Abstract

Contingency models of liberal arts education focus on goals, mission and measurable components such as productivity or efficiency. Successful implementation of liberal arts in Muslim majority countries must address the following: a shared vision of liberal arts, student engagement, curriculum and program development and broader accountability structures. A shared vision of liberal arts presupposes that underlying tensions regarding knowledge aims, identity construction and technology’s role in society are resolved at the educational institution level. Critics warn that the absence of resolution to these tensions will result in the proliferation of scientism and knowledge factories in the name of liberal arts in the Gulf.