About the School of Liberal Arts
The School of Liberal Arts was founded in 2019. It offers an original and distinctive liberal arts program – one that is historically rich yet forward-looking in focusing firmly on contemporary concerns and questions. In creating opportunities for respectful conversations between Western and non-Western traditions of thought and art, it answers to the needs of a multi-cultural 21st century.
Our program is carefully designed to introduce students to non-Western and under-represented voices and perspectives. They encounter such diversity right from the beginning of their studies in foundational first year subjects. Students will learn tolerance and mutual respect as they consider how divergent and sometimes competing ideas and ideals – both those stemming from within and beyond Western traditions of thought and art - can interact and inform each other. Students will learn how these ideas matter, for good or ill. The degree will create authentic opportunities to better understand the ideas of thinkers of very different traditions, including culturally distinct traditions. Our students will learn why focusing on great achievements of Western civilisation should never involve denigrating great achievements of other traditions and why all of these deserve our attention.
Our unique educational enterprise seeks to instil the epistemic virtues characterised by the spirit of open questioning in all of our students. They will learn how to think – and how to think well – not what to think. They will develop the interpersonal skills and virtues needed for civic participation in rational discussion and argument. In sum, they will become both intellectually humble yet fearless.