Michael H. McCarthy writes that Liberal Education and Democratic Citizenship, his eighth book, “emerged from the intersection of two powerful and enduring commitments: my long life as a student and teacher of the liberal arts, and my active engagement as a citizen of the United States.” He observes that “the political debate about personal and public liberty has coincided with an equally important cultural argument about the nature and purpose of a liberal arts education” and asks “What is a liberal education…[and]...how closely is it connected to the formation of responsible democratic citizens?”

In the book, Professor McCarthy carefully describes the many crises confronting American democracy and identifies their philosophical, cultural, and institutional origins [and] argues that a liberal education, properly understood, can address several of these crises effectively.

Publication was supported by a Dean of Faculty award from the Mellon Career and Curricular Transitions Endowment.