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Robbie Goldie
Professor Cardoza
FRINQ Portland
10/19/15
Connection: Understanding a Liberal Education
At its core, a liberal education is not focused on academic studies as much as it is on
ones world experiences. In Only Connect, William Cronon delves into what it means to be
liberally educated, giving a list of ten attributes that can identify a liberally educated person.
Cronon describes a liberally educated person as a worldly personone connected with the
people and environment around themwho aspires to learn and to grow. Several of these traits
are also that of the Drivea focus on ones surrounding to become more connected and grow as
a person with the worldwhich French author Guy Debord elaborates on in his articles on the
Theory of the Drive, and his Introduction to a Critique in Urban Geography. Both Debords
concept of the Drive and Cronons understanding of a liberal education share many attributes,
and are focused on going out into the real world and making connections with ones self and the
people and places around them.
Both the concept of a Drive and a liberal education have a focus on ones awareness of
ones self and their surroundings. The concept of a Drive is rooted in movement, traveling
through the world without a desired location or immediate purpose. According to Guy Debord,
Drives involve playful-constructive behavior and awareness of psychogeographical effects,
and are thus quite different from the classic notions of journey or stroll (1). Unlike a regular

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strollwhere the focus would be on traveling and arriving at your destinationa Drive is about
creating a connection with the world around ones self, and traveling without a desired location.
Cronon believes that having a connection to the world is an integral part of a liberal education,
saying I think its worth declaring that educated people know how to pay attentionto others
and to the world around them (Cronon 3). Both Cronons goal of a liberal education and
Debords theory of the Drive revolve around people being aware of and connected with their
surroundings and their peers. Through connecting with ones peers and environment, individuals
can understand and evaluate situations better, become more versed with the world, and can begin
to establish a community.
Civilization as we know it today would not exist without the freedoms of the individual,
as well as the connection to the community. Cronon understands this, saying:
Liberally educated people understand that they belong to a community whose prosperity
and well-being are crucial to their own, and they help that community flourish by making
the success of others possible. If we speak of education for freedom, then one of the
crucial insights of a liberal education must be that the freedom of the individual is
possible only in a free community, and vice versa. (Cronon 4)
Communities cannot exist without the freedom and growth of its individuals, and individuals
cannot become fully connected to their surroundings without a sense of community. Cronon
believes that liberally educated people understand this, and aspire to create a better community
for themselves and for others. The point of the Drive is to forge a better understanding of ones
surroundings, build a sense of community, and explore the world, much like how Cronon
describes the most crucial aspect of liberal education:

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More than anything else, being an educated person means being able to see connections
that allow one to make sense of the world and act within it in creative ways. Every one of
the qualities I have described herelistening, reading, talking[] working in a
community is finally about connecting. (Cronon 5)
Both the Drive and a liberal education, at their core, are about connectingconnecting with the
community, with the environment, and with ones self.
A liberal education is far more than simply studying and testing in an educational facility.
Its about growing, learning, experiencing new things, exploring, and finally, connecting. A
Drive is about creating an experience, connecting with the world around ones self and
understanding the world a little more each day. Drives focus on the adventure, the movement,
and the connection between life and ones self, creating memories and gaining worldly
experience. Both Guy Debords theory of the Drive and William Cronons understanding of a
liberal education coincide with each othera Drive is the means to a liberal education.
Together, a Drive creates an experience, cultivates knowledge, and connects ones self to further
ones self and grow, ultimately cumulating experiences to form a liberal education.

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Works Cited
Cronon, William. ""Only Connect..."" The Goals of a Liberal Education. Web
Debord, Guy. "Introduction to a Critique of Urban Geography." Les Levres Nues #6 (1955).
Web.
Debord, Guy. "Theory of the Drive." Les Levres Nues #9 (1956). Web.