Tulane School of Liberal Arts Magazine 2025 The Great Liberal Arts Debate | School of Liberal Arts at Tulane University
Source: https://liberalarts.tulane.edu/magazine/2025
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:10
Tulane School of Liberal Arts Magazine 2025 The Great Liberal Arts Debate | School of Liberal Arts at Tulane University
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School of Liberal Arts
102 Newcomb Hall
New Orleans, Louisiana 70118
504-865-5225
libarts@tulane.edu
Contact Us
Tulane School of Liberal Arts Magazine 2025 The Great Liberal Arts Debate
Staff & Contributors
Staff & Contributors
Tulane School of Liberal Arts Magazine
2025
| Vol 7
Editorial Directors
Brian T. Edwards
Brittany Fowler
Art Director
Arielle Pentes
DESIGN
Scott Ott
Contributors
Thomas Albrecht
Thomas Beller
Ronna Burger
Maria Cordero
Shennette Garrett-Scott
Sophia Gutierrez
Douglas N. Harris
Barbara Jazwinski
Michael Kuczynski
Nghana Lewis
Jana Lipman
Susann Lusnia
Jennifer Mills
Sherrice Mojgani
Stephen Ostertag
John Strasburger
Lisa Wade
Saeko Yatsuka-Jensen
Fan Zhang
School of Liberal Arts Leadership
Dean
Brian T. Edwards
Chief Business Officer
Beth Wilson
Associate Dean for Curriculum & Pedagogy
Roxanne Dávila
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs
Holly Flora,
Trenton Holliday (Interim)
Associate Dean for Performing Arts
Leslie Scott
Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Programs
Katharine Jack
Senior Advisor to the Dean
Vicki Mayer
Assistant Dean for Administration & Special Projects
Joseph Mistrot
Senior Director of Development
Miles Garrett
The Tulane School of Liberal Arts Magazine is published once a year by the School of Liberal Arts. Material may only be reprinted with permission.
We would love to hear from you!
Send letters to the editor at
SLAmagfeedback@tulane.edu.
.
To support Tulane’s School of Liberal Arts, contact Miles Garrett, Senior Director of Development, at
mgarrett3@tulane.edu
.
Special Thanks
Richard Brunies
Michael Legendre
Laura Richens
Barbara Ryan
Cameron Todd
From the Editors
At the School of Liberal Arts, we believe that tackling complex questions head-on is not just what we teach, it is who we are. Though the theme of this issue is “The Great Liberal Arts Debate,” we do not intend for it to deliver a singular, definitive answer. Instead, we invite you to reflect on your own Tulane journey — the courses, conversations, and ‘aha!’ moments that defined your liberal arts experience. Did your path emphasize a foundation of history, data, and essential facts; gravitate toward interdisciplinary problem-solving and thinking outside the box; or perhaps a compelling blend of both?
Within these pages, you’ll find diverse perspectives and insights from our faculty, students, and alumni who are actively shaping the future of the humanities, social sciences, and fine and performing arts. We explore how critical thinking, honed through deep engagement with history, philosophy, literature, and social theory, equips our graduates to navigate uncharted professional territories and address society’s most pressing challenges.
This issue is an invitation to lean into the conversation, to challenge assumptions, and to reaffirm all that is encompassed by a liberal arts education. The very skills debated — the capacity to analyze, innovate, and communicate — are precisely what allow us to engage in such a profound societal discussion. We hope you’ll find inspiration to craft your own answer to this great debate.
Thank you for joining us in this exploration.
Contents
The Great
Liberal Arts Debate
by Brian T. Edwards
An Aptitude for Transformation
by Shennette Garrett-Scott
Mastering Unstructured Problems
by Susann Lusnia
Conversations in
the Age of AI
by Thomas Beller
Also in This Issue
Understanding the State of the Nation
by Douglas N. Harris
Douglas N. Harris describes the State of the Nation Project, a cross-disciplinary effort that reached broad expert and public agreement on 37 measures to grade U.S. well-being. The findings show a paradox: a strong, innovative economy with some improving trends (e.g., violence down since the 1990s) alongside weak performance in democracy, trust, mental health, and inequality, including low belief in democracy. He argues the liberal arts are essential for understanding these contradictions and guiding solutions.
