School of Liberal Arts
The UOW School of Liberal Arts offers a distinctive program engaging students with great works of art, literature, philosophy, politics, and science through dialogue and critical inquiry. Supported by the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation, it fosters intellectual courage, creativity, and open inquiry, preparing students to think critically and engage with complex contemporary issues in a multicultural context.
The School of Liberal Arts is grateful to the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation for its generous $50 million gift, which has enabled the expansion of liberal arts and humanities studies at UOW. This investment supports our staff, scholarships and the distinctive Bachelor of Arts in Western Civilisation.
Paul Ramsay AO (1936-2014) was a leading Australian businessman and philanthropist, whose extraordinary generosity and vision led to the creation of the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation.
Paul established Ramsay Health Care in 1964 with a single hospital. It has since grown into Australia’s largest private hospital group and one of the world’s leading private health care operators. He also played a key role in regional television, helping build what became the Prime Television Network.
Throughout his life Paul was known as a ‘man for others’ and gave generously to a range of educational, cultural, artistic and sporting organisations. He was deeply grateful for the opportunities his country had afforded him and often reflected on the influences that had shaped Australia.
He is remembered by friends, colleagues, and the many communities touched by his generosity, as a proud but humble Australian.
Paul Ramsay AO (1936–2014)
The School of Liberal Arts undertakes research in philosophy, classics, and literary studies. It has distinctive strengths in philosophy of psychology, mind, and cognitive science. Our researchers contribute to advancing international scholarly debates and collaborate across disciplines worldwide. The School attracts Higher Degree Research students from across the globe and is known for supporting strong academic career placements for its graduating PhD students. Its vibrant research culture exemplifies how rigorous research can inform public understanding and professional practice, as well as scholarly debate and research in other disciplines.
The School of Liberal Arts is actively engaged in an enriching, public outreach, committed to sharing its research and fostering open dialogue with the wider community, including other specialists and the public. This engagement takes various forms such as Agora Speakers Series, Annual Sophia Lecture, Critical Antiques Network, and the Expanded Minds Series as well as interviews, public talks, lectures, and debates, providing a platform to disseminate knowledge on important matters relating to research and scholarship in the School.
The School of Liberal Arts is fully committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in both its staff appointments and curriculum. With respect to staffing, the School actively encourages applications from and supports the career development of women and minorities.
With respect to the curriculum, right from the beginning of their study, students will be introduced to non-Western and under-represented voices and perspectives. This is a central theme in foundational first year subjects. Students will look at examples of how the ideas, ideals, artworks and practices of non-Western cultures and civilisations influenced and overlapped with those of their Western counterparts.
The Bachelor of Arts in Western Civilisation brings diverse voices and perspectives into the great conversation in half of the mandatory subjects in its core program (eight out of sixteen), rather than relegating diverse voices to elective subjects. These subjects examine philosophical topics of contemporary concern from the vantage point of multiple traditions of thought and art. For example, they evaluate the tenability of the ethical philosophies of Aristotle and Confucius from today’s standpoint; they compare the treatment of puzzles in classical logic and philosophies of the self as proposed by Western thinkers with the treatment of these same topics by Buddhist thinkers; they consider the role of reason, faith and revelation in Christianity and Islam.
For further detail see the Bachelor of Arts in Western Civilisation Curriculum Design (PDF).
Diversity and inclusion will be promoted through the talks of distinguished scholars who will be invited to speak in the School’s seminar, workshop and conference series.
The School of Liberal Arts has an independent advisory board that is comprised of international academics of high standing and local community experts. Its current members include:
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