphasizes that he, infact, struggles with centering his own world around himself and not being considerate of the situations of the people around him through his statements such as, “if you're like me, some days you won't be able to do it, or you just flat out won't want to.” This expresses Wallace’s attempt to, once again, ensure his audience feels comfortable and not like he is “preaching to them.” This is an example of Wallace’s many ethical appeals in an attempt to validate his argument by creating comfortableness and relatableness.

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In the articles that I read about how liberal art college is a waste of money. Going to a school like liberal art would be a waste of money to the people who wrote those articles because they think getting a teaching degree is a waste of time and won't make lot of money in the end. Many people do get talked down at for being a teacher because soon schools are going to be online. For example some college offer online courses for the people who work or need to take care of their family. Many people come to Eastern to get a degree to teaching and also Eastern isn't an expensive college to go to if you get a decent grant from the university and the government.

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High school seniors are faced with a wide variety of decisions as they approach graduation. They must decide whether or not they are going to attend college, begin working, or do something else. If they do decide to attend college, they also must decide whether to pursue a liberal arts education or a vocational one. A liberal arts education primarily includes a collection of different classes and topics students can choose to take and study. A vocational route will mainly educate students on their specific intended career.

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Ungar he says “the Association of American Colleges and Universities found that more than three-quarters of our nation’s employers recommended that college bound students pursue a liberal education… 89 percent said they were looking for the ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing… and develop better critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills” (228). Since more employers is looking for employees with skills that a liberal education provides they would have a better advantage over the employee who didn’t gain those similar

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David Foster Wallace establishes credibility in his speech by expressing his experience in learning how to think. Ethos is a rhetorical appeal that uses credibility and experience to give an argument more strength. Within the beginning of the “This is Water” speech, David asserts his credibility to the audience by conveying that he too was a student, and that as a student, he disliked the idea that others had to teach him how to think (Wallace 1). Wallace begins with this statement to let the audience know that he knows that they do not want to be told how to think because he was a student just like them. As a student, David was stuck in his default setting because he was still being told how to think.

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In David Foster Wallace’s “ Kenyon Commencement Speech,” he discusses the importance of liberal arts education in “teaching you how to think” (Wallace, 199). He mentions how education is beyond the knowledge we learn, but about simple awareness will impact the choices we make for better or worse. The real value of education cannot be found in a career (you may or may not be fired from), but it can be found in the way you view things through a different perspective and by considering how other factors can contribute to everyday life. This new approach in thinking will allow us to appreciate our lives and overcome our inner “default setting” towards the world (Wallace, 199). I agree with Wallace’s argument because the purpose of higher education should not be about having career-specific skills and obtaining a degree, but about intellectual and personal growth will help us survive in the real world.

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