June 27, 2003

The Civic Mission of Higher Education

To the Editor:

The title of Stanley Fish's essay in the May 16 issue, "Aim Low," is apt (Career Network). Fish torpedoes the civic mission of colleges and universities, undercuts the contribution that they can make to democracy, and scoffs at those institutions that attempt to foster Periclean values among the student population. It does not work, Fish claims, so why expend the effort? Besides, he adds, teaching civic engagement is not an academic enterprise.

I doubt there is

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