Liberal Arts Mathematics— Cornerstone or Dinosaur ?

Summary

Liberal arts education in general, and liberal arts mathematics in particular, has a long history in American education, but since 1972 enrollments in liberal arts mathematics in the two-year colleges have dropped from 72,000 to a low of 19,000 in 1981. This paper explores some of the reasons for this decline and then looks toward the future and asks the question, “Can or should the old ‘great ideas’ mathematics course be revitalized to fit the needs of the students in the 1980s?” The thesis put forth in this paper is that it can be revitalized, but only if it takes on new form and includes a new orientation. The old liberal arts course will not only need to be modified to fit the career- oriented student, but also will need to integrate basic mathematics competencies including new technologies and be organized around the great ideas concept, rather than around specific basic skills. Liberal arts mathematics is an important course in the mathematics curriculum, and should continue to be taught. The liberal arts course should not have a fixed content, but should offer a variety of topics from which individual classes and instructors can choose. This choice should include statistics, computers, and discrete topics.