I have to admit that I was curious how Powers of the Mind would play out based on the title. I had read a brief review of the book in reference to general education courses, so I acquired it for that purpose. The author, Donald N. Levine, is the former Dean of the University of Chicago. His book provides the reader with an excellent history of the development of undergraduate curriculums in America. Availing himself of the excellent archives at the University of Chicago, Levine states in his preface that his original intent was to write a rebuttal to Allan Bloom’s book, The Closing of the American Mind.
While Bloom’s book champions the University of Chicago’s “Great Books” curriculum, Levine believes that it misrepresents the evolution and accomplishments of the Chicago undergraduate curriculum. While Levine’s book may be of little use to readers outside of academia, the thoroughness of Levine’s research and coverage of the historical changes in the “core curriculum” in colleges in the United States is a worth-while read for anyone charged with evaluating the general education curriculum.
