Is Physics the Most Fundamental of the Liberal Arts? | Juan Burciaga | TEDxBowdoinCollege

Juan Burciaga, a professor of Physics and Astronomy at Bowdoin College, challenges our perceptions about a liberal arts education by answering question: is physics the most fundamental of the liberal arts? He explores the meaning and purpose of being liberally educated and the interplay between an education in physics and an education in the liberal arts. Juan Burciaga is a physicist and physics educator with a degree in theoretical molecular physicist from Texas A&M University. He has taught at a number of strong liberal arts colleges, most recently at Mount Holyoke College, Colorado College and Bowdoin College. Early in his career Dr. Burciaga became aware of questions that invariably occur in the teaching/learning environment. Questions of student learning, classroom community, and faculty development. He found that he could pursue these questions with the same passion, discipline and rigor as those of physics scholarship. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx