Deliberation and Liberal Learning

Deliberation and Liberal Learning started in the 2007-2008 academic year with a celebration of the life and work of one of the College’s most successful and influential teacher-scholars, the late J. Glenn Gray of the Philosophy Department, translator of the German philosopher Martin Heidegger and author of two influential studies, The Warriors: Reflections on Men in Battle (1959) and The Promise of Wisdom: A Philosophical Theory of Education (1968). Over the course of the 2007-2008 academic year, Deliberation and Liberal Learning held three afternoon discussions led by distinguished visiting scholars with an interest in Glenn Gray’s pedagogical work, in collaboration with Colorado College faculty members who worked with Glenn Gray or followed in his footsteps. Other faculty, students, and Phi Beta Kappa alumni of Colorado College were invited to read portions of The Promise of Wisdom and to participate in the seminars. Each afternoon meeting began with small discussion groups of no more than sixteen, followed by a plenary session co-moderated by a visiting scholar and a Colorado College faculty member. In this way, the virtues of small group discussion were combined with advantages of hearing many different perspectives on a work that helped to define the distinctive Colorado College approach to liberal education.

2007-2008 Events

Tuesday, 9 October
The Promise of Wisdom, Introduction and Chapter I
Sessions moderated by
Sherry Gray Martin, St. John's College, Santa Fe: and
Susan Ashley, History and Dean of the Faculty, Colorado College

Tuesday, 13 November
The Promise of Wisdom, Chapter 3
Sessions moderated by
Martin Woessner, History, City College of New York; and
Timothy Fuller, Political Science, former Dean of the Faculty, Colorado College

Tuesday, 26 February
The Promise of Wisdom, Chapters 8 and 10
Sessions moderated by
John Churchill, Executive Director, Phi Beta Kappa Society*
Judith Genova, Philosophy, Colorado College

*unable to attend due to illness