About the Book

Despite - or because - we live in calculative and instrumental times in higher education, liberal arts colleges and programmes are flourishing. They draw students fascinated by society and culture who want to make a creative contribution. The Reinvention of Liberal Learning around the Globe is an indispensable introduction to this diverse and brilliant educational world. (Simon Marginson, Professor of Higher Education; Director of ESRC/RE Centre for Global Higher Education, University of Oxford)

The editors pull together a diverse set of authors to share a wide range of approaches and trends in shaping the present and future of our liberal arts institutions and programs. The diversity of perspectives makes this book of interest and use to anyone thinking deeply about and acting in support of the future of higher education and liberal arts education. (Michael McDonald, President, Great Lakes Colleges Association and the Global Liberal Arts Alliance)

This book rigorously questions and redefines liberal arts education by examining unique contexts of Asia, North and South America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. It also considers the complexity of contemporary issues and emerging innovations in higher education. With the diversity of perspectives and experiences presented by the international authors, we could envision future liberal arts education in nurturing global and caring leaders with multiple collaborative possibilities through this book. (Mikiko Nishimura, Professor of International Christian University, Japan; Co-President of the Global Research Network for Liberal Arts Education)

This volume comprehensively documents the transforming nature of liberal arts institutions within the overall tensions provided by the global pandemic occurring at the intersection with a major transitional moment of technology and communication. Its timeliness is underscored by the geographic reach of its contributions, providing a unique perspective on the multitude of ways in which higher education is responding to these powerful forces. (Deane E. Neubauer, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Hawaii, Manoa; Associate Director of the Asia Pacific Higher Education Research Partnership)

This is a most timely overview and analysis of liberal arts worldwide. The editors brought together thoughtful scholars from around the world to demonstrate the dogged persistence, resiliency, and vulnerability of the liberal arts. For those who still believe that the key value of higher learning is to enrich the intellect, enliven the spirit, and take more responsibility for the future of humanity, this valuable book provides a framework for the future. (Gerard A. Postiglione, Emeritus Professor, Honorary Professor of Education, The University of Hong Kong

Chapter 3 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

About the Author: Insung Jung is former Professor of the International Christian University (ICU) in Tokyo, Japan. Since its 1953 founding, ICU, a premier liberal arts college in Japan, has demonstrated solid growth and confidence in open and critical thinking, Christianity, and community service. Prof. Jung is uniquely qualified to edit this book as she has a long history of teaching and researching in a liberal arts college and collaborating with educators and researchers from all around the world and thus is able to take a global view of needs and trends in liberal arts education. She edited a book titled: Liberal Arts Education and Colleges in East Asia: Possibilities and Challenges in the Global Age with her colleagues (2016) and contributed to another book titled: Doing Liberal Arts Education: The Global Case Studies (2019). She works as Chief Editor of the SpringerBriefs series in Open and Distance Education. She is also Co-author and Co-editor of several other books published by Routledge, Sage Publications, Information Age Publishing, Stylus, and Springer. She is currently serving as Leader of the Global Research Network for Liberal Arts Education (GRN), Advisor to the International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction (ibstpi); and Editor, Editorial Board Member, and Reviewer of numerous international and domestic journals. She is currently working as a visiting research scholar at the Education Research Institute of the Seoul National University in Seoul, S. Korea.
Ka Ho Mok is Vice President and concurrently Lam Man Tsan Chair Professor of Comparative Policy of Lingnan University. He was Vice President (Research and Development) and Chair Professor of Comparative Policy of The Education University of Hong Kong. Before joining the EdUHK, he was Associate Dean and Professor of Social Policy, Faculty of Social Sciences of The University of Hong Kong. Prior to this, Professor Mok was appointed as Founding Chair Professor in East Asian Studies and established the Centre for East Asian Studies at the University of Bristol, UK. He has worked creatively across the academic worlds of sociology, political science, and public and social policy while building up his wide knowledge of China and the region. He has published extensively in the fields of comparative education policy, comparative development and policy studies, and social development in contemporary China and East Asia. In particular, he has contributed to the field of social change and education policy in a variety of ways, not the least of which has been his leadership and entrepreneurial approach to the organization of the field. His recent published works have focused on comparative social development and social policy responses in the Greater China region and East Asia. He is also founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Asian Public Policy (London: Routledge) and Asian Education and Asian Education and Development Studies (Emerald) as well as Book Series Editor for Routledge and Springer.