Access & Inclusion
True or False: Auerbach argues that the liberal arts are elitist because they are often denied access to lower-income communities.
True - the liberal arts are elitist because we deny equal access to them.
True or False: The Odyssey Project is designed specifically for traditional college-age students.
False - It is an initiative bringing liberal arts learning to lower-income adults.
True or False: The chapter concedes that liberal arts have sometimes been elitist but argues they must be so to maintain rigor.
False - The authors push back on the necessity of elitism and advocate models that combine quality with broad access.
True or False: Hitz uses the concept of “leisure” (as contemplation) to defend why the liberal arts should not be strictly utilitarian.
True - She argues that liberal learning serves human nature through more than just utility.
True or False: One tension addressed is balancing universal access with preserving quality.
True - This is one of the core difficulties the chapter wrestles with.
Which of the following is a barrier to inclusion?
a) The cost of education
b) Geographic isolation
c) Language barriers
d) Lack of interest
a) The cost of education - Affordability limits who can participate in liberal arts programs.
Which of the following is a goal of the Catherine Project (Hitz)?
a) To train liberal arts professors
b) To bring the Great Books to non-traditional learners
c) To fund scholarships at elite colleges
d) To replace public schooling
b) To bring the Great Books to non-traditional learners. - Hitz describes the Catherine Project as an online effort for lifelong learning open to those 16+.
Which rhetorical move is used in Chapter 3 to respond to the elitism critique?
a) Dismissal of the critique as ignorant
b) Offering practical interludes (Examples)
c) Avoiding concrete details
d) Rewriting history
b) Offering practical interludes - The structure is to give concrete example “interludes” before/after a long essay.
Which term is used in the chapter’s introduction to describe how liberal arts should combine freedom and generosity?
a) Libertarian
b) Liberality
c) Liberalism
d) Liberal arts +
b) Liberality - The editors note that “liberal” is related to “liberalitas” – liberality or generosity — in forming judgment and friendship.)
Which of these is presented as a tension in the chapter?
a) The liberal arts vs. vocational training
b) Liberal arts vs. primary education
c) Liberal arts vs. athletic programs
d) Liberal arts vs. technical gadgets
a) The liberal arts vs. vocational training - Though the chapter’s main focus is elitism, it also gestures to the wider friction between liberal learning and “useful” training.
True or False: The authors argue that elitism in liberal arts is only a historical problem, not a current one.
False - (They acknowledge ongoing structural obstacles and argue for contemporary measures to expand access.
True or False: Auerbach’s Odyssey Project is highlighted as a “practical example” responding to the elitism critique.
True - It show actual programs that counter elitist realities.
True or False: The authors argue that expanding access necessarily lowers academic standards.
False - They reject this “either/or” and assert access can go hand in hand with maintaining rigor.
Which philosophical tradition is invoked to show the liberal arts are not inherently elitist?
a) Utilitarianism
b) Christian humanism
c) Marxism
d) Postmodernism
b) Christian humanism - Some contributors speak from a Christian humanist framework to argue for human dignity and accessible formation.
True or False: The chapter claims that all critics of liberal arts are operating in bad faith.
False - The authors often treat interlocutors seriously and grant the force of critique, rather than dismissing them.
Which social group is especially mentioned as being historically marginalized in access to liberal arts?
a) Rural students
b) Working-class students
c) International students
d) Graduate students
b) Working-class students - Humanities education has often excluded poor people and minorities.
Which of these is an intended feature of the Catherine Project?
a) Live, in-person seminars only
b) A requirement of enrolling in a degree program
c) An open age threshold (16+) for participation
d) Strict religious admission criteria
c) An open age threshold (16+) for participation - The Catherine Project is open to learners aged 16 and up.
When facing the charge of elitism, the chapter suggests that liberal arts defenders should prioritize:
a) Discrediting critics
b) Insisting on exclusivity
c) Reforming access and pedagogy
d) Ignoring the charge
c) Reforming access and pedagogy - They call for innovation in who gets included and how instruction is done.
True or False: The chapter treats liberal arts as only a set of disciplines, not as a way of life.
False - The liberal arts are framed as a formation, a way of attentive life, not just curricular content.
Which of the following is not one of the three essays in Chapter 3?
a) The Odyssey Project
b) A History of Liberation
c) Elite Education for the Rest of Us
d) The Catherine Project
c) Elite Education for the Rest of Us - That essay is in Chapter 4, not Chapter 3.
According to McCoy’s “A History of Liberation,” the liberal arts tradition should be reinterpreted in light of which imperative?
a) Market efficiency
b) Social justice
c) Technological mastery
d) National identity
b) Social justice - Liberal learning frames the ideas of liberation and justice concerns.
Which common goal connects both The Odyssey Project and The Catherine Project?
a) Preparing students for high-paying jobs
b) Expanding access to liberal arts education for those outside traditional universities
c) Training future professors in classical studies
d) Promoting online degree programs for credit
b) Expanding access to liberal arts education for those outside traditional universities
True or False: The authors deny any historical involvement of the liberal arts in exclusion or privilege.
False - They acknowledge past exclusions and argue we need corrective approaches.
The editors say each chapter of the book responds to one common criticism by structuring responses with:
a) Historical narrative, data, prophecy
b) Interludes and discursive essay
c) Polemic, rebuttal, silence
d) Only argument
b) Interludes and discursive essay - That is the structural method: two practical examples that line a central argument.
True or False: The chapter suggests that solving elitism in liberal arts is only about money and physical access.
False - Access is necessary but not sufficient, institutional designs and cultural shifts also matter.