I’ll Take the Red Pill
by Nghana Lewis
Working the Core
by Michael Kuczynski
Buried Complexity
by Fan Zhang
Education in Action
SLA Alum Sophia Gutierrez, John Strasburger, Jennifer Mills, Maria Cordero
The Examined Life
by Ronna Burger
The Paradoxical Value
by Thomas Albrecht
We Asked, They Answered
by Barbara Jazwinski and Stephen Ostertag
Curriculum Updates
Course Spotlights
Chocolate Croissant
by Lauren Alexander
Skip to main content
School of Liberal Arts
102 Newcomb Hall
New Orleans, Louisiana 70118
504-865-5225
libarts@tulane.edu
Contact Us
Tulane School of Liberal Arts Magazine 2025 The Great Liberal Arts Debate
Staff & Contributors
Staff & Contributors
Tulane School of Liberal Arts Magazine
2025
| Vol 7
Editorial Directors
Brian T. Edwards
Brittany Fowler
Art Director
Arielle Pentes
DESIGN
Scott Ott
Contributors
Thomas Albrecht
Thomas Beller
Ronna Burger
Maria Cordero
Shennette Garrett-Scott
Sophia Gutierrez
Douglas N. Harris
Barbara Jazwinski
Michael Kuczynski
Nghana Lewis
Jana Lipman
Susann Lusnia
Jennifer Mills
Sherrice Mojgani
Stephen Ostertag
John Strasburger
Lisa Wade
Saeko Yatsuka-Jensen
Fan Zhang
School of Liberal Arts Leadership
Dean
Brian T. Edwards
Chief Business Officer
Beth Wilson
Associate Dean for Curriculum & Pedagogy
Roxanne Dávila
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs
Holly Flora,
Trenton Holliday (Interim)
Associate Dean for Performing Arts
Leslie Scott
Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Programs
Katharine Jack
Senior Advisor to the Dean
Vicki Mayer
Assistant Dean for Administration & Special Projects
Joseph Mistrot
Senior Director of Development
Miles Garrett
The Tulane School of Liberal Arts Magazine is published once a year by the School of Liberal Arts. Material may only be reprinted with permission.
We would love to hear from you!
Send letters to the editor at
SLAmagfeedback@tulane.edu.
.
To support Tulane’s School of Liberal Arts, contact Miles Garrett, Senior Director of Development, at
mgarrett3@tulane.edu
.
Special Thanks
Richard Brunies
Michael Legendre
Laura Richens
Barbara Ryan
Cameron Todd
From the Editors
At the School of Liberal Arts, we believe that tackling complex questions head-on is not just what we teach, it is who we are. Though the theme of this issue is “The Great Liberal Arts Debate,” we do not intend for it to deliver a singular, definitive answer. Instead, we invite you to reflect on your own Tulane journey — the courses, conversations, and ‘aha!’ moments that defined your liberal arts experience. Did your path emphasize a foundation of history, data, and essential facts; gravitate toward interdisciplinary problem-solving and thinking outside the box; or perhaps a compelling blend of both?
Within these pages, you’ll find diverse perspectives and insights from our faculty, students, and alumni who are actively shaping the future of the humanities, social sciences, and fine and performing arts. We explore how critical thinking, honed through deep engagement with history, philosophy, literature, and social theory, equips our graduates to navigate uncharted professional territories and address society’s most pressing challenges.
This issue is an invitation to lean into the conversation, to challenge assumptions, and to reaffirm all that is encompassed by a liberal arts education. The very skills debated — the capacity to analyze, innovate, and communicate — are precisely what allow us to engage in such a profound societal discussion. We hope you’ll find inspiration to craft your own answer to this great debate.
Thank you for joining us in this exploration.
Contents
The Great
Liberal Arts Debate
by Brian T. Edwards
An Aptitude for Transformation
by Shennette Garrett-Scott
Mastering Unstructured Problems
by Susann Lusnia
Conversations in
the Age of AI
by Thomas Beller
Also in This Issue
Understanding the State of the Nation
by Douglas N. Harris
Douglas N. Harris describes the State of the Nation Project, a cross-disciplinary effort that reached broad expert and public agreement on 37 measures to grade U.S. well-being. The findings show a paradox: a strong, innovative economy with some improving trends (e.g., violence down since the 1990s) alongside weak performance in democracy, trust, mental health, and inequality, including low belief in democracy. He argues the liberal arts are essential for understanding these contradictions and guiding solutions.
I’ll Take the Red Pill
by Nghana Lewis
Working the Core
by Michael Kuczynski
Buried Complexity
by Fan Zhang
Education in Action
SLA Alum Sophia Gutierrez, John Strasburger, Jennifer Mills, Maria Cordero
The Examined Life
by Ronna Burger
The Paradoxical Value
by Thomas Albrecht
We Asked, They Answered
by Barbara Jazwinski and Stephen Ostertag
Curriculum Updates
Course Spotlights
Chocolate Croissant
by Lauren Alexander