22 December 2011, 8:20 pm
This is my essay for the "Why Chicago?" question: I have always been a strong believer in a classic liberal education. My high school experience has taught me to value small classes, where ideas and topics can be unpacked, examined, and discussed with greater depth and precision than in large classes. My experience with primary source materials, both in school with texts such as Parzival and on my own with books like The Wealth of Nations, has convinced me that working with these texts is essential to true immersion in a subject. When I read The Wealth of Nations, I ponder what Smith’s ideas mean to our modern society – wondering which ones have had the most influence, which ones have been forgotten, and questioning the cogency and relevance of his ideas in a modern light. By combining small class sizes with primary source materials, and bringing together students with different majors and interests, the Core creates what I think is the most important and fundamental aspect of an education: dialogue. This spirit of inquiry, this dialogue that will not only follow me out of the classroom but will challenge me for the rest of my life, is ultimately what I envision for my college experience. The University of Chicago is the only school where I have felt there is an inherent connection between learning and extra-curricular fun; being a student should not be put on hold when one steps onto a court, straps on a guitar, or watches a movie. My two favorite examples of this mentality are the Classical Entertainment Society, a club devoted to “the understanding and enjoyment of the ancient world” through gladiator fights and marathon readings of epic poems, and Bad Movie Night at Snell-Hitchcock, where members watch an extraordinarily awful movie and then have an intellectual conversation about it. As someone interested in economics, I cannot think of a more inspiring place to take classes than the UChicago economics department. My high school only offers one economics class and a three week internship in the spring of senior year, so I took it upon myself to learn economics through books–a good deal of which come from UChicago affiliates. The first economics book I read was Naked Economics by Charles Wheelan, a Harris School professor. I regularly read the Becker-Posner blog, maintained by UChicago economists Gary Becker and Richard Posner. In fact, the Chicago School of Economics–an economic philosophy centered around the professors at UChicago–is the perfect realization of the Core curriculum and Chicago’s dedication to scholarship. The Chicago School was founded in the spirit of the Core; professors inquired beyond the status quo and engaged in free academic discussion to establish a group philosophy. I believe these values of free inquiry and open debate are the only way to explore new knowledge, and I have found that both the Chicago School and the University of Chicago are the best embodiments of this philosophy. Any feedback would be appreciated!... Read More »
Share on del.icio.us
Share on digg
Share on Technorati
Share on reddit
Share on Yahoo!
Share on Facebook