Book excerpt: "The humanities core is back from the dead. Indeed, it is vibrant at increasing numbers of institutions that take seriously--and not just as a cliche--what it means to prepare students for 'living in the twenty-first century.' Those who are forward-thinking will find thoughtful assessments of the most successful programs today." —Jeffrey Wallin, president, The American Academy for Liberal Education "Liberal education assures the well-being of society by providing both historical perspective and the mental agility required to navigate change. This heartening book shows a range of ways by which leading colleges and universities are meeting this critical challenge." —Susan Ford Wiltshire, professor and chair, Classical Studies, Vanderbilt University This book joins the critical debate on humanities education and asks what higher education must do to encourage greater breadth of knowledge, improved critical thinking skills, and lifelong competence in students. Alive at the Core explores the importance of general education in the humanities, lays the foundation for meaningful learning, and offers different approaches to changing the core curriculum into a tool for lifelong learning. Drawing from thirteen colleges and universities, each chapter examines a creative humanities program--detailing strategies used to develop cross-disciplinary models of learning. The authors describe how each program began, how it changed, how students connected their knowledge to the world outside the classroom, how computer-based educational technology was integrated, and how faculty members were recruited and became motivated to teach in the program.