\nDetailed Outline – Book Review of Fareed Zakaria?s In Defense of
\na Liberal Education[1]
\nChristina E. Ekman[2]
\nPresident Obama?s concern ?that in today?s world, college
\ngraduates need to focus on the tools that will get them good
\njobs?is shared by many liberals, as well as conservatives and
\nindependents. The irrelevance of a liberal education is an idea
\nthat has achieved that rare status in Washington: bipartisan
\nagreement.?[3]
\nI. Introduction
\n A. Who is Fareed Zakaria and why should you care what he
\nhas to say about education?
\n i. Best known as host of CNN?s foreign affairs show, GPS.
\nBorn in India in 1964. Came to United States in 1982 and
\nattended Yale, where he earned a BA in History during the cold
\nwar, when foreign students had many incentives to come study
\nat American colleges and universities in the form of tuition
\nassistance.[4] Ultimately, Mr. Zakaria earned a Doctorate in
\nPhilosophy from Harvard University in Government.[5]
\n ii. Was overwhelmed and awestruck by the array of
\nchoices available to him as a student. Stood out in stark contrast
\nto the uniformity and technical nature of higher education in his
\nnative India. This is what prompted him to study in the United
\nStates.[6]
\n iii. Has worked as an adjunct professor, editor of Foreign
\nAffairs, Newsweek International, editor at large and columnist at
\nTime, and has written for a number of magazines on
\ninternational affairs. [7]
\n iv. Published several books, served as a news analyst,
\nhosted a weekly TV show on PBS, and in 2008 began hosting
\nFareed Zakaria Global Public Square (GPS). Includes several best
\nsellers. Dogged by plagiarism allegations in 2013 as well.[8]<\/p>\n
B. Roadmap
\n i. General overview of book.
\n ii. Arguments and biases.
\n iii. Assessment
\n iv. Conclusion
\nII. Organization \/ Content of book
\n A. Book is well organized?starts out with his own story?how
\nhe came to be a student in the United States during the cold war
\nand what struck him about the American approach to
\ncollege\/university education, as compared to that in most other
\ncountries. It is also well-researched and documented.
\n i. Coming to America
\n ii. Brief History of Liberal Education?back to times of
\nRomans and Greeks
\n iii. Learning to Think[9]
\n iv. The Natural Aristocracy?an examination of the tradition
\nof the liberal education that began in this country with Thomas
\nJefferson and Benjamin Franklin[10]
\n v. Knowledge and Power
\n vi. In Defense of Today?s Youth
\n B. A Look at His Sources
\n i. Well researched
\n ii. Uses APA citation format with endnotes. Not as
\neffective as Bluebook for allowing reader to see exactly where
\ninformation was found, and not as efficient as footnotes. There
\ndoes not seem to be any issue with plagiarism though, which is
\nsomething Mr. Zakaria was accused of in the past.[11]
\nIII. Evaluation of the Book?s Merits and Weaknesses<\/p>\n
B. What is his bias\/agenda?he is a centrist and is taking on
\nthe liberal and the conservative attack on the traditional
\nAmerican liberal education.[12]
\n i. He styles himself a reasonable centrist, and this is the
\ntone the book takes, as he addresses both the liberal and the
\nconservative positions against a liberal arts education today in
\nthis country.[13]
\n ii. He thinks there is no substitute for the liberal
\neducation, especially in today?s high-tech world. This is based in
\npart on his personal experience, but is well supported by his
\nresearch. He does acknowledge the merits of a more technical
\napproach to education, but says that both are needed for the
\nwell-rounded and successful student who will also succeed posteducation
\nin the work force.[14]
\n iii. Three main purposes of the liberal education: teach
\nstudents to write[15], teach students to speak publicly[16],
\nteach students how to learn?lots of explanation of both[17]
\n iv. Examples from international test data and what these
\ndata really mean. (looks at Israel, Sweden, and the US as
\ncompared to other countries with a more ?research university?
\napproach to learning?technical based.[18] More
\nstartups\/innovation out of Israel (#1), US (#2) and Sweden (#6)
\nthan in other countries in Europe and Asia etc.)
\n v. Addresses impact of technology\/online education and
\nits impact on higher education\/liberal education?s accessibility,
\nand draws some parallels such as the GI Bill which opened up
\neducation to more people of lower classes?which is consistent
\nwith the earlier explained views of Thomas Jefferson and
\nBenjamin Franklin.
\n vi. Not very well versed in online education though?lots
\nof discussion of MOOCS, and none about the impact of for profit
\nonline institutions such as University of Phoenix and American
\nPublic University System, to name a few. This chapter needed
\nmore research\/more current information, as reputable for-profit
\nonline institutions, which do make education more accessible to
\nmore people (disabled students, first responders, deployed
\nservice members, stay-at-home mothers and others who do not
\nhave the means to attend a brick and mortar institution).
\n vii. There is a heavy lobby against such institutions by
\nthe traditional colleges and universities for many reasons. That
\nneeds to be examined in much more detail?similar impact to GI
\nBill?that connection not fully examined. Note that tuition has not
\nrisen in these institutions to the same degree as it has in
\ntraditional schools. (Need citation here)[19]
\n viii. Citation?was cited for plagiarism in 2013, but
\nnothing here suggests a problem. Well researched and very
\ndetailed citation, though not as detailed and easy to follow as
\nBluebook (but that is my bias).
\nConclusion: Book is worth reading
\n[1] Fareed Zakaria, In Defense of a Liberal Education (2015).
\n[2] Christina Ekman is a retired Army Judge Advocate and an
\nAssociate Professor in the American Public University System?s
\nLegal Studies Department.
\n[3] Id. at 19-20.
\n[4] Fareed Zacharia.com (Last visited July 23, 2015).
\n[5] Fareed Zacharia.com (Last visited July 23, 2015).
\n[6] Zakaria, supra note 1 29-39.
\n[7] Id.
\n[8] Lloyd Grove, Can Fareed Zakaria Survive A Plagiarism
\nFirestorm? Word Up, 11.12.141:25 PM ET, The Daily Beast
\nhttp:\/\/www.thedailybeast.com\/articles\/2014\/11\/12\/can-fareedzakaria-survive-a-plagiarism-firestorm.html.
\n[9] Id. at
\n[10] Id. at
\n[11] Richard Leiby, Columnist Fareed Zakaria faces new
\nallegations of plagiarism, The Washington Post, (Aug. 19, 2014)
\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/lifestyle\/style\/columnist-fareedzakaria-faces-new-accusations-ofplagiarism\/2014\/08\/19\/52bff872-27ed-11e4-958c-
\n268a320a60ce_story.html.
\n[12] Id. at 15-20.
\n[13] Id.
\n[14] Id. at 73-5.
\n[15] Id. at 73-5.
\n[16] Id. at 75-8.
\n[17] Id. at 78-9.
\n[18] Id. at 90 ? 101.
\n[19]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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