Liberal Education and Civic Well-Being in Canada A Reappraisal of “Bankrupt Education"

In this book, nineteen scholars defend liberal education’s role in forming free and thoughtful citizens, particularly in the Canadian context. The collection begins from the path-breaking Bankrupt Education: The Decline of Liberal Education in Canada written thirty years ago by Peter C. Emberley and Waller R. Newell. They argue that the forces of modernity have fragmented into the political left and right, each pole seeking in its own way to liberate Canadians from their past, resulting in cultural amnesia, rootlessness, and malaise. These forces have only intensified in our day, making liberal education’s recovery seem even more daunting now than when Emberley and Newell sent out their clarion call for reform and recovery. Without returning to the goals of liberal education, including the formation of civic and intellectual virtues, the education system threatens our liberal democratic foundations. This book presents a timely revisiting of the importance of liberal education in Canada.