In the world of colleges and universities, one of the largest misconceptions for both adults and youth alike, is the idea of what composes the liberal arts. Some think it is simply comprised of the non-technical subjects like history, philosophy, English, and other languages. This might be what modern day world accepts as “their” liberal arts, however, it is much different than the liberal arts’ origin. The original liberal arts were first used in Britain and they consisted of seven subjects: grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy (Oxford English Dictionary). Liberal arts originated as a balance between the arts and the technical sciences.

As Lawrence Lipking states in his book, What Galileo Saw, the science and the arts are closely related. By using 17^th century scientists such as Robert Hooke, Johannes Kepler, and Galileo Galilei, Lipking develops a convincing argument that art, poetry, and science were all linked together in the 17^th century. As evidence, he uses Galileo’s etchings of the moon and Kepler’s writings on Copernican Astronomy (Lipking 35 & 62). From this, one can conclude that in order to present their findings of science, Galileo and Kepler used art. Whether it was a visual or in the form of their words, the foundation of art helped Galileo and Kepler reach out to people who were not inside of the science discourse community.

In the modern day, science and art do not seem closely related. For instance, a rocket scientist isn’t ever seen painting pictures of their rockets, and a painter does not usually paint in depth blueprints for the next generation model of a car. However, just like definitions of words change over time, so does art and the way it is used. Instead of seeing the rocket scientist paint his or her designs, we would be more likely to see him or her project it on a computer program. Additionally, the painter would be seen painting renderings of cars for the engineers rather than actually painting the blueprints. Maybe the shift of the liberal arts isn’t so much between how we view the arts and sciences, but how we learn the liberal arts in a university or college.

A clear distinction between the liberal arts in the 17^th century and the liberal arts in the 19^th century, and later, is the difference in what subjects were studied and mastered. For example, if we compare Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo Galilei to Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, and Stephen Hawking, we can see the impact of liberal arts as it has changed throughout time. Leonardo da Vinci was a master sculptor, painter, architect, and engineer; he grew up believing that the eye was the most important sense and that shaped both his education and his career. Additionally, Galileo was an expert philosopher, astronomer, mathematician, and artist. With all of his work, he touches on all of the original seven subjects of the liberal arts. Both Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo mastered multiple disciplines at one time. Modern day beliefs would have most people thinking that these disciplines were completely unrelated.

In contrast to da Vinci and Galileo, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, and Stephen Hawking were all very focused on one or two disciplines. Darwin studied biology and evolution as a naturalist while both Einstein and Hawking studied mathematics and physics. It is clear that at some point in time, the liberal arts and the technical sciences branched off of one another to form almost two entirely different subjects.

According to Andrew Delbanco in his book, College What It Was, Is, and Should Be, there was a shift in the way liberal arts were taught and viewed within colleges as early as the late 18^th century. Ben Franklin once called Harvard, “intellectually constipated” because he believed colleges should be used to discover new things rather than the typical apprenticeship approach. Thus, the age of the modern research institute began. Another event that changed the way colleges worked was the addition of “tracks”. In the 1820s-1830s, the University of Virginia began to offer tracks of study that focused on a particular subject such as anatomy or law. These tracks are like the modern day majors. They allow for focus on a specific discipline which takes away from being able to study all seven original liberal arts. In the late 1800s, universities and colleges such as Union, Amherst, Harvard, and Yale started to offer more modern languages and science began to replace the classical studies. Liberal arts began to be removed from daily society and collegiate education (Delbanco).

Additionally, religion, Congress, and powerful men at the time also pushed heavily for less of a traditional liberal arts focus in the college environment during the 19^th century. When colleges were first established, many of them were founded on Puritan or Catholic ideals. Their main goal was to educate clergymen and priest. For example, Georgetown was originally founded as “A seminary for aspirants to the priesthood,” (Delbanco 73). Diversification of religion at the time, made these religiously focused colleges have to evolve in order to continue educating students. Secondly, in 1862, Congress passed the Morrill Act of 1862 creating the land grant system. This program specifically created colleges that would teach branches of agriculture and mechanics. These turned into current day state universities such as Michigan State University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Illinois. Lastly, in the 1890s, the powerful Andrew Carnegie denounced the typical college saying they focused too much on dead languages and old ideas. Like Franklin, Carnegie also believed college could be used for research and advancing newer technology.
Where did the liberal arts go if they were not the focus of the college education anymore? The answer is to the elementary and high school level. In most high schools, students are required to take various courses from algebra to English to biology. These help develop the liberal arts skills critical to technical science and other subjects down the line in college.

From the 15^th to the 17^th century, liberal arts began as a collection of seven subjects that provided a foundation for discoveries and innovation. However, as early as the late 18^th century, the liberal arts were viewed as being old and irrelevant to the newer studies. Liberal arts within the universities stopped being the main focus as majors, tracts, and research started to take root. Instead of being well rounded in all subjects of the liberal arts, people currently choose one specific subject to dedicate their attention. Ultimately, the liberal arts went from being the main focus of scholars to the foundation of their major or degree. The roles have changed over time; rather than colleges and universities teaching the in-depth liberal arts, high schools now provide the modern liberal sciences while colleges promote research and discoveries on a specific topic.