Cultivating Virtue in the University

Across the globe, educators are grappling with how best to prepare a new generation to engage the challenges and opportunities of the twenty-first century. Along with knowledge and skills, many are now emphasizing the importance of character. Yet, while there has been a robust movement to educate character among children and adolescents, much less attention has been given to the ethical formation of college and university students. What is the role of colleges and universities in educating the character of students? Should universities even attempt to cultivate virtue? If so, how can they do so effectively in a pluralistic context?

Cultivating Virtue in the University seeks to answer these questions by gathering diverse perspectives on character education within twenty-first century universities. With essays from some of the world's leading scholars, this volume catalyzes a critical debate about the possibilities and limits of character education in the university while offering theoretical and practical perspectives on what such education could look like in increasingly global and intercultural institutions. By engaging insights from education, history, literature, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and theology, the volume encourages scholars and educators to embrace the opportunities and challenges of cultivating virtue in the university.

Jonathan Brant is the Founding Director of The Oxford Character Project and a Research Fellow of Harris Manchester College at the University of Oxford. He also serves postgraduates and researchers in his role as the Oxford Pastorate Chaplain.

Edward Brooks is Executive Director of the Oxford Character Project at the University of Oxford.

Michael Lamb is Executive Director of the Program for Leadership and Character and Assistant Professor of Politics, Ethics, and Interdisciplinary Humanities at Wake Forest University. He is also a Research Fellow with the Oxford Character Project.

I. Introduction
1. Should Universities Cultivate Virtue?: A Case for Character in Higher Education
Edward Brooks, Michael Lamb, and Jonathan Brant

II. The University as a Context for Cultivating Virtue
2. Virtue and the History of the Modern American University
Julie Reuben

3. Virtue, the German University, and the Limits of Critique
Chad Wellmon

4. Developing Virtue in Emerging Adulthood: Perspectives from Neuroscience, Psychology, and Sociology
Brian A. Williams

III. Institutional and Cultural Barriers to Cultivating Virtue
5. The Eclipse of Virtue in the University and Wider Society
Onora O'Neill

6. Can Theology Help?
Nigel Biggar

IV. How to Cultivate Virtue in the University
7. Seven Strategies for Cultivating Virtue in the University
Michael Lamb, Jonathan Brant, and Edward Brooks

8. Closing the Character Gap: Cultivating Honesty in the University
Christian Miller

9. The Beneficial Effects of Cultivating Gratitude in the University
Blaire Morgan and Liz Gulliford

10. Forming Virtuous Character: Psychology in Dialogue with Theology
Joanna Collicutt

11. Cultivating Virtue by Reading Jane Austen
Jessica Richard

12. The Decolonial Virtues of Ethnospeculative Fiction
Paula M. L. Moya and Lesley Larkin

V. Conclusion
13. Character Education in the University: Opportunities and Challenges
Michael Lamb, Edward Brooks, and Jonathan Brant